carlycm

I like your idea and i'll keep looking into it! If the stars align and I get into a school like that with a scholarship, I'd take that opportunity. The Northeast has never been too appealing to me, but I don't want to limit myself too much. I took stats and a couple of economics classes in undergrad and did okay in them. They're not strengths for me, but I can manage. I'll also be better prepared this time around to ask for help and hire a tutor if necessary. There were many resources I didn't take advantage of in undergrad and I wont make those same mistakes again!

Hello! Cost of tuition, availability of scholarships/aid, programs that fit my interests, and attending school in a location I really enjoy are the most important factors for me in making my decision. I'm not 100% sure about what I want my focus to be in, so i'm leaning more towards strategy 1. I see why strategy 2 is appealing, but I'm realistic enough to know that many of those schools are out of reach, and thats okay. I'd rather find a program that will give me an amazing education and provide resources to help me succeed. I'm also thinking about waiting to apply for Fall 2022 admission. That will allow me time to research which programs work the best for me, study for the GRE and take it multiple times If I need to, get some more relevant work experience, save more money and retake an econ class if I can afford it. Waiting a little longer can help me figure out how to save the most money, and by the time I'm ready to apply I may be more clear on which direction I'd like to go in. I'm leaning towards MPA 100%. I'd like the ability to switch careers down the road if I want to, and I'm really only interested in state/local gov, environmental organizations and nonprofits. I know how my brain works and i'm sure I would be more successful in school going the MPA route vs. MPP. I'm not as interested in the analytical side of things, and my writing/communication/leadership skills are my strengths.

Hello! Thanks for the info about the other posts! I'll look into those and see how others are tackling their situations. I think you're right about sparing the details, especially since I'd rather not share them. I've had a hectic life, but I've finally reached the point where I feel prepared for the challenges of graduate school, and I'll make sure to share that in my statement. What do you think about offering to provide more information about my traumas to admissions committees if they feel it is necessary? Is that something I should offer, and would they even ask? I'm prepared to do that if it will be helpful. My alma mater did provide a couple of free counseling sessions, but other than that I did not receive much guidance on available resources during my times of need. Fortunately, I'm older, wiser and better able to advocate for myself if that need should arise. I will make sure to research policies and resources available at the schools I plan to apply to, and I greatly appreciate your advice. Thank you!

You have a good point, but I'm not going to stress about it. What I can control right now is applying to jobs so i'm going to keep doing that until i've got one, and submit strong applications once that time comes. I did some more digging and found 2 more schools that I plan to apply to that have better programs than the ones I previously mentioned. I appreciate your encouragement! Thank you for that, and taking the time to talk to me about everything! My two interests right now are environmental policy and nonprofit management, but you're totally right that my interests could change further down the line. I'd prefer a learning environment that encourages high achievement, and I do well under pressure. I'd like to go somewhere that will provide a strong community and lots of resources for career development and networking. I see that you went to Georgetown for your MPP. How was your experience there? Where else did you apply? I'm thinking of applying to University of Washington (Evans) and University of Minnesota (Humphrey). I have family in the PNW, Minnesota/Wisconsin, and I currently live in Colorado, so I'd prefer to pursue my degree in a place I can see myself settling down in. I know that that is limiting to some degree, but family and community are incredibly important to me.

1. I get what you're saying, but I'm not too worried. I was actually furloughed, but expect I will be laid off on June 1st when they make the official layoff announcement. I'm actively applying to jobs right now and don't expect there to be much of a break in my resume. Considering that 36 million Americans have lost their jobs due to Covid-19, I think employers/grad schools will be more accepting. I don't think thats a naive assumption, but please correct me if i'm wrong.

1. Damn really? Maybe i'm not giving myself enough credit, but I took a bunch of higher ranking schools off of my list thinking that they wouldn't accept me. I also love Colorado and Oregon and can see myself living in both those places long term, so I've been more focused on those schools. I started studying for the GRE last week to prepare for taking it in September, so I'm confident I can get a good score. I want to start now since I was laid off and have time, and its been a while since I've been in school. 2. Why do you think its easier to do well in grad school versus undergrad? Hard classes? I've never heard this before so I'm pretty shocked. Its also wild to me that students go straight to graduate school. I think its good to take some time to get work experience and figure yourself out.

