MKPolicy
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Posts posted by MKPolicy
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I got a rejection from Yale yesterday as well. Two down, four to go.....
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Duke was a reject for me as well.
Hoping and praying for the best for you all going forward!
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@theofanthank you for the insight!
I think my only hope is that I took advantage from an offer from the former administrative director to setup a visit back in December. I met with three professors and felt like the meetings went well – even received a very encouraging email from one of them in the MT area that gave me a lot of hope. At this point, I'm hanging on to the hope that since they already "interviewed" me, that they don't see reason to have to bring me back.
Maybe that's wishful thinking. Maybe it's a shot hahaha.
I'll also second the inquiry into when that interview weekend is – do you happen to know?
In any event, I appreciate the info!
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@LTS I'm not sure. There are two invites already received on here, but no details whether they are virtual or in person.
I applied in the Moral Theology area and have not heard a thing from them. They are my top choice if a choice is to be had
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@Fiat I didn't think Yale as doing interviews either. I've applied there -- in the Ethics track -- and have heard nothing.
@theologizing77 I've not applied to PTS, so it hasn't been on my radar. Please do keep us posted!
@xypathos what a cruel trick and mindset it would have to be to mess with folks like that... most of us are anxious enough as is lol.
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I appreciate that insight @bigsh This whole process is tough, indeed. I suppose it is worth hanging on to some hope until the end of this month at least
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@bigsh I've applied to Notre Dame – Moral Theology track and haven't heard anything yet.
I'm hoping invites trickle out instead of being sent in one batch. Do you have any insight there?
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@emeraldsapphirethat is also very helpful knowledge, thank you kindly for sharing that with us!
I'm not in those fields, so I suppose I should just sit tight
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Congratulations @emeraldsapphire!! Sounds like you are in a good position there!
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@emeraldsapphiregoodness, that is both exciting and nerve-racking if the timetable is ineed the same as last year. I'm definitely spending way too much time refreshing my inbox hahaha
Anyone hearing anything at all from any of your programs?
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Congratulations on an encouraging response, EmeraldSapphire! Which track of the Duke programs are you applying for? Did they indicate when they might send out inteview invitations? I've also applied to Duke, but only the PhD (current MBA student there).
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I can certianly see the point made by emeraldsapphire above. I think a case can be made for a longer sample too. In my view, I'd rather send in more than they need -- they can stop reading when they feel satisfied they've seen enough. With the shorter piece that is not realy an option. However, if the short piece is your best writing and contains a full and thorough argument germane to the topic, I would proffer it is just fine.
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I've just wrapped up four of my six pending applications. So far I've submitted to Notre Dame, Yale, Princeton, and Duke. Harvard and Oxford remain.
My sub field is Moral Theology/Religious Ethics.
I did find out from Notre Dame during a graduate school info session that the theology department does conduct interviews and those notices go out in late January typically. Duke holds interviews as well.
In any event, we are getting closer
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How are applications coming along for everyone?
Personal statements are the last piece for me. I'm aiming to get them wrapped up this week and then let the waiting game begin :)
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Hi Sayf!
I'm planning to apply for this cycle -- it will be my first go round.
Which programs/tracks are you planning to apply for a place?
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Rejection for me. Good luck to everyone!
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No email nor an update in the application portal for me yet.
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11 minutes ago, Ibn Rushd said:
More SSP!
This is great. I thought it was just me and reverend on this forum. Good luck you all!
Hey Ibn and Jimmy -- fellow SSP applicant here! I applied part-time as I can't swing a full time load right now due to work obligations. I'm really eager to find out whether we all make it in. I'm certianly hoping we do!
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25 minutes ago, ExponentialDecay said:
@MKPolicy
I'll just be straightforward: I don't think you should do an MPA.
First, I don't sit on any committees (and neither does anyone else commenting here), but that qGRE will preclude admissions to HKS and WWS, and potentially a few others, because it's a spectacularly low qGRE for those programs and also because your profile isn't exactly what they're looking to admit. On paper, you don't look like the academic type - low GPA from mediocre undergrad, and yeah you have a 3.75 in your master's, but it is generally expected that you will have close to a 4.0 in a master's program, plus, as anyone in finance will tell you, finance programs vary drastically in quality. The qGRE is kinda the nail in that coffin. Policy schools aren't as anal about prestige and other gold dust as law and business schools, but they still care a great deal about how glitzy you are, on an ordinal scale.
Second, I'm not sure that an MPA is going to help you. You're already older than 99% of the people who already have their MPA and are applying for typical post-MPA jobs. You're actually older than a lot of the people who are a step above that. I don't pretend to know everything about all the employers that hire MPAs, but I'm trying to say that it's moreso an early-career degree than a mid- or late-career one, and the portions of the policy field that I am familiar with are very attentive to that. My organization gets a lot of CVs from people whom we perceive to be overqualified precisely in the way you would be overqualified for graduate entry-level positions, and I've only seen people prefer to hire the typical candidate over someone with too much experience.
