Rubies
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Posts posted by Rubies
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On 9/7/2020 at 1:25 PM, BTF said:
Answers to your questions:
1. I would be curious to know what your thoughts are about the economics courses?
They are just economics courses. Nothing special or underwhelming, they focus more on the theory and less on the math. The MPPA program is designed to bring people from various disciplines together, this means they cannot provided in-depth courses on any particular subject, especially economics. I did my undergrad in Criminology, my experience with economics is slim.
2. Do you feel like the curriculum is truly more advanced there?
No curriculum at any school is "advanced", some schools just place emphasis on other areas, you can typically break theses areas into three broad categories; stats/economics, management, and policy analysis. Carleton would be more an economics and management focused school. Given we have two courses on both management and economics with only one course on policy analysis.
3. Have you seen many job postings in other institutions ? (As an international student, I wouldn't have access to the federal or provincial governments).
Co-op jobs are posted for each sector: private, non-profit, and federal and provincial government. As a non-canadian citizen/resident you will have a near impossible time getting into the government without getting bridged in through a co-op.
4. I'm curious to know if the A- requirement is very challenging to meet?
Depends how hard you work. Many are just there for the co-op and don't much care for doing well. I don't blame them, the government does not care what your grades are, well, generally. Some professors grade much harsher than others. There are at least three I've had that said they do not give A+'s or have given less than 10 in their career. Seemed odd but that's life I guess.
5. Do you have to take the 10 courses before enrolling in the thesis?
Read the MPPA Thesis Form. You need to finish all the pre-reqs and first year courses prior to thesis registration. This means you'll likely have 8/10 courses completed. Assuming you take 4 in the fall and 4 in the winter.
https://carleton.ca/sppa/academics/documents-and-forms/
Thank you very much for all the infos ! I had read the documents available, but you've made it more clear to me now
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Thank you for your initiative !
I will apply to the program this year. It seems like the best option to me, since I could do both a coop and a thesis.
To start with, I would be curious to know what your thoughts are about the economics courses ? From what I can see, most Canadians programs do not have any pre-requirement, but Carleton does. It seems like a plus for me, but it might be an illusion as well. Do you feel like the curriculum is truly more advanced there ?
Also, regarding the coops, I know Carelton is famous for its internships with the Federal government. Have you seen many job postings in other institutions ? (As an international student, I wouldn't have access to the federal or provincial governments).
Finally, as I said I'm interested in the research track. I'm curious to know if the A- requirement is very challenging to meet (I have a somewhat competitive gpa as an undergrad, but for some reasons I am worried the gap could be wide between my program and grad school, especially without a quantitative background). Do you have to take the 10 courses before enrolling in the thesis, or can you do a few of them during the second year, while redacting ?
Again, thank you so much for taking this time to help
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On 4/2/2020 at 11:17 PM, bananacoconut said:
Thanks so much.
I considered just messaging you, but maybe this could help other future applicants browsing this thread.
Work and volunteering, etc.:
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I actually don't have a lot of experience. I've never had a job in government or in anything directly related to policy.
- If you're interested in the MPS co-op program, they actually don't want people who've had a lot of experience. Those people do the non-co-op MPS.
- I was SUPER lucky to have had a prof who gave me empowering and challenging work as a research assistant (since 2015) and teaching assistant (2016-2019). I got to help put together a literature review and then an essay. I am lucky to be able to say my work has been read by certain prominent academics and government institutions — but it's only because I was in that position; the profs would've given it to them anyway. As a "TA", though I did grade work, I mostly helped with redesigning a couple upper-level courses. Again, I was lucky. I hadn't even taken those courses and my boss trusted me to help him with those tasks.
- I honestly haven't volunteered all that much.
- I joined zero clubs, flew out to zero case competitions, had zero student governments/committees, or what have you.
Academics:
- I did my undergrad degree from 2013 to 2018 (and not in something like public policy or poli sci).
- Overall, I mostly got A grades (electives gave me A+s), but I'm not in the top 5% or whatever of my program, I never, ever made it to the Dean's List, and I never got academic scholarships in undergrad.
- I didn't do any theses and I don't have any papers I've worked on outside my RA work. Nothing is under my name.
- My worst course grade was less than a third of my highest course grade. It was a calculus course and I had actually been trying to do well. I barely passed an easier calculus course later. Not only did those crappy grades not matter to Canadian schools, but even freaking UChicago (super quantitatively rigourous) could overlook that.
- To be fair, one thing that I think helped me is doing MITx's MicroMasters program in Data, Economics, and Development Policy. The program has super cool — and, for the most part, super challenging (to me anyway) — courses taught by Esther Duflo, Abhijit Banerjee, and other amazing economists. It's incredible, I've learned so much, and I'm paying only $500 USD for the whole thing! (Pricing is based on your income.) I didn't even take five courses at once like some people do. I've been doing them mostly one by one to try to gain a deeper understanding.
- Undergrad average: 84% (A-). Last two years: 87% (A).
- MicroMasters average so far: 90% (A).
