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I found this forum so immensely helpful during my application process (including someone's keen eye noticing one school's unusual resume structure roughly 24 hours before the due date), so I hope something I share can help future applicants like others have helped me
Program Applied To: (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.)  MSPPM, MPA, MSCAPP
Schools Applied To:  Carnegie Mellon Heinz (MSPPM-DA), UChicago Harris (MSCAPP), and Princeton WWS (MPA)
Schools Admitted To:  Harris ($), Heinz ($$), and WWS ($$$$)
Schools Rejected From:  None
Still Waiting:  None
Undergraduate institution:  Huge State School
Undergraduate GPA:  3.76
Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable):  ??
Undergraduate Major:  History & French
GRE Quantitative Score:  168
GRE Verbal Score:  163
GRE AW Score:  4.5
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  5
Years of Work Experience:  5
Describe Relevant Work Experience: AmeriCorps, TFA, Fulbright ETA, and some summer fellowships; I have been a teacher for the last 5 years which is obviously considered public service although not particularly relevant to my interests as stated in my application; obviously my work experience led me to this even if I'm trying to go in a different direction
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  For Harris, I don't think it was great (with only 300 words, I felt like they barely knew anything about me), but I worked for basically a full month editing every day and getting feedback from family and friends on the one for Princeton. I literally wrote down the six things they said they were looking for in the application instructions and structured my SOP to answers those questions while weaving a narrative about how my career trajectory led me here. I was really proud of the result and obviously it paid off. My Heinz SOP was a pared down version of that one, so still pretty solid. It helps that I am essentially working part time this year (Fulbright ETAs are limited to 24 hours classroom time each week) so even though I decided pretty late to apply (around November 15th), I was able to put in many hours of work to perfect it.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  I only saw two of them but they were both extremely kind and I think complimented my SOP well by helping show what I've managed to accomplish beyond teaching. I had one from my mentor from my first graduate program and two from mentors at the school where I taught.
Other: I spent a lot of time narrowing down my list of schools I wanted to apply to and I feel like it was exactly right. The only benefit of applying to more schools might have been to try to use them to negotiate funding, but I think it helped me to really focus in on the programs I was excited about and would actually want to attend. There weren't 10 programs I loved, there were only 3, and by focusing on those 3 I was able to perfect my statements and not feel guilty about the workload I was putting on my recommenders. Overall, happy with the result!

I found this forum so immensely helpful during my application process (including someone's keen eye noticing one school's unusual resume structure roughly 24 hours before the due date), so I hope something I share can help future applicants like others have helped me
Program Applied To: (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.)  MSPPM, MPA, MSCAPP
Schools Applied To:  Carnegie Mellon Heinz (MSPPM-DA), UChicago Harris (MSCAPP), and Princeton WWS (MPA)
Schools Admitted To:  Harris ($), Heinz ($$), and WWS ($$$$)
Schools Rejected From:  None
Still Waiting:  None
Undergraduate institution:  Huge State School
Undergraduate GPA:  3.76
Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable):  ??
Undergraduate Major:  History & French
GRE Quantitative Score:  168
GRE Verbal Score:  163
GRE AW Score:  4.5
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  5
Years of Work Experience:  5
Describe Relevant Work Experience: AmeriCorps, TFA, Fulbright ETA, and some summer fellowships; I have been a teacher for the last 5 years which is obviously considered public service although not particularly relevant to my interests as stated in my application; obviously my work experience led me to this even if I'm trying to go in a different direction
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  For Harris, I don't think it was great (with only 300 words, I felt like they barely knew anything about me), but I worked for basically a full month editing every day and getting feedback from family and friends on the one for Princeton. I literally wrote down the six things they said they were looking for in the application instructions and structured my SOP to answers those questions while weaving a narrative about how my career trajectory led me here. I was really proud of the result and obviously it paid off. My Heinz SOP was a pared down version of that one, so still pretty solid. It helps that I am essentially working part time this year (Fulbright ETAs are limited to 24 hours classroom time each week) so even though I decided pretty late to apply (around November 15th), I was able to put in many hours of work to perfect it.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  I only saw two of them but they were both extremely kind and I think complimented my SOP well by helping show what I've managed to accomplish beyond teaching. I had one from my mentor from my first graduate program and two from mentors at the school where I taught.
Other: I spent a lot of time narrowing down my list of schools I wanted to apply to and I feel like it was exactly right. The only benefit of applying to more schools might have been to try to use them to negotiate funding, but I think it helped me to really focus in on the programs I was excited about and would actually want to attend. There weren't 10 programs I loved, there were only 3, and by focusing on those 3 I was able to perfect my statements and not feel guilty about the workload I was putting on my recommenders. Overall, happy with the result!

