Procces for MPA Degree at Universities in USA

[Bhargav20]

Hello Everyone, 

I'm a 20 year undergrad kid who is pursuing bachelor's in political science(last year) and after doing so i am wishing to apply for MPA program in either of NYU WAGNER/SIPA/PACE UNIVERSITY/CUNY. 

For backup I've kept CSU, UCLA, GWU etc etc... 

Although as I've no background in maths I'm not thinking to give GRE and as mostly all these Uni's don't require it for this program am really confused about what exactly would the admission office be looking at i.e what would be the basis of assessment an international student like myself and how do i make sure to land myself in an institution? 

P.s if y'll wondering why i haven't kept any other prestigious Universities in the list, well NYC has been my dream and therefore i prefer it over other Uni's based in different cities duh.. 

[GradSchoolGrad]

7 hours ago, Bhargav20 said:

Hello Everyone, 

I'm a 20 year undergrad kid who is pursuing bachelor's in political science(last year) and after doing so i am wishing to apply for MPA program in either of NYU WAGNER/SIPA/PACE UNIVERSITY/CUNY. 

For backup I've kept CSU, UCLA, GWU etc etc... 

Although as I've no background in maths I'm not thinking to give GRE and as mostly all these Uni's don't require it for this program am really confused about what exactly would the admission office be looking at i.e what would be the basis of assessment an international student like myself and how do i make sure to land myself in an institution? 

P.s if y'll wondering why i haven't kept any other prestigious Universities in the list, well NYC has been my dream and therefore i prefer it over other Uni's based in different cities duh.. 

First of all, it sounds like you from outside the United States. In that case the GRE probably is more important so that schools can know for certain that you can complete the quant requirements to graduate, especially if they might have a hard time understanding your transcript. It actually will be a problem that you don't have a background in math because data analysis is part of the curriculum.

Second, you need to have a more targeted approach to thinking about graduate schools. Unless your undergraduate experience is ridiculous (published research, top tier internships, Fellowships, and etc.), chances are that you will not get into SIPA or Wagner straight from undergrad (but given COVID, your chances have increased). You could likely get into PACE and CUNY pretty easily, but I don't know if that would be worth the money for you because they deal more with domestic and local policy issues.

Bottom line, don't waste your money and time. Use it wisely. It is better to go to the right school (even if you only think about NYC schools) when you are competitive (with more work experience) than rush into it after undergraduate. 

[Bhargav20]

9 minutes ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

First of all, it sounds like you from outside the United States. In that case the GRE probably is more important so that schools can know for certain that you can complete the quant requirements to graduate, especially if they might have a hard time understanding your transcript. It actually will be a problem that you don't have a background in math because data analysis is part of the curriculum.

Second, you need to have a more targeted approach to thinking about graduate schools. Unless your undergraduate experience is ridiculous (published research, top tier internships, Fellowships, and etc.), chances are that you will not get into SIPA or Wagner straight from undergrad (but given COVID, your chances have increased). You could likely get into PACE and CUNY pretty easily, but I don't know if that would be worth the money for you because they deal more with domestic and local policy issues.

Bottom line, don't waste your money and time. Use it wisely. It is better to go to the right school (even if you only think about NYC schools) when you are competitive (with more work experience) than rush into it after undergraduate. 

Thank you for your time to suggest me with the right thing to do. Athough I've some doubts as follows, Kindly tell me about it. ?

Firstly Money isn't the issue here and that's the reason to keep PACE/CUNY as a option as well. 

Then these uni's aren't asking for GRE so does it mean that it doesn't have heavy quant in their MPA program compared to SIPA or other top notch universities for that matter!

Furthermore, you said that they focus more on domestic and local issues and it is something that intrigues me so it's kinda you know "My thing" and above all I'm just dying to move to NYC. As i said it has always been my dream and i don't expect high income or anything. For starters I am in it for the practical knowledge, experience and the local level job opportunities city has to throw at us. 

Kindly go through it and emphasis more on what is on my mind. Again thank you so much?

[GradSchoolGrad]

6 hours ago, Bhargav20 said:

Thank you for your time to suggest me with the right thing to do. Athough I've some doubts as follows, Kindly tell me about it. ?

Firstly Money isn't the issue here and that's the reason to keep PACE/CUNY as a option as well. 

Then these uni's aren't asking for GRE so does it mean that it doesn't have heavy quant in their MPA program compared to SIPA or other top notch universities for that matter!

Furthermore, you said that they focus more on domestic and local issues and it is something that intrigues me so it's kinda you know "My thing" and above all I'm just dying to move to NYC. As i said it has always been my dream and i don't expect high income or anything. For starters I am in it for the practical knowledge, experience and the local level job opportunities city has to throw at us. 

Kindly go through it and emphasis more on what is on my mind. Again thank you so much?

I mean if you don't care about money, feel free to do whatever you want and go to any school you can get into and enjoy whatever you can get ahold of to make you happy. 

[Bhargav20]

6 hours ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

I mean if you don't care about money, feel free to do whatever you want and go to any school you can get into and enjoy whatever you can get ahold of to make you happy. 

Oh!!. It's just that I'm worried about job opportunities and pay scale. I mean obviously it depends on one's skills and knowledge to ace any job but average pay scale and employment opportunities will differ based on university or they're just one and the same? 

[munch22]

Job opportunities will differ significantly graduating from Wagner and SIPA versus Pace or CUNY.

 

To be honest, I’m not really sure why you are looking at MPA schools at this stage in your life/career. SIPA is pretty clear they want students with 3-5 years work experience and others are going to be the same. This forum can help, but I think you need to do some more research on the specific programs from their websites. I also don’t think it’s necessarily smart to limit yourself to just one city. There is always plenty of time to circle back and get a job in NYC if that is your dream to live there. 

[Bhargav20]

On 6/18/2020 at 8:30 AM, munch22 said:

Job opportunities will differ significantly graduating from Wagner and SIPA versus Pace or CUNY.

 

To be honest, I’m not really sure why you are looking at MPA schools at this stage in your life/career. SIPA is pretty clear they want students with 3-5 years work experience and others are going to be the same. This forum can help, but I think you need to do some more research on the specific programs from their websites. I also don’t think it’s necessarily smart to limit yourself to just one city. There is always plenty of time to circle back and get a job in NYC if that is your dream to live there. 

Ohhh!. That puts things to perspective. Thank you so much. I'll have a thorough research before deciding anything  and really appreciate the help.