Ajo1797

Applying to: Chicago Harris MPP, Georgetown McCourt MPP, Duke Sanford MPP, Harvard Kennedy MPP, NYU Wagner MSPP 
Admitted to: Harris ($), McCourt ($$), Sanford ($$), NYU ($)
Rejected: HKS
Undergrad institution: Non-HYP Ivy
Undergrad Major: Government, Minor in Public Policy
Undergrad GPA: 3.81 (haven't calculated major GPA separately, but it's probably pretty close) 
Years out of undergrad: 1 at the time of application
Quant Background: College credit for AP Calc,  intro micro (B)/macro (A) econ, intro stats with R (A-), Mathematics in Politics (A), plus some light Stata training in an internship.
Relevant Work Experience: Research internship with a high profile think tank in DC, interned with a local campaign, the NY state assembly, and an NYC DA, been a constituent liaison in NYC ever since I graduated undergrad last year.
GRE: 165/167/5.5 (Verbal/Quant/AWA)
Strength of LOR: I think all three were decently strong. Two were from college professors who taught research methods courses that I did well in, the other was from my current supervisor.
Strength of SOP: I think they were solid, I talked about how important voting rights and electoral reform (which were my current focus areas, though I've begun to heavily consider health policy) have been to me from a very young age, how it influenced my extracurriculars in college, and customized them by discussing how I plan to use the tools/unique policy centers/connections from each school to further my career. 

Extracurriculars/Leadership: I was elected to the executive board of one of my school's largest political clubs, and I helped to train volunteers on a campaign I interned for. 

I chose McCourt mostly based on the location, as I have my heart set on working in the federal (or federal-facing) sector and don't have much of a DC network, plus I loved living in DC for a few months during undergrad. I don't have a car, or even a license, and I heard from many Sanford students that life at Duke without a car is doable, but tough, and the idea of being so far from a major city with such a small cohort in a small town was a dealbreaker for me. Harris didn't offer me nearly as much aid as I was hoping for, and the recently-ballooning class size (which seems to be primarily drawing inexperienced people right out of undergrad) was a bit of a red flag for me. I also despise cold weather, and going through another harsh winter between when I applied and decision time reminded me how much it affects my mental state. Although I'm aware of (and appreciate) the criticism that some people on this forum have for McCourt, I believe I'm adaptable and energetic enough career-wise to make up for its weaker career services and rumoredly-lackadaisical peer environment, and since I know I want to work in DC after I graduate, it seemed like the deficiencies would be compensated for by not having to start my DC network from scratch after graduation. Thank you to everyone (especially @GradSchoolGrad) for all the information you have shared.  

Is there anyone who will be declining the Georgetown MSFS offer here. I am curious!

I have not seen a lot of people talking about Duke Sanford MPP on here. So decided to create this. It would be great if people would comment on the fact that not many people are interested in MPP at Duke even when it is one of the best courses out there. Also it would be great if someone could comment on whether it poses a problem for policy students at Duke to study in a small town and whether that hinders their internship or job prospects in big cities which universities like Georgetown have it a little easy. Not heard good reviews about Georgetown hence it is important for me to know about Duke.