Got my YES! email while sitting in the "silent" car of the train and definitely broke that rule in my freak-out moment. Excited to see who else here gets in as I feel like we've all been through this incredibly arduous process together for so long now. Good luck to everyone!!

Got my YES! email while sitting in the "silent" car of the train and definitely broke that rule in my freak-out moment. Excited to see who else here gets in as I feel like we've all been through this incredibly arduous process together for so long now. Good luck to everyone!!

Accepted with the "YES!" 
I'm so, so excited. Hoping everyone gets good news today! 

Guys...I am in! Just received mail. Official mail will come in a day it seems 

Same-- but since both of my results so far have come when I wake up in the morning (one came at 3:00 am and one at 11:30 pm), first thing in the a.m. is basically the best time to check!

There’s definitely no one answer. I also have similar offers for Duke and the CMU data analytics track, but CMU is my preference because I want to continue working as a data analyst and now am kind of wondering why I even applied to more generalist MPP programs.
I’m actually deciding between CMU and the MS-CAPP at Harris. I got significantly more funding from CMU, so that’s looking more likely, but I’m still attending admitted students day to reassure myself that it will be as rigorous. I really loved UChicago and the CAPP program when I visited. I’d appreciate hearing from others looking at those two programs in particular!

I applied to and attended an MPA program a few years ago and it seems that this conversation hasn’t changed at all in the last 5 years. I just wanted to share a middle ground perspective between “follow your dreams whatever the cost” and “debt is too burdensome - don’t go!” 
1) before you even apply think about what kind of debt your willing to take on. For me the answer was minimal so I didn’t apply to any programs in NYC or SF because I knew the COL was really high and would become a huge chunk of my debt while schools like Duke and Michigan were, to me at least, comparable to NYU and Columbia but with way lower COLs. 
2) if you can save a little money before attending - anything you can pay up front and reduce your debt by is great because you will never have to pay interest on it. I had about $10k saved and that was immensely helpful.
3) take a paid summer internship, if you have that opportunity available to you. I know lots of summer internships are unpaid in this field but I needed the money and when it came down to it I choose between working at OMB for free and a consulting firm. While OMB was “cooler” to my friends I have no regrets - I made another $10k over the summer while living frugally in DC and therefore didn’t take on additional debt over the summer and was able to use my left over money to pay for things during my 2nd year. I think people put prestige as the driving force behind many things but I think it’s fine to let money play a factor. I also got a job offer at the end of the summer and was able to have a stress free 2nd year which allowed me to pick up an extra job for their reducing my debt burden. 
4) this one is a little contravertial but I think gradcafe is a bubble and it is really easy to get caught up in the rankings of schools and the prestige of HKS,SAIS, SIPA etc... on this board. I however, went to a well ranked but less frequently discussed school on gradcafe, SPEA. I graduated with multiple friends who had PMF, most friends had good jobs in fields they wanted that paid well and put them in the city of their choice, usually DC. I enjoyed my time there and while I don’t brag about it the way I might had I gone to HKS I work with plenty of HKS people now and can say our education was comparable and we ended up in the same place with the same salaries. Prestige matters a lot less in public policy than for MBA or PhD programs.
while I do want to caveat this by saying I received a very generous financial aid offer from SPEA, I really think if you give some financial consideration on the front end of things you can, as they say “have it all” (follow your dreams and afford it  )

FYI, I just received my formal acceptance notification from the Dean of the Graduate School for admission to the Woodrow Wilson School. 
On a personal note, I honestly was not convinced it was all real until now. 

