[Chicago Harris]

I received the same thing last Friday.  I applied early action, so I turned them down back in March, so I was kind of surprised to receive the phone call from them.  That being said, if anyone is going to Harris, it seems like you might want to try to negotiate more funding if you haven't done so. 

[How many schools did you apply to?]

I applied to four schools, of which I viewed 2 as matches and 2 as reaches.  Like everyone before me has mentioned, it's kind of a crapshoot when it comes to figuring out if you'll get in.  I think that if you're relatively near the GPA and GRE of previous class profiles then you should take a chance and apply to schools you might view as reach schools.  It's expensive to apply to a ton of schools, plus if you're like me and hate bothering people for LORs then I felt it was easier to say that I only needed them to submit four letters.  

 

[Georgetown McCourt 2016]

Finally heard back from Georgetown about funding.  I received $2,500 for the fall and spring, so it's not much, but at least it's something.  It was at the bottom of the acceptance letter.  Hope everyone else heard good news!

[2016 Results Thread]

Program Applied To: MPP

Schools Applied To: UChicago (Harris), Georgetown (McCourt), UVA (Batten), University of Maryland

Schools Admitted To: All

Schools Rejected From: N/A

Still Waiting: N/A

Undergraduate institution: UNC - Chapel Hill

Undergraduate GPA: 3.52

Undergraduate Major: History, Political Science, Religious Studies minor

GRE Quantitative Score: 155

GRE Verbal Score: 169

GRE AW Score: 4.5

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 8

Years of Work Experience: 7 - I have a Master's in Teaching from UNC, too which accounts for the missing year.

Describe Relevant Work Experience: I have been a high school social studies teacher for the last seven years.  I am currently teaching AP psychology and AP US History.  

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Each school seemed to have a slightly different SOP so I just tweaked a basic one to meet the requirements for each.  I'm not a person that likes to have other people read my writing, so I pretty much did a lot of reading aloud to see if it sounded decent.  One thing I really did was to be specific in the details I talked about.  I treated it like a cover letter in which I needed to provide examples that proved why I would be a good candidate for admission. 

Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I've been out of school for a while, but I emailed a former grad student that taught three religious studies classes I took.  A majority of my undergrad classes were very large, so I tried to pick someone that actually knew my name, haha.  I had a good relationship with him though, so I'm sure that helped.  Plus he had already written one for me when I applied to the MAT program, so I'm pretty sure he just used that same one.  My principal wrote another one and my mentor teacher wrote the third one.  While my mentor teacher is not actually a higher position than me, he was able to speak to my professional growth over the last seven years.  I'm assuming his was probably the best LOR.  

Other: Take a chance when applying to schools.  I heard back from Chicago first and I was VERY surprised and delighted to get in.  I thought that my work experience would be a hindrance since I was "just a teacher," but I think it was probably a large part of the reason that I was able to get into all four schools.  I focused my SOP and other essays on my experiences as a teacher, my interest in education policy, and specifically my interest in teacher retention and teacher prep programs.  Good luck!

[Fall 2016 Admissions Cycle]

@Ecook9416 Just heard back from UMD.  I got in, but was waitlisted for funding.  It came in the form of an email with the admissions letter attached.  My portal has not changed to include an admissions letter.  So, I guess you can just be on the lookout for an email?  They seem to be trickling out one at a time.  Good luck!

[Fall 2016 Admissions Cycle]

@Ecook9416 I am in the same boat as you for UMD.  The portal changed from "Under Departmental Review" to "Under Graduate School Review," but they haven't released a decision for me yet.  I'm interested in whether or not anyone on this forum was accepted.  I think it's interesting that there was only one UMD update on the results page...

[Fall 2016 Admissions Cycle]

Anyone want to claim that UMD mpp result?  I get so nervous/paranoid when I see results pop up for schools I'm waiting for.  Additionally, apologies for ending the previous sentence with a preposition and also, I'm a long time lurker, finally making an appearance on the board!