Fruit

Application Details Programs: Public Policy or Public Affairs, see signature for all schools. Schools Applied To: Accepted to all ranging from half to full tuition. Rejected from none. Attending: Princeton MPA Undergraduate Institution: Top 5 U.S. private school Undergraduate GPA: < 3.3 Undergraduate Major: STEM GRE: 80% Q / 93% V / 99% AW. Sent to all schools. Years Out/Work Exp.: 4 Relevant Work Experience: Government agency closely aligned with my interests and goals. Lots of energy dedicated to community organizing in my area of interest. Worked in civic tech-esque part of private sector before. Strength of SOP: I had an air-tight narrative that connected my upbringing, academic background, and current/future endeavors specifically for the school. Very public service oriented and clear vision of impact I want to realize. Strength of LORs: Extremely strong letters from professor, current supervisor, and community organizing mentor. Wrote a LOR packet for each writer to ensure each letter testified to a different parts of my work in and commitment to public service. General Advice Get feedback: Asked for feedback from literally anyone I could on grammar, tone, and content. I only wish I had asked for it earlier, instead of waiting until my drafts were completely done. I also enrolled in some mentorship or student feedback programs geared towards underrepresented students, I would recommend looking into these if you don’t have friends or peers to give you feedback: UCLA PPDE, USC MAP, HKS. Write about what you know: I wrote it about a law I work with every day and firmly believe my familiarity with my chosen topic made it a strong memo. I also referenced it multiple times throughout my application. Letters of Recommendation: I debated veering a bit more academic with my LORs at first, but ultimately decided on asking letters from those I felt could best convey who I am as an entire person and not just an academic or practitioner. This resulted in three extremely strong letters as my recommenders knew my journey and heart and were rooting for me from the moment I told them about my goals. This journey has been deeply personal for me, and pursuing further education was not a decision I made lightly and I never thought I’d be able to attend Princeton after a difficult undergraduate journey. Please, please, please don’t let the profiles on here deter you from applying to more competitive schools. If you know why you want to go to policy school, make it abundantly clear through your writing and work and do not leave anything on the table. Grateful for folks on this forum for the advice and camaraderie—will try to revisit this website to pay it forward so future applicants, please message me questions!

I still haven't heard anything from them, but at this point my mind has kind of been made up. Really unfortunate that it's taken this long, but I understand that applications have probably gone up and admin/staff are at capacity.

Accepted to the MPP program. Feeling an overwhelming amount of relief as a reprieve from immense grief, given the recent hate crimes in the US. Didn't receive the level of funding needed to change my mind, so I will be turning down this offer to attend Princeton SPIA. Hopefully this will free up a slot to my fellow public servants! Congrats again, everyone.

@academiaenthusiast, edited my response to indicate it was for the MPA program!

Got the email this morning (PT) with the subject "YES from Princeton SPIA." This feels so unreal; I'll collect my thoughts later after I'm done crying ? Edit: This was for the MPA.

Was accepted to Austin-based MPAff around 9 AM PT! Adding my bit here so that future lurkers will know how staggered these results are and that it's not over until it's over. Time to wait for funding information. Good luck everyone!

I'm an out of state student! I was told by some students at Evans that even if I didn't receive a certain fellowship or stipend, that I should just automatically start applying to GSAs, RAs, and TA-ships. I don't know how competitive they are, but I'm going to contact the office and attend some of the admit student sessions to ask more specifically about the likelihood of receiving a tuition waiver and health insurance through ASE positions. I personally am not comfortable taking on substantial debt to attend any policy school, Evans included.

@Berber, if it's of any help I did some extensive research and informational interviewing for Stanford joint degrees earlier this year and can add a bit more to the MPP discussion. I second most of what @GradSchoolGrad mentioned, especially since I know a good number of public policy undergraduates, 1-year MAs in public policy (co-terminal degree graduates mostly), and MPPs and it's an unfortunate chicken v. egg situation. Given the small number of students in a program that doesn't give/get as much funding as other policy schools, Stanford's less invested Haas Center of Public Service that has to serve all students, and the Bay Area's focus on tech, most students will go into consulting/tech-oriented/quant roles. There's more information on job placement on their webpage that reflects GRG's statement that few students go to DC, but enough find their way into more local policy spaces if they so seek it. FWIW, the joint degree I'm pursuing requires some flexibility, and when I spoke to the team they seemed very lenient on some MPP requirements. This seems like such a program will benefit students who are not so much in the exploratory phase, but rather using the MPP as a time to accelerate their career; you would also benefit from having a stronger joint-degree cohort than working alongside students who are coming straight from Stanford's undergrad and presumably have less work experience. That being said, the folks leading the program and its admin (Greg Rosston, Kelly Walsh) are incredibly responsive and will connect you with joint degree students, alumni, and certain opportunities without hesitation, and as with most elite private schools, there's definitely money to fund your internships if you ask or look for it. In my analysis of programs I've been accepted to, Stanford seems to require a student be more proactive than they otherwise would be at larger policy schools if they're looking for a specific outcome. Just some things I considered during the application/outreach process, hope that helps! Edit: I didn't consider or apply GSPP in this response, and I know they're clearly a contender in Bay Area policy spaces. By sheer numbers, I've met more GSPP alumni but I can't speak to their joint degrees.

Wow, I also really hope that's not for those who applied by the scholarship deadline. Kind of disheartening to hear, but thank you for contacting them!

Haven't heard back from the MPP yet... is it worth e-mailing the admissions team at this point? I'm also a little more worried since I've had an acceptance never hit my inbox and had to reach out to the program coordinator for an update—but also don't want to be leaning into my paranoia. So far, congrats everyone! ?

I'm just going to put this out there in case anyone else feels similarly: being in limbo at this point is making me even more anxious. I already have several responses from some of my top choices, but I still just want to know so I can move on with the next step of my professional and academic career and spend the next few months figuring out how to move in the middle of a pandemic! Definitely remaining grateful for the opportunity to even pursue higher education, but on top of the pandemic and the state of vaccine distribution in the US... everything feels so unknown. Just hoping for plans to solidify a lot more so I can stop existing in this state of waxing and waning anxiety. I know we've all worked our asses off for this month and the decision(s) we'll all have to make by April 15th, but I wish these next three weeks or so weren't so painful ?

In my SOP, I indicated I would be interested in pursuing the social policy program option, with electives in the nonprofit management and social innovation program. I can't remember if there was the option to indicate that in the application itself, but if so, I most likely selected the social policy option. Hope that helps!

@Alexissmart and @EveningLeaves, sent you separate messages!

I didn't receive it, but was nominated. UCLA is pretty high on my list and I'm hoping that my attendance is not contingent on this fellowship if it's über competitive, which based on your description sounds like it. The letter says "Graduate Division will notify you late March/early April if you have been chosen as a GOFP recipient" so I guess I'll know then! I'll message you the other details, but my last name is definitely in the middle of the alphabet. I'm not sure how they're distributing responses though, perhaps it isn't alphabetical? 100% rooting for you!

Just received my acceptance by e-mail! Funding info was included. Would love to know how common it is to receive the GOFP. UCLA was one of the first schools I decided to apply to and I love their commitment to equity (in all forms), so I’m thrilled with this result!