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1. Think about what your day-to-day duties in your new ideal job would look like. Are they more on the policy work end or more on the marketing/communications with a government interface end? MPP for the former, MBA for the latter. 2. Think about the type of organization you want to work for. Is it city government, a think tank, non-profit, or a consulting firm? MPP for the first two, MBA for the last two with the caveat that some mission driven non-profits prefer MPPs. 3. Is money a priority? If yes, MBA. 4. Remember there are dual degree programs. 5. School prestige matters.

Cool! Good luck with the fellowship, seems like a great opportunity. Duke's reputation is pretty terrific worldwide; though it doesn't have quite the pull of a Harvard or Princeton. The alumni network is also a little more US-centric (although the MIDP program does help with that quite a bit). Staying away from risks makes sense, and you'll have a lot more information in March after acceptances. Overall, if you are able to get a full-ride or close to full-ride at Duke, it sounds like you'll be positioned to do what you want moving forward in your career. The curriculum is probably a little more academic than some of the other programs (Georgetown, Harvard) and more on par with Chicago Harris. That said, if you're interested in Social/Urban/Energy/Environmental policy, you're in really good shape. Sanford is also really improving its IR program, with a focus on "Grand Strategy." There's a huge emphasis on practical knowledge, however, and lots of opportunities to do consulting projects for course credit or on the side. Everyone also leaves the program with at least one internship/work experience. MIDP focuses on International Development. MPP students are allowed to take MIDP classes and vice versa, but the MIDP program is much more focused and has much less room for exploration. It's also more of a mid-career program than the MPP.

1. Not knowing what constitutes terrible in your eyes, I'd say your GPA will matter less than you think for a few reasons: A. Different field -- GPA is a measure of past performance. Whether it is a good indicator of future performance is predicated on the similarities of the work involved. My brother is an engineer, and let me tell you, public policy and engineering are worlds away. B. Time -- It may feel like you're a recent graduate, but you'll be a little older than the median (by a 1-3 years). That means your GPA will matter less than for other folks in the cohort. C. International Status -- It's difficult for adcomms to know what your GPA represents. Standardized tests are very helpful in these cases; your GRE is very good. You mentioned you worked "in the sector." Are you referring to Engineering or PubPol? Either way, make it seem like it will apply to what you want to do in Public Policy. You're an above average candidate, and your quant skills will help. 2. No one should go into six-figure debt, but almost everyone will go into some debt. My rule of thumb is do an expected value calculation of salary post-graduation and make sure your total debt is less than that. In terms of aid, I'm fairly certain it's harder to get scholarship/assistantship money if you're an international student, but don't quote me. That said, Duke seems very competitive in terms of bringing in international students compared to other major American public policy schools. 3. Recognize your job prospects will be much more limited than American-citizen MPPs (it sounds like you do) unless you don't have a geographic preference. That is, unless you're willing to live anywhere in the world. Jobs with the prestigious multilaterals are tough, but you could definitely get a job with one of them, with one of the lesser-known ones, or with an NGO, depending on your interests, expertise, etc. Because both 2 and 3 are in many ways linked, think about them together. There are no guarantees. What kind of risks are you willing to take? It sounds like you could be a very promising applicant if you choose to move forward.

No problem, happy to help!

@Policy.Planner.NYC Hey, I think you're a great candidate for all of the schools you mentioned. If you're still looking at schools, I might consider Duke. Some thoughts on your application: 1) Don't worry about foreign language or even really GPA. With the former, it likely won't matter given your domestic policy focus. With the latter, consider framing your GPA differently for the resume (major etc.). If there's no smart way to do that, don't worry. 2) Tailor your applications. You listed a wide variety of programs and a relatively generic sounding sop. 3) Your work experience matters, but insofar as it relates to your current interests and future plans. Make sure the emphasis is forward-looking. Good luck!

Sorry for the delay, y'all. Grad school is picking up! @2018Hopeful I have a couple friends in the MIDP program. While I can't speak to the relative financial aid, one of my friends is an MIDP candidate on the fulbright scholarship with plans to return to a country where the salaries are also not comparable. On your list of concerns: 1) Don't worry about it. I also had a 161Q score, and anything above a 160 is pretty ok. 2) Already having an MPP isn't a problem as long as you're able to justify why Duke and why an additional degree would help now. This might be another reason to go for the MIDP program. 3) I asked for 2 academic and 1 professional. I think your guiding light here is just to ask folks who can best speak to your ability to succeed at and after grad school. 4) You're competitive, and Duke is relatively generous. That said, I would apply to a variety of schools and compare aid packages after the acceptances roll in. @datik There's a pretty high likelihood that I'll get my PhD, but I'm in the minority of students (about 10% of Sanford MPPs go on to get PhDs). The majority of folks in my cohort will go on to either 1) Consulting 2) State/Local Government 3) Federal Government (3 might be more than 2 in a normal year, but the current administration makes the federal government less appealing to many). Duke places very well into all three buckets. Others will go into non-profit or foundation work. A very small minority have it all "figured out" even if they seem to after the first conversation. We're in grad school -- if we had it all "figured out", we wouldn't be open to the terrific possibilities available to us. @abnimbal-MPP You're a tweener candidate (there's a possibility you'll get in, but I don't know if it's probable). Still, you should definitely apply and make it clear in your SOP not only why an MPP, but why Sanford in particular.

