eliotrosewater

I think there are many people (including myself) who have not yet heard and who also submitted everything on time. If past years are indicative of this year, then acceptances are sent out between the end of February and the middle of March, so I don't think they have stopped sending out acceptances for now.

Any guesses on the order in which they are sending out decisions? Alphabetical? Order received? Completely random?

I suspect most schools mean "at matriculation." I know CMU Heinz specifically notes that they mean by matriculation, but I don't recall any other schools specifically stating it. Don't consider this a firm answer though, I'm certainly don't work in admissions anywhere. Maybe try e-mailing the schools you are curious about and ask them this question?

I'm curious about this because I did not do nearly as well as I would have hoped on this section. I was a philosophy major in college and analytical writing should be one of my strong points. On test day I suspect I overthought one of the two questions and produced a poorly organized essay. I got a 3.5/6.0, so my score isn't awful, but it certainly isn't good either, nor is it reflective of my actual writing ability. Do admissions committees for MPP/MPA programs tend to give a lot of weight to this score? My other GRE scores and GPA are pretty well in line with the averages at the schools I'll be applying to, so this will be the one hiccup for me.

Programs Considered: MPP/MPA/MSPPM from CMU, Brown, USC, Indiana, Pitt, Cornell, OSU, Ford Undergraduate institution: Roughly top 50 LAC Undergraduate GPA: 3.51 Undergraduate Major: Philosophy Study Abroad: Semester abroad in Mongolia GRE: V: 157 Q: 152 AW: Wating on score (scores may change when I get the scaled versions in, I just took the GRE today) Years Out of Undergrad (by enter date): 1 by Fall 2013 Years of Work Experience: 1 Year of AmeriCorps and several very substantive internships during undergrad Languages: Native English My top choice is CMU for a number of reasons. Any thoughts? Especially on my competitiveness at CMU?

anyone?

Thanks for the input. I'm well aware that grad school "isn't going anywhere." I am quite sure that I know what I want to do in/after grad school and the advantages of working another year or two are pretty apparent to me. My choice is between doing work that I am kind of "meh" about or going to grad school so that I can begin a career that really interests me. This is really the reason why I will likely apply this year rather than next year. If I were doing something that really interested me (it seems like you assumed that this is the case) then the prospect of spending a few more years doing the kind of work I am doing now might be more compelling, but unfortunately that's not what I'm dealing with. Again I appreciate the advice, but my decision about when to go to grad school isn't about figuring out what I want to do or saving money (saving money is hard to do on an AmeriCorps stipend).

I'm currently working an AmeriCorps VISTA position and am in the process of researching and applying to MPP/MPA programs for next year. By the time I start my MPP program I will have had only one year of work experience. How much will adding another year of work experience (so that I have two years by the time I apply) will increase my competitiveness for top programs? I could just do another year of AmeriCorps or work elsewhere for a year after my year as a VISTA without too much difficulty but my career options are limited without the MPP or MPA, so I want to get started on the degree as soon as I can. If it helps, I will be applying to CMU, Mich, Harris, GW, NYU, Pitt, Indiana and likely a few others. My GPA is a little over 3.5 and although I have not taken the GRE yet, my practice test scores have been in the 1300-1400 (converted to the old scale) range. Thanks in advance for any input!