MPP/MPA Campus Visits

[xnormajeanx]

I haven't even visited all the schools I applied to -- but I'm sure a lot of you have. Let's pool our knowledge and share our thoughts!

The one I've visited so far is UChicago.

Overall, I was not too inspired. Everyone there seemed to be a white, Midwestern woman. I sat in a small stats-based class which was very interesting -- surprisingly, I completely understood what the professor was talking about -- but all the students seemed a bit bored or sleepy (I think the class was at 11 or noon?) and none of the students struck me as particularly impressive. Of course, it's probably difficult to show off genius in a stats class... but it seems that most UChicago classes are stats classes.

While the undergraduate campus is beautiful, the Harris School is not. It looks a bit like an office. And it was very dark inside. All in all I felt a bit gloomy. The students I talked to were not overly enthusiastic. They didn't sell the school to me. One of them actually talked about his friends at Georgetown for quite a while. I was, however, impressed by the presentation by career services, the mentorship program and the hands-on opportunities that the students get. Which sort of boils down my impression of the Harris School -- extremely practical.

And even though it sounds like I'm hating on the place, I still really want to go and hope I get in! I would visit again if I'm accepted though...

Share your thoughts! Did you have a completely different impression? What's your take on other schools?

[hopeful grad]

Good topic idea. The only school I've visited is NYU and I was only there for about a day. The main campus is a few blocks from the Puck Building where NYU Wagner is housed but that's not surprising for New York. I walked around Washington Square Park which seems to be the center of campus and it was awesome. There was this jazz band playing live and about every type of person you could ever imagine sitting around and listening. The campus buildings surrounding the park where architecturally beautiful. The visitors center was inspirational as it chronicled many social and political firsts that occurred at the university. There were many cute cafe's and lunch places in the surrounding blocks. The Wagner office itself was very modern. I just walked for a minute and looked around but everyone seemed friendly. It was definitely a campus within a city - not like any of the midwestern colleges I'm used to.

[orangedonkey]

hey hopeful grad,

i got into NYU wagner's MPA as well, but I haven't yet visit the campus. how do you feel about the faculty/current students? Do they sound enthusiastic?

Do you also know something about the job placement of wagner graduates, especially those int'l students? I am wondering typically, what kind of employers that would like to hire them. I was told that there are some 2nd-year wagner students doing interns in UN. It sounds great!

[hopeful grad]

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to talk to the faculty or any students. Check out the website for employment statistics and a list of places where students are working at http://wagner.nyu.edu/careers/stats.php I'm not sure about international but I'm sure you could call the career office and ask - everyone has been really helpful when I have had questions.

[unknownscholar]

I haven't technically visited NYU's campus, per se, but I did turn in my additional documents in person to the Wagner department, which is on the second floor ( i believe) of one of the NYU buildings. Very chic!

I like the area it's in too...which is technically one of the more "trendy" areas of town. Not far from China town or Union Square.

[sosh]

Anyone go to the LBJ visit day yesterday? I'm going to the one in April but would like to know what other people's impressions were.

[erin85]

Anyone here planning on going to Georgetowns or UofMarylands visit days? I finally requested work off, and will buy my plane ticket this week... I think the March 26th Maryland day and the March 28th Georgetown day are what I'm planning on... Might be fun to explore DC finally, I've never been there!

[hambergrrr]

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[xnormajeanx]

I visited Columbia and Harvard back in October. At Harvard, I attended the open house orientation. One of the faculty members I work with did his master's at KSG and really didn't have good things to say about it (he did his PhD in economics there afterward), so I was skeptical about Harvard to begin with. For reference, I grew up in San Jose and went to Berkeley for undergrad.

Cambridge just felt kind of dead to me. I know a few Harvard grads that think Harvard Square is so great, etc... but it felt oddly empty to me. Maybe that's because I'm used to the hustle and bustle of the Bay Area? Also, months before apps were available, I had contacted the "student ambassadors" at Harvard to ask for their opinion, pros and cons, etc. of the program. They never said anything remotely negative about it, which was very frustrating. I know Harvard is a great school, but I was hoping for a more "honest" assessment of the types of people there, etc. No matter how great a school is, there has to be SOMETHING negative about it right??

At the orientation, I felt like there was a mix of people. The professor I mentioned above had warned me that there are some people who want to go to KSG for the name, and also some who want to go as a ways to get an in to the business or law school. I most definitely got this sense from the types of questions people asked. Whether that's a "good" or "bad" thing is personal preference I'm sure, but at least says something about some people's motivations for applying. I did talk to one student in particular though who was very nice, well spoken, and articulate. But, she had only applied to Harvard so couldn't offer me anything beyond the Harvard bubble. On a more random note, I was really annoyed that they made us dress up business casual for an informal open house session. Coming from California, I wasn't used to wearing heels and (thin California) dress clothes in 40 degree weather!

