CARRY

Anyone know how well regarded this place is? The region and work is one I'm interested in, but I would to know how prestigious it is in the states etc. is it considered a top notch place to intern at or second tier or what? the reason that i'm asking is that i would like to do an mop or mpa next year and am thinking about its value for the application. cheers

thanks for replying, the scholarship it was funded by the ESRC, which gives you all the fees and then $18k use to live on if you win it. i was definitely lucky. to be honest i wouldn't mind working for a consultancy later or something like the world bank etc. i know a PhD would be better for the world bank but i don't want that kind of investment, plus i like the mix of maths/econ and development on these programmes. i am thinking about doing the joint mba/mpa thing as well. as i think the mba brand might be more useful for getting jobs afterwards, but the map material is just so much more interesting. to be honest, i'm annoyed that i don't find accountancy more interesting because then i could just do an mba and get a job that provided a liveable wage. i definitely know that i'd find the course interesting and it would allow me a little bit more time to narrow down career options. i think something like a country researcher for an investment bank, or a mgt consultant, or a researcher covering the economies of the middle east but for a public sector institution like the world bank etc. i definitely want to leverage my arabic now that i have spent the time studying it. my understanding is that most schools a happy with the gmat, so i was just going to stick with that. since it's 300usd a time, and i think the gmat is considered a step up on the quant front compared to the gre. although to be honest it's all high school stuff anyway.

Stats: Age 28 (but will have just have turned 30 at the beginning of any mpa programme in sep2012) First class honours in economics from LSE (equivalent to between a 3.8 and 4 GPA, loads of calculus and econometrics) MSc Economics from LSE (fully funded by a scholarship) 4.5 years trading emerging market derivatives for a bulge bracket bank in london (good references, left as a senior associate) i got a 740 GMAT (first time) 97 percentile (45 on quant 71 percentile and 47 on verbal 99 percentile) here's the unorthdox bit: I left my job to go and study Arabic 2.5 years ago because bonuses looked bad (and they were) and I felt that i was trading a lot of things in far away countries without actually knowing much about the places (sob sob ;-) ). It had always been a personal ambition of mine to study the language (properly, not just a couple of phrases for ordering tea in a cafe) and now i'm approaching fluency in it. anyway, the point i'm trying to make is i left to do something i found interesting and not because i had to (wasn't fired, made redundant or left to avoid any of these). i also have some interesting military experience, but didn't actually serve in theatre. i'm still interested in finance/economics and want to do an mpa at a good school with a view to working in consultancy, fixed income (emerging markets again), macroeconomist role. any thoughts on my mpa-school app? chances etc? Is the 71% on quant a big deal? is my age a problem? thanks.

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thanks for your advice and comments egmpp2010. I guess I have several reasons for wanting to undertake the program, they are: 1) networking (in my opinion the best place to get exposed to a range of employers is on campus) 2) I want to get my skills back up to scratch in econ. this is important if i want to work as an economist as it has been a long time since i have done the technical stuff. 3) i actually quite like study anyway - this might sound silly but i think a lot of people identify with it 4) it's the most formal way into a job in that area - lots of companies and organisatiions have quite rigid requirements, i.e. they like to take people that are already on programs or in other jobs, i've certainly seen this in banking. no matter how highly i might value my arabic study there will always be someone who will see it as a bit of a doss. anyway, it comes down to enjoying that field of study and wanting to have access to the employers in that area. You are right, it is a lot of money, but i think long term it has the potential to enhance my career prospects. i actually much prefer the idea of an mpa to an mba even though people seem to favour the mba especially for finance, but in my opinion you learn all the things necessary for the job while you are doing the job. an mba like most degrees is just a signaling device. i think an mpa is also a signaling device, but it has the added benefit of actually teaching you something useful and in my opinion very interesting. does that sound enough? are you currently enrolled on a program? also, what would you advise with regards to further internships etc? thanks