Hey @2018Hopeful. Gonna try to give you an unbiased look at Sanford (I'm a fan, but hearing someone gush isn't always helpful). Before I do though, let me tell you -- I love Durham. Research Triangle is underrated, Southern weather is amazing, and breweries/food are our staples (what better for grad school?). Class -- 1st year is essentially all foundation courses. The courseload is a lot (3 semester of 4 classes, 1 semester of 5 classes), but not too much. It's my first semester and I'm doing the 5 classes, "advanced stats", and "advanced econ", (read grad level), and I still manage to go out every weekend, have a social life, etc. You are going to have time to pursue your own interests more in the second year, but you have to make your own opportunities in the first -- depending on your professors your initial coursework will offer some flexibility but not much. Professors -- Really good for social policy, intersection of policy and politics, state/local governance, urban policy, and increasingly IR. I'm here to look at more economics/innovation issues, and there are fewer professors in my research interest (but enough to feel like I'm not alone). An underrated part of Sanford: the student-faculty ratio. This allows for great access. Career/Opportunities -- If you want to work a job during the day, or you are convinced you could only ever live in DC, Sanford may not be for you. Don't get me wrong, DC has the second-highest concentration of Duke alums in the country, but there are other schools that may serve your interests better. Donna runs Career Services and she's amazing. Tells you like it is, no-bs. Work with her. You will get a job. Application -- Be yourself. I did well with my application, but did it pretty non-traditionally. It might make sense to outline the 1500 word piece in a more "policy memo" style (bottom-line up front, shorter paragraphs), but I did not do that at all. Do the video. It will make you laugh later. Scholarships -- Duke is very generous. Basically no one pays sticker price, but -- and this applies to all MPP programs in my opinion -- no one should go into 6-figure debt for this degree. Good luck. I'm around. Also, I saw you're from Argentina, are you interested in the MPP or MIDP program?

Hey y'all. Gradcafe was helpful to me during the applications/admissions seasons; I wanted to set up a thread where folks can ask about Sanford specifically. I'm a first-year MPP.

I'm a little bored waiting for grad school to start. Send it with your target program and the prompt.

Ideal score regardless of program: 170, 170, 6.0. Program-specific advice: Beyond the school's websites, I found the results tab on gradcafe quite helpful. They are searchable by program, keyword, which is a great resource. General GRE Advice: Don't worry about a target score. Work hard at studying, develop tools and strategies, and don't stress out too much. As much as the first line felt like sarcasm, it wasn't. The GRE is a score maximizing effort. Do your best, and decide afterwards if it was good enough.

1) As you know (having spent a lot of time both writing composition and critiquing others' works), there is no such thing as a perfect work. In fact, holding perfection in the mind's eye is a good way to produce paralysis, feae, anxiety, and not much else. So forget perfect. 2) I'm not in your field, but a good place to start is to think through it in terms of answering two basic questions: how you approach your literature research interest, and why that institution. Other questions, like are you capable of attacking the project, why lit, etc etc should be thought of as supplements to those overarching questions. 3. Start early, and don't be afraid to start again. In the end it's a a pretty short piece and you have a lot of time to do it, so the process of drafting and redrafting is actally quite helpful for getting you to think critically. 3a. Don't continuously draft. If you are giving yourself enough time, you should be able to walk away for 2 weeks and reevaluate with fresher, less biased eyes. 4. Err on the side of being content driven. Remember audience and purpose as the northern lights for your prose. There will be times when you like a line, or a paragraph, or an argument, but you should cut it if your audience won't respond or it doesn't fit the tight parameters of the SOP. 5. Always, always, always follow the directions.

Have you considered just applying to jobs on the Hill? Entry level jobs there don't pay particularly well, and an MPA with no political experience is probably getting the same job as a B.A with no political experience. Other ways to get to the Hill include working for political campaigns or associated political organizations. Not trying to dissuade you from an MPA, just helping you think through a few other options before you invest your time and money in a program.

I second Blattman's blog, but I would add this: if you decide you want to do a PhD as the end-goal, apply to only PhD programs and apply to closer to 10-15 of them (decreases variance in outcome, and if they want you but not for the PhD, they will likely offer their MA program anyway).

After the introductory pleasantries, I'd just tell them why they were important to you as an undergrad, what your plan is (keep it short), and what you believe they can speak to in terms of a LOR. I'd attach a CV or Resume, and also let them know you'd be able to send a draft of your Statement of Purpose if they would like. Keep it to the point, not too saccharine or over-the-top, and trust these things work out the way they do for a reason (though that could probably be said for the whole admissions process!).

Will be too adcanced in terms of admission? No, it won't be that quant background that gets you in, but it also won't keep you out. In terms of having to take multiple grad-level math couroses simultaneously? That's for you to decide. I'd use econometrics as the barometer. If you really struggled, it might be tough, but of you found it challenging but doable, you'll probably be fine. The curveballs in the curriculIum (which you can find on their website) are things like game theory, but that background is strong enough in comparison to other public policy/IR/poli sci applicants, based on what I could gather.