MaxwellAlum
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Posts posted by MaxwellAlum
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I agree with albuhhh that it's probably self-selection. When I did my MPA at Syracuse most students were left-leaning politically (including myself), but we had a couple of conservative students who added greatly to classroom discussions. I wish there had been more.
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I did a degree in Latin American studies in the UK, so to be fair it wasn't a professional degree. My (very small) program in the UK had great classes and professors, but it was bare bones in terms of other stuff like career guidance or any kind of managing of an alumni network. Being an alum of my grad program (Syracuse-Maxwell) in the US, I have multiple opportunities to connect with other alumni, and when I was job searching more often than not there was usually at least one and often multiple alumni in the organizations I was targeting. Also, when I started my MPA, I thought I'd want an international career, but my interests and personal preferences changed and now I'm working in local government, for which my US program was great preparation. So just some thoughts to consider - I have no doubt that an MPA from LSE can open up lots of exciting opportunities.
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I can't speak specifically to the MPA program at LSE, but I would just be cautious about investing in a professional program abroad if you want to work in the US directly afterwards. In my experience having completed graduate degrees in the UK and the US, the education in the UK was great, but in terms of networking and career guidance the US degree was far more valuable. This may be a bit different for LSE given its name recognition in the US and the fact that they do get a lot of US students (I used to joke that going to the LSE campus was like going to the US), so take what I say with a grain of salt. Also, if you're interested in working in the UK or an international organization, that changes things a bit. Just don't underestimate the value of studying in the country where you want to work.
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Yep, to take the student loan interest deduction just fill in the 1040A, no need to itemize deductions. I have close to a $50k balance, don't itemize, and have definitely gotten tax relief. But when planning on taking out loans, I would definitely recommend assuming you're paying with after-tax money. The tax relief is not that much and is limited to $2,500 of interest per year (you will pay that initially on $50k).
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So which would be a "good" debt range. I mean, obviously the best would be 0 (or even better, negative numbers!), but which would be a good "maximum" amount of debt? 50K? 60K?... for an MA to work in the government/non-profit sector, I mean.
It's very personal and depends a bit on where you are in life and your willingness to be in debt for a LONG time. For me, having between $40-50k in loans with a standard starting government salary ($50k-ish) is manageable because (not having a ton of other expenses) I am able to make noticeable dents in my balance. A $50k balance accrues about $225 in interest every month with the current 5.41% interest rate, and the monthly payment on a standard 10-year repayment plan is $540. With a salary of $50k your take-home pay might be $2,700-$2,900 each month depending on taxes, health insurance and retirement contributions. If you are a single person without a lot of other expenses, you can likely make the $540 payment and maybe some extra, and still save a bit of money each month/afford a car payment.
If you have a loan balance of $80k, the standard monthly payment for the 10-year plan is $860 (and of that $360-ish is interest starting out). I imagine that would really be tough for most people on a $50k salary, as that starts to really crowd out any room for savings, car payments, retirement, etc. And yes, your salary will increase some, but you'll likely not want to throw all your raises into your loans (maybe you'll want a better apartment, kids, a house, save more for retirement, etc.).
The income-based repayment plans do allow you to make payments that are manageable no matter what your balance is, and that gives you the option of prioritizing other things. Student loans are great in terms of the flexibility in repayment. The problem is that if these payments don't cover at least a very large portion of the interest, then your loan balance will be growing significantly as time goes by, which is scary. Unless you actually miss payments your credit score will be fine, and you may be able to get loan forgiveness after 10 or 20/25 years through Public Service Loan Forgiveness/IBR, but relying on these programs being available a decade+ from now can feel stressful, and the debt may keep you from things like qualifying for mortgage.
I am very, very glad I attended the school that offered me more funding as my other option was to take on six-figure debt. Of course I wish I had less/no debt ($50k is still a very large balance), but I absolutely believe that the investment was worthwhile. I agree with others that if the choice is between a big-name school and six-figure debt versus a another reputable school with lots of funding, hands down take the funding.
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As someone who is currently making student loan payments for an MPA degree, I'd say that keeping your loan balance at a minimum should be a high priority, but student loans aren't the end of the world. If you do income-based repayment, any balance is pretty manageable day to day. However, I would avoid having a loan balance so high that an income-based payment doesn't even cover the interest that accrues every month, as that is really stressful. Also, if taking out a mortgage is something you want in the near future, maybe talk with a financial planner about how different loan balances will affect that.