At Columbia, I kind of just wandered around on my own. The campus is beautiful, but rather small. The SIPA school isn't in the main block of campus, but is across the street if that makes sense? Columbia students could probably give a better description... Most of the students I saw in the SIPA building were older (I'm 24); a very diverse crowd, which was nice to see, especially having gone to Berkeley. (Harvard definitely was not as diverse). New York overall was amazing. Even in spite of the bureaucratic issues and cost that SIPA students talk about, I still think it'd be well worth it. After all, I am pretty use to bureaucracy from undergrad...

Berkeley was originally my first choice. Mostly due to comfort and knowing what to expect. Also, I know they are strongest in quantitative skills. I did go to their open house (much more intimate), and I have to say that I was probably most comfortable with that group of students. On the downside, I was skeptical of their claim that they have vast resources for students. For example, one of the things I'm really hoping to get out of a master's program is fluency in another language. I took 2 courses as an senior at Cal, but was wait listed because they give priority to incoming freshmen. Though I did get in eventually, I feel like there are real limits in their resources in this respect.

Hope that somewhat helps...

Thanks for posting this!

[TTUjay]

Anyone go to the LBJ visit day yesterday? I'm going to the one in April but would like to know what other people's impressions were.

Hi Sosh:

I went to the LBJ visit and I must say that they were most welcoming and the sessions were very comprehensive and helpful. They took the liberty of scheduling appointments for us with whomever they felt we would benefit the most from...while this may seem a bit troubling, they actually did a great job of putting us in the right place and with the right people. Now, if there is any specific faculty member you really wish to meet with, let the Grad Program Coordinator know. Otherwise, not really sure what other info you're looking for. I really enjoyed it and I have a difficult decision ahead of me. Hope this helps.

[MPP_RT]

TTUJay,

Thanks for replying to Sosh's question about the LBJ School Visit Day. I just booked my tickets to Austin for the April 9th session and am really looking forward to it. I think it's really cool that they went ahead and scheduled meetings with people relevant to your interests and needs. I've done enough research on my own, so I would be more than happy to allow someone else to do some legwork for me ? . Did the visit address any of the student activities/campus life/living in Austin-type topics or was it mostly academic? I

[sosh]

Thanks Jay.

MPP_RT -- I could probably answer most questions you have about the campus atmosphere about Austin -- I went to undergrad there. In a nutshell, it's a really laidback environment with always something to do. Believe the hype about the live music scene. Despite being in Texas, the city is a bit cooler in the summers than most of the state and actually is quite beautiful being on the edge of the HIll Country.

Also despite being in Texas, the city is quite progressive (a blue island so to say). The campus feel is comparable to any top university, especially public ones like UNC-Chapel HIll, maybe more-so. It's on the edge of downtown but has a definite campus -- you could walk to the Texas Capitol in about 15/20 minutes.

Another thing -- even though enrollement is close to 48,000 it really feels like a smaller school. I would see the same people every day in my program.

My big criticism would be that the cost of living is higher than the rest of the state (somehow real estate prices still are going up there).

[TTUjay]

TTUJay,

Thanks for replying to Sosh's question about the LBJ School Visit Day. I just booked my tickets to Austin for the April 9th session and am really looking forward to it. I think it's really cool that they went ahead and scheduled meetings with people relevant to your interests and needs. I've done enough research on my own, so I would be more than happy to allow someone else to do some legwork for me ? . Did the visit address any of the student activities/campus life/living in Austin-type topics or was it mostly academic? I

[MPP_RT]

Thanks for all the info Jay! I think all of my reservations about Austin have been quashed by the many people I have contacted. My friend from college (also from LA) in a psych Ph.D. program at UT absolutely loves Austin and the school. She noted that Austin is chill and that people are very gracious. I have been doing some research into apartments/housing near campus, and the prices are ridiculous. Let's put it this way, the price of a shitty studio in some of the more questionable parts of los angeles is equivalent to a newish, 1 bedroom in Austin on the UT shuttle route. In other words, the cost of living in Austin is dirt cheap compared to LA. Unless some of the other CA schools I'm still waiting on accept me and want to throw some money at me, I'm moving to Austin.

