Burnt Orange

Thought you all would want to see this article from yesterday's New York Times. Probably sheds some more light on the program for those of you interested. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/26/world/europe/26iht-educlede26.html?pagewanted=1

For those folks considering the LBJ School at the University of Texas at Austin, please post comments, thoughts, questions, concerns, advice, etc., here. Anyone attend today's open house and willing to share?

@godlessgael, I am in the same boat. My wife and I are choosing for two people as well. It looks like our best options are going to be UT and IU and I am strongly leaning towards LBJ at the moment. As far as LBJ goes - UT is considered one of the original Public Ivies, a major research university, tons of resources across the schools, departments, etc. big time sports, relatively low cost of living, vibrant campus atmosphere, and UT has a huge alumni network across the world in every sector of society. While LBJ places it's folks mostly in Austin or DC, I am confident that there are enough UT grads around the country and world to make a difference. I think SAIS presents a tough choice for you. I've learned when two people are applying to grad school together, nothing is completely equal across universities and programs. What impact will choosing DC have on your wife's education? Something to consider if you haven't already. Either way, it's a great predicament to have!

@armychick, what do you plan to study? SIPA has a great International Security concentration. But you may have moved on from that stuff and shifted your focus elsewhere. I was really impressed when I visited USC with their work in city management and local economic development. That is not where I plan to focus though so I ultimately didn't apply. I would have applied to SIPA but NYC didn't work for my wife.

Like most others, I selected my schools from the same pool of heavy hitting programs and looked closely at academic and personal fit, to include family preferences. Additional factors I considered included faculty area of expertise, research centers, alumni network, job placements, depth and breadth of coursework, national reputation of not just the university, but the Law and Business schools as well. And these are among the same things everyone here considered. That being the case, I just can't imagine how Kansas, ASU, or FSU place higher in these rankings than SIPA, Harris, GPPI, etc.(Please note that I didn't apply to any of the schools I just mentioned.)

What garbage! USN&WR has cleary lost any grip on reality it had left. Garbage!

@jct329, I don't think being enlisted hurts you in any way, shape, or form. Had you earned your BA/BS through one of the many preditory for-profit universities while serving on active duty would have been harmful to your prospects. But in your case, you attended a Big 10 university, did well, and decided to enlist. I wouldn't even bother mentioning that you considered becoming an officer. It's irrelevant. I think you leverage your service by stating you felt compelled to serve in any way you could, patriotism, etc. As a consequence of being colorblind, you were pushed into your particular MOS but have made the most of it. You can certainly talk about your leadership experiences as an E-5. The reality is that while Army/Marine officers have led units ranging in size from 15 to 115 people, very few other folks applying to policy school have done that. Most applicants have leadership experiences that mirror yours - leading a small team of folks with a specific purpose and getting strong results. So that's all good stuff. I know you want to focus on domestic policy, but being part of JTFHOA is pretty unique. Guys like me can talk OEF/OIF 'til we're blue in the face, but have no experience, admin or otherwise, in HOA. So you bring a completely different perspective with your overseas experience than most other military folks do. Use that as best you can in shaping your domestic interests. Your stats are solid and your work experience is great. Totally understand the desire for a spring semester enrollment. Check out SPEA at IU. They allow folks to come in the Spring on a case-by-case basis. You're already a Big 10 Guy so that might be a good fit for you. And of course, they do a lot things well there so you could probably find something that interests you. But something else to realize is that you'll be pretty competetive anywhere you apply. So waiting for a fall cycle might mean Georgetown rather than AU/UMD. NYU is solid no matter what though. Oh one other lesson learned here. When seeking LORs, understand the Army's version of a good LOR versus an ADCOM's. The military typically uses LORs as a means for someone with rank, regardless of how well they know the person in question, to effectively endorse your candidacy. But in this case, you want your recommenders to sell your candidacy. Does that make sense? If your BDE CDR signs a great letter for you, it might be full of adjectives but lacking in substance. Unlike Army OERs/NCOERs, there is no magic language in ADCOM speak (e.g. Promote now, ahead of, or with peers / select below the zone, etc.) So the folks who write your letters should REALLY know you. This is because they are going to get an email with a link to an online form that asks them several questions, fill in the bubbles, then write a couple of paragraphs on you. These are not hard copy letters that you can proof and suggest changes to like so many other Army recommendations. So take care in selecting these people. There are lots of officers/ O-3 to O-6 who studied public policy on the Army's dime (I'll be one of them) who will want to help you out if you can find them. So be on the lookout for those folks. Hope that helps. And like @brien2000, feel free to shoot me a PM or post here if you'd like to discuss more.

Don't let it beat you up. You never know what some schools look for. I didn't get into GW TSPPPA but got into LBJ, SPEA, and generous funding from Sanford at Duke. You just can't be sure what one committee will see and appreciate that another won't.

In at Duke too! $25k fellowship plus a $4k assistantship. Eat shit GW!

@state_school'12, it looks like you have several solid offers and I would venture to guess are sure to get admits from both Sanford and Ford. All things being equal, what's your gut telling you? And of course, things being as unequal as they are, what will you do?

Anyone think Duke will be sending letters out today?

I totally feel you, hello.operator!

Well I am actually a lifelong Trojan fan. So I really considered USC. I visited a couple of years ago and thought the facilities were nice, the people were friendly, and the program seemed great. But I just didn't feel like it was the right fit for me. There weren't any faculty members working on topics that interested me and none of the students I came across seemed to share my academic interests either. I'm not sure if that's still indicative of the program as it's changed some since. But old feelings die hard. So I simply passed.

