galeclearwater

Schools Applying To: UCLA Luskin (MPP), UC Berkeley Goldman (MPP), Columbia SIPA (MIA), Columbia QMSS, Chicago Harris (MPP), UPenn Fels (MPA), HKS (MPP), Yale Jackson, Stanford IPS Undergraduate institution: University of California, Davis Undergraduate GPA: 3.45 Undergraduate Majors: Economics and International Relations (Double Major) Study Abroad: None GRE Quantitative Score: 159 (73%) GRE Verbal Score: 157 (76%) GRE AW Score: 4.5 (82%) Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): Would be around 9 months, graduating in December. Years of Relevant Work Experience: 1+ (worked before attending college) Describe Relevant Work Experience: Business management apprentice at a real estate company for 1 year, more than 50 million worth of commercial properties. Campaign staff for a Member of Parliament candidate in my country in the upcoming General Elections. Private paid tutor of Cambridge A-level Economics and Maths. *Disclaimer: I come from a very rural village/township in a developing Southeast Asian country where professional work opportunities are virtually non-existent. Most job opportunities comes in the form of neighbourhood family-owned businesses. Not sure how to explain this to the adcoms. Languages: Native (trilingual) proficiency in English, Chinese, and Malay Quantitative Courses: Calculus, Multivariate Calculus, Linear Algebra (Proof-based), Differential Equations, Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Macro, International Trade and Finance, Econometrics, Applied Statistics for Economics, Non-parametric Statistics Strength of SOP: Described passion for public and international policy, domestic social issues, and intention to become a cabinet minister in my home country. All three of my letter writers said that it is a good SOP. Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): Extremely strong. Three full Economics professors, two of whom I have been an RA for, one year each. One UC Berkeley graduate, two Harvard graduates. All three of them have given me assurance in writing that they will write very strong letters for me. Remarks: Initially, I had planned on getting a PhD in Economics. That was before I found out how ridiculously competitive it was. I also found out that I was not particularly good at Math. So I abandoned math as my second major and replaced it with Poli Science, which was then replaced with IR. I know work experience is very important to these programs, but I have also seen people who entered these programs right out of undergrad. I wish to stay in NorCal, so Stanford and Berkeley are my preferences. I hope someone can give me a realistic opinion on my chances at these two programs, as well as the rest of them. Thanks in advance.

Something doesn't quite make sense to me about Oxford's admissions statistics. The GPA sought for programs such as MPhil/MSc Comparative Social Policy is 3.7 out of 4.0. Yet, in their graduate admissions statistics, the number of applications for the Social Policy and Intervention department (in which the programs are housed) is 247, of which 102 offers are made for an incoming class of 63. This means the acceptance rate is actually 41%. Are applicants to Oxford's programs so self-selected that every single accepted applicant would have a GPA of 3.7 and above? I've seen people on Gradcafe being admitted to Oxford's MSc in Global Governance and Diplomacy (GGD) program with a 3.25 out of 4.00, despite the fact that the entry requirement is 3.8 out of 4.00. The MSc in GGD program is housed in the International Development department, which has a 25.6% acceptance rate. In other forums, I understand that Oxford and Cambridge are extremely strict about their entry requirements, and receive far more applications with GPAs near to 4.00 than they can accept. Can someone please set things straight?