WhatAmIDoingNow

Hi all, 
I was very excited when I got the idea of asking one of my clients to write a recommendation letter (I assist people facing legal issues with food stamps and public assistance). When I spoke to a previous professor, however, she immediately cautioned against that because she advised me to get two academic letters of recommendation to demonstrate my abilities in an academic setting. She said that I should just ask my supervisor to quote the client in her letter of recommendation. What do y'all think of this? 
Thank you!

Normally, for professional degrees, you'll want a letter from your employer.  The client letter would be non-standard.  
Also, in this case, there's the possibility that the writer owes you something, or at least can't compare your work with anyone else's.  Not the best place to make a credible recommendation.

Your prof is correct. Better to have 2 LoR from profs OR 1 academic and 1 professional from your supervisor/manager who can assess your impact and quality. Avoid LR from clients and coworker, adcoms frown upon it.

Are you asking what you should say in an email to a professor, for the purpose of being able to "drop" his/her name in your application? You should probably only email professors if you have actual questions or something worthwhile to say. Superficial interactions are unlikely to benefit your application.

I graduated from a top IR program in 2015, and before that was an anxiety-ridden gradcafe poster under another handle (trying to retain a little anonymity here). 
Scrolling through these anxious posts on a lazy Saturday morning, I want to assure that it's not as hard to get into these programs as many gradcafe posters seem to think.
I had a solid GRE, mediocre GPA, decent but not exceptional work experience. I worked hard on my essays and two of my professional recommendation letter writers definitely liked me a lot (although I never saw their letters), but I was a number of years out of undergrad and the academic reference I got was from a professor in a totally unrelated field who probably barely remembered who I was. I had never had a proper IR job, had never lived in DC. It was a mixed application. But it got me into Johns Hopkins SAIS with a hefty scholarship, and a number of other top programs most of which gave me money.
This is not Yale Law. You don't need a 3.96 GPA from an elite undergrad and a 98th percentile GRE/LSAT. One of my good friends at SAIS once casually referenced being happy about having cracked the 50th percentile on the math portion of the GRE. I have a number of friends that came from no-name undergrads (and of course some from Princeton, Vanderbilt, Middlebury, Boston College, Brown, etc.). 
If you're looking for $$$, then you probably want to pump up your GRE scores and write the best letters you possibly can. 
ETA: Most gradcafe-ers are probably some of the top applicants to these schools. That's why when results season comes around, you'll see lots of posts like "I can't believe I got into X school with Y dollars!" 

Great point.  I made the mistake of buying a non-business line Dell laptop during undergrad and it was a terrible mistake, lasted a week past the 1 year warranty expiration. At work we have business line Dell laptops and desk tops that have held up for 5+ years. I have a business line Lenovo laptop and absolutely love it, a little more expensive but the machine can take a physical beating and can do some heavy stats lifting. Also, I have found that business line computers come with longer warranties. 
 
ASUS is a decent brand, but make sure you check out the specks for what SeanDDavies recommended and model reviews.  Some models are excellent and some are not good. 
 
This is what my IT department recommended that I look for when I was shopping for a laptop:
 
Yes.  Here’s the things I’m very specific to look for though:
 
Screen resolution: 
·         Please try to avoid 1366x768 screens (which you’ll find on the cheaper options).  You just can’t fit enough information on that screen resolution for real work.   
·         1600x900 should be the minimum chosen for these, with 1920x1080 possible if the user wants it and the price works out (typically found on the larger T/W540). 
 
Hard Drive type:
·         SSD vs. HDD  (Solid state drive vs. “spinning disk” drive).
·         SSD if you can afford it and the user is OK with the smaller size of 128, 180, or 256GB commonly available.  There’s really very few users who need more than any of these sizes. 
 
Processor:
·         Stick with i5 for typical users, i7 if the user will be doing heavier statistics work or graphics work.
 
 
Here’s one laptop that might be just right:
http://www.cdwg.com/shop/products/Lenovo-ThinkPad-T440-i5-4300U-180GB-SSD-8GB-14in-Win-7-Pro/3181263.aspx
 
i5, 180GB SSD, 1600x900 screen – only $1,171.
 
