mpp_hopeful

Wow. I haven't been on these forums in months, but thought I'd chime in and add that I'll be at GPPI in the fall. Has anyone else started thinking about what track they are interested in?

Yeah. I've always heard that the Quant score is definitely where the emphasis is, and that to be competitive, 700+ in the Quant secion is pretty much mandatory. On the other hand, a school told me it helps to give them a better picture about your quantitative skills, especially because a lot of applicants to some of these programs come from more liberal arts majors, and less from engineering, science, computer, or even business majors. I had a quant-heavy major in college, so I was told that as long as I hit the magic (700+) number I'd be fine. It might come under more scrutiny if you didn't have much as far as quantitative coursework during your undergraduate degree.

Sroek, Never underestimate the quality of your public education. I've been in California public schools my entire life (and graduated from a Cal State as well). I think there's something in people like us that drives us to fight and work just a little bit harder than some people that may have been at large, branded, private institutions. That public education and drive got me a policy job in the White House, and a private sector position that has taken me into the board rooms of some of the world's most powerful corporations. I've applied to Harvard as well, and have been accepted at some other private schools. It's going to really be a change of pace, and I often wonder if I'll fit in at an institution like Harvard. I'm curious if you've been wondering the same.

Dude, when Cal State Northridge almost upset Memphis this morning, I went the longest time ever (at work) where I didn't check Grad Cafe or my email.

I'm definitely not banking on an HKS admit, but I believe I'm very competitive. I've already booked a flight/hotel for Cambridge during the admitted students weekend. Fortunately, I'm a preferred frequent flyer / hotel rewards member so I can book these things and cancel last minute without penalty. Ah, the perks of being a management and strategy consultant, on the road 80% of the time. (Get me out of this career, HKS!) If you're in a similar position, maybe you can do the same. I know hotels are much easier to cancel last minute without penalty than flights, even for non-preferred members.

Haha. I was just about to look that up.

You never know. I was notified by one program on a Saturday afternoon. Please don't take this as a cue to check your email all weekend........

So what you're saying is that if you want a very.....quantitative program......GMU might be the place for you? Or do they just take pleasure in having their students take calculus?

Haha. I think we may be the only two. Has anyone heard back from GMU yet?

I'd like to say that it's based on some sort of in-depth statistical analysis, but that isn't the case. I'm still holding out for March 13th because most programs are notifying in accordance with last year's schedule, despite the surge in applications at nearly every institution. I think Harvard was just making the disclaimer to lower expectations. Congratulations on 200.

Well, this is it folks. Despite all the rumors about a surge in application numbers and potential delays, I'm still holding out for a March 13th (give or take a few days, but probably more give than take) notification for acceptances. We COULD be hearing back by this time next week!

I agree, or maybe I'm just hoping that I'm not the only far-right conservative studying government affairs. According to the poll, there are 5 of us floating around here on the boards. I would like to think that in some of these programs, they diversify the student body enough (politically) to encourage active discussion. It wouldn't be very interesting to have classes of all conservatives or all liberals. I was always of the opinion that the reason why universities are so liberal was because of the activists - turned students - turned professors from the 1960's, and hoped that eventually universities would achieve more balance in their ideology. If the survey is anywhere near accurate, it scares me to think that an overwhelming majority of the people seeking to replace today's professors are just as liberal, if not more.

So we have a thread for the other DC area schools, and Ithought I'd start one for George Mason. I applied to GMU as kind of a safety school, hoping I'd get some considerable funding. Lately, it's fallen off my radar as I've been accepted at GPPI and GWU. However, has anyone heard anything that makes GMU standout (for better or for worse)? I don't think it's as highly regarded as GWU or GPPI (for the MPP program at least).

Wow. Hopefully we find out soon. I'm in California, so it would take some considerable planning, effort, and expense to get out there for an open house.

I'm kind of surprised by the number of people that want to go into consulting, and not into Federal legislative work. Is this because of the salary differences? I think that's the biggest disparity (Federal legislative jobs command pretty low salaries, while consultants command some of the highest salaries upon graduation). I was also hoping someone was going to use this to announce their plans to run for President in 2020 or something.

While I wasn't a paralegal, I spent a considerable amount working for government regulators of the financial industry and law enforcement (SEC and U.S. Attorney) thinking I'd go into a legal career. But I got picked up by the White House (George W. Bush) to do some work for them and really enjoyed policy work more than anything else. Hence my decision to study public policy rather than law. Somehow I ended up as a management consultant trying to rescue very large financial institutions. It eats away at my soul everyday.

So far, it looks like most people are wanting to go to think tanks and consulting. Where are all of the state/local folks?

I hate the be the bearer of bad news, but someone asked a question about how many applicants/acceptances GWU was taking for its program in the GWU Admitted MPP GoogleGroup. The Admissions representative refused to give an exact number, but did say that they were most of the way through admitting people. This was on February 9, so I'm not sure how many more admission emails have yet to go out. On the positive side, they didn't exactly say they were done admitting people, so I wouldn't give up hope yet. Have you checked the application status within ApplyYourself? That usually gets updated within a few days of being admitted.

So I saw the thread about what everyone's work experience is prior to applying to government affairs programs. I thought I'd Thinking a few years down the line, what's everyone's career goals? Do most folks want to work for the government (Federal/local or legislative/executive)? Or perhaps work for a think tank? Is anyone considering going back to the private sector to do lobbying/government relations work to pay back those hefty student loans? Maybe even make a run for elected office? I'm just curious to see where most peoples' interests lie.

No problem. I just sent you a PM.

Hey Dagger: I'm not sure if you're also on the GWU MPP GoogleGroup, but I believe Catherine (Admissions Office) said to contact her if you haven't received your official letter yet. If you need her contact information, send me a private message and I'll get it to you. Hope this helps.

I'm just hoping someone at Harvard admits me so they have someone to debate the issues with in class .

Uh oh. I wonder what this means for me..... I spent 3 years working at two government regulators of the financial industry, and later at the White House (George W. Bush). However, I've spent the last year or so working as a management consultant in the private sector. Business is good and my job isn't at risk, but I really do want to go back into public service. Hopefully someone at Harvard sees my history in government service!

I'm glad I already have a few acceptances (GW, GPPI) under my belt. It's comforting to know that even with a tidal wave of applications, I got in at least somewhere. I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

Having spent quite a bit of time in DC, I thought I'd offer some perspective. Pros: - The Georgetown "brand" is very highly regarded in DC, and is considered the most elite of the DC area schools - Very good career prospects in the DC area - Has an actual "campus." Many professional schools lack a true campus setting, but Georgetown has one to call its own. - Has a part-time program, allowing students to work while going to school. Cons: - While Georgetown is considered more "elite," GWU is considered the better policy program by the Hill and K-Street. - The school is very expensive and stingy with funding, causing many students to self-fund two years of an education that doesn't have quite the same financial payoff as an MBA or JD. - Weaker quantitative training (when compared to Berkely or Harvard MPA-ID)