sacdude

Great feedback guys, thanks, this helps... I think "Charlotte_asia" hit the nail here- "Do you see faults/gaps in how it is being applied? Do you see a very specific need where you could render your niche specialty (supply chain management?)? Just being interested in PPP at this point is probably not enough to distinguish you as an applicant (specifically, one is looking to make a major career change to a sector he/she hasn't yet worked in)." This will help in the changes I might want to make in an essay to fletcher (For the waitlist)... basically explaining the fact that i want to aid the decision-making processes in the PPPs overall (applying analytics) rather than focus on specific sectors- is that a good idea?

Are they rolling out emails during the weekend too? Has anyone head from the school after Friday 5pm EST last night? Crankiness - I know. But what to do!

u guys got email or checked on their app website??

good stuff @manmadegod... i need to know more about ur profile... can u paste it here? or i will just pm you...

@Charlotte, Great input! Appreciate it. My response- 1) What I am trying to say is I have gained great management and analytic skills throughout my masters and work- I see similar scenarios, especially in PPPs, where math could be applied to make decisions in multiple stakeholder scenarios- this applies for execution of PPPs in any sector. My focus would be on the decision-making process (say resource allocation) itself, rather than any industry or sector. Do I need an IR masters for doing this?? until I got my results, I always thought I did- just to gain knowledge in economics, international affairs, and to have access to the great networks of these top schools. If there are other ways to get my dreams going, like, w/o going to school, let me know- I would like to analyze. I will pm you, if you are willing to share ur 2 cents. 2) You do make good points about experience in PPPs and about volunteering in the US being mundane. I just mention in my essays that they did use a similar modeling system called GAMS for resource allocation in the world bank, but in my real life I have not done this for developmental work...

it was not SIPA dev practice that I had applied to ...it was the MPA program... and whom did you email at MPA/ID? Do you have a name?

I have a question for you folks who have been admitted. I gave my heart out and applied to 4 schools/programs, and results are not the greatest. Profile 3 years of professional experience in Inventory Optimization, Resource Allocation, Procurement and Indicators Development - Management based Operations Research Analyst at top tech firm in silicon valley Ample volunteering and event management experiences with Non-Profit / International Development Organizations- Includes institutions like the IRC and AID (association for India's development).- 100+ hours of volunteering--> Tutoring, fundraising etc. Interests: Public-Private Partnerships, Multiple Stakeholder Management, Mathematical Modeling, Indicators development Strong data analyses, analytical reasoning and communication skills; Proficient in optimization and statistical software packages GMAT : 710 Education Clemson University, Clemson, SC Master of Science in Industrial Management (Specializing in Operations and Supply Chain Management) GPA: 3.6/4.0 Anna University, Madras, India Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical & Electronics Engineering Letters of Recommendation: - Prof under whom I did econ dev. and market research at a center for intl. trade during my first masters - he was also a ex-division chief at world bank. -President of AID chapter at Clemson, whose reco probably illustrated how i applied business and management skills in fundraising events for the NGO - From my manager at work, who should have focused on my decision-making and analytical reasoning/ management skils SOPs- Decently written. May not be the greatest. Talked about how i have applied mathematical modeling at my workplace, to solve multiple stakeholder scenarios. Also, talked about how i would use the same concepts in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)- which is where I want to shift my career to, because I now know how Private sectors can induce development (even my volunteering hours with the IRC get matched by my company- i mention that as an eye opener) So I thought I had a decent profile! I am also taking online courses from UC Berkeley in micro and macro economics- to ensure formal education in that field. Results- Harvard MPA/ID- Reject Columbia SIPA MPA- Reject Fletcher MALD- Waitlisted! Georgetown MSFS- Waiting... considering it is the most selective of all programs, I have no hope there. I would love to hear feedback from folks who have been admitted to these programs- What do you think is missing?? More economics and intl affairs? - How can I get those going, if I am not give the opportunity to change careers? In fact, its not exactly changing careers in my case- it is more about expanding my horizons in the field of management. Applying cost-savings concepts in for-profit situation and taking it to multiple-stakeholder scenarios in the PPP world. Any valuable feedback would be appreciated. I am mostly planning to take a break from this crazy ass corporate life, and travel , and probably work for a NGO in a developing country- that is my Plan B. That sounds juicy- but does it sound good, if I were to apply again next year!