1. I've got a friend in law school who wrote an addendum for her law school apps, and she offered to help. We both had friends tragically die while we were in undergrad and her grades were affected just like mine were. She's smart as hell, so i'm very lucky. 2. My dream school is University of Oregon, and I would say CU and UofO are on the same level of respected public research universities. 3. I'm thinking about reaching out to the graduate coordinator at UofO to see if he recommends any classes to take to strengthen my application. When I said local school I meant CSU, CU Boulder or CU Denver. CU Denver has one of the graduate programs I plan to apply to. I will look into Colorado State Online and probably CU Denver to see what they have to offer. Were you taking undergraduate level stats classes or were they graduate level?

Hi, Thank you for the response, I really appreciate it. To answer your questions I went to CU Boulder (class of 2018) and my major was Environmental Studies, so a mix of politics, econ, hard science, math and sociology. I did not do an honors thesis. As a person who is notoriously bad at science and math I'm pretty proud that I still managed to pull off the 3.1 GPA. I like your advice on having it sound more like a reasonable speech. I have trouble writing about the shit i've been through, especially when its not anonymous. Sometimes I really don't know how to put all those feelings into words and end up sounding robotic because I don't want to inject too much emotion into it. I think my refusal to give up despite everything, and my ability to get B's in the classes I originally withdrew from/failed is a good sign. I'll definitely look into classes I could take at a local school, and if there are any pre-reqs I can take prior to applying to grad school. What do you think about retaking a statistics class I originally got a B- in if there aren't any pre-reqs I can take? I still live in Boulder and CU has a good continuing education program I could take advantage of.

I'm actually looking into the MPA program at UofO with a concentration in nonprofit management! I cant really answer any of your questions, but its cool to see someone else on here interested in the same school and a similar program

Hi everyone, I'm starting the process of applying to MPA/Nonprofit programs for Fall 2021 admission. My undergraduate GPA is 3.1 and the schools I plan to apply to have 2.5 and 3.0 GPA requirements. I'm planning to take the GRE in September since my GPA is just above the 3.0 requirement for my dream school, and I want to do everything I can to increase my odds. What I'm really worried about is that my undergraduate transcript is all over the place. I ended my first semester with two D's and one W. This was mainly because I struggled to adjust to college and didn't know what I was doing at first. Fortunately, for a couple of semesters after that I received all A's and B's and was doing well. Due to personal life experiences my grades began to fall again during the spring semester of my junior year. I had to permanently cut my dad, bother and my entire dads side of the family out of my life due to harassment and emotional abuse. That spring I received an F in one of my classes, and the rest of my grades were decent. During the fall semester of my senior year I was sexually harassed and to some degree stalked by a man I did not know. I only recognized him and knew the sound of his voice from when he would approach me but I never knew his name or anything about him. I filed a police report, and told him the next time he approached me and thankfully he left me alone after that. Due to the mental distress I was dealing with I withdrew from 2 classes and received those 2 W's on my transcript. I started doing okay again, and due to the W's ended up having to take a super senior fall semester. During my 5th year fall semester my friend was tragically killed in a drunk driving accident. I was devastated, but determined to finally finish my degree, and as a result 2 out of my 4 final grades were C's. Due to all of these things I've mentioned I suffered from a lot of depression and anxiety throughout my undergraduate experience that contributed to my grades being all over the place. I plan to write a statement about my circumstances in addition to everything else required in my applications. I'm also honestly just worried that I wont even be considered as a serious applicant due to my sub par performance in undergrad. I'm really determined, but I doubt myself at times and doubt if I'd be accepted anywhere. Does anyone have any tips on how to write a statement like this? I know that at the end of the day my grades were my responsibility and that there's a chance I could have done better during my undergrad studies. I want an admissions committee to understand where I'm coming from, but I also want them to know that I don't expect things to be handed to me and that I'm ready to work hard to earn my masters degree. I also need advice on how to find balance between being too personal about my struggles and turning those struggles into motivation to succeed. Unfortunately for me since most of these issues with my grades happened in the latter part of undergrad I don't have physical proof of improvement, and I'm not sure how I'm supposed to show them that they can count on me to be a good student. I appreciate all the advice and help I can get, Thank you!