TypeA

I was invited to interview in late December, the interview was on January 23rd, and I received an offer of admission a little less than two weeks later. I'm not sure how long they interview for, though. I'm guessing you applied for the HMP track (the only one that does interviews); I've found Pat O'Kray (the department's Student Services Coordinator) to be very helpful/responsive. Good luck!

I have a friend who's currently getting his MPP part-time at GWU (ETA: Trachtenberg). I don't know all the details of how/why he came to that decision--although it was certainly financially-motivated--but I do know that he's taking two classes per semester (always in the evening) while working full-time on the Hill, and it'll take him 3 years to graduate instead of two.

ahaha. I also came across this one a few weeks ago: http://biostatisticsryangosling.tumblr.com/

I'm not applying for PhD programs, but I did have a brief (~30 mins) interview with a potential adviser for a public health program I applied to. This is the brief thank you email I sent the following day: Dr. Awesome, It was a pleasure to meet with you during Monday’s on-site visit day. I enjoyed our conversation, and am excited by all of the opportunities that Michigan has to offer. It’s great to know that the school has faculty interested in mental health policy, and that I could supplement coursework with actual research in that particular domain. The visit confirmed that the department of Health Management and Policy is a wonderful fit for me, and I look forward to hearing back from the school soon. If you have any questions or would like any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thanks again! Best, TypeA [contact info] Pretty much follows what fuzzylogician suggested... almost two years ago.

I'm 22. Graduated with my B.S. in April 2011, and have been working full time since then, in a position arguably related to what I want to do. Depending on funding and my financial situation, I may defer for a year and matriculate when I'm 24.

Bahaha. I did my undergrad there, so half the time when the ominous (1) shows up in my GMail tab and I have a half-second freakout, it's just quasi-spam from the Alumni Association/U of M Club of Greater Detroit. I don't remember the undergrad application process being nearly this torturous with the emails... I think that Wolverine Access was also better about keeping you apprised of your actual application status--just seeing a word like "pending" SOMEWHERE on WA would put my mind at ease.

Several weeks after submitting an application to the University of Michigan--which I shouldn't hear back about until March; it's a professional master's program without interviews--I got an email from "U-M Rackham Admissions" with the subject line "Admission Notice to UM Rackham Graduate School." So yeah, I had a moment of heart-stopping panic before I opened that ("They rejected me ALREADY?!").... and then when I did, it was a query about my status as an in-state resident.

"Well, they sent out interview invites at 4:57PM... certainly they'll send out decisions at close-of-business, too. *cue hyperanxiety during the 4:30-5:00 window*"

I adore the BIC Soft Feel (Medium). Best accidental purchase ever. And for what it's worth, my left-handed roommate swiped a few; she loves them too.

"Wait, what? I thought you were going to medical school."

I think I'll allow myself a nice haircut from this upscale salon that I've only been to once (I could never rationalize the cost to myself afterward). That, and a new Macbook Pro some point between now and starting classes. My current laptop turns five in April, and has developed a number of personality tics.

Copying and pasting a bit from a post in the government affairs subforum: Program Applied To: Health Management and Policy (MPH and MHSA tracks; I also applied for the MPP program at the Ford School of Public Policy, because I'd like to do the joint-degree). Schools Applied To: University of Michigan. I was offered an interview (via email) with the SPH on 12/20, that's scheduled for 1/23. Undergraduate institution: University of Michigan Undergraduate GPA: 3.35 Undergraduate Major: Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Science. Minors in Political Science and History (American) GRE Quantitative Score: 710 (72nd) GRE Verbal Score: 720 (98th) GRE AW Score: 6.0 (99th) Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 0.5? I graduated last April. Years of Work Experience: Worked part-time in a biomedical lab for two years, worked full-time for two summers and part-time for two semesters in an autism clinic, and am currently working full-time. However you choose to quantify that. Describe Relevant Work Experience: Although the autism clinic work itself was mostly administrative in nature, it did give me a firsthand knowledge of how pediatric mental health coverage works (or—more to the point—doesn’t work). The clinic served two very disparate populations: those covered by Medicaid, and those who could afford to pay tens of thousands of dollars per year out-of-pocket for therapy. Mental health/substance abuse policy is one of my areas of interest. Currently, I'm working as a regulatory coordinator in clinical research, which means I'm responsible for ensuring that the studies I oversee comply with human investigation policy.