The Princeton area received a lot of snow but the University is open for business as of 10am this morning. That said, having driven around the area this morning, I'm not sure how many people will actually make it onto campus. 

In with 50%! I may have cried tears of joy opening my email!

Just got an email from Heinz! I was accepted in the data analytics track with 90% tuition!

I called yesterday and was told that the admission office is working on the decision this week and we should expect to hear from them "later this week", at the worst no later than "early next week". 

That's a really good question, even if it probably can't be answered soon enough to help a decision. I don't know about MPP, but here are the CAPP numbers:
1st year-- 11 graduates;
2nd year-- 15 graduates;
3rd year-- 25 students;
current year-- 30-ish students;
next year (anticipated)-- 40-ish students
So while the first two years had basically 100% in-industry job placement, we can't really know how long-lasting that will be as the market becomes more saturated. At the same time, I think the CAPP program is unique in that there really aren't any other programs like it so really the bulk of the competition is coming from your own classmates. I imagine that would mean finding a job in Chicago might be a little more competitive but a total of ~120 people with this particular degree is not doing to overwhelm the job market for this particular field.
If you're talking about MPP, it might be worth directly asking someone at the program. They have been talking a lot about the schools big changes and would probably be happy to share details about how many students they hope to enroll next year.

I'm pretty sure the point is to let new applicants look at old applicants and their profiles, and see the advice that they got in addition to whatever advice can be offered for them. It's always illuminating (and sometimes comforting) to know what other backgrounds people come from, and how that's regarded in comparison to your own. Whether it's too long or not is a matter of opinion - I think it's kind of nice to have this amount of archived data going back quite a few years, and I'm sure some people look at it. People won't necessarily look more and respond more to a new thread that does the exact same thing.  

That's a good question - I'd also lean towards "probably not." I was told in my scholarship letter that it included the AmeriCorps award match - mine was a random amount, like $3750 or so, and they just gave me an even number scholarship that I probably would have gotten without the match - here's their wording: "Students receiving a Segal, Truman, or other match are receiving that as part of their overall merit award, which is the amount reflected in this letter."
I think you could probably contact Harris to ask about that, and possibly negotiate a higher award. Hope it works!

If it's helpful to know, I got a call that I'm officially an MSCAPP admit with some funding. Got the call about an hour ago.

Hey y'all! This is my first time posting here, but I just got a call from Harris and was accepted into the MSCAPP program with some funding! Looking forward to meeting many of you at the admitted students day!
 

Man, they're saving MSCAPP decisions for last, aren't they?

@Ellen123 & @Policy.Planner.NYC I'm so happy for y'all!! But also now am freaking out  
Obviously they can't call everyone but still...

In shocking news - just got a call from Chicago, I'm in! Good luck to everyone else!

I just got the call and was admitted w/ funding!!!

You will get so much more out of your graduate school experience if you spend a few years working beforehand. Not only will you have a better chance of getting into a top school (AND receiving scholarship money), but you'll have a much better sense of the coursework you want to take and how it will help your professional goals. Plus, you will be more likely to get hired after you finish an MPP if you have a few years of experience in addition to a degree. 

HEY so now that my materials are all in I just want to take a second to give a huge THANK YOU to @yellina122 because while I read a many of the recent WWS blogs, I did NOT go all the way back to 2014 and I really appreciated the info about what they want in a resume. It convinced me to change some things around so I had a section on public service that I didn't have before and seems really important in this case. I guess it's really up to the gods now, but I feel a lot better knowing I did everything I could and I definitely wouldn't have updated my resume had you not pointed out that old blog post. You're the bomb!