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I attended the Maxwell School after having worked at a nonprofit for a couple of years. For me, it was a great decision - my skills and interests weren't suited to progressing within the nonprofit I was in, and more importantly, I realized I really wanted to get into a more analytical/policy role. Now that I have my MPA (and MAIR), I'm doing the kind of work I really want to be doing, and I now have the quantitative background to really shine in my job. For me, it was about getting my career on the track I wanted it to be on, not necessarily to move up (my first job out of grad school was very much entry level). The MPA gives you the network and credibility to get your foot in the door and can give you the skills to move up (though you will learn most skills on the job). Where I work (local government), I suspect if you already have your foot in the door, whether or not you have a graduate degree doesn't matter that much for progressing to middle management - a master's degree often officially counts as equivalent to one year of experience. The degree might help you if you want to change jobs down the road, though your experience will matter more. For high profile director-level jobs, which are political appointments, not having a graduate degree *might* hold you back, but it's more about who you know.
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Have you looked for jobs in local government? You wouldn't be working on climate change, but local governments deal with issues like waste management, stormwater management, etc. I don't work in the environmental field so I'm definitely not an expert, but I do work in local government, and it's a great sector to get experience in and get a sense of what you like.
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I'm a recent public administration grad with about $50,000 in federal student loans, and I'm of two minds about this. On the one hand, federal student loans (not private loans) have a lot of flexibility in terms of repayment. You can choose to have your payments based on your income, so that helps if you want to take a job with a less than ideal salary. Also, if you do go into public service, you may be able to get some relief via the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (the Obama administration recently proposed some changes to this: http://www.edcentral.org/obama-administration-announces-major-reforms-income-based-repayment/ ) Because of these options I don't feel particularly overwhelmed with my student loans. Of course it would be great not to dish out a couple hundred bucks every month, but my degree has made a world of difference in getting me on the career track I want to be on.That said, student loans are not only a huge pain administratively (the servicers that you have to deal with to repay your loans are awful), but they can possibly affect your finances in other ways, such as preventing you from qualifying for a mortgage (I'm not an expert on this). Also, if your hope is to repay your loans as quickly as possible, bear in mind that with this year's interest rates on direct unsubsidized loans (5.41%), just the amount of interest that accrues every month on a $50,000 balance is over $200. So that's going to limit how much you can pay back. Personally, I would never recommend anybody take on six figure debt for public policy school, for starters because the amount of interest that accrues on that by itself can be overwhelming on a public sector salary. It can definitely be managed (especially with income-based repayment), but definitely think about how much you expect to be making after grad school and what your other financial goals will be such as buying a house or saving for retirement.
- thrtyfutsmurf and gradytripp
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The Obama administration is proposing changes to Income-Based Repayment (IBR) and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program for federal student loans. The New America Foundation has summarized those changes:
http://www.edcentral.org/obama-administration-announces-major-reforms-income-based-repayment/
http://www.edcentral.org/case-obamas-fixes-income-based-repayment/
These proposals would limit the dollar amount that can be forgiven under PSLF, require borrowers to pay more when their income increases, and require married borrowers to have their household income used in calculating their IBR payments (right now if you file taxes married filing separately you can just have your own income counted). What are your thoughts?
There's a White House petition out now to ask the administration to keep PSLF in its current form:
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I'd really encourage you to see if you can get in touch with some students at Maxwell who studying international trade/markets (call the admissions office). One thing you can do at Maxwell is do a dual degree in international relations and economics, which could help in terms of marketability (it will take longer). The economics department at Maxwell has some great people, such as Mary Lovely, who teaches a great course on international economics focused on trade policy. However, I am not sure if Maxwell can offer you the breadth of courses in this area as compared with SAIS, which is why I suggest getting in touch with students who are focused on this specifically (I am not).
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I'll start by saying I'm biased, I'm currently at Maxwell and I love it.
That said, yes of course I am skeptical of the rankings, mostly because I question whether "deans, directors and department chairs" really know much about the quality of other programs across the country. And since I've only attended one program, I'm not in a position to rank schools either.
