Ella16

@Asokai I applied to the MPP

do you definetly want to go to school this year and are you happy with GSPP and Harris (both great schools btw congrats!). If not then you could wait an extra year or two and reapply, WWS clearly states that it prefers applicants with at least two years of public sector experiences, if you don't have that it will hurt your app. HKS also prefers more experience. Post the rest of your stats

Hi everyone, so I'm not a fulbright scholar (yet) but I'm a semifinalist and have my interview in a couple of weeks. Do you have any recommendations on how to prepare? I know it varies by country but I assume they are looking for the same things essentially. I'm talking about grad programs btw

sorry to hear that Theo, trust that you will end up exactly where you belong. According to the e-mail I received and to past years results should start coming out in early april. I believe succesful applicants with scholarships are generally notified before the 15th. What happened with that informal chat btw? Did it happen, did you have your interview?

cookie crumble

Hi everyone, I emailed LKY regarding the interview situation as I haven't been contacted yet and I also asked the timeframe for when they would be releasing decisions. I thought I would share the response with you all as I found it quite interesting. Good luck to all "Please be informed that we are in the midst of processing the applications. If you are required to attend an interview, you will be informed via email between February and March. Otherwise, the final outcome of the admissions and scholarships will be released to the applicants between April and May. Do note that not all selected candidates are required to attend admissions interview."

Would anyone be willing to post their stats? I'd be really interested to see what kinds of profiles are applying for these programs and why you want to go to lky

So I think it starts out very strong and then it fizzled out a bit for me. Although your internships are impressive it starts to seem more like a recount of your CV than an essay telling a story. Remember to make sure that your statement has a "through line" and that everything in it fits. To me this through line is how your health issues brought about by contaminants inspired you to focus on public administration. I would concentrate on this more and only highlight the public policy related bits of your internships (even if you don't mention all of them) and focus more on education and specifically what you want to do in the future and how. Cut out everything that doesn't tell the story, it's better to cover few things in depth than many things superficially. I would also watch the final sentences like tnt said

Not that famliar with the programs but your am i competitive said your first choice was brown, and syracuse wasn't even top 3. What changed? My main concern with brown would be how new it is and that it lacks alumni/network. That said if Syracuse doesn't offer you money you'd still have to spend a significant amount on moving costs and such so it would prob be just as expensive. What does your gut tell you?

Does anyone know what the acceptance rate for LKY MPP is? How many applications they receive?

Where are you from @curiousstudent? I'm wondering if that has something to do with it

http://wws.princeton.edu/admissions/wws-blog/item/are-you-competitive-applicant-graduate-study-woodrow-wilson-school

Great! Good luck, I have not heard anything yet but last year people from the americas didn't get their interview calls until early/mid march so I think it will take about that long. Glad we're getting more activity on this thread.

Same

I applied Have not hear back. Last year people started hearing back mid february so that's when I suppose we'll know more. What is your app status on the website btw?

The people who have gotten their admissions results applied for early decision, that means that they applied at an earlier date and usually only to one school that was their top choice and if they got in they wouldn't need to apply anywhere else because they're committed to that school. The rules vary by school of course. There may be exceptions.

Hello, I'm looking into applying to the LKY MPP but I can't find much info regarding testimonies. Could someone who's already studying there or finished already give their two cents on the program and how it compares to top US programs? I'd also be grateful if anyone who got a scholarship could post their stats. Thank you.

This is so weird. I was looking at the fullbright guidelines for my country and it clearly states "In case the scholar receives more than one acceptance he or she will have the final word in choosing between the universities".

If I were you I'd be very annoyed to be so limited in my choices. Basically they're forcing you to apply to schools that don't even interest you so you could end up studying somewhere you only sort of like for the sake of being a scholar and who knows, maybe one of the more prestigious universities could give you a hefty scholarship so you wouldn't need the fullbright money? Is it possible for you to apply to other schools simultaneously and if you get a better offer reject the fullbright scholarship?

Working really does give you a lot of insight into what you want to do and makes it easier to decide if that is the right area for you. The idea of something and actually doing it is very different and since MPA/MPPs can be very broad you need to decide what exactly you want. Also, sometimes having a degree can actually be negative because if you're right out of university and go straight into a masters and then go find a job, most jobs will want experience unless they're entry-level. Entry-level jobs usually don't pay very much and someone with a master's will expect higher pay. Therefore sometimes employers would rather hire someone with only a bachelor's for an entry level position so they can pay them less while the senior positions will be for people who have a masters AND work experience. So say you get into a top school like HKS with no work experience, when you graduate you will be competing for higher end jobs and will compete with your classmates and people from other top schools who not only have the same prestigious degree as you but have 2+ years of experience, you will be at a disadvantage.

Congrats on your GRE scores, those are phenomenal! Clearly you are highly capable in the academic sense. As an admissions officer I would be worried about this spur of the moment grad school change. The fact that you were planning on going into law and recently changed your mind for policy would not inspire confidence in you truly wanting to dedicate your life to this and being able to finish your degree and go on to become a policy-maker. I would want to see some real commitment to the field and an explanation on why and how you decided this was right for you and which part you're interested in. Do you care about education, health, gender issues, human rights, trade? Make sure to create a narrative that shows that this is truly the right field for you and not just a whim.

Georgetown MSFS for one does not require a GRE score if the university where you studied your bachelors was in a language other than English, they only ask for a toefl/ielts

Hi, I don't have any advice directly on phd studies but I have some on the GRE. The GRE is an exam you can definitely study for and your score can improve a lot from that. I notice from your post you have some grammatical structure issues in your sentences. I would recommend that you brush up on your English as much as possible, maybe take some writing classes or hire a tutor. Some universities don't require the GRE if you are an international student, they will only ask for the TOEFL so check if yours do. Lastly I would recommend Magoosh for the verbal portion of the GRE and the Manhattan Prep study books for the math part, they are smaller books but there are 7 on different topics so can cover absolutely everything. Political Science programs will care more about the Verbal part of the GRE and Public Policy ones will care about both but will probably still lean towards verbal. However because you are in Economics they will probably expect fairly high quant scores from you. You can easily improve your quant scores with the Manhattan books and with Khan Academy (a website). Improving your verbal usually takes a long time but quant can be done in two months or so. Good luck!