Minerva473

I think the name is most useful for the private sector. Otherwise the best thing about top tier programs is the classmates -- who you meet along the way that will help you later. Certainly quality of program is an issue too, but I think you can get a solid education at a lot of places (though certainly, top tier will have their pick of faculty).

I think that says more about who goes to SIPA than what SIPA can do for you. Having done a lot of staff recruitment for a nonprofit, my experience is that a master's degree alone is not going to get you into a high up position anywhere. Relevant previous experience is the most important thing; if you don't have that you will be entry level. My college roommate went to HKS and she got an analyst job with the State Department afterwards, because she went to HKS straight out of college. I would venture to guess that WWS is the only place where there won't be a substantial portion of people who do not have the impressive CV you need to get a better job than the ones you mention. I think the benefits of the master's degree are more long term -- hopefully it will help you do your job better and move up more quickly, you'll have a network that will support you in your career and you won't be excluded from roles that do require a master's (which you also need experience to be considered for).

I'm attending the Maxwell School at Syracuse U this coming year. State and local government isn't my thing but I've heard Maxwell is top notch for that sort of thing (not sure if I'm remembering rankings, marketing or things people have told me).

I almost didn't apply this year because I was worried about my econ/math/stats background, and went so far as to do distance learning in these subjects this year to prepare (the transcripts for these were not available at the time of application but at the time I thought I'd need to show I was making an effort). However, I realized soon enough that these programs don't require high levels of econ/math/stats, they just recommend it and want to know you can handle their curriculum. I'm glad I did the distance learning because (hopefully) it will allow me to pass out of some core classes, but MPPs and MPAs are not that quantitative (if you compare it to an econ MA or Phd or a stats MA) -- they aim to give you the background to be an educated consumer of empirical studies, not a creator of empirical studies. People who want to do serious quantitative research do Ph.Ds. I was accepted to the Georgetown MPP, the Fletcher School and the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, all with varying levels of funding, with high school calculus, one introductory microeconomics class and a linear algebra class. I was a literature major in college. My college roommate never touched calculus, her math and verbal GRE scores were both in the 500s and she got into the Harvard Kennedy School right out of college for the MPP. The MPA-ID at Harvard is very strict about quantitative background, but that's because they do PhD level economics.

And to add (in answer to your question), I think that the likelihood of getting internal funding from a program depends on: a. Your stats and most importantly work experience, in comparison to their average entering student (which is why it's a good idea to apply to other places besides HKS, SIPA and WWS) b. How much you convince them that their program is a "good fit" for you (the more they think you're actually interested in the program, the more interested they'll be in offering you an incentive to attend, since if you turn it down it's harder for them to use it to attract someone else of equal calibre)

I'd say give it a shot at your top three but also look into some other programs, particularly if your goal is public service. I am sure that SIPA, HKS and WWS are great but no school's name is going to make or break your career. The network you get by attending will certainly help and their career services will support you (I've heard HKS in particular know what they're doing in that respect), but these three just aren't the only ones out there. Personally I think their competitive advantage is really in the private sector. Places like SAIS, U Chicago, Duke, UC Berkeley, Fletcher and Syracuse (yes I'm biased because I've decided to attend Syracuse) all have programs that are nothing to scoff at and great networks as well, and at the end of the day if you work hard at the job search you can get to where you want to go. These programs will offer funding to a strong candidate and they may make you an offer you can't refuse. That said, you may be selling yourself short with your top three. Don't underestimate the power of a strong personal statement -- tell your story well and you may end up with some unexpected offers.

I have no knowledge of WWS specifically but if you've already accepted a place somewhere else and want to go to WWS, I think usually you'd need to get a letter from the other place saying they release you from that, to give to WWS so you can enroll there. Congratulations, by the way!

