antonis

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): University of Piraeus (Greece), London School of Economics Previous Degrees and GPA's: BA in International Studies (3,7), MSc in European Politics (A-) GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 600/650/4,5 Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 1 year municipal finance and tax policy consulting, 3 years international experience in EU funded projects (public administration reform, public finance, private sector development) Math/Econ Background: micro, macro, international econ, linear programming, statistics Foreign Language Background: Greek, English, French Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Health policy, social policy Long Term Professional Goals: work either for consulting firm or for international organization Schools Applied to & Results: SIPA (accepted), Harris (accepted), JHU (IPS) (accepted 60% tuition), GWU (accepted), American (accepted), U. Toronto (pending), Georgia Tech (pending) Ultimate Decision & Why: JHU (IPS), good scholarship and excellent health policy concentration. Actually the only school that gave me any funding. Also great deal of flexibility in tailoring the degree. Any advice to Future Applicants?: be brave, shoot high and show great dilligence in GRE preparation (contrary to me) and SoP.

Hello all! I thought that it would be nice to have thread for those who decided to accept JHU's(MPP) offer or are seriously thinking doing so. That would give us the chance to discuss on the various matters that might concern us. Look forward to your thoughts.

No news at all so far...it seems a fairly good program, but unfortunately they do not offer any funding assistance. I could not find any more information from graduates, but I know that it is a new program, launched 4-5 years ago. As far as it concerns me, it will be too late if they reply in two two weeks... Good luck!

Last name starts with T.

In but no funding....tough decision, this was my dream school but I think I will head for the money JHU is offering, and they are quite a lot. Good luck to all!

4:00 am here in Greece and still nothing. No further comments..... Goodnight and good luck!

I think they will just shut down their offices, will not send any email and they will notify us as of next week. Imagine how ridiculous will be to send another excuse/delay email.....fourth in a row!

Guys please do not call them or annoy them by dropping by! You will cause them breakdown, they sound already anxious in their emails, and they will never send any decisions!!!

Few hours ago I received an email from Clemmons redirecting me to the online application to check the decision. I was accepted to the MPA but without funding...which means that I will empty a seat tomorrow for the fellow applicants who are put in the waitlist. good luck to all!

I save the best for the end. The status of my online application had not change until few days ago and the supporting materials that had arrived by DHL were indicated as still missing. After 5 emails, 4 phone calls and several clarifications, I was informed that the file was indeed complete and it was a processing mistake. But to reach there I was left in 20 days of uncertainty, they were telling me that the file is not here, the committee has it but it not sure that it is complete etc etc.....Bottom line, I thing they have serious organizational deficiencies but the university is great and I am sure that the quality of education someone is going to take from U.Chicago is better than many top class universities in the field.

Same situation exactly here! To be honest I am fed up with this delay. Two days ago I was very anxious and looking at my emails every two minutes. It is madness, so I decided to leave it on its own. In any case I have a very good offer from JHU and I am seriously leaning towards it.... I wish good luck to all people waiting!

Hi sterlingcooperdraperprice and thanks for sharing your experience from the open house day. I am a an international student and my main concern is the placement of international graduates in the market. The fact that within 3 months everyone got a job, is encourging, but I am worried a bit about the reputation of the program generally in the country, and specifically in the context of private sector jobs, since an international has limited job opportunities. One of the major advantages is the close relation between faculty and students at all levels, indeed and I am happy to hear that from a prospective student (so far faculty only claimed it). Although I still expect replies from my top choices (harris, sipa), I feel that I am not going to get a better financial offer than JHU's so it seems that it will be my final choice. Good luck with your decisions and thanks again for the info.

Same situation here! I applied to and not too much info about it. I have a good feeling that the program is good, much practice oriented as far as I see in the curriculum.

This is indeed a top issue to consider as international students. I have the same reservations and perhaps the field might narrow down the choices of a graduate in comparison with a master degree in economics which is far more flexible. On the other hand, the market is so well developed in the US and I think there is space for all. Imagine that there is a specific type of consulting industry that deals only with public sector related topics, not to mention NGO's, think tanks, international agencies and so on. It would be valuable to listen to views of internationals already working there.

Hi there and congratulations. There are some views mentioning that AU is very well connected with the world of policy jobs. I think the same applies to JHU even though we do not have many information about it. If you take into account that SAIS is based in DC, then this normally creates a good reputation for JHU graduates in the DC market generally (this is a totally personal assumption). I also received an admission offer from JHU with a brave scholarship but still the program is very expensive and have not made my final decision. Good luck

It is the most expensive MPP program around I think...this is negative especially if it does not come with top class education and good job placement. I am exactly in the same position with you. Given that this scholarship will be renewed for the second year, and I work as assistant to the maximum permitted hours I still need around to invest 45k .... Another thing. I come from Greece, where Johns Hopkins is only well known in circles of people who have studied either midicine or international affairs. Do you buy "good brand" in the US market when you graduate from this school?Any clues?

Hi indisabelle. yes I made a search over the internet and read the review of a graduate. He claims that it is a "family like" program with good support from the career services and strong reputation in the market. He also stated that the graduates had a good placement not only in DC but in all over the country. To be honest I have a good feeling about the program. Do you have any idea id the tuition stated in the website is annual or total?

Hi guys! I was accepted as well with a very generous package and I am seriously considering. They seem very professional and organised, compared to Harris School where they lost my file and did not notify me at all!!!!! Good luck with your decisions!

Hi and congratulations! I also received an admission offer of 23,000$ for the first year from Johns Hopkins, MPP. I am very happy and excited but still I have not decided, because I expect decisions from 7 other universities. Like you GWU did not offer me any financial assistance and therefore most probably I am going to reject its offer. Do you know what are the exact tuition fees for John Hopkins.? The website states 39,100$ but they do not clarify whether this is the total amount or the annual....any idea? As regards your question, competition for WWS is huge because it is a fully funded program and because it has an excellent tradition. The second applies to HKS as well. My impression is that you should not risk rejecting a very good offer from a world renowned university just to apply to a bigger name. The differences are marginal and are not depicted in job placement or in salary in my view. Go for JHU, I hear very good things about this program. Best of luck A.

I think this totally depends on the policy of each university. For example NYU, states clearly that for international students criteria on verbal scores might be less strict as usual. But to be honest, i have not read such thing somewhere else.

Thank you both for your replies. The crossover can be explained by the fact that these policy professors who teach in Poli.Sci. departments are mostly interested in the theoretical aspects of the policy process and they use similar modeling and methodological approach as those who are used in purely political science topics. In that sense they do not do policy, rather they attempt to put forward scientific explanations of the process. My goals are clear, I prefer a PhD that will open more options rather than teaching and researching. In this context it seems that i should go for the Public policy. But as regards my question on admission difficulty, is it true that PhD in Public Policy is less competitive than Phd Pol.Sci to get in top 20 departments?

Hi all, I am in front of a big dilemma. I do not know what direction is best to take. Given my educational background, BA International Studies, and MSc European Politics from the LSE, perhaps PhD in Political Science perhaps would be closer to my profile. However, my three year experience in World Bank and EU projects has intrigued my interest for the policy process. Another aspect is that Political Science programs in US universities are more competitive to gain admission, and in this context chances for a better school for PhD in Public Policy are greater. Any ideas or thoughts would be much appreciated. Many thanks.