CaliforniaBurritoAreGreat

I'm a first year MPP at Harris, and got around 70% funding having come straight out of undergrad. So yes, it is indeed possible!

I was a former BA of PubPol student at the Ford School (Class of 2019!), and was accepted into the MPP program but ultimately chose UChicago's Harris (money was the primary reason). However, Ford is definitely beefing up their international strengths, through the most recent creation of the Weiser Diplomacy Center, which is intent on bringing in a several new professors of practice with vast experience in foreign policy (think former US Ambassadors), who also appear to be very open to mentoring students. Plus, having lived in Ann Arbor for four years as a newly minted graduate (coming from sunny SAN DIEGO of all places!), the weather was not too bad (of course snow was foreign to me, but I ended up loving it), and Ann Arbor honestly spoils you -- it is probably the greatest college town in the country, that lives and breathes the university. I would ultimately say that the Ford School is certainly above USC, and with the new developments coming from the Diplomacy Center, there are bound to be numerous opportunities. Additionally, having also been admitted to USC and having very seriously considered it against UChicago and UMich, I didn't feel that their international curriculum matched up as well to what Ford has offered and will be offering in the near future. I'd be happy to answer any other questions you may have!

Hi! So I applied this past cycle, and got around 75% tuition covered at LBJ! While I ended up selecting UChicago's Harris, I'm pursuing the MPP (or in LBJ's case, the MPAff) straight out of undergrad. I had a 3.75 GPA, a 161/157 (CR/QR) on the GRE, and have interned in my city's mayoral office twice, in addition to an internship with a local chamber of commerce. I also did research for four years in undergrad, and first-authored a peer-reviewed paper on Twitter usage in Elections, in addition to leading a student-run foreign policy think tank on campus. Hope this helps!

*UPDATED* Program Applied To: MPP, MPAff (LBJ), MIA (UCSD), MSc (LSE) Schools Applied To: UMichigan (Ford), UChicago (Harris), UT Austin (LBJ), Georgetown (McCourt), USC (Price), UCLA (Luskin), GWU (Trachtenberg), UCSD (GPS) Schools Admitted To: UChicago Harris (70%), UMichigan Ford (40%), USC Price (100%), Georgetown (18%), UCSD (100% + Health Insurance), UT Austin LBJ (75%), UCLA Luskin (30%), GWU ($0), LSE ($0) Undergraduate GPA: 3.73 Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.62 Undergraduate Major: Public Policy BA GRE Quantitative Score: 157 GRE Verbal Score: 161 GRE AW Score: 5.5 Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 0 (graduating in May!) Years of Work Experience: 0 Describe Relevant Work Experience: 3.5 years of research experience specializing in how political leaders use Twitter -- I've been a co-author on three publications, and got a first-authorship comparing the tweets of Trump, Modi, Wilders, and Farage in a peer-reviewed journal last year. Two four month internships with the Mayor of a major city, freshman summer and junior summer, in addition to a policy internship at that city's Regional Chamber of Commerce completed sophomore summer. Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I sought to talk about what my BA program in Public Policy was missing, primarily as it pertained to quantitative analytical skills. I sought to also discuss my academic curriculum and my research to an extent, and how the interests motivating those two have led me to pursue an MPP, as I seek to expand my skillset. Additionally, in some of my statements, I included information regarding an undergraduate foreign policy think tank that I've led at Michigan, which involved me teaching students how to do policy research, work with the Ford School on partnerships, and bringing in noted speakers. Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I had four letters of recommendation. The first was from my research advisor, who oversaw the four publications (including the first-authorship) I was part of, and for whom I've worked since October of my freshman year. The second was a professor, with whom I took a class both first semester freshman year, and second semester junior year (this second class was mixed with a lot of Master's/PhD students and focused on urban development in South Asia). The third was an intern advisor from the Mayor's Office (both times), who I worked exclusively for during the second go-around on policy issues. The fourth was a professor whose class I took last year in the PP curriculum. I think the strength of the first three were that they've all seen me grow throughout my undergraduate years, given the timespans that I interacted with them in. Other: I have chosen to attend the Harris School at the University of Chicago. Initially, they had offered me around 40% of tuition in terms of funding, but I was able to negotiate it to 70% of tuition using my other offers as leverage. I'm still stunned, frankly, by the size of the generous funding packages I was offered at some of these institutions, especially since I'm coming straight out of undergrad. Best of luck to all of you! This forum was really helpful to me this past year.

Nope! I just filled out the form.

I submitted St. Patrick's Day Weekend, and heard back exactly two weeks later, so this past Monday! And yes, it was through the reconsideration form.

I can't speak on Berkeley, but I just successfully negotiated with Harris for an increase from 40% tuition to 70%, using a full-tuition scholarship at USC (in addition to some other offers) as leverage. I basically made it clear that Harris is my top choice (and that I would go definitely go there if provided a feasible package) and the only factor stopping me at this time is $.

UPDATE: In at USC Price with a full scholarship! A bit shocked, to say the least.

Program Applied To: MPP, MPAff (LBJ), MIA (UCSD) Schools Applied To: UMichigan (Ford), UChicago (Harris), UT Austin (LBJ), Georgetown (McCourt), USC (Sol), UCLA (Luskin), GWU (Trachtenberg), UCSD (GPS) Schools Admitted To: UChicago (Harris) $$, UT Austin (LBJ) with $$$, Georgetown (McCourt) $ Schools Rejected From: N/A Still Waiting: UMichigan, USC, UCLA, GWU, UCSD Undergraduate institution: University of Michigan Undergraduate GPA: 3.73 Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.62 Undergraduate Major: Public Policy BA 157 GRE Quantitative Score: 157 GRE Verbal Score: 161 5.5 GRE AW Score: 5.5 Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 0 (graduating in May!) Years of Work Experience: 0 Describe Relevant Work Experience: 3.5 years of research experience specializing in how political leaders use Twitter -- I've been a co-author on three publications, and just got a first-authorship comparing the tweets of Trump, Modi, Wilders, and Farage in a peer-reviewed journal last year. Two four month internships with the Mayor of a major city, freshman summer and junior summer, in addition to a policy internship at that city's Regional Chamber of Commerce completed sophomore summer. Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I sought to talk about what my BA program in Public Policy was missing, primarily as it concerned to quantitative analytical skills. I sought to also discuss my academic curriculum and my research to an extent, and how the interests motivating those two have led me to pursue an MPP, as I seek to expand my skillset. Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I had four letters of recommendation. The first was from my research advisor, who oversaw the four publications (including the first-authorship) I was part of, and for whom I've worked since October of my freshman year. The second was a professor, with whom I took a class both first semester freshman year, and second semester junior year (this second class was mixed with a lot of Master's/PhD students on urban development in South Asia). The third was an intern advisor from the Mayor's Office (both times), who I worked exclusively for the second go-around on policy issues. The fourth was a professor whose class I took last year in the PP curriculum. I think the strength of the first three were that they've all seen me grow throughout my undergraduate years, given the timespans that I interacted with them in. Other: Straight out of Undergrad! Shocked by some of the funding offers though (the fact that I got funding!).