RCtheSS

Not a problem! I wish I could give a detailed answer to your cost of living question; I had so many friends and family live in the Orlando area over the years but I usually only visit the area for the theme parks. But relatively to some other metro areas in the state, it is not hard to manage living expenses, especially around the college area. Central FL is cheaper than South FL, where I was raised. Maybe these sites will be of better use for you: http://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/orlando http://www.city-data.com/city/Orlando-Florida.html

Hello! I am in the process of narrowing down a list of MSW programs for (hopefully) Fall 2016 enrollment. I'm particularly looking into schools offering a dual degree opportunity within public policy (e.g. Michigan, UT-Austin, Pennsylvania, Washington, UCLA). I currently work as a research assistant at a non-profit social policy advocacy organization in D.C., and would like to pursue an MPP/MSW to continue working within this field. My question is, do you think two years of policy research would be sufficient for admissions into an MSW program if I make clear that I wish to pursue a policy/research-oriented line of study? I've been thinking about opting for AmeriCorps after working where I am for 2 years (I was thisclose to accepting a position if I hadn't received my current job offer) which could push back my enrollment to 2017 or 2018. I do have previous volunteering experience from college which can attest to my ability to work with different populations within a community. I've been on the look-out for similar volunteer options since I relocated but I'm still getting used to a real full-time schedule. Any advice or feedback is appreciated. I realize we're in the midst of then Fall 2015 admissions cycle, so best of luck to you all applying!

As a Florida native and infrequent visitor to Orlando, I definitely recommend a car for the family. Orlando (and most of the state) is a suburban sprawl and the public transportation isn't as frequent as major cities.

Perhaps look into the University of Denver's Korbel School of International Studies: http://www.du.edu/korbel/programs/masters/index.html

I'm planning to attend an Idealist grad fair later this month. I already have at least 3 questions to pose to each school I want to visit, so there will be plenty to discuss! Did any of you bring business cards (whether from your current employer or personally made) with you to share with the admissions' reps? Did you bring your own customized name tag?

Welp, after searching through this forum and the Results Search submissions, I guess I'll need to retake my GRE if I want a stronger shot at funding. 158 V, 158 Q, 4.5 AW. While I was satisfied with my scores at the time, now I want to make sure I'm more competitive.

It certainly won't be pretty. Here is a 1-week study plan from Magoosh (recommended) that may help out. http://magoosh.com/gre/2011/1-week-gre-study-guide/

Princeton WWS is known for providing full stipends, which you've also probably read on here.

I feel like each of the schools you mentioned (I've personally researched American and UMD for the same policy fields you're interested in) are still well-known enough institutions that attending their MPP programs would not relegate you to lower-tier policy work. For example, I work at a social policy research organization in DC where the experts' educational backgrounds vary from Harvard Kennedy and University of Chicago to George Mason and what do you know, Rutgers! If you research more into this subforum you will find other posters commenting that once into their post-graduate careers, less people cared about where they got their degrees and more about the skills and experience they bring to the table. No one will deny that HKS and SIPA look great on a resume and are highly ranked for good reasons, but you also can't deny a fundamentally sound (and accredited!) curriculum from a state school. All in all I'd say it depends on the type of work you see yourself doing in the future: priorities differ between high-level research at a think tank or federal agency and advocacy at a local NGO. Funding may also be a significant factor. You can also research these schools for their internship and employment placements: https://www.publicpolicy.umd.edu/career-services/current-students/job-and-internship-resources/internship-and-employment-report http://policy.rutgers.edu/academics/pp/positions.php https://www.gspia.pitt.edu/Portals/0/2012%20Employment%20Data%20for%20Website.pdf

Immediately I thought of Indiana University - Bloomington for its School of Environmental and Public Affairs. It offers both an MPA and Master of Science in Environmental Sciences: http://www.indiana.edu/~spea/prospective_students/masters/degree_programs/index.shtml

Have you read into the HKS admissions blog? The bloggers might have answered your question in one of their previous posts: http://hksadmissionblog.tumblr.com/tagged/letter%20of%20recommendation

I recently relocated from Florida to Hyattsville, MD for work in DC. There are some newer apartment complexes that are right along MD 410: Post Park, Mosaic, 3350 at Alterra. The communities are a mix of young professionals, families, and seniors. A 2 bed/2bath goes between $1650 - $2100 between these three communities. Also, the PG Plaza metro station is a short walk from each of these places and is one stop away from College Park.

