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Hi all, I'm starting this thread for anyone who's waiting on applications to doctoral programmes in public policy/public affairs/public administration. I've applied to Duke, Michigan, IU Bloomington, Syracuse, UW Evans, Maryland, NYU and a couple of others. It's been deafening silence so far, so I'm eager to find out if others have started hearing back. I'm an international applicant, so a bit out of the loop.

Any other NYU Wagner PhD applicants out there for fall 2019? If so, has anyone heard anything?

Hi everyone, I need some help figuring out which degree I should pursue. I'm an entry-level coordinator of undergraduate student programs. My career is going to be focused on College Access, Equity, and Success. I want to explore this in a variety of professional opportunities such as college counseling in high schools and education nonprofits, student affairs, education policy, and eventually teaching. I know that I wouldn't dive into policy and teaching until way later in my career when I've built up an extensive amount of professional experience in the field. Which means as of now I'll be focusing my professional opportunities on coordinating programs and providing services to students at various stages in their educational journeys from pre to post-college. Knowing this... which degree should I pursue? I love how broad the MPA is, the applicability of the skills learned to higher education administration, and the possibility for diving into government and policy later on. But I also recognize how specific the MEd is thus the much more sense it makes to pursue that especially in the early and middle stages of my career. These were some options I came up for myself and wanted your feedback on: MEd in Student Affairs or Education, Culture, Society or Sociology of Education and get a certificate in some skills on public and nonprofit performance management MEd in Higher Education Administration and get a certificate in College Access and Diversity and/or Student Affairs MPA and get one or both of the same certificates in College Access and Diversity and/or Student Affairs These programs are a combination of different schools that offer both on-campus and online formats. I'm not sure if I'd complete the certificates at the same time as the degrees but do them right after. But what do you think of these options? As you see there's a multitude of MEd programs to choose from but I feel each misses a something from the other. Some either focus on education broadly and not enough on higher education, some are more theoretical and research heavy and don't have enough practical skills in management, finances, organization, etc. some dive into the politics, history, philosophy and sociology of education which I love because it eventually focuses on College Access and Equity but again offer not many practical skills. I'm basically trying to find the perfect program combination that will combine all of this relevant content and the practical skills needed to succeed in this field. Other suggestions aside from I listed are welcomed such as pursuing one program for my master's and the other for a doctorate or second master's if necessary.

Hello, all! I'm deciding on an MPA program, and I have it narrowed down to Brown and UNC Chapel Hill. I'm honestly totally split, and have no idea what to do. I'd really appreciate thoughts from others. The situation is that Brown is 1 year and UNC is 2, but UNC is still much, much cheaper. UNC is ranked a good bit higher, but Brown has the name and more of a global focus (which is my interest). I'm most likely interested in working in the nonprofit sector, and Brown's program would be better for that, but I'm having trouble reconciling that with the high cost of tuition. The problem is that I know i don't have a bad option and I have no clue where to go! Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Anyone else just starting here?

Has anyone taken this route? I'm currently applying to a Masters of Public Administration program and work in communications at a state university. I really like university environment and think I might want to stay in higher education. My university does offer a master's in student affairs, but I'm more interested in academic affairs than I am in student services (res life, Greek life, registrar, etc.). My program doesn't have a concentration in higher ed but I could try to tailor it somewhat with electives. Any ideas?

title. anyone have any experience or advice on what to talk about that is out of the ordinary? I have a general gist of what I am going to talk about it. But thought it would be worth the ask.

Hi everyone. Please help me to make a decision. I applied to one year master course in public administration area and I got offer from Wagner Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) for global policy leaders and Georgetown Master of Policy Management. (MPM). I am working at government for 6 years and I'm interested in international development (especially in South-East Asia or East Africa) . I hope to developing career in that area. I check the forums but there is some information about one year master program and there is few information about Wagner EMPA. I would like to know the trend of cohort and alumni and reputation of the courses. Any comments and information are welcomed and highly appreciated.

Hi all: I applied to the University of Georgia's MPA program back in early January (the 4th if i remember correctly) for the 2017 Fall semester. Has anyone else applied for this term and heard back? I've heard back from 2 of the other MPA programs I've applied to (one good and one bad), but nothing from UGA yet? When should I expect to hear back?? Thanks!!

