[Kennedy School Straight From Undergrad?]

You definetly have a chance at all of these schools. My friend got into HKS MPP right out of undergrad with a full scholarship, so it happens but it is highly competative. So give it a shoot, but have a back up plan. Also, do well on your GRE - great score will certainly be a plus.

gradap2010, mind telling us more about your friend who got into hks with a full scholarship? do you know what his/her stats and credentials were?

[gre scores needed for KSG mpp? (3.75 gpa)]

trying to keep it general here... but if i want to my application to be as "competitive" as possible, i need a gre goal to work towards. i havent started studying so I dont know what my "diagnostic" is.

I have a 3.75 gpa from a decent college, and *some* WE (hopefully have more by next fall, when i apply). since my gpa and WE is not great, i'm hoping good gre scores will help me a little. (i know good gre scores won't save me, but i need all the help i can get, i guess!)

[Kennedy School Chances (MPP)?]

[disclaimer: have never applied to mpp programs]

i think you're a great applicant (particularly strong gpa). and you seem to have lots of WE. i'm interested to hear what others will say about the quality/strength of your WE.

[good work experience?]

hey adaptions, thank you for your response!

i was wondering if (real world) WE would be a better use of my time than a RA? and what subjects/departments would you recommend I look to? I guess Economics.. Politics as well? i think it *might* be a tad bit difficult for me to score an RAship in those 2 (and other) departments, as I didnt major in either but I will definitely look into it!

And could you elaborate on what you mean by "consulting firm"? (accounting or something comes to mind.. sorry i'm a n00b!)

thank you~

[good work experience?]

hello!

so many people here seem to have excellent WE (and many years of it), and i'm afraid i lack WE. I'm looking to apply for MPP or MPA programs, in Fall 2011.. so according to my tentative plan, I have a year to beef up my WE! I am currently in graduate school, but will have free time to take on a part-time internship, at least for fall semester. I might be able to take on a full-time internship or job beginning in January 2011.

I am looking to intern with an NGO, but I'm running out of ideas for what else i could apply to. Can anyone suggest some internships that would help me in this regard?

My only previous (relevant) WE includes 2 separate government internships that total approximately 1 year. Yeah, so basically, I am like an applicant applying straight out of UG with a tiny bit of gov't experience. If I find something for this year, I will have about 2 years of WE before 2011 applications are due. Is this completely unrealistic?

in case this gives you a fuller picture, I graduated from a top30 college with approx 3.75 GPA. I dont know if this matters, but the GPA for my last 60 credit hours is higher (i think 3.83?), and my major GPA was around a 3.8 as well. I havent taken the GRE yet (i'll be studying for that this year).

Thank you for your help! It is much appreciated!

[Specializiations/fields within IR]

bump! i was wondering this as well

[Grades Grades Grades!]

I agree with this 100%. You need to focus on what you can still control. Your cumulative GPA is tabulated using only the credit hours you completed PRIOR to your degree being conferred, so new classes don't affect it and it is set. Knock out your GRE with at least a >75th percentile score in each section. Take courses at your local university or through correspondence that are relevant to a MPP - Micro, Macro, Stat and advanced math are great options. Write a stellar SOP and get immaculate references. Take control of every facet of your application that you can still control.

this is what im in the process of doing!

[What are my chances...]

bump

curious to see what others think

[undergrad courses *needed* for an MPP applicant?]

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.

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?

[undergrad courses *needed* for an MPP applicant?]

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?)