I know stats and softs are important, but I think Grad Café makes them seem more important than they really are. A bunch of other things matter, too:
- I think if an applicant is confident in their story and in their potential (and can clearly and passionately indicate that in their applications), they can get in, even despite some disadvantages they might have.
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I heavily personalized each personal statement to the program, even using the school's brand guidelines throughout my application (values, goals, words, primary colours, secondary colours, fonts, design, etc.). I comb through the schools' websites to find phrases that spoke to me and found ways to incorporate them or their gist into my essays and résumés. I don't know if the schools really cared about colours and such, but I at least could show I cared about the school and was a good fit.
- By brand guidelines, I mean like this one for UWaterloo. See page 5. Stuff like that helped me craft my personal statements.
- If you have trouble getting work experience like I've had, you can do policy-related things even outside of work, volunteering, and studies that can help you immerse yourself in the field and that you can even write about in your applications to show your passion and dedication.
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I owe much of my success to luck and to my lovely profs. Don't forget to engage with your profs! Attend office hours, ask questions, email and meet your profs even after taking their courses. It amazes me how invested profs can be in your growth and future studies. It's also easier for them to write letters of recommendation for you if they know you well. All three of my referees have pointed this out to me. They've all had students who they barely know (AKA students who didn't bother to cultivate relationships with them) ask them to be their referees. All of them said that wasn't the case for me. One said he wrote for me the longest letter of recommendation he'd ever written. (If only I could read it, lol.) Another said no other student after me has attended his office hours nearly as much. After three years and hundreds of students, it's not even close. By the way, I know I didn't get top marks in any of their classes. Ya don't gotta have the best stats.
- Waterloo's MPS program needs 3 referees. (US schools also tend to want at least 3.)
Also:
- Ask for things!! Whether it's a job or some other kind of opportunity that pops up, ASK. E.g.: nine months into my RA job, my boss was going to present his literature review that I was helping with at a conference at an unbelievably amazing US school. During a meeting just two days before the conference, he very casually said in passing that if he could take me with him to the conference, he would. It was a purely hypothetical situation. But I asked. Then he asked the school, the school got me an invite, and I got to go. I was 19 and am no ridiculous genius. People there had committed more years to their fields than the years I'd had experience breathing. They still let me in.
- I had a typo in all my résumés.
So, that's me. But other people have totally different stories. Maybe I "wrote my way in" as some people are afraid they did (as opposed to being "actually qualified"). Maybe my referees with all their bias had offered enough pretty words to say about me. And so what if the colours and fonts helped offset my slower pace, blemished record, dearth of awards, and lack of experience? I don't mind one bit. We can get in through different paths and at different paces and even with different (and imperfect) stats/softs. Hopefully, I've demonstrated that. If you try hard at what you're doing (policy-related or not), prove your passion for policy and your fit with the school, and believe in your story and potential, I think you'll be totally fine.
Lastly, I urge you to browse many programs and go for the best of the best programs that speak to you and fit your interests, no matter your perception of your qualifications and no matter the program's costs. And do it now. Your top choice might not even be UWaterloo's MPS. My top choice used to be UWaterloo's MEDI (to do another degree after), then it was MPS, then Carleton's MPPA, then not even that. I regret so much that it was only in mid-November that I'd begun to consider applying to my ultimate dream school. I'd figured they wouldn't want me and that it would be too expensive, so I'd dismissed the idea for so long. And what do you know? I got in anyway and with a bit of funding, even with very limited time to prepare for the GRE. And costs are higher when you're too late to apply for the good scholarships.
If you have more questions, whether now or in the future, I'd be more than happy to chat.
Best of luck to you.
Thank you so much for your advices, this is incredibly helpful ! Also a bit reassuring.
I'm seriously considering doing the micro master, it really seems to be relevant.
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I actually don't have a lot of experience. I've never had a job in government or in anything directly related to policy.
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3 hours ago, bananacoconut said:
To Waterloo MPS applicants, check Quest!
I just found out my status changed from “Application” to “Admit”! I’ve gotten no letter or email though, not even in spam.(Not an April Fool’s “joke”, I promise.)
Congratulations ! You've been accepted almost everywhere, that's impressive. If you don't mind, what are your stats/softs ?
(MPS is my top choice. I'll be applying next year, so I'm trying to understand the profiles. It seems like a lot of you have a lot of experence)
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On 3/4/2020 at 9:32 AM, bp63 said:
Yesterday at about 3pm I received an email from Waterloo with a conditional offer. They told me that the official acceptance would be made available on Quest in about 2 weeks to accept or decline the offer.
Congratulations !
Can I ask you about your stats ? I wonder if it's because you have a really really good level, and what their standards are.
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Congratulations on your acceptance at Waterloo!
Can I ask you about your profile (gpa, work experience...) ?
Sciences Po Opinions?
in Government Affairs Forum
Posted · Edited by Rubies
I am originally from France, and students don't usually get any work experience before graduating (and I mean: they barely work part-time jobs). You should'nt be discriminated on that basis. if you have a really good academic record, that should be enough (just an opinion, but that's a cultural factor you may want to know).
Edit: I have no idea regarding the change of field. You should ask them.