gradap2010

You should certainly be accepted to at least some of these schools unless you write horrible essays. It would be great if ur GRE scores were better, but I do not think that schools will reject you if you can write something meaningful about your experiences and your desires to change reality in post-conflict countries. Good luck to you!

You have great GPA and GRE scores, so that will help. Every public policy school accepts a number of students with no full-time experience. Hence, you need to write great essays and show how active you were while in college (seems like you have a lot of stories to tell). I am sure you will get in at least some of these school unless you mess up your essays. Also, make sure you pick people who know you well for your recs. With Pepperdine's size, that should not be too hard. Good luck to you!

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.

I think that you apply to both schools, just that you would have one extra essay explaining why the dual degree is right for you. I also think that you can get accepted by one school and rejected by the other one, but you should def. check with admissions office!

Yeah, no policy memo this year! Many MPP programs never had policy memo as a part of their application. Also, in previous years they had "leadership essay" which is now all incorporated in this "SOP" wonna be.... In my opinion, the rise in the number of applications that HKS saw in last years could be one of the reasons. So now thay have easier job of reading only one essay, instead of 3. Also, they moved the application deadline to early December, while in last years it was early January. But still, the answers will be given at the same time. So I am guessing they want to make it easier for their adcoms. Where are you planning to apply? MPP, MPA/ID ? Some other schools besides HKS ?

As you will see on this forum - numbers and simple CV details are never enough to get you in the top schools. Focus on your essays and applications, the rest of your data is more than good. Good luck

Unless he is an ass, he should realise that young people like you have a world in front of them and that they should explore different interests. As long us your performance does not weakean as a result of grad school application, he should not care. I would suggest being honest and telling him that you are interested in grad school but that it is just an option, and that your loyalty remains to the company for the time being. Also, I think that a current supervisior is a good reference, because he can talk about your work habbits, leadership potential and people skills, so it does not matter that you work in somewhat different industry. Good luck with your apps!!!

Also, many "top univeristies" will have great MPP and MBA and will offer dual degree in 3 years. For example from Harvard and Columbia to USC and Georgetown ... If you have the time and the money getting these 2 great degrees is great. Also, many schools offer dual degree with other school. For example, you can get a dual degree from Harvard and MIT in 3 years ... so you get to go to both schools !

Most of the schools will take GMAT as a substitute for GRE and the other way around. There are only few exceptions such as WWS and UC B. GMAT has harder quant and GRE has harder verbal. If you are applying to dual MPP/MBA program almost any school will take either test since both of them give them basically the same info about you. My advice is to go the schools of your choice and under FAQ you will usually find the answer to your question. GMAT/GRE will take longer to prepare if you've been out of school for years. I think about 3 months (while working full time) is a good time frame if you are willing to make some sacrifices in your personal life. GOOD LUCK!

Did you think about taking an advance econ/quant class at a local college (if you live in the US) ? This would give you a good chance to see if you can live with a lot of quant problems and also strenghten your application I think! Btw, many schools (including HKS) accept GMAT, so why are taking GRE as well ? Great score on GMAT is a good indicator of your academic ability, so no need to take it unless you really want to apply to some school that will not accept GMAT (such as WWS) ! p.s. PM me your email and I will send you a good guide book on writing essays for grad school - it will not solve all your problems but it will give you some guidance