Here's my bit (not in order -- sorry) What advice can you give regarding SOPs, GREs, gaining work experience, etc? I agree about the above very much. Every program has its own special qualities and in your personal statement you need to show that you know what these are. You also need to be able to link your experience and background with your goals and there needs to be a clear narrative to this. MPPs/MPAs/IR degrees are very flexible in terms of what you can focus on, and sometimes unless you need to apply for a specific concentration in order to do it, it's best to say you're going to concentrate on what your background is best suited towards (even if you ultimately want to actually concentrate in another area -- but make sure switching is possible and perhaps warn your recommenders). If a school has an admissions blog, read it. I thought I had answered Columbia's questions correctly, but a few weeks after submitting I read the blog entry on personal statements and realized I had done it completely wrong. Not surprisingly, I was rejected. I read the Tufts Fletcher School's blog entry before submitting (in part because I was more interested in Fletcher than Columbia) and learned from this that they felt some of the applications submitted early were a bit dry -- so I pushed myself to write an eye catching (but relevant to the degree) first paragraph. I think this really made a difference -- along with the fact that the statement was much more geared specifically to the program than my Columbia statement -- and I was accepted there. I applied to 6 schools and got rejected from the 3 with the earliest deadlines, probably in large part because my personal statements were a lot less focused/ interesting for the first ones. Those first three were arguably more selective than the others, but comparing the funding I got from the last three with other people on these boards (and where those people also got in), I think I could have gotten in to 1 or 2 of the first three with a better application. That said, I'm very happy with where I'm going and would probably have followed the funding anyway. Was there anything that surprised you about the process? How much more I cared about the money after receiving my acceptances. I knew from the start I didn't want to go $120,000 in debt for the degree, but when I got my acceptances it really hit me that being accepted was not enough for me and until I knew about funding, certain options would not be viable. One acceptance that came with a small scholarship (and which would have entailed almost $100,000 of debt after taking into account that funding) almost felt like a punishment instead of an acceptance. I think I am more debt averse than some people on these boards but if you're like me, apply to some lesser-known, more generous schools in addition to your top choices (U of Maryland, for example). Also, not all schools charge $40,000 in tuition -- some charge a good bit less and you could save $10,000 or more, even before any funding they offer. What was the application process like for you? (i.e. how long did it take you? what kind of road-bumps did you run into?) I would say that normal applications each probably took me about three/four days total (with space in between those days to have friends/family read statements), but those that required a policy memo (Princeton and Harvard) took much longer. The last day was all checking, making sure everything was uploaded properly, etc. It's a lot harder to submit an electronic application than you think! Uploading transcripts can be a pain, especially if their file size limit makes it impossible to make your transcript legible -- it's a good idea to check this stuff early in the process so you don't have to worry about sending hard copy transcripts at the last minute. Getting transcripts / recommendations sent to all the schools probably adds 2 full days of work to the whole process (including follow ups, etc). Do this early. One of my transcript requests took almost a month to process and get sent. Also, make sure to check that your application materials have been received. Some schools won't have an answer for you until well after you've submitted, but stay on top of it. The person checking your application materials won't necessarily read the explanatory notes you've sent and may not notice that X transcript is not available because the coursework is in progress. This happened to me and it took some persistence on my part to have them recognize my application as being complete -- if I hadn't done that I would have missed the boat and my application would not have been considered until it was too late. Anything would have done differently? I would have made more time to apply for external funding opportunities and possibly applied to some cheaper schools. I would also have been more strategic in those earlier personal statements (see above).

Cornell is not that highly ranked but they seem to give substantial funding to everyone. I think they are trying to build up a new program (not sure how long that will last). University of Maryland is well respected in the DC area and they seem to give lots of scholarships + stipends. I think it depends a lot on the strength of your application, and perhaps they will like that you're doing a JD (you'll be qualified for higher paying jobs than your MPP peers and thereby up their stats). The Maxwell School at Syracuse University seems to have given substantial funding to some people (full assistantships), but these will be more competitive than Maryland or Cornell.

I hope that the second piece of communication involved a profuse apology. Yeah, they are probably not going to offer you admission because of their mistake, but you should make them aware that this is NOT okay and if they did decide there was a reason not to admit you, after offering you admission, they should be transparent about that. It's possible they write personalized notes on everyone's letters (one of my schools seems to do this) -- so your application was put in the admit pile by mistake, and then whoever was in charge of writing the notes for the set of applications you were in just went through and did all of them, not remembering you had not been admitted. I dunno -- plausible? They should really explain themselves. I've been in a similar situation myself (not with grad schools though) and it seemed like everyone EXCEPT the people who made the mistake recognized it as a serious error that I had every right to be furious about. The people responsible, however, did not seem to understand why I was so upset. It sounds like in your case they need to be told this as well. If they're not answering their phones, maybe you could write them a letter / find out who to file a complaint with. Frankly I don't think that you should have to wait until the admissions season is over -- they've screwed up and should deal with it, not keep you waiting. Not saying you should be rude or aggressive (doesn't sound like you would be) but stern is probably necessary.