However, I do have a good sense of what is good at Maxwell and what isn't, and personally I do feel the specialties rankings do reflect some reality regarding the relative strength of Maxwell in certain areas versus others. For example, it makes sense to me that Maxwell is not as highly ranked in policy analysis as it is in other areas, as some have noted, because that's not the main focus of the MPA. One of the differences I've noted between Maxwell and other programs is the fact that there's only one semester of micro required for the MPA (probably because it's a one year program) and I think that's reflected in the policy analysis rankings. On the other hand, there are a ton of really knowlegeable faculty here in the area of public management and some really fantastic classes, and the same goes for public finance and budgeting; Maxwell is ranked #1 in these areas. So, in that sense, I am more impressed by the rankings than I expected to be.
Is there a rankings game going on? I have no idea, but probably. Do Harvard, Columbia and Princeton have better programs? Certainly they are more selective, which is an advantage in and of itself. HKS will always have a better brand than Maxwell because it's Harvard, which attracts more applicants, which means that the people who get into and graduate from HKS must be very smart (before they got to HKS) and will go far in their careers, helped by a vast network of other smart (and well-connected) alumni. That doesn't necessarily mean that the teaching is better, though of course it's good to have smart classmates.
As someone else has said, use the rankings as a starting point, but educate yourself about the programs by speaking with current students and alumni and look at what kinds of classes are offered at each school. For example, for the moment, Maxwell is not the best place to go to study international finance (public finance, yes). A degree from a brand name school will most likely have some benefits that you will not get from Maxwell, and no amount of US News rankings will change that. But people from Maxwell and other non brand name schools go on to have great careers, so do consider them!
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I'm fairly certain that you'll be given the opportunity to take waiver exams for statistics and economics (I can't imagine they'd change this!). I haven't ever tried to take a Ph.D. class, but I've heard a professor in the economics department allowing this for a student who had the prerequisites . It depends on the department and the professor, I believe. Tuition is per credit, so you will have to pay extra for classes that you want to take for credit. On the other hand, most professors do allow students to audit classes, which means you do all of the work for the class but you don't get a formal grade for it (I think that it does show up on your transcript). Auditing is free, and I haven't heard of this policy changing at all. If I were you, I would just call (calling is preferable to e-mail, I think) the admissions office and double check on all of these questions.
In terms of whether the degree is less rigorous than other degrees that are longer, it's hard for me to say since I haven't done the other programs. (On a side note, one of the things I don't like about the IR program is that you have to pay to do your internship, since you take it for credit, but that's only 3 credits). I'm also doing a dual degree (MPA and MAIR) in part because I felt that the 12 month MPA program was too short; I just like being a student too much. You could potentially do a dual degree with economics if you wanted a longer degree - there's several people who do the dual MAIR/MA Econ.
I don't think that the length of the degree means that it's easier - I have had to work hard for all of my classes. I do think it's indicative of the fact that it's a professional degree and they are catering to people who want to get back into the workforce as soon as possible. One possible disadvantage for you is that in the IR program you do not write a thesis, which would be helpful for a Ph.D. if that's your aim. There is the option of doing an independent study which basically amounts to writing a very long paper (basically a thesis), and you may wish to ask also about this possibility.
Hi SyracuseStudent.... Thank you for your reply.... I'm basing that assertion on the student handbook, and the fact that no waiver exams are mentioned. It says you have to take PPA 723 or ECN 601; and IRP 704 or PPA 721. There is no mention of a waiver possibility. Perhaps I'm wrong... that would make me very happy actually. As far as you know... which classes can be waived? Also... I would really appreciate it if you could tell me: 1) Is it possible to cross-register with PhD classes in other areas at Maxwell (as long as you have the pre-requisites of course)?; 2) Can you take more classes than what is needed to graduate (40 credits) from the MAIR... that is... to take more credits per semester for the same price (full student tuition); 3) Finally... am I right when I say that the MA-IR program could be less rigorous than others because it can be finished in less time? Or am I completely wrong... and it is equally rigorous but in less time? Thank you so much for your time...
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Are you sure that you can't waive out of economics and statistics at Maxwell? I am a student at Maxwell and there were definitely waiver exams in August. Are they changing this policy for next year's cohorts?