I don't have the faintest idea if this program is any good/will hold any weight in the IR/ID world, but it keeps showing up in my Facebook ads... http://mppaonline.northwestern.edu

People are going to disagree with blanket statements, whether they're "don't study" or "study 20 hours per week for three months." The people this forum are too intelligent and too motivated to go "Welp, some stranger on the internet said not to study. I think I'll ignore everything I know about how I best prepare for things," so I don't think that this thread is worth the umbrage it seems to be causing (if the down-votes are any indication). OP's post serves to illustrate that some people don't need to study to do well on standardized tests, and that point has merit. I tend to fall into that category, and the multitude of study-strategy threads on this forum caused some serious GRE neuroticism. I did study, and I'm glad for it--I hadn't had a math course in four years--but seeing a thread like this might have allayed some of my stress when I started studying with less than a month until my exam. Also, slacking during GRE prep and playfully labeling oneself a slacker doesn't automatically mean that OP slacks in all domains of life. For those keeping score, I studied 5-8 hours a week for a little less than four weeks. That worked for me (1430/6.0), YMMV.

Broadly, idealistically (impossibly): I want to help rewrite the American health care system as we know it. This is why I'm applying to a MPH/MPP dual degree program.

My job is actually preparing IRB submissions. Your best bet would be to Google "[X University] IRB." Many research university IRBs have all of their templates online and available for download. Note that there are different requirements (and hence different templates, if available) for social/behavioral research and medical research, so if templates are available, make sure you download the correct one (otherwise you may see "HIPAA Authorization" and things that just don't apply to you). If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

I'm interested as well.

I know that Ford is trying to expand their international focus, buuuut I'm actually interested in domestic social policy, not IR. The vast majority of people who frequent this forum are interested in IR, so they might be able to help you better.

I think you have an incredibly strong profile, with the possible exception of your GRE quant score. That might be mitigated by your courses; I'm not very familiar with those programs, so I don't know how heavily the GRE is weighed/if it's used for preliminary weeding. I do know that the UMich Ford School--which is less competitive, but may consider the GRE differently--advises "in general, the incoming class has GRE scores in and above the 75th percentile." If I remember correctly, a 720 is about 75th percentile for quant. The consensus around here seems to be to shoot for 700+.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but 2:1 is upper second class honors in the UK system. Roughly translated, I would say it falls between A-/B+, based on my semester abroad. So, 3.5ish?

I do not consider the X program at the School of Awesomesauce a convenient means to an end—I believe it is the best path to my academic and professional goals. Except, you know, using real names and words and such. I wonder how adcomms would react to the use of "School of Awesome" or similar derivatives...

... for what it's worth, one of my recommenders just responded. I'm choosing to illogically interpret this as a sign that obsessing on this forum is productive. Still waiting on the second (and still need to ask the third ).

SNRE isn't through the Rackham Graduate School? Odd. Even though the Ford School is its own school, it uses the Rackham application, so that's been up and running for a couple weeks.

I really think this is something that would vary from class to class, and professor to professor. You really should (IMHO) approach your professor in person about why you’re requesting a letter from him, despite the short period of time he’s known you. I think you provided perfectly sound reasons here, so explain those reasons to him and see what he says. For what it’s worth, here’s my mid-semester recommendation anecdote: I had this one professor in environmental policy as a senior. When I went to office hours to discuss grad school and the potential for a future recommendation (I knew I was taking at least one year off before grad), there were two or three classmates (who’d never had him before) who were also there to ask for letters. I’m friends with one of those people, and he’s now attending one of the top environmental policy programs.

It might be easiest on your recommender if you sought out some peer feedback, and then sent her a revised essay with your other information. I think that the members of this forum are a phenomenal resource when it comes to revising/perfecting SOPs--at least, I've had a really positive experience. I created a thread requesting review or exchange, and also responded to a couple threads around the board; this propelled my paper through three or so drafts. This way, when I sent my recommenders application materials, I was able to include essays I considered strong--definite improvements over my original drafts. In my email to my profs, I stated "I welcome feedback/suggestions, if you have any." You can toggle the strength of this request--always remaining polite, of course: "I would love to hear your input on my essay" or "My statement of purpose is still a work in progress; if you have the time to give me some feedback, I would really appreciate it."