Right, sorry, I should have been more specific. I have not seen (from the data I've looked at) people going on to do Econ Ph.D.s after MPPs/MPAs -- mostly I've seen people doing public policy/public administration Ph.D.s . I have not done a whole lot of research on this though and have no idea whether doing a dual Econ MA makes a difference (the material I've read about Georgetown's dual MA Econ/MPP does suggest there's people who progress to the Econ Ph.D., no idea if these people are funded).

The two programs I was deciding between this year were the Georgetown Public Policy Institute and the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, so these are the ones I know about and would suggest you consider. They probably won't be at the top of your list in terms of reputation/academic bent (they are definitely professional programs) but people do go on to Ph.Ds after them and (depending on your background/stats) might give you more funding than others. I don't know what the Georgetown Public Policy Institute's reputation is on social policy but they seem to have lots of interesting classes and knowledgeable professors in the area, and you can do a dual MPP/MA Econ degree. I think the econ classes are Ph.D. level. Georgetown doesn't have a top ranked econ department (I think it's something like 46 on U.S. News) but it's a great place to be if you want to work in a federal agency since you can intern in one during the year. The MPP also has three semesters of quant instead of the usual two, and you have to write a thesis that incorporates an empirical study (might be useful for Ph.D. apps). The Maxwell School at Syracuse University is ranked 4th on social policy in U.S. News but seems to have less variety in the area, and the program is more geared towards public management than analysis (but the curriculum does have a good bit of analysis in it). You can also do a dual MPA/MA Econ at Syracuse, not sure if you can do Ph.D. level classes (econ department at Syracuse is similarly ranked to Georgetown's I think). You'll graduate from there with lots of great connections since as I'm told, the "Maxwell Mafia" pretty much dominates the U.S. bureaucracy and they really help each other out.

I was considering GPPI and decided on Maxwell for several reasons, but there were a lot of things I liked about the GPPI. Here are my pros and cons: Pros 1. Quantitative training; you take three semesters of it and you write a thesis that must incorporate an empirical study (not so much so that you can go on and have a career doing empirical studies, but so that you can evaluate the validity of empirical studies effectively in the future) 2. You can (after starting the MPP) apply to do a dual degree in econ which I believe -- though you should check this -- includes a bunch of Ph.D. level classes (kind of like the MPA-ID at Harvard) 3. The wealth of interesting electives they offer, which I think allows a degree of specialization not necessarily available at other schools, especially since you also do a thesis (I'm not sure if this is a good thing but it sounds interesting) 4. DC location -- it really is a plus, especially if you want to work in a federal agency (think about how much more quickly you'll get a job if you're interning with them and therefore already have a basic background check done) 5. I couldn't visit but I spoke with two students and both were totally positive about their experiences, and I get the feeling that students get along with each other pretty well -- there seems to be a strong and active student government. Cons 1. The location is expensive, so rent would be high or the commute would be long 2. Relatively new program so its reputation is less established than Duke or Harris 3. Curriculum is potentially less rigorous than others, given that most people work 20 hours per week in addition to studying and seem to not be overwhelmed (which is not to say it's a party school -- one student I spoke with said "there are a lot of nerds here", in a positive way)

I'm attending the Maxwell School at Syracuse University for the joint MPA-MAIR program. In the end I was choosing between Maxwell and the GPPI and I decided -- yes maybe I'm crazy and will regret this when I'm buried in snow -- I'd rather be in a small city. I've been in huge cities for the past 8 years.. really didn't want to deal with commuting again and the Georgetown neighborhood ain't cheap!. Also I felt that the Maxwell School's program is more practical for the kinds of jobs I want to get. Finally I think the benefits of the "Maxwell Mafia" will be very useful and the international opportunities are better at Maxwell. It was a tough choice though because the GPPI has a wealth of interesting classes and the money was the same. Current students I spoke to at both schools were very positive about their experiences.