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On deciding to attend Maxwell, a lot of it was just intuition. I liked the idea of coming to a place like Maxwell which was ranked highly but did not have a brand like Harvard or Columbia -- something about that just felt right. In addition, the combination of the practical MPA and more interdisciplinary IR degree as well as the potential of the global programs on the IR side was really appealing to me. Also, after living in big cities for the past 8 years I was ready to move somewhere a little more low key; the other two options I was looking at were in larger cities. Finally, the funding, which included an assistantship that I felt (and I was right) might have some inherent benefits of its own, was a good incentive.
In terms of disappointments, I wouldn't say there have been any major ones. Most of the teaching here is wonderful, however there have been a couple of "bad professors", which I think occurs anywhere. When I was writing out my course plan I realized I was more limited than I thought I would be in my course choices because I wanted to make sure to avoid those classes where I knew the teaching wouldn't be as good. I know that some of my classmates were really excited about a particular class (which has a very exciting title) and they were disappointed when the teaching was not as great for it.
Another issue more specific to Maxwell is that when you come to the IR program you're told about all of these global programs in exciting places, and some of them are really excellent. However, again I realized when I came in that my choice of global programs was more limited than I thought it would be because some of the programs have been created for, and are more suitable for, undergrads (for example, they might have a very short internship component). As a counter-example, I am doing the Geneva program this summer (which is exclusive to grad students) and will be interning with a UN organization. This has been surprisingly easy to arrange and I've gotten a lot of support from faculty to do it, so this has been an extremely positive experience so far. In addition, the school and faculty will be happy to provide support for you to pursue internship opportunities outside of the global programs.
Finally, the weather really is brutal. At first the snow is pretty, then you get to the end of March and realize it's spring in other parts of the country, but still winter here. That can be frustrating.
In terms of good surprises, one is how amazing my classmates are. I don't consider myself to have the ideal resume for a public/international affairs degree and it's very cool to be in the company of so many people who have done really interesting and relevant things. In addition, the faculty is very supportive. This is across the board: I haven't come across a professor that was unwilling to help students out if it was in his or her power. Finally, there is an amazing number of activities that you can get involved in while you're here, and you won't have time to take advantage of them all (I mentioned a few of them in my previous message). Being in Syracuse is not the same as being in DC, but there are plenty of valuable, career-related things you can take part in.
Thanks SyracuseStudent for responding, and your suggestion is an excellent one!
If I may ask, what clinched you decision to attend Maxwell, and have there been any disappointments during your time there?
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I was in a similar position last year (unable to visit schools) so I can definitely relate. I'm a current dual MPA/IR student at the Maxwell School and I can attest to the fact that it's a very friendly place, in the sense that the faculty and admin staff really care about the students. Faculty make themselves very available in terms of helping students to learn the material and providing support and connections for the job search, and the admin staff tend to do their very best to solve crisis situations such as "my computer froze right during registration and I didn't get into the super popular class I wanted".
Student life is very active, both in terms of IR/policy oriented activities like organizing conferences, fundraising for charity, volunteering with the local refugee community and with a local citizen engagement nonprofit, and strictly social activities like wine tours in the Finger Lakes or various kinds of parties. As someone who is not historically much of a joiner, I've been surprised by how involved I've gotten (though I'm definitely not able to attend even half of the events I'd like to). I think that the balance is pretty good; you definitely have to study hard and it's nearly impossible to keep up with all of the readings (this does vary depending on the professor, of course). I've never thought to myself "gosh, I wish I had more school work".
In terms of being integrated into the broader campus, I don't really have anything to compare it to. I interact mostly with people from the Maxwell School, but I know some people have benefited from taking classes at the law school. It's nice to be able to easily attend university-wide events like basketball games and prestigious lectures (e.g. Nicolas Kristof).
As far as age goes, I've noticed the MPA crowd is older than the IR crowd. As a 27-year-old I definitely appreciate being around others with work experience in the MPA program. I can't speak much to the opposite experience.
If you'd like to know more I'd recommend calling/emailing the admissions office and asking to be connected to current students and especially alumni. There's a few people out there who have done a joint degree with SAIS (MPA at the Maxwell School, IR at SAIS) so they might be able to help you to make a decision also (though definitely don't make a decision based on just one person).