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thanks for your reply abogd28 and congratulations on your acceptance, you must be chuffed. I think you are spot on about the mpa2, that was my take on it as well, i.e. they expect some serious work experience in that field, but i'm totally fine with that. With regards to the ngo work experience i haven't got any yet. but i think i can find some half decent stuff in the next month or so in the region that i'm currently in. i did actually work for an economic consultancy out where i am (the owner is a former world bank economist), but i left after a bit as i felt i was doing all the work and he was getting all the money. i think i could go back there and work for free if i asked him, but i'd only do it two days a week as my main focus is my arabic. to be honest when i came out here i focused entirely on my studies (literally i only people english in the eight or so hours a week that i teach it) and i think that has been reflected in my ability level in the language now. i would say i'm better than the vast majority of people studying arabic as a full time degree, but then what would you expect, i've been living out here for almost two years now. getting back to the work experience thing, do you think a couple of hours a week for an economic consultancy is enough (it's not exactly high level analysis to be honest, more like lower level mgt consultancy stuff) or do you think i should go for a UN type thing? Also, although i don't have a typical ngo background, i did look at emerging markets from a slightly different side, i.e. from a macro/fiscal perspective and it's that kind of macro econ experience that i would stress in my application. anyway mate, what you reckon? thanks for all replies.

thanks Damis, i appreciate you taking the time to craft a response. some responses to you: 1) I will have to take the GRE as well, so it's time to get the vocab books out, but I will take the gmat anyway. the math skills are directly transferable but the verbal is different. 3) it's obviously been a while since i've done econometrics etc, so i wouldn't mind being taught a lot of that stuff over again as i am thinking about an econ type role at a bank as well and the econometrics would be useful for that. right now i have some good experience in that area (trading) but not research per se. i'm not saying i'd definitely go for it, but i'd want to keep my options open. 6) I agree with you on the mpa2, but thought it better to ask what others think just in case. thanks again. any more comments from anybody? tips, advice etc? thanks.

Stats: Age 28 and 2/3 First class honours (equivalent to 3.8 - 4.0 GPA) in economics from LSE MSc Economics Pass from LSE (fully funded by a scholarship) I specialized in international economics and wrote a decent model based thesis. the reason i got a pass rather than a merit was because i took advanced micro and got absolutely screwed in it. i would have been better off taking advanced macro in hindsight. 4.5 years trading emerging market derivatives for a bulge bracket bank in London (good references, left as a senior associate) highlights of my job: -regularly attending meetings with deputy finance ministers and monetary policy committee members from these countries who were interested in finding out what 'the market' thought of there upcoming bond issue/fiscal policy etc assume 720 GMAT (i haven't done it yet so maybe that's cheeky) (i want to do the gmat as i know hks accept it and i think it is better suited to my skill set, plus i can apply for an mba as well if i so choose) here's the unorthodox bit: I left my job to go and study Arabic 2 years ago. this was for several reasons: I realized that the stuff i found interesting was the policies that these countries were pursuing and not pricing interest rate derivatives. also bonuses looked bad (and they were) and I felt that i was trading a lot of things in far away countries without actually knowing much about the places (sob sob ;-) ). It had always been a personal ambition of mine to study the language (properly, not just a couple of phrases for ordering tea in a cafe) and now i'm approaching fluency in it (i speak the levantine dialect but also read in fusha, also my gf only knows arabic so i'm at the level where i can have a meaningful relationship in the language). anyway, the point i'm trying to make is i left to do something i found interesting and not because i had to (wasn't fired, made redundant or left to avoid any of these). also, the language isn't such a shot out of the blue as i have some interesting military experience but ultimately turned down that option (i.e deployment) to pursue my language study. the region i'm in at the moment is experiencing a huge upheaval and is actually quite scary so i have some good stories/experiences/insights. now my language skills are up to scratch i intend to get an internship centering around economic consultancy/development. i appreciate i've put a lot up here, but i want to give as fuller picture as i can. my questions are threefold: 1) What are my chances at HKS, SIPA, Berkley, WWS and Georgetown? 2) should i be applying for the MPA or the MPA2? 3) I have a strong econ background - will that count against me, i.e. if you already have a masters in econ why add to it? (my answer is that i want a more development focus to my studies) 4) Is my pass in my masters a big deal? 5) Is my age a big deal? Thanks in advice for all your advice/comments.