[PhD Public Policy Programs 2018]

Dear yoloner,

 

please do not apply for any school where I will apply   you are so strong.

Mine is below :

International student

Undergrad university: top university in South Korea, GPA: 3.15/4, a chemistry major.

Masters: top university in South Korea, GPA: 3.96/4, master of city planning in environmental studies

Work experience: 1 years in the governmental research center of climate and energy under the prime minister's office.

                                0.5 years in the office of an Assemblyman of the environmental and labor committee of National Assembly

                                3 research assistants exp, 2 years NGO related to climate, 1.8 years military service

Research experience: 3 articles(1 accepted: English paper in Korean journal, 1 reviewed: Korean paper in Korean journal, 1 submitted: English paper in international journal(IF: 5.96))

                                       2 governmental reports(1 released: to United Nations as the name of the government, 1 forthcoming: as the name of the government)

                                       2 conference proceeding(in Korean research society related to climate and environment)

                                       2 distinguished thesis awards

GRE: Q170 V155 AWA4.0.

TOEFL: 30/25/19/28 102

LORs: 1 professor of economics, 1 professor of environmental and energy professor, 1 associate professor of city planning (all tenured), and president of my research center. 

Interests: climate change and energy policy with econometric

School: HKS, GSPP, IU, Syracuse, Duke, Harris, Maryland, GSU/GIT, UCLA(sustainability), U of Michigan(sustainability), U of Kansas

 

If anyone could give me advice on my low undergrad GPA and GREm plz tell me frank advice.

Then, yoloner, I worry about your weakness in public experience. HKS requires the public exp from applicants.

 

[PhD Public Policy Programs 2018]

On 2017. 11. 26. at 12:55 AM, yoloner said:

New to this forum. I just submitted two applications yesterday and am ready to start ruminating already. What are your research interests and main worries? I am interested in climate change policy, and I am worried that I haven't taken enough math courses in my undergrad.

I also plan to apply for Ph.D. in public policy of climate and energy issues for fall 2018, and also am worried that lack of robust backgrounds on math while I have 170 on GRE quant.

Could you explain more about your specification and applied univ? I want to share mine with you.

[The 'Am I competitive' thread - READ ME BEFORE POSTING]

Program: Ph.D. in Public Policy, Climate and Energy Policy Concentration

Schools Applying To: Indiana, Syracuse, Kennedy school, Sol Price school, Goldman School, Sanford school, Harris school, UMD college park, Georgia Tech, Luskin school, Univ. of Kansas

Interests: Climate and Energy policy, renewable energy dissemination, National mitigation targets

Undergrad Institution: Top University in Korea

Undergraduate GPA: 3.15/4

Undergraduate Major: Chemistry

GRE:  155 V / 170 Q / AW 4

TOEFL:  30/23/20/28

Age: 29

Grad Institution: Top Grad School in Korea(graduated as a representative of my grad school)

Graduate GPA: 3.96/4

Graduate Major: Master of City Planning in Environmental Studies (taken various courses for public policy research: public policy, economics, statistics, IR, diplomacy, methodology)

Languages: Korean(native), English (fluent), Spanish (beginner), German(beginner)

Nationality: Korea

Quant Experience: Undergrad : Intro to Econ (B), Microecon (A), Probability & Statistics(B),  Calculus(D), Calculus Lab, (B), Mathematics 1(B), Discrete Math(A), Applied Linear Algebra(C)                                 Grad : Cost and Benefit Analysis(A),  Environmental & Energy Economics(A), Multicriteria analysis of living quality and recreation(A), Statistical Methods for Planning(A)

Work Experience:  6 months in Congress, 1 year in Governmental research center, 1 year in related NGO, 1.5 year of RA for 3 projects

Other Experience: 21 months military service for Korea, 4 years voluntary service for my undergraduate

Publication:  3 submitted and under review articles, 1 governmental report, 2 conference proceedings

Award:  2 distinguished thesis awards, Alumni scholarship, 4 Merit-based scholarships, prize in chemistry olympiad during high school

LORs: 1 from an advisory professor of my master course.  1 from my Econ professor of my master course and dissertation committee. 1 from a president of my research center and all 3 recommenders said that I am the outstanding student and researcher

Concerns: I worried about my low GPA in undergraduate even though my GPA in the master is almost perfect.

                  Are my other experiences and score able to offset my low GPA for the application for top schools? Or What should I do for my successful application and getting an admission?