Hi all,
This year I received admission to both SAIS and the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. (Although I am also looking at other places, I think that restricting things might be helpful.) In looking at these threads, I was found a relative dearth of comments about student life at these schools. Funding will be relatively equal at both of these places for me, so I'm hoping that respondents can tell me a little more about the student life at SAIS and Maxwell.
My first impression (which could very well be wrong) is that while Maxwell, through it's website and admissions staff, tries to evoke a "friendlier, fuzzier" atmosphere, SAIS seems to be the more serious of the two. Do people think that both schools offer a relatively good school-extracurricular balance? Or do things tend to revolve around school?
Also, do any current/former students have opinions about Maxwell being integrated into the broader campus, while SAIS is on its own?
Lastly, I am 23 right now. Maxwell seems to have quite a few young people, however SAIS' average age is 26-27 with substantial work experience. I realize that a good portion of SAIS' class is young, it seems to be skewed older. Do students find this advantageous, disadvantageous, or simply not matter much?
I'm overseas right now, so I won't be able to visit these schools before the deadline, so any advice would be really helpful!!
Thanks!
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As a student at the "number 1 ranked public affairs program" I'd say that the rankings are a good tool for identifying strong programs, especially those in lesser known schools. I know I wouldn't have otherwise thought to look at the Maxwell School (Syracuse). However, it does not make sense to choose Maxwell over Harvard purely because of the rankings. For that, they are really meaningless. Nobody is going to hire you because a magazine rated your grad program number 1 and not number 2.
The MPA program at the Maxwell School is really great. I suspect the ranking comes from both the fact that it is a strong program, and that it's also the oldest one. Maxwell alumni are everywhere in DC and that can really mean a lot.
But while my classmates are amazing people with very strong resumes and a passionate commitment to public service, I know that it's harder to get into Harvard, Columbia and definitely Princeton. So those schools probably have stronger reputations than Maxwell in most circles (most notably, I imagine, in the private sector). There is a definite advantage to studying with the very best of the best, and Princeton is probably the place for this.
At the end of the day the Maxwell School is the perfect place for me for reasons that have little to do with rankings. Look at rankings when you're choosing which schools to apply to (alongside the Foreign Policy magazine rankings if you're interested in international stuff), but also think about what the best fit is for you.
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I'm finishing my undergrad at Syracuse, so I know the city quite well and have had class with some of the Master's folks (some of the econ courses overlap).
As for the one who pointed out Maxwell doesn't have a huge number of ambassadors--this is true. But you'll often hear reference to the "Maxwell Mafia"--the army of alumni in prestigious positions in DC and NYC, so it all depends on where you want to end up. On the funding note, there are several research centers affiliated with Maxwell (they're even within the building) that offer RAships, so just because you don't end up with explicit funding doesn't mean you can't find some when you get there. Also, check out this page: http://www.maxwell.s.../pa.aspx?id=661 So long as you get your application in early, there are a world of options, some specifically focused on IR.
Any questions on the city, feel free to ask!
This is all very true. Since I'm doing the dual degree and am here for two years, I haven't properly taken advantage of the alumni network, but I've heard great things. The "Mafia" are a prominent force in the US bureaucracy and are also present in UN agencies, the World Bank, and there is a presence internationally. I've heard that they're very willing to help, from informational interviews to a place to crash in DC/NYC. I meet with a career counselor every few weeks (she is really great) and the alumni network is really the best way to get your career search started.
Some of the employers that recruit MPA grads in particular like Deloitte, Grant Thornton, and LMI (I list consulting firms because they recruit in the fall, so they're the ones who have come to campus so far) have a group of Maxwell grads working for them and I believe they come to Syracuse to do on-campus recruiting every year.
And, on the funding note several people secured graduate assistantships before or after getting here (these can mean anything from admin work to research for a professor).
Finally, on the IR side, Maxwell really makes use of its connections to help students get internships; the Geneva program in particular places a group of students in UN agencies over the summer every year.
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Did anyone on this thread decide to go to Syracuse for the MAIR/MPA dual degree? I am considering applying for that or just the IR program for the fall of 2011 and wonder what your thoughts are after a half year of study (or less). What do you appreciate about Syracuse? I love their curriculum, but, as someone mentioned in this thread, it is hard to pay for the dual degree without funding and also difficult to pick over schools like Fletcher, SAIS, Jackson, etc... Let me know your thoughts!
