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sterlingcooperdraperprice

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    MPP

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  1. Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): William and Mary Previous Degrees and GPA's: BA, Public Policy and Spanish GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): V: 660 Q: 780 AW: 5.5 Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 2: AmericorpsVISTA for 1 year, political consulting firm in DC for a few months during election cycle, low income housing redevelopment in DC Math/Econ Background: 21 credits in Econ undergrad plus 2 statistics courses (short of econometrics) Foreign Language Background: Studied Spanish in undergrad and spent a semester in Spain Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Health Policy/Social Policy focusing on inequalities Long Term Professional Goals: Federal level research/reform on these issues Schools Applied to & Results: Accepted: GPPI, GW, American, JHU and U of Maryland - all with some form of funding Ultimate Decision & Why: GWU Trachtenberg School. I was offered a Graduate Assistantship which sweetened the deal, but I love the location in downtown DC, the flexibility of the program accesses to the fantastic Public Health School, friendliness of students, professors and staff as well as the focus on a culminating project rather than a thesis. The opportunity to do research and have 3/4 of my tuition covered is a huge plus! I already live in Arlington, and am really happy I do not have to move again. Any advice to Future Applicants? Build relationships with professors as an undergraduate, work for a year or two exploring your interests, and then decide what your dream job would be and where you want to live. Get the degree that makes that happen for you. Study hard for the GRE's. It's a game, but that means there are tools out there to help you succeed. I think GPA, GRE's and LOR have big impact of funding.
  2. I agree with daniSF that the thesis at GPPI is a big negative for me. I do not see the benefit of spending so much time on the project if it is not applicable to future goals and I would personally rather spend my time doing applicable classwork or pursuing an internship (or job, because it is primarily second year work). Someone mentioned to me that Georgetown seems to be making sure that their curriculum is the most challenging of the DC schools, but I wonder if students really benefit from this unless they want a very quantitative or research based career post-graduation. Rigor for rigor's sake alone? I also find the continuous mention of the prestige of the Georgetown brand off-putting, even if it is true. Felt the same way as a potential undergrad. I felt like the staff and students relied very heavily on this advantage, and I think it took away from our ability to learn about the actual classes and other opportunities. I am interested in Health Policy and Urban Policy, and would have loved to have more time to hear about these options. Instead, I was left to search out students and faculty during the reception. GWU has a great Public Health school, where I would be able to take many of the concentration classes. With the award I was offered from Georgetown the two programs would be about the same in cost, but I think I prefer the GWU program and feel over GPPI. I guess I continue to go back and forth over whether I am losing out on the Brand Name Factor. Sorry for the rambling...but I really wish I could just make a final decision.
  3. Would appreciate if you could elaborate on the transition going on at GPPI. Will you be attending either of their open houses? I am interested to be able to compare the experience at both. Thanks!
  4. So happy to see lots of great things being said about life in Baltimore. I am considering accepting an offer at Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies. I currently live and work in DC with my boyfriend. He plans to move with me to Baltimore and commute by MARC to DC, and possibly look for a new position in Baltimore. Therefore, I am looking for suggestions for neighborhoods that are safe, fun and accessible for both of us. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! We will be bringing a car, so that could be an option for one of us. Thanks for your help.
  5. Hi, I also received the same funding package from UMD, as well as 26k from JHU. I'm interested to hear thoughts on the pros and cons of the UMD program. I have almost eliminated it from my list, except I haven't because of the funding. I went to the JHU Open House last week and was thoroughly impressed. I will be attending UMD's next week and just do not see it living up. This might be completely unjustified-so I'm interested in hearing what others think about Maryland. Thanks!
  6. I was very impressed after the Open House today. Did anyone else attend? What were your thoughts? It seems like the students, faculty and staff are all very proud of the program and I felt a very congenial atmosphere. The program is extremely structured for the first semester, which starts with a capstone type course, and then really opens up the second year allowing for students to tailor their own program with access to numerous schools at JHU. As someone interested in Public Health I am excited at the prospect of taking classes at the Bloomberg school, but you can also go to the Business school or even SAIS (3 students). Last year all graduates were placed in policy jobs within 3 months of graduation. Although there is no career counselor in house faculty seem to be very involved and use their networks to connect students with opportunities that fit their interest. The small program size seems to allow for professors to really get to know each student. Also, Dr. Carey Borkoski, the Assistant Director, seems to personally care about every student getting the most out of the program. I was very impressed with how friendly this program seems. At first I thought the only benefit of Baltimore would be the low cost of living (compared to DC!). However, it seems like IPS really utilizes its location. Many of the current students spoke about the openness of Baltimore city officials to reasearch/input from the institute, and many opportunities for substantive experience that this leads to. I didn't hear any complaints about life in the city. I am attending 3 more open houses before making a final decision, but must say JHU is very high on my list currently.
  7. I think they did acceptances first by an email notification letting you know a decision was made and you could then access the decision on your UMD application within 24-48 hours. I received a copy of that letter within a week in the mail, and then the funding decision and full departmental information came about a week after that. It was a process with a lot of steps. Have you checked your account?
  8. Still waiting! And I was accepted January 31st. Would still like to have it in hand :-)
  9. I'll be happy to try to summarize my experience on Thursday. In the meantime the thread from last year contains a pretty good summary, which you can find here: I would think these points are still valid.
  10. I got mine yesterday, and I live in Arlington, VA, so you should see yours soon! The packet didn't include much more information about the Open House, except that it is an all day affair.
  11. Anyone admitted to JHU going to the Open House next week? I haven't seen much discussion of this program on here, but since I am interested in Health Policy JHU might be a good fit. Admissions staff have been really helpful and responsive so far. Anyone else have similar experiences? Not to mention I received a pretty generous award package.
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