[hambergrrr]

I should probably add to my post above that after visiting Columbia, I was really disappointed. I'm used to the big campus feel (i.e. Berkeley). I know people hate on Berkeley b/c of the surrounding area, but the campus itself is much more impressive to me than Columbia's. Even Harvard's campus is nicer than Columbia's in my opinion. After my walk around Columbia, I actually decided it would be my back-up school if anything... and even considered just reapplying the next year w/out Columbia in the mix if I didn't get in anywhere but Columbia.

[MPP_RT]

For anyone flying to Austin to visit LBJ from the LA area, flights from LAX to Austin are only $179 right now on American Airlines via their website or cheaptickets.com. This is about $50 cheaper than what I paid when I booked two weeks ago. I'm a little sore, since they wont refund you the difference and instead have a $100 service charge for "changing" the flight, even though its the exact itinerary. How (un)American, Airlines :evil:

[erin85]

:cries: I recently paid $317 for my plane tickets for my DC visit, and another $600 for the hotel (4 days, this upcoming Wed-Sunday).

Not sure if the schools are to blame for all scheduling their visit days during cherry blossom festival, or if I am to blame for being willing to go/paying that much. I also should have not waiting until 10 days prior to departure to do all the scheduling, but I was waiting for a friend to see if he'd come with me (he just finished his MPP here at UMich, and has job interviews, yay).

At least Chicago's visit will be very cheap! (less than $100 for 2 days, and they'll reimburse all of it).

Grad school applications/visits are hella-expensive...

[orangedonkey]

Poor erin But at least u can visit the schools by yrself... u know i can't even make it~~~~ :cry:

By the way, u mentioned yr friend who s a Michigan/mpp student. May I know his personal perspectives on the program? I also got into Ford/mpp but no funding at all!! and I am wondering if i should go there~~~would you please ask him abt the michigan/mpp's employment information for me? I dont know if ford school's location is a drawback compared to Gtown and UMD. I'd like to work for the consulting firms/international organizations(UN/WORLD BANK) after graduation, however, the school's employment stats showed that most of ford/mpp graduates ended up working for US government and NGOs. May I know what kinda job yr friend is seeking/ has already found? Thank you!! i'd really appreciate yr kind help!

Have a nice DC trip!!

[xnormajeanx]

Flight to DC is only $189 on April 11th! That's when I'm going. Plus I'm only staying for a day. I'm also choosing the cheapest hotel ever.

[erin85]

Flight to DC is only $189 on April 11th! That's when I'm going. Plus I'm only staying for a day. I'm also choosing the cheapest hotel ever.

I'd go then but thats Chicago's visit day as well...

And since I've never visited Harris, I need to go then .

Also next week is the only week that all the DC schools have their visits scheduled right next to each other (Wed, Fri, Sat, I assume American is likely also doing something close to then), so at the time... it seemed like a good idea.

orangedonkey:

My boyfriend... is iffy on the ford school. He is having hell with employment, and he also has his JD, and is ABD in the Soc PHD Program... so he's pretty qualified for everything out there. His friends are also having some hell with employment, but I talked to some last night that are doing well with interviews. Just not... stellar... which they are unhappy with. You'd have to call the school for info though. It is a great program though overall... not as strong on the international development front though, but overall good for things like interdisciplinary work, quantitative skills and such.

Just be warned: I was told schools give out salary info without controlling for variables like dual graduate degrees. So someone like my BF can easily earn over $100k/yr after his mpp thanks to his JD and PHD, and the school will enter that into their average salary statistic... without noting he also has all those extra degrees.

For the Ford School thats a big issue, as about 25% of their graduates do dual graduate degrees.

[orangedonkey]

Thank you so much for the info, erin!!

So it looks like MPP graduates from Ford school have big problems with the job hunting? I've contacted the school and read the employment stats posted on their website. It looked nice but i want to know what s the real fact and nobody else knows it better than the current students/graduates. I was just wondering it was because the Ford/mpp degree doesnt help much in the competitive job market OR its the problem facing all the MPA/MPP graduates, no matter which school they come from, Harris, Gtown, even Harvard?

I feel like MPA/MPP/MIA is mainly for those ppl who doing dual/joint degree, such as JD, MBA, etc. And when those ppl are searching jobs, it might not be their MPA/MPP which helps them out, but the JD and MBA..would yr boyfriend agree about this???.So maybe i should consider to do some dual degree program as well, like accounting/mpa or mba/mpp, since MBA and accounting is much more marketable and wil make me more competitive i guess, for the quant/business skills i'll get.....

[erin85]

So UMaryland...

Great campus, absolutely beautiful, although huge. Area around campus... not so great. I took the metro and then shuttle into campus, and was not happy with the surrounding areas... didn't seem places I'd want to walk around late at night.

