Appreciate this thread, especially the ed. policy perspective.
Intro: After eight years of working FT in some education-related capacity, I'm applying to MPP/MPA and MS/Ed.M programs this fall to start next year (‘22).
My dream job would be a program officer at a large foundation with considerable investments in educational initiatives (e.g., Gates, Carnegie Corporation, Wallace, etc.) OR doing education program evaluation/policy analysis at a nonpartisan think tank (e.g., RAND, Brookings, etc.). Side note: I have experience with the latter and know the limitations of a master’s degree insofar as career advancement is concerned.
Applying to: HGSE Ed.M–EPA; Duke Sanford–MPP (Social Policy Concentration); McCourt MPM, UM-Ford School; Johns Hopkins SOE–MS-Education (Education Policy Concentration); Penn GSE––MS.Ed (Education Policy Concentration), Vanderbilt Peabody–MPP (Dept. of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations)
Considering: UChicago–Harris (MPP or MACRM)
Undergrad Institution: Large midwestern state school (Big 10)
Undergrad Major: Sociology, with minors in Arabic, Psychology, and Social Welfare Advocacy (Social Work)
Years out of undergrad: 8 years
GPA: 3.68/4.0 (with distinction, completed honors thesis); major GPA: 3.9
GRE: X
Quant Background: I've only taken one quant.-specific course (Statistics for Sociology) and received an A, but I regularly engage in data manipulation, modeling, and visualization as a part of my past and present work; have proficiency with R, SQL, STATA, and SPSS
Relevant Work Experience: 8 years post-UG; 9 years including an RA-ship in UG
3.5 years in a director-level role at a DC-based affiliate of a national network of out-of-school time program providers
I lead the ongoing design, implementation, and refinement of the organization’s programmatic strategy and oversee three high-functioning leadership teams that manage all aspects of front-line program delivery.
Highlights:
Developed and implemented a broad-reaching evaluation framework and created a culture of continuous quality improvement and data-driven planning that has served as a model for other affiliates within our national network
Built and cultivated strategic partnerships with peer organizations to increase robust enrichment opportunities for students served
Improved summer teacher retention from 30% to 75% and increased average teaching experience from 5.3 to 11.2 years by overhauling recruitment and compensation models and promoting more significant equity and internal capacity building in the hiring and on-boarding processes
In 2021, designed and implemented a complex hybrid program model that led to the highest average student attendance rate among all affiliates within our national network that year: 90% in-person and 85.6% when including virtual participation
4.5 years of FT education research experience (1 year as an education policy RA at a nonpartisan think tank; 1 year of ed research coordination at an R1 public university; and 2 years of ed research lab management at an R1 private university)
1.5 years of RA experience in a learning sciences lab at my UG institution; co-authored a paper with two other team members
2 internships (one focused on security/IR studies and one in education research)
Languages: English (native), Spanish (conversational proficiency), Modern Standard Arabic (basic working ability)
Presentations/Posters: Two invited talks on education program design and one on continuous quality improvement in education-focused NPOs; poster presentation for a social-work related issue; and one paper presentation on promoting peer participation in online courses.
Honors/Awards: Received leadership award by field’s professional association (akin to a ‘30 under 30’) in 2021, multiple awards in college, including one for my disability advocacy efforts.
Extracurriculars or Community Involvement: Had many ECs in college, including extended volunteer engagements with Headstart and Big Brother Big Sisters, but I am only focusing on my post-UG work.
I'm currently a member of two working groups, one of which is organized by the city government and focuses on cross-sector partnerships among out-of-schooltime partners.
I'm also one of 12 individuals within my org’s national affiliate network asked to rewrite our parent org’s governing policies to promote more significant equity and inclusion. I will eventually provide TA re: policy implementation to affiliates within our org network
Strength of SOP: I think it could be strong, but I’m struggling to tighten things up. I begin by connecting the nationally recognized programming I’ve designed and implemented in my current role and the strong foundation I have in research methods and theory before getting to the why me part. I argue that in a post-pandemic future, policymakers have the opportunity––and indeed the obligation––to establish sustainable data practices that can support improvement in teaching and learning and promote equitable outcomes for all students. Doing so requires the need to triangulate assessment data with other Opportunity to Learn data points, something that I have demonstrated I can do in measurably impactful ways at a micro level. I need grad school to be able to broaden my efforts, etc.
Strength of LORs: The letter from my current executive director will be the strongest, followed by a professor from UG whose graduate seminar in educational research I took when I was a junior (he was profoundly influential in guiding my career path, and we’ve kept in touch since I graduated). I’ve also got letters from two former colleagues (both of whom were then-PhD candidates in the research lab I managed) and another letter from a former supervisor who has her PhD in education. I trust that the latter three will be strong. I plan on switching out the letters/recommenders based on program focus and alignment with their respective backgrounds.
Concerns:
My professional background is very education-heavy. While I am drawn to the flexibility of an MPA/MPP degree, I have concerns that my lacking quant or direct policy background will be too much to overcome, especially without GRE scores.
Am I being too narrow in my program search? I know I’m a bit late to the game to be considering other schools, but I’m getting spooked about not getting in anywhere.
Is my SOP framing compelling enough for the programs to which I’m applying?
Thanks heaps!
