firefightergirl

Thanks for the response ExponentialDecay! I graduated this May, so I'm going to have a year of experience prior to actually attending, but yes, technically straight out of school. Also all the jobs I listed were 40 hours a week (minimum), and paid... does it matter that they were only only for three or four months at a time? (Honest question, trying to figure out grad school's definition of "full time") I've been doing a lot of thinking and at this point I'm just trying to gauge if it is worth it to apply this cycle. It sounds like you are advocating for getting quite a bit of hands on experience before thinking of applying. I guess I've been buying into the whole "if you don't go to grad school now you won't go at all" advice, but maybe that doesn't apply to professional degrees. You've given me quite a bit to think about. Thanks! As for inequality and my interests being disjointed... I guess I didn't articulate it clearly in my post and my SOP is still in draft mode, but there are quite a few connections between environmental policy and inequality, and that is what I am interested in. I want to eventually work for a Federal Agency where I can address those intersections.

1. US Senator 2. Data analyst for a Federal Agency 3. Author 4. Astronaut (one of these things is not like the other, but childhood dreams and all that) As far as being qualified- well, definitely not yet but that's what grad school is for.

My Profile: Program: MPP Schools Applying To: Harvard - Kennedy, Duke - Sanford, Georgetown - McCourt, Chicago - Harris, Michigan - Ford, UW – Evans (MPA), UCB – Goldman, Yale – F&ES Interests: social policy, inequality, environmental policy Undergrad Institution: top 100 liberal arts college Undergraduate GPA: 3.8, Phi Beta Kappa, graduated Cum Laude, Undergraduate Major: Politics, Environmental Science and Communications minors GRE: Haven’t officially taken, but my practice test scores are 166(V) 152(Q) (Yikes, I know, but I’ve just started reviewing) Quantitative Courses: Statistics (B+), Introduction to Geographic Information Science (A) Years of Work Experience: 2ish Age: 22 Languages: English Work Experience: I worked as a wildland firefighter for two summers for the Forest Service. I know this isn’t “traditional” public service, but I was serving my local national forest, and it inspired me to pursue public service as a career. Additionally, I worked as a Productions Process Assistant for a small engineering firm for a summer, which dealt primarily with ensuring that the company processes aligned with state, federal, and international policies, and fixing them if they did not. I am doing Americorps for nine months. I also had a one month internship for a state senator, and worked for my college’s student government for one year. LORs: Two from professors, and one from either a supervisor at the Forest Service or Americorps. Should all be pretty strong. I have great relationships with all of them, and they are all excellent writers. SOPs: Focuses on my experience with the Forest Service, and how that kind of direct public service gave me purpose. I also focus on becoming cognizant of how my small town benefitted from government services, so often without recognizing them as such. I would love to be able to help make rural areas and people a little bit less suspicious of government. Concerns: I’ve never taken an econ class, but that is something I am hoping to address in the time between applications being due and starting school. My quant background is definitely weak, but I have been successful in jobs that have required me to engage with that side, and honestly, part of the reason I am going to grad school is to boost those skills. Additionally, I am worried that I don’t have enough work experience that directly relates to policy, or any “fancy” internships to show off. I had to pay for most of my undergrad degree myself, which is why I worked for the Forest Service in the summer. Any thoughts on a way to frame that which makes it sound more like an asset?