Third, I don't think you need this degree. An MPA isn't going to help you get elected into any kind of office. It's not going to teach you in-depth estimation techniques (HKS ID people, yes, this is the hill I die on). An MPA isn't going to make you any more qualified to work for the IMF or WBG - if you want to work with economics or finance, you are already qualified enough to do that (plus, people prefer to hire degrees that speak to someone's concrete skills, not generalists with MPAs who can code Stata but don't know how to estimate a regression with an interaction term - I am not kidding, people, this is why you don't get an MPA to learn statistics), and if you want to work with something that isn't economics or finance, you don't have enough field experience, period, and a 2 year master's isn't going to make up for it like at all. An MPA is what you get when you want to be a mid-level bureaucrat in a salaried position (seriously, the height of anyone's ambitions here). If you want to transition into this field, you need to network and transition in your career. It takes knowing someone more often than not, but it's feasible to transition from what you're doing now in the private sector to doing something similar in the public sector. I doubt that will scratch your itch of helping others, though (it scratches mine, but my itch is extremely particular and gets me thrown out of more liberal bars). If you want to get elected into office, I can't even begin to imagine what that takes, but an MPA isn't it.
If you still want to get a degree, I'd recommend the 1-year executive MPA at Harvard.
@ExponentialDecay thank you for the candor! This is the type of discussion I had hoped for by posting so thank you to adding in a thoughtful reply!
All the programs I am looking at are for us "older" mid-career folks, and they are all one year degress
You are right about Harvard's one year MPA and it is my ultimate goal https://www.hks.harvard.edu/degrees/masters/mc-mpa
Columbia's PEPM (Program in Economic Policy Management) https://sipa.columbia.edu/academics/programs/program-in-economic-policy-management
Princeton's WWS -MPP http://wws.princeton.edu/admissions/mpp
McCourt's MPM https://mccourt.georgetown.edu/master-in-policy-managment
From what I have gathered they are a bit less concerned about GRE scores and more concerned with experience. From what I have read, you are exactly right about a low quant like mine being a death knell for the traditional MPA/MPP for younger folks.
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55 minutes ago, chocolatecheesecake said:
@MKPolicy, you have an extremely interesting profile. To be honest, most people here are probably much younger than you, and have much less varied career experiences. In general, you should be a pretty strong candidate given how you're representing yourself, and of course, if you do more work to get your quant score up. Don't worry about your undergrad GPA. Your undergrad was approximately fifteen years ago. I'm pretty sure that at this point, admissions committees just want to make sure you graduated from an accredited institution, and that you haven't been spending your life since then under a rock.
What I'm curious about (and what admissions committees will want to know) is why you're going for another degree. The WWS MPA and (I think) HKS MC/MPA are quant heavy, but you already have a graduate degree in finance and economics that you just graduated from not long ago. Why are you going after this one? Where will it bring you that the former degree and your very quant-y sort of job experience won't? It'd be compelling to hear that you're contemplating a career change or looking to transition into another role at your organization or taking another similar step. Otherwise, it could sound like you're just preoccupied with the prestige that comes with the kind of school you're applying to.
I think this sounds like your weakest point so far, so definitely put some effort into writing a stellar SOP and getting multiple reads on it. Your GRE score doesn't even seem as important in comparison, because you have a job that demands a good understanding of quantitative concepts, so they'll understand that 151 obviously doesn't reflect everything. Besides, after a certain point, higher GRE scores don't increase your likelihood of acceptance - they just increase your likelihood of getting financial aid. If you're most concerned with being accepted in the first place, focus on your SOP. Good luck!
@Chocolatecheesecake, thank you kindly for an in depth and thoughtful evaluation! Also,I must say that your screen name is absolutely fantastic
I'm glad to know that my low quant score shouldn't immediately preclude my file from consideration. My biggest fear is that they would see it and not give the rest of my file a thorough reading . I do hope the admissions committee's will see my undergrad as you have....I was plainly uninterested in performing well during undergrad and intentionally did as little as possible to get by. Thankfully I have matured tremendously since then.
You ask a very germane question and its certainly a good one! Why another degree?
My previous MSc was very policy oriented, which I enjoyed! It didn't, however, get into any econometric type data analysis, nor into the behavioral aspects of "nudging" for policy prescriptions. And here is the driving answer: My true desire is not in the corporate world, my heart lies in affecting and promoting positive economic outcomes for all people in my state. When people have solid employment opportunities a whole host of social ills can be mitigated and improved. They absolutely have a symbiotic relationship in my opinion. I want to serve as a State Senator and who knows beyond that. Outside of elected office, I would absolutely be thrilled to work in an organization like the IMF/World Bank/Bank of International Settlements. I believe a degree from HKS/WWS/McCourt/SIPA would help open those doors. (I like Duke, but you all only have two year options from what I can gather and I just can't float that at this point). We have no graduates of any of the schools mentioned currently working in our state legislature, as elected representatives, nor in the executive branch. One of my favorite economists said that peoples and cultures develop best when they have access to other people and cultures....the sharing of ideas promotes growth and development. I believe it's time for some folks from my state to be educated with the best and come back home to serve.
