[The 'Am I competitive' thread - READ ME BEFORE POSTING]

Thank you, this is the reality check I needed. Always thought those school were long shots and I should start researching on less selective schools, your suggestions are good places to start. GRE quant doesn't seem to be an issue from my practice results but will contiune to bust my ass to get the best possible results! And save some $$$ for online quant classes...

[The 'Am I competitive' thread - READ ME BEFORE POSTING]

_{Hi all,}

_{I'm new and very thankful to find this forum! I intend to apply for fall 2013 admission.}

_{I believe my overall profile (esp work experience) would be fairly ok if I ace my GRE. My main problem is that I'm out of school for a while (almost 9 years) and have no links or contacts to my profs in undergraduate since then. I'm not confident I'll get a good LOR from an academic but I will have no problems obtaining good LOR from employers. I do not have a high GPA (see reason below) but I'm done fretting over that. Just want to get a sense if the schools I plan to apply will be a long shot for me.}

_{Also, I need advice on whether I should apply to 1yr MPP or 2yr MPS/IR programs. Are my work experience substantial enough for 1yr MPPs? Or would l be too old for 2yr MPAs/IRs? I will turn 32 in 2013.}

_{Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): Considering MPP/MPA/IR}

_{Schools Applied To: Fletcher (MALD),Planning to apply for Fall 2013 to Princeton WWS, Syracuse, George Washington, SAIS}

_{Schools Admitted To: 0}

_{Schools Rejected From: 0}

_{Still Waiting: 0}

_{Undergraduate institution: SUNY Buffalo, graduated 2002}

_{Undergraduate GPA: 3.2 (I can explain this - I had a car accident in junior year, fractured my pelvic bone and was in pain for one whole semester. Was obviously not in shape to get As)}

_{Undergraduate Major: Communications}

_{GRE Quantitative Score: ? Still studying for GRE}

_{GRE Verbal Score: ?}

_{GRE AW Score: ?}

_{Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 8.5}

_{Years of Work Experience: 8.5}

_{Describe Relevant Work Experience: 5.5 years in advertising. 3 Years and counting in the public sector. (Made the switch to public sector in 2009 and never looked back!)}

_{5.5 Years in advertising - Worked in large advertising agencies Ogilvy & Mather, Iris Nation etc}

_{3 years in Public Sector - Worked 2 years in a government outreach agency, tasked to share Singapore's developmental experience with foreign governments. Established G2G/Multilateral relationships and travelled extensively to countries in East Asia, South Asia, with international organizations (WB, ADB, CommSec) as our key developmental counterpart. Currently on secondment to World Bank as Special Assistant to Director, assignment will end March 2013.}

_{Languages: English and Mandarin.}

_{Quant: None at undergraduate level. Will consider online courses from UCB extension.}

_{Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Strong. I am able to articulate my career plans, mission and describe work experience as above.}

_{Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): 1 from the government, another from World Bank. I have left school for too long (since 2002) and wonders if a LOR from my undergraduate profs will have relevance to my intended graduate study.}

_Thanks!