I'm not sure if I'll be applying for Fall 2016 or 2017 admission. I want at least 2 years of work experience so if I apply for 2016 I'll end up with 2 years worth once it's actually time for me to move and enroll. I know this is may be early for me, but I'd appreciate any feedback and advice in the meantime! Programs: MPP/MPA with a concentration in Social Policy. My list: UMichigan, UChicago, Columbia, UCal-Berkeley, UCLA, UTexas-Austin, UMinnesota and USC for their joint/dual degree options with a MSW. Also considering MPP programs at Brandeis and Duke. Undergraduate Institution: University of Florida. Studied abroad for one semester at a top-ranked liberal arts university in the Netherlands. Undergraduate Degree: BA Economics, BA Sociology. Minor in Family, Youth, Community Sciences; Certificate in Public Affairs Undergraduate GPA: 3.61/4.00. Graduated summa cum laude. GRE: 158V, 158 Q, 4.5 AW Years out of Undergrad: Currently, 3 months! Years of Work Experience: At least 2 years full-time at time of enrollment. -Currently a research assistant at a non-profit social policy research organization in Washington, D.C. -Since I recently relocated I would like to get involved in local volunteer work in either early education or social services. -Other relevant experience: PPIA Fellowship at UMich in 2013. Hurray for fee waivers! Languages: English. Always talk about refreshing my Spanish skills to conversational levels. Quantitative: Multiple upper-level statistics and economics courses. Experience with data collection and analysis using Excel, SPSS and Stata. I plan to take a series of calculus courses at a community college since I haven't seen calc since high school. SOP: Haven't worked on it yet, figured I'd wait to settle into my job and have more to discuss. LORs: Two undergrad lecturers--one in the poli-sci department, one in sociology (who was my thesis faculty advisor). Third letter will be from my supervisor, a senior policy analyst. Questions: 1. Should I bother retaking the GRE? I took it in my senior year and felt satisfied with my scores after looking up the schools' averages. I've seen much better scores reported in this thread and now I'm not too sure about my chances, or if it'll even make a drastic difference with the rest of my application. 2. Would Calculus I and II be enough for these programs, or should I also include a course in multivariate calc? This may end up deciding the 2016/2017 question for me!

Test is complete! Unofficial score: 158V, 158Q. I am quite satisfied. Now to wait 10-15 days for the AW... then I truly will not have to think about this exam again.

Yeah, the moment I got back to school my extracurriculars have been eating away at my time from academics. It's all about my time management at this point. I'm leaning towards sticking through with the test this Friday. If my scores are lower than predicted, I can aim to retake the exam at the end of this semester--after I graduate, so nothing else will be in the way of studying.

I respect the frank opinions shared on TheGradCafe, so hit me. My test date is this Friday at 12:30pm and I haven't been actively studying for about two months. I have the full set of Manhattan Prep books, Magoosh Online Prep, and the Official GRE text from ETS + PowerPrep. If I go through with taking the GRE this Friday, my plan is to pretty much take a practice test whenever I have free time to do so (which will usually be 10pm-4am) and then focus on types of questions that I do poorly on. So far, my practice scores (haven't used my PowerPrep tests yet): Manhattan Prep exams: Q: 154 V: 158 (taken 8/212013) Q: 157 V: 160 (taken 9/21/2013) Q: 156 V: 157 (taken 9/29/2013) Q: 155 V: 156 (taken 11/11/2013) Magoosh Prep: Q estimated: 154-159 V estimated: 155-160 I'm a graduating senior who has rescheduled her GRE twice already. First I wanted to take it in October, but I was still in the middle of my studying schedule and didn't feel fully prepared. I was then going to take it in December at the end of the fall semester, but I still wasn't noting a change in my practice test scores and it bothered me. I don't plan on applying to any schools for another year or two. I'd be looking into MPP, MSW and Ph.D. in sociology programs. So basically: should I wing it at this point and let the chips fall as they may? Is it worth it to push it back say, at least 4 weeks for better studying? I honestly don't know why I'm letting this exam get to my head so much. I really wanted to hit 160 in both sections... but if anything I'll be focusing on my essay-writing for the next 72 hours with the help of PowerPrep.

Thanks for sharing this! I actually just moved my test date back from October 18 to December 9 to give myself more time to study. I have the complete set of Manhattan Prep's eight strategy guide books and the ETS Official GRE book. So far I've taken three of Manhattan's practice tests and my scores are decent: T1: 158V 154Q T2: 160V 157Q T3: 157V 156Q But I'd prefer to hit the 160+ mark in both sections so I'd feel at ease about admissions' chances. Just signed up for Magoosh's online prep course as well, so here's hoping I can reach my goal in ten weeks.