Knowing that now, what do you think? Do I have a decent shot?
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20 minutes ago, Ella16 said:
can't really comment on the experience part but I do think that the fact that you are far removed from your undegrad and that you already completed a grad degree with a good GPA should attenuate the weight placed on your undergrad grades. That said you have a strong econ background and a really low quant score... You have plenty of time, I think it would definetly be worth it to study up on quant, do a bunch of timed practice problems/full length tests and get that score over 160.
Thank you Ella16! You are right about the quant score. I'm SO far removed from the topics the GRE tests that I had to relearn a lot of it just to get to 151. The math involved in the econ work, especially the policy aspect where I focused, isn't even touched on in the GRE. Thank you for the encoruagement to push it up though!
Anyone care to comment on the experience aspect of my potential?
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Hey everyone! Long time lurker here and I tremendously appreciate everything I have learned from so many of you!
If anyone is willing to provide some feedback on my profile for the upcoming fall applications cycle I would be most grateful!
Institution/Program applying to: HKS -MC/MPA, WWS- MPA, Columbia –MEPM/MPA, Georgetown-MPM
Interests: Economic Policy, Behavioral Economics, State Government fiscal and budgetary policy/efficiency, and International capital markets regulation/central banking
Undergrad Institution: State school not particularly well known for anything
Undergraduate Major: B.S. in General Management - graduated in 2003Undergraduate GPA: 2.98
Undergrad Quantitative Courses: Quantitative Methods, Statistics, Principles of Macroeconomics, Principles of Microeconomics, Managerial Economics
Graduate Institution: University of London
Graduate Degree: MSc in Finance and Economic Policy - graduated in 2015
Graduate GPA: 3.75
Graduate Courses: Banking Regulation and Resolution of Banking Crises, Public Financial Management: Revenue, Macroeconomic Policy and Financial Markets, Microeconomic Principles and Policy, Bank Financial Management, Banking and Capital Markets, Corporate Finance, The International Monetary Fund and Economic Policy
GRE: 167V (98%), 151Q (43%). 5.5 AWA (98%) Age: 36
Years of Work Experience: 14 with the last 9 as a VP and Principal in a boutique Investment banking firm. Our typical deal size ranges between $5 and $25 million. I have profit and loss responsibility and typically handle the interaction with the buyers (Usually lower middle market PE Funds/Family Offices/ and sometimes Corporate strategics).
Elected official public service – Ran a bid for State Senate in 2016, but did not win. Captured 23% of the vote in a four way primary. Carried two of the three counties in my district.
Board of Directors Experience: Gubernatorial appointee to a state wide board of directors (10 are appointed and 5 are ex-oficio members) dealing with Higher education assistance – We administer proprietary student loans and scholarships as well as service other state and federal student loans. I serve on the Finance and audit committee as well. Total loan/scholarship portfolio is around $4 billion.
Advisory Member for a Health Policy foundation. Foundation lobbies for responsive health policy and equity for underserved populations in my state. We write grants and sponsor research to the tune of about $2million per year. I serve on the Finance and Investment committee for the foundation’s ~$55 million endowment.
Professional Licenses/Certifications:
FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority)
· Series 7 General Securities Representative
· Series 66 Uniform Combined State Law/Investment Advisor
· Series 79 Investment Banking Representative
· Series 82 Private Securities Offerings Representative
CM&AA designation (Certified Merger and Acquisition Advisor)
State Real Estate License
Undergraduate Activities: Division 1 Scholarship athlete- Football, Deans List 1 semester, Habitat for Humanity construction volunteer
Languages: English is native, can speak/read/write conversational German and extremely basic Spanish.
International Travel/Missions: Canada, England, India, Israel, Palestine, Poland, Malaysia, Mexico
Non profit volunteer service:
I serve twice a month as a bag backer for Project 58:10. We pack and deliver around 750 bags per week to local elementary school children that are food isnecure and would not have anything to eat over the weekends.
Local Humane Society: On call Foster dog parent. They can be tough to give up to a forever home!
LORs: 3 very strong letters. One from a currently elected state wide official in the executive branch – I’ve known this person 6 years and we serve together on one of the boards. Second letter will come from the Health foundations current CEO who was also a former US Congressman and elected state Attorney General. We have developed a good solid relationship over the last couple years. Third letter will come from a colleague I do business with. He is a Managing Partner in a global real estate firm, graduate of West Point and retired Army officer.
Concerns: My low quant score and undergraduate GPA. Not a lot of official public sector experience in a paid position. Furthermore, It seems like the profiles of people I will be competing with for spots are current or eventual heads of state, ambassadors, and are currently very very high level officials.
Fall 2022 Religion PhD
in Religion
Posted
@Starrysoph I've applied to the DPhil at Oxford (Christian Ethics area) and have not heard anything as of yet.
Do you know which areas were offered?