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Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Small liberal arts college in Virginia, top tier Previous Degrees and GPA's: BA - Journalism and Mass Communications, 3.23 GPA GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 580(v) 670(q) 4.5(aw) Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 3 yrs work experience, 2 working in communications/marketing for small nonprofit Math/Econ Background: Some Calculus and Econ in college, about 4-6 courses total. Foreign Language Background: Spanish 1 yr college Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Nonprofit management, social policy Long Term Professional Goals: Nonprofit in field of poverty alleviation or some health-related field, or NGO Schools Applied to & Results: Accepted - Brown (MPP), American (MPA), New School/Milano (Urban Policy Analysis and Management), NYU/Wagner (MPA - PNP), Texas/LBJ (MPAff), CMU/Heinz (MSPPM) Ultimate Decision & Why: CMU/Heinz - It came down to Heinz or NYU and ultimately I decided that I liked the smaller size of Heinz and the heavy emphasis on skills/quant. There aren't quite as many classes geared specifically towards nonprofit management, but I think the skills and tools CMU will provide me with make it easy to move into whatever field I desire. Heinz also provided me with more money than NYU and cost of living is significantly lower in Pittsburgh. I feel like I will have an opportunity to really stand out in the smaller classes and have closer relationships with my professors at Heinz than I would have had I gone to a larger school. Any advice to Future Applicants? Definitely don't discount any school, or choose a favorite for that matter, before you visit and really talk to students and professors. I was positive that I would be attending LBJ because I loved Austin and just had a great feeling. When I went to visit, I was very underwhelmed by the program and was definitely thrown for a loop in terms of making my decision. On the other hand, I wasn't particularly drawn to Heinz before I visited, but I ended up being really impressed by the students and the opportunities there, and I think I will receive a really top notch education there.

(Cross posting this from Govt Affairs -- didnt get any response over there) I've narrowed down my choices to Heinz - MSPPM or Wagner - MPA/Public and Nonprofit Management. I have a wide range of interests and I'm really not sure what I want to do ultimately, but I'm interested generally in nonrprofit management and a wide range of social policy. The feeling I got at NYU was that everyone had a "change the world" sense of purpose, but that it was much less quant-heavy. I think I need the quant stuff to make me stand out from other potential job applicants, etc, but my worry about Heinz is that it might be too general as people have a wider range of interests. Help me decide! Heinz Pros: smaller, cheaper (living and tuition), more MBA-like courses/focus, very quant/skill focused, MS degree vs. MPA, lots of opportunities for private, public, or nonprofit jobs and internships (LOTS of consulting opportunities) Cons: Not as great a location as NYC, less social policy and nonprofit specific courses. Wagner Pros: NYC -- lots of opportunities for internships/work experience right in the city, lots of nonprofit and social policy-specific courses Cons: Expensive, less-quant/skill focused, very big (less interaction with profs and classmates)

I've narrowed down my choices to Heinz - MSPPM or Wagner - MPA/Public and Nonprofit Management. I have a wide range of interests and I'm really not sure what I want to do ultimately, but I'm interested generally in nonrprofit management and a wide range of social policy. The feeling I got at NYU was that everyone had a "change the world" sense of purpose, but that it was much less quant-heavy. I think I need the quant stuff to make me stand out from other potential job applicants, etc, but my worry about Heinz is that it might be too general as people have a wider range of interests. Help me decide! Heinz Pros: smaller, cheaper (living and tuition), more MBA-like courses/focus, very quant/skill focused, MS degree vs. MPA, lots of opportunities for private, public, or nonprofit jobs and internships (LOTS of consulting opportunities) Cons: Not as great a location as NYC, less social policy and nonprofit specific courses. Wagner Pros: NYC -- lots of opportunities for internships/work experience right in the city, lots of nonprofit and social policy-specific courses Cons: Expensive, less-quant/skill focused, very big (less interaction with profs and classmates)

Help me pick....my interests are social policy and/or nonprofit management.

not according to the professor I spoke with...he specifically said you could apply during your first year at LBJ, and in fact, thats how most of them get in.

