ym3237

I also received an acceptance yesterday around noon. I am assuming from the same person, the department chair. Same exact message as the earlier post. When I hear from the associate dean, I will update!

Chris Tomlins. I am assuming that he made the calls this year based on my experience matching the other acceptance exactly, but I have no actual idea. The acceptance over the weekend was strange too, so maybe just a weird year. 

I'll weigh in because I just graduated, had the same gpa and similar stats, and wanted to go into an MPP straight out of undergrad. I was applying to programs while simultaneously job hunting, which I encourage. I was able to land a competitive government job that pays right around the average of what I'd be making coming out of the masters that will be a great asset in two years when, or if, I do decide to go back to school. I only share this because I was set on going back to school immediately upon graduation because I thought there would be no options for me in the field. I think you'll find that with your GPA, previous work experience, and the reputation of your college (which is much better than mine) you'll be able to find meaningful work experience that will let you familiarize yourself with the field and give you time to truly decide if it is what you want. Also, making real money, and possibly saving, is so good. You may be working in policy for the rest of your life, taking two or three years to put yourself in a good position is a small sacrifice of time for some crucial work experience. 

It's certainly possible to get into programs without work experience, but it's worth considering getting some work experience anyway. I don't know your background so I don't want to make any judgments, but I'll say that as a current student, it's very obvious to me who is coming straight out of undergrad and who isn't, and those who have work experience have a lot to offer. Also, an MPP/MPA is a pretty specific professional degree so working might clarify whether this really is the path you want to pursue. 

For those straight out of undergrad, top programs will want great academic credentials (which you seem to have) and work experience deemed relatively excellent for someone coming straight out of undergrad. You say you did some volunteer work; did that include formal internships? If not, I think you would be hard pressed to gain admittance to some top programs. UCLA may not be one of those schools that cares more about work experience, though, so it's also possible you have a great shot there. It would help for you to look at their website and see if you can figure out what percent of their incoming classes tend to be straight out of undergrad.

Don't think you'll have a problem as long as your SOP is coherent and exudes maturity, as well as strong LORs. Straight through people are expected to have top marks which you obviously do, so the biggest hurdle is done I would say.