I started the dual degree at Maxwell this year and my experience has been great so far. I really like the combination of the practical, management oriented coursework of the MPA with the interdisciplinary coursework and internship opportunities of the IR degree. I also love the atmosphere here -- the students are all very driven people but generally very down to earth and just plain kind. The faculty is very supportive as well and there is also a lot to do outside of classes; for instance, some of my friends are doing volunteer research on terrorism for one of the many institutes here. Others are interning with a locally based international development NGO.
I'm not saying it's perfect -- I've had a couple of lackluster professors, and one main frustrating administrative experience, but overall, I'm happy here and feel excited about career opportunities after I finish.
In terms of the money, it's good to think about that. Maxwell isn't the most expensive school, but it's not cheap either. I chose Maxwell over another more highly ranked IR school in part because they offered me more funding, so don't count out the possibility that you might get an assistantship or a scholarship.
The best advice I can give you though is to contact Maxwell directly to get in touch with students or alumni who are further along the process than I am. In my experience and that of many of my friends, Maxwell students/alumni are pretty honest about how they liked the program (including Syracuse winters... for the record, I really like Syracuse, but it hasn't started snowing yet...).
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hey Syracuse,
thanks for your reply. i definitely want to make my application as competitive as possible. also, i didn't take these courses in college (i majored in English), so i want to be sure i have *some* understanding. not to mention that i feel my undergraduate degree probably puts me at some sort of disadvantage, right?
I was actually an English major in college and I don't think it hurt me. I don't think your major matters that much, unless you majored in economics in which case you'd definitely have an advantage. What matters more is your work experience and the quality of your personal statements. It's really important to be able to tell a compelling story about why you want to do the degree. A large part of me didn't believe this when I applied, but it made a huge difference for me. When I came on these boards and compared where I got in / with what funding with other people, it's clear that I probably could have gotten into SIPA (Columbia). However, my personal statements were terrible for that application (fortunately, this had a lot to do with the fact that I really wasn't that excited about going to SIPA), so I got rejected.
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hey guys, I'm a noob here so I apologize if this is something everyone already knows!
i graduated in 2009 as an English major, and spent the last academic year (2009-2010) as a 1L in law school. for a number of reasons (that's for another thread, maybe) I want to apply for MPP programs. I know econ and other quantitative courses are pretty much expected from MPP applicants, so I was wondering what "the list" was. i know there's not an official list.... or IS there?.... but what are the postbacc courses that I should take in order to be a competitive applicant? thank you
is this right? (please feel free to add, subtract, edit, criticize, etc)
-Macroecon
-Microecon
-Statistics
-Calculus (is this Calculus I and II, or just one?)
For most MPP programs it's not absolutely necessary to have taken these courses in order to get admitted. If you did take them and did well it definitely makes your application stronger. If you look through the HKS and SIPA websites (for the MPP, MIA and MPA), you're likely to find that they recommend these courses but it's not required. Usually the benefit is that if you have already taken intermediate micoeconomics and/or stats, you can waive out of some of the core courses required for the degree and take more electives. You'll also just come in a step ahead of many of your classmates. If you want to take advanced economics classes as part of your degree or if you're interested in the MPA-ID at Harvard, having advanced math and econ skills (including multivariable calculus, stats, linear algebra) is pretty important. However, the MPP generally aims to train people who did not have a terribly strong quantitative background beforehand. The core econ classes for the degree often do not use a lot of calculus (I know that at Michigan they give you calculus as part of the curriculum so it's probably different there) and they usually have two semesters of stats, the first of which is basic stats.
I have found that having taken the courses listed above before starting my MPA is helping me get more out of the degree (I have just started the MPA at Syracuse which is very similar to an MPP). I'm really glad I did it, but I don't think I needed them to get in.
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Fortunately, funding for my tuition isn't an issue; however I am interested in applying for assistantship/TA programs. Does anyone know a little bit about how those positions are generally filled and what exactly an assistantship entails?
