Lindsey G

Thanks mudlark. That's what I was thinking...it would somehow be a relief to not include it.

Thanks for your insights...I was just curious what people are thinking.

Curious as to why people are applying to ivy league or top tier programs-- does it mostly have to do with the experience while there or the possible opportunities afterward?

I've interviewed thousands of people...maybe next time I'll ask just to freak them out. No, but at least someone could say, "No, I've been asked about my GPA before." As a hiring manger in a university setting, I actually do care about GPA sometimes (it's usually listed on resume) depending on the job I'm hiring. Basically I don't want someone with a 2.0 teaching. I need to know they understood the material and that's just one indicator. On a weird side note, a collegue of mine has an M.Ed., but still lists her high school diploma with GPA, rank, and some elected office on her resume (even after I kind of nicely pointed out it wasn't necessary). Always strikes me as odd.

Hey pea-jay-- sorry to hear about your department's cuts, but congratulations on surviving it. Our state gov't too has experienced significant layoffs and furloughs. I know CA has had a rough patch, but as you said I hope that by the time I'm graduate in two or three years that things will have stabilized. The bottom line for me is that I want to return home and that's worth any of the crap that may be going on. BTW, I see that you're in wine country...if you don't mind sharing, Sonoma or Napa? I went to high school in Santa Rosa and then lived in Napa for a few years. It was a really nice place to grow up. I hope you're enjoying it.

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions. I've been looking at Fels and UPenn, which look very interesting. I was not aware of Kansas or Washington's programs and I'll be looking at those, too. Eventually I would like to move back to the Bay Area so I will apply to UC Berkley. SF State has a program, but I don't know anything about it's reputation. Is it a decent program? For the past five years I've been a administrative manager for a state gov't. and was recently promoted to head my project. Octavia, your suggestion seems very sound-- just not quite sure it'd work for me here. There are no PA programs within the state I am currently working and even if there were, I'm not too keen on the level of education those institutions would offer. Besides, as I said, I'd like to go back to the Bay Area. Maybe I could find someone in city gov't. there, however, who could offer some suggestions. Thank you again for all of the great suggestions!

I have no publication credits in the field I'm interested in (public affairs), but I am a published poet. I would think the adcoms wouldn't care, but looking at applications it has a space for "Any Creative Works." So, ? I can skip it, yeah?

I'm interested in an MPA program that focuses more on state/city gov't. Do you have an recommendations? So far I like Brown, but it seems a bit generalized. I'm not opposed to programs that have a general management/administration focus. I'm not horrible at math, but I'm no genius either. So while I'm not math adverse, I do not want to spend a significant amount of time focusing on stats, econ, and the like. Any recommendations in this area?

I'm interested in earning an MPA. I am a government administration manager now for the state of Hawai'i and I like it so an MPA seems to make sense. Ideally, I would like to move away from strict social services/policy and more into an interdisciplinary approach of government working within the community, which got me thinking. Would urban planning allow me to use social policy, environmental policy, and design to help communities function better for its members? I have no clue...so can you tell me your thoughts on obtaining a Masters in Urban Planning? Would this be a better fit given my goals than an MPA? Thanks for your insights...

Thanks Jae B. I'll work that in to my SOP so that they'll know why my grades were so low. Hopefully they will understand.

Thanks ScreamingHairyArmadillo. There were a few classes taken out of my field, but the bulk were in the social sciences. Well my cum GPA is 3.45. My last two years come in at 3.74. I started college when I was 15 and still in high school. So my first 48 units were done while I was still managing high school as well and I'm hoping admissions will take this into consideration and kind of overlook those units (at least a little). I was challenging myself and there was a learning curve for me. I never got anything below a B during that time so it seems appropriate that I was taking college classes concurrently. My GPA does show improvement: freshman 3.05, sophomore 3.15, junior 3.4, senior 4.0. Anyhow, should I mention that I was in high school? And if so, how would I go about doing that? Thanks for your help!!

Do most grad programs place a lot more weight on the last 60 undergraduate units? Or is that only some programs? Does it matter which courses were taken in the those last 60 units?