Shoring up quant background

[deanfinnigan]

I plan on pursuing an MPP MBA dual degree, but am concerned my quant background will hold me back. I have nearly 7 years of private and public sector work experience, graduated from a fairly respected school with a 3.85 GPA. I majored in history, and have exactly one math course on my transcript, which was a lower-level calculus course in my freshman year. I am aware that top MPP programs look for quantitive coursework, and am looking to enroll in an intro to micro or macroeconomics course at a local CC during the summer to assuage concerns. I don't think I will have the capacity to take on more outside coursework before I submit my apps, as I also work full-time. 

My questions are: 1) will one intro econ and one lower-level calculus course be enough to offset concerns? Assume my GRE quant score is strong. 2) do these programs have a preference for micro or macro econ knowledge? I have the option to take both.  3) will taking an online course, not at a CC, but through a platform like coursera, count for anything? 

I know this topic seems like its been covered ad nauseum, but I would appreciate anyone with recent experience mitigating this weakness in their apps sharing some advice! 

 

Edited April 12, 2019 by deanfinnigan

[woolscarves]

1) It will go most of the way towards mitigating their concerns. It's obviously not as good as having a math degree or working in finance or w/e, but if you do well in lower level calc and econ (plus your GRE) then they won't consider it a real negative. Plus it will probably save you from having to do the "math camp" that some schools will require applicants that they like but whose quant skills concern them.

2) Do micro. A few schools have both micro and macro requirements, some have only micro requirements, and most have no explicit requirements. Start to think about what schools you may be interested in applying to and you can look at their app requirements to know for sure what the right option is for you.

3) I'm not familiar with the specifics of Coursera, but do something that gets you a transcript. An option that I saw recommended a few times around here was UCLA's Online Extension program. I took it as I prepared to apply this year and was satisfied by it.

[MoynihanBreakerBurkina]

Re: coursera— no, these courses don’t count unfortunately. Good for independent learning, but they won’t give you credit for it and they won’t look at it as a piece of quantifiable coursework. (I looked into in the recent past)

[TalkPoliticsToMe]

I don’t know that it matters. I took some finance / Econ courses as an undergrad (business major). I didn’t do stellar (2.9-3.2), and my GRE Quant score was on the low end (151). 

I had four years private sector consulting experience, and one year working in corporate functions within a retail company. I got into all schools I applied to with funding (Ford, Sanford) and into MBA programs as well. It’s more about the story you tell on your resume and how you demonstrated analytical and quantitative thinking, as well as crafting compelling essays outlining your rationale for each program.

If I were you I would focus on getting a great quant score on the GRE/GMAT. It will help tremendously with funding in the MPP but more importantly for MBA scholarship funding. MBA programs are a lot more stingy than policy programs. If your GRE/GMAT score is still lacking then I would look into taking a course or two to show you can handle the coursework. 

Edited April 13, 2019 by TalkPoliticsToMe