Building was a 5-10min walk from shuttle stop. Seemed brand new, and is...was built within the last 5 years I believe. Unlike schools like the Ford School though, the building was not dedicated to the policy school, and they only took up a small area. Overall super nice though. The "Community Lounge" also reminded me of my elementary school teachers lounge-couches and a table, but more home-feeling that professional feeling.

Overall I left unimpressed though after the visit. The school does offer some great interdisciplinary options, eg taking electives in other departments, but any other large university also offers that. Admitted students seemed mostly young, unprofessional (some showed up looking right out of bed in their jeans and hoodies and didn't pay much attention) and at least half to 2/3rds were from Maryland (so it seemed to have a smaller nation-wide draw). Most of them were right out of undergrad, and it showed with their fearful "whats the final project, I have to analyze something on my own?!?!" type questions...

Career center's stats on salary were about $10,000/yr lower than Georgetowns in all sectors. Granted-GT likely has less straight out of undergrad which likely ups salary... also their stat of "75-80% employed on graduation" mirrors other close by programs. Career center seemed well run though, with what appeared to be a genuinely interested and good man heading it (he was dedicated just to the policy school as well which is good). They also seem to do well with presidential fellows.

Their current students... just like when I visited the Ford school they were enthused, bored, and overall "yea I came here because its good but thats it". One was very enthusiastic, which was great, but that was it. When I visited the class though there was alot of class participation which I liked... but it was a substitute lecture which worried me.

As I said, I left overall completely unimpressed, and not excited about the program. It seems very solid, a good program for sure...but not a /great/ program.

I'll be at Georgetown tomorrow, I'm hoping I leave with a more impressed feeling... when I flew in from Detroit I flew over their campus and it was amazing.

-Erin

[orangedonkey]

Hi, erin, thanks for sharing~~~~!!

Looking forward to yr Gtown comments )

[erin85]

Hi, erin, thanks for sharing~~~~!!

Looking forward to yr Gtown comments )

I really enjoyed Georgetown. The school had a very professional vibe to it, and everything at the open house was run smoothly.

Georgetowns presentations were thorough and well done, covering things from core curriculum, funding, to student life to name a few. The admissions committee and dean's personalities were also pleasant. The other admitted students were for the most part professional acting and well informed before arriving.

Georgetown stressed their program prepared you for your future career, not a PHD, not an undergrad degree--they focused just on the masters, and the job preparation and skills needed in that program (they stressed "skills" quite a bit). They had a strong quant. focus, but without the need for calculus (they did warn that algebra, and being proficient at it was needed beforehand though). Classes were small--12-25 students with the occasional core quant. class taught with double sections (50 students) as its not meant to be participation based anyways.

GPPI has courses which allow real world consulting to take place (organizations come in, and ask for students to do consulting, and they frame a course around that), and the capstone thesis is original analysis that students research and perform. They stressed both have been great selling points on resumes. I like both concepts, so to me they were good selling points.

Also a good point was it's common for students to have 3+ internships over the course of their studies. None required, but many are paid, and involve interesting work. As someone coming right out of undergrad, the more relevant experience I have, the better prepared I am for a job market competing against those who've had good jobs before their masters.

The building was nice, well lit, clean and bright, a good classic and modern mix. The business school is also located in Car Barn, but apparently only until January 09. Oh--its called Car Barn because it used to be D.C.'s trolly storage facility . Getting there was slightly annoying (metro to the bus) but nothing bad at all. The metro system in DC is incredibly easy to figure out, even for someone like me who has never visited there before... and only ridden a subway once before in their life.

The other admitted students were almost all coming back from 2-5 years in some very interesting and relevant careers. Most seemed very happy about Georgetown, and were very willing to engage in conversation. The current students were honest, and talked openly about their experiences, and job prospects. They mentioned GT having as many part time faculty as they do (something they are apparently changing though), was actually a great thing--you had educators who had their PHD, has taught before, but then went and did real world policy work running well known organizations...so they knew what students would encounter, and what information would actually help.

One of the things that sold me the most was spending the week in DC, exploring the city and getting to know it, and seeing what it has to offer. I love DC at this point, and would be very happy to move there. Also after talking to a number of people here that work in the field, it was stressed that /being here/ for the job interview, being able to push for an appointment, and most of all the networking you can perform here.

At this point I'm 99% sure Georgetown has me sold on their program.

-Erin

[xnormajeanx]

I'm visiting Georgetown tomorrow even though I'm 99% sure I won't be going. (I'm pretty much set on Chicago but I don't want to commit 100% until I visit Gtown too, since they offered me more funding... I can't turn that down without knowing what I'd be giving up.)