jaymerchi

Yea thanks for the post. The only reason I was comparing it to MPP programs is because it seems far more quant heavy and has a lotta overlap with MPP core quant classes.

yea i will definitely apply. Also do you believe that an initial rejection makes it harder to get accepted after putting in some work experience in a relevant field. On another note, do you think that dedicated MPP programs with their own schools would run more reputable programs than the relatively newer stanford ips. the IPS program pools in resources from across stanford while MPPs in places berkely and chicago for example have dedicated pools of faculty. It just seems like their MPPs are more "serious" if I must say. I would love to hear from someone who chose the IPS or is in the IPS right now to respond to this (no offense or anything).

That seems like a fair assessment. What do you reckon the acceptance rate for the IPS and other MPP programs is. Any reliable source from where I can get them. I find it interesting that petersons has admissions % stats but the official websites do not. Any thoughts ?

True true. The IPS definitely seems extremely academic in nature and highly quant based. Would it be fair to compare it to the MPA-ID at harvard ? Even though the program is very young, it seemed like they had fairly decent placements across the board. Maybe they should offer a dual degree with their B school over 3 or 4 years which would definitely make IPS graduates more attractive on the job market. A lot of HKS grads seemed to be pairing their degrees with MBAs from HBS and that definitely makes an applicant more competitive. Whether the MBA adds substantially to the job seekers compatibility to the organization is a completely different point altogether.

i do not have any internship experience as yet but I will hopefully be interning at a policy institute next summer. I have however worked over summer with a professor and have helped produce a policy paper which should be published in a journal. I have a fair amount of international experience as I have taken summer courses on Chinese economic policy in Beijing Uni through the LSE last summer and will be studying Economics and Politics at Oxford in spring 2010 for an entire semester.

I am a bachelor in Economics and Public Policy at a top 30 LAC. I am interested in MPPs at duke michigan or berkely and the IPS at stanford. My current Ugpa is 3.84 which is considered good for my school since we have grade deflation putting me in the top 3 % of my class. While I recognize that programs like the IPS and MPA-ID at harvard are extremely competitive and command significant work experience, I am very keen to go on straight to grad school. Would I be able to put forward a strong application with no work experience out of college or is it almost pointless to apply to such programs without any experience. Any other advice would be strongly appreciated. I am yet to take my GREs but am expecting a good score, at least in quant (780 or 800). Verbal would be a shoot around 600 ish. I have taken a lot of micro, macro, calc and even analysis so that should be alright.