Now I have what could be the final edition of my purpose statement and I'm wondering if you guys will work your magic for me. Here it is! While my decision to apply to a Master of Public Administration program was made partially because it is the logical next step in my academic career, it is far more than just logic that drove my decision. As a child, I was exposed to contaminants on a playground and the negative effects have continued to impact my life since. Migraines were a daily occurrence, often preventing me from being able to go to school. My school district was not equipped to handle educating someone with the health problems I was facing and I eventually withdrew from school and obtained a high school equivalency diploma. Although I am fortunate enough now to say that my health problems are under control, that is not the end of this fight for me. The events of my childhood generated a drive inside of me to pursue a career in public administration. My dream is to ensure that no child ever has to choose between their health and pursuing an education. The current emphasis on testing in education diminishes the concern with the students with the strongest and weakest capabilities. Schools are compelled to have strong median and mean scores, leading them to ignore other students. I have decided to pursue an education in public administration rather than education administration because schools are often too vested in these practices and change would have to occur at an oversight level. In 2013, I took the first step towards making my dream a reality by enrolling in night classes at the local community college. I spent two years studying to earn my associate’s degree, all the while working at a local bank to fund my education. I exceeded countless expectations by not only graduating but by receiving high honors. As I walked across the stage, I vowed to continue my education and to fight to promote universal access to education. In the Fall of 2015, I enrolled at -undergrad school- majoring in Political Science. I am graduating this May with a dual major in Political Science and Public Administration along with a minor in Geography with a GPA of 3.72. -Undergrad School- has opened up numerous doors that have continued to reaffirm my career goals. In the Spring of 2016, I served as an intern for a city planning office. In this position, I provided research assistance to the office and attended city council meetings to report back to the principal planner. Additionally, I answered calls from residents and provided information on anything from zoning to natural disaster management. I completed a project for the office that compared the historical sites in the city to their present day condition, finding that many of them had been poorly preserved over the years. During the summer of 2016, I was one of eight students selected from my school to participate in an internship in Washington D.C. with one of our state’s Congress members. I found myself immersed in public policy and I loved every minute of my experience. During my internship at the D.C. office, I attended Senate sessions and Congressional hearings. Additionally, I completed policy memos for the Senator, ensuring he was well prepared for any meetings or events he attended. Upon my return home from Washington D.C., the local constituent office for the Senator contacted me to offer me an internship in their office. At the constituent office, I was primarily responsible for organizing the Senator’s schedule and answering questions and concerns of the Senator’s constituents. The Senator is highly involved in protecting the environment and hosts a conference for energy and environment leaders at the local convention center every year. While working for the Senator, I was able to help organize and manage the conference to ensure all went as planned. I have recently started my final internship in my undergraduate career at an office as a policy intern. In this internship, I will attend legislative sessions and provide research support for the department. Additionally, I am assisting in the modification of a program that helps those receiving unemployment benefits regain employment. These experiences that have made me an outstanding candidate for your public administration program. Obtaining a Master of Public Administration is the final step in ensuring that I can accomplish my aspirations.

Hey all, I am looking to see how likely I am to get into the following schools with the following criteria. I feel like I am fitting in somewhere around the average requirements of most applicants at these schools, with maybe a slightly lower GPA. GPA: 3.3 from a small liberal arts school in Ohio GRE: 161 V and 159 Q with 5.0 Analytical Writing Experience: 3 campaign cycles as an intern/volunteer (since '08), 3 campaign cycles as a paid staff in field management and data analytics; 1 year in nonprofit fundraising; 3 months interning with a lobbying firm in D.C.; Only 2 years of work experience after completing my undergrad (I took a semester off to work on the 2012 Presidential campaign) and volunteered/interned throughout college on various local, state, and national races in digital and organizing related work. I am applying/have applied to the following schools: Duke Sanford (MPP), Chicago Harris (MPP), Syracuse Maxwell (MPP), UT-Austin (MPA), Georgetown McCourt (MPP), NYU Wagner (MPA), OSU John Glenn (MPA), USC Price (MPA), IU SPEA (MPA). Thanks!

Hi, I will be starting 2nd year of MPA at Columbia SIPA. I'm an international student. Though I have a partial scholarship from SIPA and taken a loan for my studies, the living and course have been so expensive that I'll run out of money to finance my last semester. I have already reached out to Prodigy Finance and MPOWER for additional loan, but they have declined my application. Since I'm an international student and have no one in the US who could be a cosigner for US bank loan, that is not an option. Plus, my family can't support my studies since it's not affordable. Are there any other options I could look at? Urgent help needed here, please. Thanks in advance.

I just got an email from American saying a decision has been made on my application and to log in. So I logged into the applynow spot but I don't know where the decision is... Someone tell me where to look. This is eluding me.

Hey folks, So I don't want to be all technical distinguishing the difference between public policy/affairs/administration and having them all in separate brackets. My main point is the rankings here doesn't necessarily make all the sense in the world. Georgetown #15? University of Washington #8 (I know people whom graduated from here unemployed or underemployed for more than a year)? Fletcher unranked (thought this was one of the best)? So what do you folks think are the top 10 schools for policy in our country, and of course why? I'd put a strong correlation with employment post graduation %, influence the school has on policy, salaries of alumni post graduation, how many folks work with top consulting firms, top non-profits, and folks who work in policy at the state and federal level. A wide range, but hopefully you get the point. What do you folks think?

I am applying to a variety of Master of Public Admin. (MPA) programs for Fall of 2012. I've been out of undergrad for over 3 years and have worked full time for two different health related nonprofits (I would like to emphasize in health administration). I'm having a difficult time constructing an SoP that doesn't come off as too cheesey/corney when explaining my desire to work in the nonprofit field and especially health (as I have worked with many chronically ill adults and children, managing an array of free health programming). But this is my passion and I want to make that very clear without just repeating what's already on my resume. I'm a little unsure on how to begin and have been putting off this very daunting writing task. Any suggestions from people who have written SoPs for MPA programs and other nonprofit/public sector degree programs? Thanks!