Jufarius87

I was wondering if anyone has had luck or experience with requesting an expedited decision from schools, if this is possible, and what the process looks like. Reason for request: I am currently serving in the National Guard (seven years prior service in the Active Duty Army). I have a date to go to Officer Candidate School in January, but would like to weigh my options for transferring to the Army Nurse Corps (while they are not obligated to grant a transfer, they usually do when you are transferring to something undermanned, which medical professions invariably are). I would need my acceptance letter no later than New Years to make this feasible though.

Hello all, I am currently serving in the military and I am looking to utilize the GI Bill once I finish my current enlistment. I am considering a combined JD/MBA route and going on to specialize in either contracts or trade law but as I've yet to take an LSAT I can only get diagnostics for the MBA portion of my program. UGPA 3.74/4 (Tier 2 Public, usually ranked around 90-110) Majors: Philosophy, Mathematics GRE V:166 Q:162 (should I take the GMAT or are these tests given equal value? GMAT conversion places my score at a 700) GRAD: MA in Religion (Ivy), MA Psychology (regional public, earned while serving full-time) Work Experience: One year teaching high school, six years enlisted military (3-4 years in Special Operations, creating political, cultural, and communications products for foreign audiences) Other relevant Pros: intermediate proficiency in Farsi (Iran) and Dari (Afghanistan) Reaches: Harvard, Dartmouth, MIT Targets: Cornell, Georgetown, Boston College Safeties: Stetson, U of Florida, Florida State Thanks in advance!

So I am currently in Ithaca for Open House (tomorrow, 21 MAR) but I've already been impressed with both CIPA and the ROTC program here. 1. CIPA helped me secure last minute lodging when my appointment with the ROTC leadership was set for a different date. 2. They've offered to put us in contact with current fellows (I've also notice current CIPA fellows, like the poster above have a very positive view of their program and take the time to talk about it). 3. CIPA seems to be making a lot of strong moves and I think its reputation will only grow. I am especially happy about the move to the College Human Ecology. Aside from the lowered tuition, it puts us close to the PhD program in Policy Analysis. For my own purposes the ROTC program here has been phenomenally helpful with the administrative aspects of switching from Enlisted to Commissioned service. Unless something catastrophic occurs tomorrow (which I don't see happening) CIPA is the clear choice for me.

Hello all! So I applied to 4 schools, 2 admits (Cornell and Columbia) and 2 rejects (Harvard and Princeton). Just looking for opinions on where you would head in this situation, the pros and cons are as follows Cornell PROS: 15k per year scholarship, will be paid off with my military aid. Program flexibility (no strict course requirements) CIPA has shown a lot of concern/personal attention during the admissions process I love Ithaca, and it is close to home. Cornell CONS: Newer, less well-known program. Less established network. CIPA is not a school in itself, its faculty are pulled from other parts of the university. Columbia PROS: SIPA Network NYC (career prospects) Faculty are dedicated specifically to public affairs. Columbia CONS: Weak financial aid (est. 50k-60k in debt) NYC (expensive, huge, overwhelming) Less personal attention Personal Considerations: My career path is largely set (getting a commission in the Army), would be good to have civilian employment options after school but I can go back to active duty as well. Strongly considering going reserve route and pursuing a PhD in either Govt or Public Policy so PhD placement is important. I see myself staying in the NY area if I don't go back to active duty, so CIPA/SIPA aside, both Cornell and Columbia definitely have brand status where I intend to work.

Got in with a "Dean's Service Scholarship" but from what I can tell its only for 10k in year two. Probably heading to Cornell!

Rejected!

WWS is generally viewed as more difficult to get an admit from than HKS, is that a fair generality? I have little hope now that HKS dinged me ... Though perhaps the saving grace is that WWS also seems more quant heavy, and I have more mathematics than at least 90% of applicants

Rejected! I'm not too disappointed though, it would've been nice but I actually think a couple of the others schools I applied to were a better fit for me. I got an acceptance to one of them so I'm set. Also being Military, a commission is a commission regardless of whether one went to Army or State Congrats to all who made it!

Being from New York, a CIPA admit and a SUNY (not Cornell) Alum, this move made perfect sense and is actually a plus for me as I consider my options. MPA/MPP programs housed in the graduate college of a university run the risk of becoming an interdisciplinary government/economics degree with a professional title. CHE offers some incredibly interesting interdisciplinary programs with an applied/professional bend (biology and society comes to mind). I think the MPA program will become more professionally oriented with its transition into CHE. Also as the OP said, there will likely be an increased opportunity for collaboration with the health sciences. I will also be curious to see how many MPAs find their way into the Policy Analysis PhD now

Those are some interesting numbers admm.noops! If you had applied to only a few schools, I would be more concerned, but seeing as you are an international student (they have more realistic expectations for you on the verbal/writing since English is not your native language) and sent out a reasonably large number of applications I believe you will get at least 2 or 3 admissions offers. Pros: Your GPA would be high even for a standard social sciences major, but mechanical engineering is probably one of the most rigorous things a public policy admissions officer will see. It certainly vouches for your academic ability. Your quant score is also obviously excellent. I think it is really going to come down to your essays / writing samples / SOP. If these are well written they will prove the GRE wrong in regards to your low verbal/writing scores and demonstrate direction in terms of moving from oil to government/public sector work.

PS: I would also expand my school list a little as well. Columbia SIPA looks like a great option for you coming out of the UN. Georgetown/Johns Hopkins/George Washington/Cornell/Tufts are also worth considering.

I believe that an upper second GPA usually translates to about a 3.5 (just making sure that you do not sell yourself short). My experience is limited on this subject, however when dealing with international degrees that use an honors system, upper second class is considered the standard to meet, with a first class being equivalent to exceeded expectations (like a 4.0). So your "GPA" is fine, I imagine most adcomms will see a "2:1" and approve. The combination of Law and UN work looks interesting/relevant, coupled with a solid SOP you could definitely make this work for top programs. Your GRE verbal and writing are excellent. Your Quant score is admittedly borderline for top programs (not prohibitive, just borderline). Do you have any math courses on record? The thing about the GRE is that it tests your ability to do simple math quickly, when rigorous policy programs are more concerned with being able to do intermediate math with a reasonable amount of time. The GRE Math decreases in importance with the more sucessful maths you have on record. In other words your 156 (which isn't actually bad, just not elite tier) means little if you have B+ to A grades in Caluclus, Linear Algebra, Statistics, Economics, etc. Languages are always a nice soft factor. Spanish is fairly common (which in a way is actually good because that means there are actually contexts in which it might be used), keep working on Arabic if you have the chance! I already got one strong acceptance with no language background, and so do many others so you are at an advantage here. I would not retake the GRE unless you are absolutely sure that your Quant score will increase AND your other scores will not decrease. A better way to make yourself a stronger candidate in this regard is to take higher maths. This will also help you survive your economics sequence. Remember that graduate schools by and large are not subject to the same rediculous GPA/SAT numbers game as American undergraduate institutions, the GRE is only one diagnostic tool among many. I would also apply to standard programs rather than mid-career, as I believe the mid-career ones tend to be more specialized and quant-heavy. Best of luck!

Many Thanks! While I was researching degrees I was very impressed with the Bush School. My enitre family is in New York though so it was natural to apply to schools in the Northeast. Best of Luck!

Its WWS, there is a great diversity of reasons that we will all be rejected.

I would imagine most adcomms can spot the difference between a typo and a paper that clearly has not been checked at all. Wouldn't stress about it