At Maxwell, you can get an assistantship as an award around the time you're offered admission (usually this several weeks or more after you get your admission offer but before you have to reply to accept your place). Also, after you get to Maxwell, they will usually advertise specific positions that come up and anyone in the program can apply for them. You get the same benefits in both cases (fall and spring tuition and about $10,000 in a stipend for a 20 hour a week assistantship, or half of that for a 10 hour a week assistantship). Positions for MPAs or MAIRs are mostly administrative or research based rather than teaching. If you're offered an assistantship before you get to Maxwell (as in before you decide to enroll), you may not know who you're working with until after you get there. I've heard of people doing things like editing a professor's text for a book, or helping out in the Public Administration department with admin stuff like admissions inquiries.
In your application, they will (or they did this year) give you space to say why you are qualified to be a graduate assistant, so that gives you space to state what sort of things you're interested in / good at.
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Zourah/Gradpa/OP:
How did you decide on which schools to apply to? I'm currently looking at primarily MPP programs (with a few MPAs scattered within my list), but I'm having serious trouble narrowing that list down to my top choices. I feel like I'm in a place to be somewhat selective, but I can really only base my criteria on brand-name schools and US News and World Report rankings. Any advice on other qualifying features?
Thanks!
I was in a similar position last year and I don't think I did a very good job of picking which schools to apply to. I think I got lucky in that Maxwell (Syracuse) ended up being a great fit for me, but the only reason it caught my attention was because of the ranking (I've only been here for a month -- we start in the summer -- but so far, so good) If I were in your shoes I'd do the following:
1. Make a chart comparing the curricula at the different schools that have caught your eye. Maxwell's curriculum seems similar to most MPPs (it requires micro, two semesters of stats/quant, an ethics class, budgeting, an ethics/polisci class, management, and a capstone) and I think it generally gives you the same skills, but compared to MPPs it's probably more focused on working in public agencies just because of its history as the longest running public administration program in the country (lots of people do go on to work in NGOs and the private sector though). HKS seems quite geared towards leadership skills whereas at Maxwell this is not an explicit focus -- just some examples of differences you can pick out. Do you want to write a thesis or do you prefer a group capstone/consulting project?
2. Call the admissions offices and ask if they can connect you with alumni -- I really should have done this and I know that at Maxwell they will do this happily. Fletcher, Maxwell, and HKS in particular I've heard are famous for their alumni networks -- this is key. Find out what other schools have to say about how loyal alumni are.
3. Decide what kind of environment you want to be in. I was warned about Syracuse being lame as a city and was a bit worried, but now that I'm here I'm really glad I came, since I'm really sick of big cities and think I'd be miserable in NYC. Consider cost of living / whether you'd have a long commute to school, etc. It's really a matter of personal preference and you should listen to that instinct-- being happy in your environment will make the experience better and possibly even help you learn more.
4. If you're interested in international stuff check out the Foreign Policy rankings for IR programs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_the_Ivory_Tower
Other than that, good luck!
Good luck --
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I would say study for the math.
It's all lower level stuff, and with repetition you should be able to at least get a 500. There are lots of good study guides available.
As to university choice, is there any particular reason you're looking at UNO over staying at Tulane?
From what I recall most masters programs here are unfunded, but I'd imagine the degree would take you a lot farther than one from UNO would.
::edit:: Also keep in mind that the Kaplan practice tests tend to give you lower results than you will get on the real GRE.
I did an online Princeton Review practice GRE and flipped out because my scores were in the 500s, whereas on previous tests from my Barron's book I had 600s. A few days later I took the official GRE practice test (the PowerPrep stuff you get when you register or can download from the website) and got 700s. When I took the actual test, my scores were in the 700s. The test prep companies try to freak you out by giving you a lower score than you'd actually get. Definitely do the official practice tests (you can download them free from the GRE website), to know how you'd actually do.
When does prestige matter?
in Government Affairs Forum
Posted
Some hiring managers will care and others won't. It often depends on who you're competing against. If resumes show similar experience, they might choose to interview the candidate who attended the more prestigious program. In other cases, they might care more about the cover letter. Working in local government, I've seen a hiring manager put the resume of someone who did not stand out otherwise but went to an Ivy League school for undergrad in the list of people who might get an interview (this candidate ultimately was not interviewed). I've also noticed that a lot of folks with high-profile political appointments (department directors) happen to have attended prestigious schools (they are also politically savvy people). And I've seen people who attended non-prestigious state schools get good, high-paying jobs on the basis of their experience.