I emailed a professor at LBJ and he said most of the students in the dual MBA/MPAff get in by applying to the business school during their first year at LBJ. I didn't get in as a dual degree applicant, so if I go to LBJ, I will definitely be applying during my first year.

does this seem really inexpensive? or am i just naive about this...CMU/Heinz is 19,000 a semester, so even with my 8,000 a semester scholarship, LBJ is still cheaper. I was thinking I couldnt pass up such great funding, but it basically just evens the playing field...

I want to make sure i'm reading the LBJ website correctly...out of state tuition is about $9500 per semester???

thanks for the info...I was going to contact someone at Tepper to clarify. In my admissions letter, they indicated that I should NOT email individual admissions officers, only the waitlist general email. Do you think I should just send an email saying I have been admitted to heinz?? thanks!

no funding for me

I received mine earlier today as well. Has anyone located a list of recent LBJ grad employers? I found the graphs that divide careers up based on public/nonprofit/private and location but not the names of actual companies, organizations or government agencies.

thanks so much for taking the time to answer all our questions mppgal55, I know i really appreciate it. going off what you said about PhDs and "academics" at Heinz, do you think there is a good balance between ppl focused specially on policy and research vs. administration and management? what about grads going into public vs. nonprofit vs. private positions post-grad?

haha yes you did, thanks so much! i never expected to get into all these programs, especially Heinz, so I'm at a loss. I think right now I'm leaning more towards Heinz or LBJ...it will be interesting to compare them after I visit each of them. How do you like pittsburgh? When I visited for my Tepper interview, I was pleasantly surprised. One last question (I promise ), how involved/helpful you feel the university is in finding an internship and jobs? Is it pretty self-directed for are you finding help along the way as you need it?

Thanks so much for your input...I think you are right that I need to keep in mind location post-grad and most importantly, fit. I will definitely be attending the Accepted Students weekend at Heinz and I look forwarded to learning more. I am on the wait list at Tepper, so if I were to get in I would absolutely choose CMU. Do you know whether or not its possible to apply to the dual degree during your first year at Heinz if I don't get off the wait list this year??

thanks...and congrats to you too! i also didn't expect to have this many choices and thus am left totally confused. I am definitely planning on attending accepted students days at all three schools, and I've reached out to the admissions departments to see if they can put me in touch with alums.

thanks for the info on Heinz. I am currently deciding between Heinz, LBJ and NYU....tough choice. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on how Heinz compared to the other two? Also, it seems Heinz is a fair bit smaller, do you think this seems to be a plus? I'm also worried about the fact that Heinz in general is a very tech/quant heavy place and I don't come from a tech or quant background. Perhaps thats a reason to choose it over the others...

has anyone gotten their official letter yet? since the mba notices don't go out until friday, my status online still hasn't updated, so I figured I would see if anyone had a date for the accepted students day yet. thanks!

I applied to the urban policy and analysis program at Milano. I talked to a friend's mom who is a dead there and she said the nonprofit program was for people further along in their careers. i guess i should wait to hear from everywhere before I start making a decision

Much to my surprise, I got into almost all of my top schools...Heinz, LBJ and Wagner, as well as Brown, but that is basically out of the running right now. I'm stilling waiting to hear on American SPA and New School/Milano but I don't think I would pick either of these schools over the three I'm debating between now. I am really at a loss in terms of where to go. I don't know what funding I got from LBJ yet but I got $8k a semester at Heinz and 2 credit hours at NYU. I am not going to take this into consideration, at least not yet. Anyone have any perspective, insight, experience, etc that might help me make my decision?? I'm interested mainly in nonprofit management and social policy, if that makes a difference. thanks!

thats what mine said too...that part about "first semester" but i just wanted to check and make sure i was reading that correctly. thanks! i have no idea how i'm going to make my choice!

I got $8,000 from CMU too...is that a semester or per year???

just got the email....i'm accepted!!! no idea how i'm going to decide.

i applied to the MPA program and i got my application in just before the Jan. 5 deadline.

i just got my acceptance letter via email!

anyone hear anything yet today? also, are we expecting an email or should i be checking the application page?