invincible49

Firstly, thanks for your input. The GPA as a whole is OK I suppose, but I did have quite a few Cs and Ds and a couple of Fs on my transcript. I did not have any social sciences or economics. I'm looking to do some online courses in economics. I am trying to improve my profile by working as a researcher. But I am not too sure whether top MPP/ MPA programs accept online courses. Any ideas?

Hello everyone, I'm a long time lurker, first time poster! I'm from India, with a Bachelors Degree in Engineering. My GPA at the time of graduating (back in 2011) is 6.38 on a ten point scale, with a couple of failed courses. I have no excuses for this! I'm currently working with an NGO as a policy researcher and I intend to apply for MPP/ MPA programs to some of the top universities in a few years (say 2 or 3). However, given my background, I was wondering if anyone happened to know of any distance courses I could take to enhance my profile? In India, there are a few distance masters programs in Economics. Also, the some Universities offer a Graduate Diploma Certificate in some subjects. Do these courses add value and do universities (HKS, WWS, SIPA etc) view such courses as a person trying to make up for his terrible GPA or am I just wasting my time (and money) with them? I know there are alot of factors like the GRE, SOP etc that are taken into consideration, but just thought someone here might have a view on the topic. Was thinking of ways I could make my profile more competitive given my dodgy academics. Thanks in advance! Cheers, invincible49