I'm originally from So Cal so I took a hard look at USC and UCLA. When looking at international policy coursework and faculty, I was much more impressed with LBJ than Luskin. There seems to be a depth and breadth in international affairs at LBJ that Luskin lacked. I think that can be attributed to the fact that LBJ has the MGPS program that adds quite a bit of variety in coursework. I found Luskin's coursework to be much more comparative in nature. So ultimately, I didn't apply. But of course, if you are interested in another field or see your career staying stateside, there are certainly other factors to consider. Hope that helps.

Admitted to LBJ's MPAff as well. Very excited! Although, I did get a terse rejection letter from GW today. Just goes to show you never quite know what each program specifically looks for.

Congrats @godlessgael! Did you apply to the MPAff program or the MGPS?

Ok. Searched again without MPP in the string. The result just says Masters. Wonder if it's for the MIDP program? Thoughts?

Where did you see a Duke Sanford MPP admit? I checked the results survey after seeing the last post but still only came across updates from 2011. Did I miss something?

Waiting on Duke Sanford too. Last year the school sent out notices March 7th - 9th. So I am hoping we hear something next week.

I think the two posters above have great points. I would include Cal Berkeley into @method's list of tier 1 schools, making it WWS, HKS, and GSPP. I agree with @state_school'12 that tier 2 is quite large. Though my list is a little different and in no particular order: Sanford, Harris, SIPA, Maxwell, GPPI, GW TSPPPA, Heinz, CIPA, Wagner, LBJ, SPEA, USC Price, and Ford (though I'm not sure why some folks here don't like Ford. I didn't apply there but looks like a great program.) We could probably break down tier 2 a little more but I don't think it's necessary. "Tier 2" programs are certainly nothing sneeze at - renowned programs, strong placements, proud alums, and very prestigious to fairly prestigious brand-name universities. In fact, many of us only applied to schools from that second list, myself included. I definitely missed a couple of schools. But you get the idea. One reality for those of us applying to MPA/MPP/IR programs is the lack of marketing, rankings, consultants, literature, and publications on our admissions process and school selection as compared to MBA programs. There are so many publications that produce MBA rankings that many schools are solidly perceived as top 3, 5, 10, 20, or simply "top tier" as a result of the general consensus between the rankings. Moreover, they are published annually and account for so many variables. Consequently, they are so much more comprehensive than what we are working with (a very flawed and seemingly always outdated USNRW).

I think doing one three week immersion trip would almost seem superficial and contrived if it's around the corner from applications and you have never done anything remotely like that before. But if you are looking to boost your international credentials, maybe just taking a couple of trips to different parts of the world and visiting various countries while on vacation could be a reasonable substitute. That would at least demonstrate your interest in the international scene without making it seem like you begged, borrowed, and pleaded for a humanitarian gig with no prior experience or interest with it. No matter what you do, it all should sync and mesh with your story line. And don't sell yourself short on the NCAA athletics. Athletes diversify an incoming class and bring a different perspective to the classroom!

For what it's worth, I think the question about another Masters degree might have to do with the fact that there are PhD programs out there - though extremely competative - that are open to bringing in folks with an MA/MS in another field. For instance, it's not unheard of for military folks with an MS in Engineering to be accepted to PhD programs in Public Policy, (I know of two specifically). So that is something worth considering. But as the previous poster alluded, PhD work is a long and taxing process and ought to be pursued only after careful consideration and consultation with family and friends. With that, after a military career, a PhD could be just the next life challenge that you will be looking for to find fulfillment and satisfaction. For you to decide. If you did want to pursue another Masters, I think an MPP would probably be best as you could make your case as wanting to complement your extensive management / leadership experience with quantative skills and sound analysis. Georgetown, GW, and American all offer part-time programs and the DC area is a job-friendly place for military retirees. But you could even take a look at a place like Maxwell at Syracuse. Though you would be earning an MPA, there is still a lot of analytical coursework and policy exposure to be had. The plus side with Maxwell is that you could do it in only a year and the cost of living there is quite reasonable and you could treat it as just another PCS adventure for you and your family. What's the status of your Post 9/11 GI Bill? Did you already use the MGIB to get one of your degrees or did you transfer your benefits to family? You could certainly find a couple of programs out there that would completely cover you with 100% of the Post 9/11 GI Bill and the Yellow Ribbon Program. Hope this helps.

Taking a stab at this from the research I've done, my tiered list of competative admissions (not necessarily best program, etc.) is as follows: Columbia SIPA / Chicago Harris / CMU Heinz / Georgetown GPPI GW Trachteberg / UW Evans / NYU Wagner UMD Maryland / American SPA / UGA PADP / UCLA SPA / Georgia State AYSPS I'd be interested to see anyone else's take on this. One thing to consider is that while UGA, UCLA, UW, NYU, and Georgia State are all very strong programs at excellent universities, it seems their respective draws may be a little more regional than some of the others. But remember, applicants from all around the country self-select into and out of writing applications for any number of reasons - too metropolitan, prefer college towns or prefer the west/east coast to stay close to family, etc. I think the only safe thing to say here is that none of these schools is a "slam dunk." They'll all be competative in their own right. Choose programs based on fit, faculty, family, finances, and anything else you deem important. But remember, the beer will be cold no matter where you end up!

What exactly is the criteria for the MPA2? I understand that the admissions requirements now includes "substantial graduate level coursework." Can anyone clarify what this means? Thanks.