EveningLeaves

Thank you so much! They worded it as the UC system wide scholarship and it covers the amount of the tuition. I think Ravine got tuition and fees which mostly covers the extra healthcare cost included with it, but in the end it is practically the same thing. I am quite excited about it. I received it about an hour ago. I think that they might be a bit behind on the releases since they said that they would release yesterday but didn't. 

How was it worded? Was it the same wording as Ravine's?
Also what time did you recieve it?
Congratulations!!! 

Congrats on your acceptance, GOFP isn't common and is an accomplishment. I don't believe any (?) MPP applicants received GOFP last year.  Do you mind sharing your stats, when you applied, and if your last name is in the beginning of the alphabet? Anxiously waiting and trying to keep hope alive over here. 

1. Stats and Micro-Econ puts you in a good position directly, but it would be helpful if you identified if your took Calc or. Econometrics. Your work experience is legit, but nothing extra ordinary. Like between straight from undergrad to Navy Seal, you are in the middle. 
2. I honestly don't know the West Coast schools that well in terms of admissions,  so I don't feel comfortable answering.
3. I am a big fan of Duke Sanford and UVA Batten MPP as awesome programs. HOWEVER... those are East Coast schools, and it doesn't really make sense for you if you want to stay out West.
4. Just drop CIPA from your list. It is like Stanford MPP - great University, but not a great program. 
 

@EveningLeaves
To answer your questions.
1. Exit opportunities from Federal Consulting generally land in these three areas
a.. Transition to Private sector that does business with Federal government a lot (example - Adobe cloud sales team to Government)
b. Transition to Private sector tangentially related to Federal Consuling role (example - user experience person does customer experience at Hilton)
c. Transition to Public sector as a contractor or senior level career government official (higher end GS or special pay grades)
2. Its funny that you ask me about stress of Federal Consulting vs. Big Law. I would say the sources of stress can be different.
a. In Big Law the stress is how you sometimes have multiple masters as an associate (multiple partners want things from you), making you work 90 hours a week on terrible work weeks. Also there are plenty of deadlines. Granted firms vary greatly, but generally speaking, you are too busy for the daily drama of things.
b. In Federal Consulting the stress is generally focused on 3 areas.
i. The drama. Because the hours are relatively relaxed + with lots and lots of opportunities for socializing --> there is a fair amount of intra-work drama that happens due to team dynamics + social events
ii. The waiting on your client to do something (not their fault, but waiting on the gears of government to turn) to see if what you done for XYZ months/years with millions/billions of dollars Is a failure or not
iii. FOMO on networking opportunities 
3. As for me, I went to the tech space. Not a common MPP route, but I was able to do it because someone took a chance on me to let me work in a big tech company and I was able to turn that a experience around to greater career opportunities that are tangentially policy related. 

That being said, Tik Tok has been on a hiring spree of MPPs, but I WOULD NOT take that job because of all the negative perceptions about the company (not just the China thing, but how they are struggling with getting their act together from a business organization angle too(.