Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP Schools Applied To: University of Chicago - Harris, Carnegie Mellon - Heinz, Georgetown - McCourt Schools Admitted To: Harris ($), Heinz ($$$), McCourt (only 3k per semester) Schools Rejected From: None Still Waiting: None Undergraduate Institution: Liberal Arts College Undergraduate GPA: 3.85 Undergraduate Major: International Relations GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores: Did not take or submit due to COVID-19. Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): ~5 years Years of Work Experience: ~5 years Describe Relevant Work Experience: I've worked in a think tank for several years. I held a variety of jobs there including as an analyst and a program manager. I also had a couple of junior roles/internships and experiences elsewhere doing cool defense/nat-sec stuff.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I thought they were good, but who knows. I asked friends and colleagues for help, including one friend who I am so grateful to. I made a good case for this as the next step in my career and talked a bit about my personal story. Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I thought they were really strong. Two from my professional life; one from director of undergrad department. I asked them to reinforce aspects of my SOP materials through anecdote and what not. They were all happy to oblige and support. All impressive and wonderful people. Other: I will almost certainly choose Carnegie Mellon. I did not apply to the DC track at Heinz. I felt like I already had a decent network in DC, and really I wanted to focus on more math/econ centric data analysis, cost analysis, etc. I am also from Pittsburgh, so CMU makes obvious sense for me. I wish I would have applied to more schools, e.g. Princeton/HKS, and I wish I would have taken the GRE. However, I feel pretty good about the results considering I decided to apply a little late and haphazardly. I am disappointed Georgetown offered so little scholarship. I applied to Georgetown mainly as a back-up since it is local to me (currently DC based).
This website really helped me, and I am thankful that people have been so transparent about the process. Thank you!