Ellie75

I will be attending the University of Chicago Harris MS-CAPP program. I think the curriculum is the best fit for my interests and am really excited!

I applied to 3 schools and I prepared for way more schools than I actually applied for (I found out about U Chicago Harris just before the SIPA deadline and a bit before a few other programs I was considering). Retrospectively, I would have prepared for even fewer. I realized while writing my SIPA essays that it really didn't have what I wanted and regretted all that time putting together the quant resume. My advice is ask yourself very, very seriously if you would go if you got in and if the program would fulfill the reasons for your decision to go to graduate school. If you're preparing an application for a school just because it is the next down on the list but you wouldn't actually go, don't apply and save your effort for other things that could enhance a future application. Also, if you have the luxury of being able to visit campus or talk to a current student and/or professor, that can be pretty decisive if you're on the edge about a program. My discussions with current students and/or alumni made a huge difference regarding my opinion of different programs.

This has helped me so much over the years, so thought I would contribute! Program Applied To: MPP/MPPs with quant focus Schools Applied To: Carnegie Mellon Heinz (MSPPM-DA), University of Chicago Harris (MSCAPP), Georgetown McCourt (MSDSPP) Schools Admitted To: Carnegie Mellon Heinz (85% tuition), U Chicago Harris (~50% tuition), Georgetown McCourt (very small amount of funding) Undergraduate institution: East Coast private university, decent policy rep Undergraduate GPA: ~3.8 Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): ~ 4.0 Undergraduate Major: International Affairs and Economics GRE Quantitative Score: 160 (74th percentile) GRE Verbal Score: 169 (99th percentile) GRE AW Score: 5.5 (98th percentile) Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 3 Years of Work Experience: 3, possibly closer to 4 if you count lots of undergrad internships Describe Relevant Work Experience: Federal government consulting in analytics, internships in different federal gov. agencies Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Pretty good- focused on my interest in the field and particular experiences I've had working in data analytics in a federal gov environment. It was way harder than I expected to write these so I spent a lot of time editing. Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): One from a professor I worked on research with in undergrad, two work references from people at different levels who have seen different aspects of my work and growth. One of them sent me their letter so I know it was quite strong, the other two I'm confident were strong as well based on my relationship to them. Other: Start early-- like so early it's absurd. Despite thinking about this for over a year, I underestimated how much time I would need to prepare materials (especially tracking down international transcripts from my time studying abroad). Also if you're thinking of retaking the GRE really evaluate how much a marginal increase is going to help you. I retook the GRE and actually did marginally worse (the score displayed is my best one) and I regret the things I could have done with that time trying to achieve a marginally better score. I researched way more programs than I applied to in the end because I applied and got in early to early to Chicago & Georgetown-- I was all prepped for SIPA and that quant resume is a beast. If you have substantial quant background, definitely start early on that.

I also experienced a long delay for my materials being matched with my application, but for some reason my transcript took the longest-- so much so that I panicked and sent it a second time. I submitted my materials a few days before the deadline and I just got the video interview invite a few days ago. Thought I'd add another data point for anyone concerned about their materials being received!

I'll be adding one once I see the paper offer to make sure I have all the info right/also because I'm still nervous about jinxing it! (I applied for MS-CAPP)

I got my call this afternoon-- also I think I saw a tweet saying they are calling people today and tomorrow. Honestly, I think I'll struggle to believe it until I see it in print, so I hope they post the letters to the portal soon! Good luck to everyone!

Yeah, I'm hoping to link to some of the initial coverage/op-eds we wrote based on it as well + we're hoping to put our dataset online in a fun navigable format because it's way more fun to play with and more insightful when you can mess with it in an interactive way rather than in a static graph form like will have to be in the paper.

Thanks for your help! I mostly was thinking I'd wait a year so the paper and the conferences would be for sure finished. We haven't submitted the paper yet so I'm not positive when it'll actually be under review (the prof seems pretty confident we can get it in somewhere this winter). I'm not sure how much of a difference it makes between a soon-to-be submitted paper and a verified and under-review paper though. The preliminary findings have already been published in some blogs/non-peer reviewed form, but about half the interesting bits are in the methodology sections. The idea of trying to escape consulting a year earlier is pretty tempting though...

Hi all, After careful consideration, I've decided that it likely makes way more sense for me to apply for PhD programs next year rather than in this upcoming cycle. Given that I have one year to improve my application, I was hoping someone could give me recommendations on what to do to improve my chances. I'm currently researching programs for fit, so any help in that department would be great as well! Here's where I stand currently: Type of Undergrad Institution: High ranking for international affairs, but low ranking otherwise Major(s)/Minor(s): BA International Affairs, BS Economics dual major Undergrad GPA: 3.85 (summa cum laude + PBK) Type of Grad: N/A Grad GPA: N/A GRE: V169 / Q160 / A 5.5 Any Special Courses: Summer econometrics at an Ivy, year abroad at Oxford with good 'grades'/feedback, coursework in command and transition economies, development econ, political theory, and politics of Russia and the FSU Letters of Recommendation: 1 from a professor I've worked with for a few years now, I've continued working with him especially from a data analysis angle while pursuing my career, should be a very strong letter 1 probably from a work supervisor who has seen me in a research, presentation, and analytics capacity 1 TBD - could ask a professor from undergrad, but it would probably be a meh letter, could also ask an adviser who is not a tenured professor for a LOR, which would likely be a great letter but not as research-based Research Experience: Co-authoring a paper, possibly two with my first LOR professor, hopefully will have them under review this winter, co-organized and presented at a research workshop last year, hopefully 1-2 conference presentations this winter (having those done and the paper(s) under review is the main reason I'm postponing applying until next year) Also, a bunch of op-eds/news-level research coverage... don't know if that helps Teaching Experience: Only in terms of organizing/leading trainings for work Subfield/Research Interests: IR + IPE, regionally very interested in Russia and FSU, but have a background in terrorism study, super fascinated by ties between political economy, corruption, and terrorism Other: I currently work at a big 4 firm in consulting on a research-oriented counter-terrorism project. On the one hand it's not publishable research, but on the other hand my work in the private sector has vastly expanded my understanding of quantitative modeling and helped me gain skills I had no exposure to in undergrad, like presenting, training others, and programming. My big concerns are figuring out my last LOR (would love to get an MA to solve that, but not keen on the price tag), figuring out how to pitch my years in the private sector, and possibly retaking the GRE if it's worth it. I'm trying to get more involved with research opportunities in the private sector while I'm here, but I'm not sure how that will be seen, since it will still be more policy-oriented than strictly academic. Any advice on improvements, program fit, and the application process in general will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again for doing this! I was wondering if you could comment on the intensity of language classes, especially if you've ever taken summer classes! I'm thinking of SAIS in the not-so-distant future and have been interested in the possibility of taking a summer language class in the evenings while continuing with my full-time job now to improve my language skills for career and grad school purposes. How intense is the workload? Is it worth the hefty price tag?