 
Warranties:
·         Most of these will come with a 3-year mail-in warranty.  I prefer to buy an on-site warranty, and typically with accidental damage coverage as well:
o   For “T440 20B6” and “T440s 20AQ” laptops: Search for this part number and add it to the order for 3-year, on-site, w/accidental coverage: 5PS0A22983
 
Hope that helps

Just say this more concisely. If you are interested in grad school, do a year or two of work for a NGO, advocacy organization, or some sort of foreign program. I don't know what is available in Canada, but something similar to the US Peace Corps. Showing initiative and motivation are important. You weren't motivated because the topic had no meaning, now you found something motivating and you are excelling. Real world experience is important and can help with cushioning bad grades. 

As I thought about it more, if you are truly interested in pursuing a PhD and being a professor in Europe, check into Public Management Research Conference (PMRC) 2016. Public Management Research Association (PMRA) holds their annual conference, alternating between US and international, every year. Two years ago it was in Seoul, last year in Minneapolis, this year in Aarhus, Denmark. Check who the speakers and presenters are. If the subject interests you, contact the presenters who have PhDs and are professors. If the academic is at a US institution and is presenting in Europe, you can deduce that they have a network in Europe or just really good funding to go to European conferences. The conference is in June, they usually have a twitter handle during the conference that you can track and start following academics on twitter too. 
http://ps.au.dk/en/research/conferences-and-lectures/pmrc-2016/
 
Edit: Also, the best Public Affairs and Policy schools in the US are not all housed in private universities and Ivy League is likely not what you want if you want "public innovation". University of Indiana, Ohio State University, University of Kansas, Arizona State University, University of North Carolina, University of Minnesota, University of Arizona, etc. are all excellent and competitive. I know I missed many other excellent institutions. 

Tip on finances for research and career. Work on your credit to make sure it is in good standing before your graduate. Have a personal credit card that has at least $1500 limit for work related expenses. Most funding for conferences are reimbursements that you receive after the event, same for work travel expenses or emergency work purchases. If you don't have a credit card with a decent limit on the ready, you can lose on career opportunities. Different employers have different policies on p-cards. Depending on what account is funding a purchase, you may be required to work with reimbursement system rather than the organization directly purchasing the item. 
I have two domestic conferences this semester and they have cost about $2000 combined for registration, flight, room and board. I will be reimbursed, but the lag would have destroyed my checking account if I did not have my personal credit card ready for cushioning these costs.  

Tip on finances for research and career. Work on your credit to make sure it is in good standing before your graduate. Have a personal credit card that has at least $1500 limit for work related expenses. Most funding for conferences are reimbursements that you receive after the event, same for work travel expenses or emergency work purchases. If you don't have a credit card with a decent limit on the ready, you can lose on career opportunities. Different employers have different policies on p-cards. Depending on what account is funding a purchase, you may be required to work with reimbursement system rather than the organization directly purchasing the item. 
I have two domestic conferences this semester and they have cost about $2000 combined for registration, flight, room and board. I will be reimbursed, but the lag would have destroyed my checking account if I did not have my personal credit card ready for cushioning these costs.  

Hi all, I saw a similar thread that focused on IR/development concentrations and thought it would be fun to focus the topic a bit more to domestic-focused incoming MPP students.

Since most admissions decisions are out and people will be finalizing their choices in the next month or so (some are stymied by those pesky waitlists!), I thought it would be a good idea to get started on some helpful tips from fellow applicants, and, if possible, current MPP students or alumni. What would you recommend people do to prepare themselves to begin an MPP program. I thought it would be fun to break it down into several areas:

1. Brushing up on skills: what books, websites, MOOCS, etc. would be helpful to brush up on and strengthen some skills in math, econ, government, etc.? I figured taking a little bit of time over the summer could be helpful so that math camp isn't a total shock to the system for people who have been out of school for several years.

2. Putting your degree in context: what would you recommend (websites, blogs, MOOCs, books, etc.) to help put the MPP degree in context before you begin? I'm thinking here of things to touch on the policy realm writ large and the state of policy in America and the world, whether it's something particularly compelling on poverty and inequality, items touching on econ, sociology, or more specific topics like housing and education.