I would really appreciate if somebody can advice here- Out of the 3 questions SIPA has asked for personal statements, the first one is basically a SoP, with a 500 word limit. That does not surprise me. But the other 2 are weird, and would like some tips on these, if you have an idea- Second Question Please choose one of the two following topics to address – 300 word limit. 1. A competition is being conducted that will provide one million dollars as seed funding to start a new organization. The competition requires a 300 word essay/statement. Compose a 300 word essay/statement to submit in order to be considered for this seed funding. 2. You have just read a news story that has deeply moved you. Compose a 300 word response in the form of a letter to the editor. The news story you are responding to can be real or fictional and does not need to be limited to the present time – it can be framed in the past, present, or future. Third Question/Response (200 Word Maximum) Please share any additional information about yourself that you believe would be of interest to the Admissions Committee. Please focus on information that is not already reflected in the other parts of your application or might not be clear in the information submitted. What do they expect in the 2nd and 3rd question?? What can one write about for these? FYI- Within the second, I am leaning towards picking the 2nd bullet- response to a letter to the editor. I am probably going to stick to a public policy issue there.

Guys, I did my grad school from Clemson, and I am originally an international student as well. Few notes- 1) First of all, there is no racism whatsoever! You are in a beautiful university township, where there are people from every country you can name. So the atmosphere is quite diverse (this depends on the programs per se). There is definitely more diversity in the non-engineering grad programs and labs. 2) For weekend hang outs, yes definitely it is not like a HUGE HUGE university town like say Ann Arbor or Gainsville, but it is self sufficient in its own way. Fall season rushes by with all the sports happening and the various Frat parties , Homecoming, etc etc. It definitely is a HUGE football town. So tailgating and football related parties is a given, whether tigers win or loss. In spring as well, you have numerous events going on thank s the various grad and undergrad student organizations. The other advantage of it being smaller compared to other univ towns is that its cheap, especially the off-campus housing! But a car would definitely help, if you want to drive all the way to Atlanta (2 hrs) or Greenville (1hr) for a weekend hangout. If you are looking for a good mix of fun, good acads, and fitting budgets, Clemson is not a bad place at all.

Hi All, I found this year old thread, and since I have similar questions/ confusions, I thought I will reignite it I am planning a career shift- The world of international business diplomacy excites me more than anything else these days, especially with a lot of interesting stuff happening in the political world, and how its impacting businesses and investments. My long term goal- To be a liason between public affairs and the private world- by making key FDI decisions (say) or consulting on a govt project that eventually leads to socio economic development in the a 3rd world country (preferably) My confusion- Should I bother applying to to a mundane MBA program at one of the big schools , even after the fact the I have done a lot of pre-reqs in my masters- like basic finance, accounting etc.? Should I waste time doing some core mba courses again, especially the ones I have already done and/or do not want to do. Is ivy league MBA brand that valuable, that I should just go for it however costly it is or even if it has some stuff that i do not want. Should I apply for one of the great IR programs like the ones at SIPA, Fletcher MIB, HKS, Georgetown etc? - Because I already have partial business education and experience- this is more tempting and cheaper. I am skeptical only because of limited job opportunities compared to traditional MBA, even in the IR world, because a top firm would go for a ivy league MBA vs ivy league IR (is this true?). Also, I am an international citizen, so I cannot assume the whole world of jobs is open to me. Also, not sure how many electives do these IR schools let you take from the B-schools.OR [*]Should I just forget about school and try for jobs in intl business diplomacy just like that http://forum.thegradcafe.com/uploads/emoticons/default_smile.png' alt=':)'> General Profile (M/26)- • 2-3 years experience in Inventory Optimization, Resource Planning, Procurement, forecast management, and operational indicators for a Fortune 100 firm (tech industry) • Master’s in Industrial Management, specializing in Operations and Supply Chain Management (from a top 25 public university in the US); Bachelors of Engineering in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from India • Ample volunteering and event management experiences with Non-Profit / International Development Organizations • Strong data analysis and analytical reasoning skills; Proficient in optimization and statistical software packages,GMAT- 710 Please help.