3. Miscellaneous: what are some other items you wish you would have known or read about before you started or while you were in school? Things on grad life, managing money, getting a job, etc.? Anything else that I missed?

Would love to get thoughts on how you plan to prepare to go back in the classroom and begin this new journey.

The schools you can get into without GRE scores (in the US at least) will not put you in a good position for the job market. Just take the GRE? There are some respectable schools that will still take you with weak scores if you have an otherwise strong file. Also - US political science is increasingly math driven, so you'll need to have that numeracy anyway (for your career, not just your applications).
If you're really set on not taking the GRE, apply to other European schools or Canadian ones..

That doesn't answer your question, but honestly, why would you enter a PhD program knowing that you will drop out? And even more so to transfer to UH Manoa or Idaho? I think any public university in Belgium offers a way better level of instruction and research.

Are students expected to be traditional students or working students? Some programs only hold class 9am-6pm, M-F, and hold required courses at the same time. Some schools have flipped classes, while other have options for online or in class lecture. Some programs expect that their students work 25-40 hours per week while other do not cater to part time work, or have part time student specific programs separate from their regular programs. I have seen programs where many students have families, children, and careers. There are other programs where the vast majority of students are mid twenties, no children, and not fully employed. 
How flexible is the curriculum? Do you have a prescribed course load or many electives that allow you to tailor your education to your career goals?
Where have recent students been placed for internships? Did students have to find their own internships or did program staff facilitate finding placement. If you, a student with little to no network, are expected know the field landscape and coordinate internships, bail on that program. 

I will second this. Entering into a master's degree program, MPP or MPA, your quant score is not a problem. If you were applying for a PhD, I would recommend retaking the GRE. You are competing against hundreds of overachievers. Your narrative and recommendations matter.
 
Did you take care to meet the requirements of the applications with the correct ratio and number of academics to professional recommendations? When I applied to my graduate programs, the people who wrote my recommendations had me outline what they should write, make sure they hit the important projects and achievements I accomplished. The recommendations should corroborate, not conflict, with you overall narrative. 
Did you show understanding of the programs and how they fit with your goals? Schools want to see that you are committed, and showing that you actually took the time to learn about them, their program, and work is important. Also, these are Ivy leagues that you are applying to, you need to show that you are applying for more reason than prestige. 
What will an MPP education do for your and your career goals? Did you show that you took this into consideration. What differentiates you from the hundreds of other overachievers who want to change the world, make better policy, or administrate an effective government? Maybe what you want to do is not a good fit for these programs. Maybe they want a year more of experience. Maybe the applicants from your region were more impressive and your region is over represented in acceptances and on the wait list. Maybe 50 Malalas applied this year. Only the admissions people know. 

While we're playing the waiting game, I thought it would be useful to start thinking about the kinds of questions we should be asking programs should we be in the position of needing to choose between different schools and offers. I'm anticipating talking to various program administrators, professors, and current students in the coming weeks and I want to have some really good questions prepared that will help me really understand what the school offers and what it would be like to be a student there. Just based off the websites, it's hard to tell the differences between top programs, but I know that they do exist!
A friend who is in an MBA program posted a list of questions that get at organizational culture in workplaces:
What behaviors are rewarded? Punished? Where and how are people spending their resources (time, money, attention)? What rules and expectations are followed, enforced, and ignored? Do people feel safe and supported talking about how they feel and asking for what they need? What stories are legend and what values do they convey?  I don't have any ideas yet for what a similar set of questions would look like for schools, but would love to hear if you guys have any thoughts on what you'll be asking! 
And if there is anything that you already know about a school's culture/strengths, please share!

If the MPP is focused on something you don't want to research, then the program is not for you. 

If you want to be a professor, you need a PhD and to speak the language of where you reside.  While graduate schools in Europe tend to speak and write in English, you need to be able to teach undergraduates in most situations. If you want a position at a university in Netherlands, you need to speak Dutch.
If you want to research public innovation, I would look up scholars on the topic and contact them or the admissions people at their program to see what your options are and learn about the program. The scholars' network is more important than a school's network. You will need a highly regarded scholar on your topic as an adviser and to train under in a PhD program. 

Save yourself the money and do your masters and PhD in Europe. It will take less time, cost less and there are plenty of excellent universities in Europe, which offer a similar breadth of courses, network etc etc. It's nice that Harvard attracts you, but ultimately if their courses don't actually fit your professional interests, why would you pursue it? Unless of course, you have money to burn. 
Once you're more established in your career you may well find that you can do a research stint to Harvard during the course of your studies, or afterwards. Many of my friends pursuing academic careers have spent time in other universities. Cambridge University has strong links to Harvard, for example, and I know some of the colleges offer placements there. 

If you want to be a professor, I think we can all agree an MPP from HKS is not right for you.

I will second this. Entering into a master's degree program, MPP or MPA, your quant score is not a problem. If you were applying for a PhD, I would recommend retaking the GRE. You are competing against hundreds of overachievers. Your narrative and recommendations matter.
 
Did you take care to meet the requirements of the applications with the correct ratio and number of academics to professional recommendations? When I applied to my graduate programs, the people who wrote my recommendations had me outline what they should write, make sure they hit the important projects and achievements I accomplished. The recommendations should corroborate, not conflict, with you overall narrative. 
Did you show understanding of the programs and how they fit with your goals? Schools want to see that you are committed, and showing that you actually took the time to learn about them, their program, and work is important. Also, these are Ivy leagues that you are applying to, you need to show that you are applying for more reason than prestige. 
What will an MPP education do for your and your career goals? Did you show that you took this into consideration. What differentiates you from the hundreds of other overachievers who want to change the world, make better policy, or administrate an effective government? Maybe what you want to do is not a good fit for these programs. Maybe they want a year more of experience. Maybe the applicants from your region were more impressive and your region is over represented in acceptances and on the wait list. Maybe 50 Malalas applied this year. Only the admissions people know. 

Firstly...this is just my opinion..so please don't kill me if you disagree: You should reconsider the law school decision. With your LSAT score and GPA you should reply to the top schools and see where the chips fall. I dont think that there is any policy arena in which a degree from HLS or Columbia Law is less valuable than HKS or WWS.
In regards to your question: I got into WWS and HKS. We have similar verbal scores, but my quant was significantly higher. I came from a polisci background so I put in some effort to score above 160 for the quant. My understanding is that the median for the top schools(HKS, WWS, Goldman) is around 161Q and 162V. But I also had a very quantitative job, so I think that was a factor.
Honestly from your profile, I doubt that a few quant points or classes made the difference in your app. Sometimes you are just not a fit for the class that adcom is trying to build. 
I am grasping at straws, because I don't really know what to tell you. You have great scores and you seem like the perfect candidate. I honestly think that this process can just be very random..maybe the person that read your app was just having a bad day..maybe there were too many education policy apps...what I am trying to say is that this occurrence, as sad as it is, in no way reflects your abilities or capabilities. My final suggestion would be this...try to highlight your interest in education through work experience and get your quant to over 160. And perhaps reconsider law school...especially with that LSAT score.

I hate to be that guy, but it's not always about this kind of raw biographical and statistical data. (I know law school tends to be that way, but MPA/MPP seems different.) We're talking about the very best schools, and it has a lot to do with how you presented yourself to them. It's very easy to get put in the "high achieving empathetic white dude" pile and never find your way out again. Did you have a solid narrative across all your documents? Did your letter writers back you up on it? That kind of thing matters more than you'd think.

It really depends on what you want to do with the degree. What are you interested in doing with your graduate degree? Where do you want to do it (Geographically, secotor, level)?
If you want to work in DC, getting an internship in DC is logistically easier if you live there. It is a good idea to check out the internship opportunities in the area. If you want to do city management, go to KU for an MPA. If you want to do nonprofit work, you should go somewhere with a robust nonprofit scene.  If you want to do a specific policy area, make sure the program has profs working in that area, a track in that area, and at least courses in that area.  If you want to get a PhD, then check to see where assistant and associate professors went for their graduate schooling.  
There are so many aspects to what makes a program great and terrible. 

I'm waiting to hear back from both Princeton WWS (MPA Domestic Policy) and Michigan Ford (MPP)...hopefully by the end of next week! Had a call w a Ford student last week as part of the "fellowship routine process," so I'm keeping all fingers crossed... 
Good luck to all those awaiting decisions!