2021 Results

[maham]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.):  MPP/M.Ed Policy
Schools Applied To:  Vanderbilt Peabody, HGSE, Sanford, Ford, GW Trachtenberg, UVA Batten
Schools Admitted To:  Peabody ($$), Batten ($$), and Sanford!!(funding to come this week so the !! may quickly diminish lol)
Schools Rejected From:   
Still Waiting:  HGSE, Ford, GW
Undergraduate Institution: State flagship
Undergraduate GPA:   3.94
Undergraduate Major: Political science
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  Not submitted
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  1
Years of Work Experience:  3 -- paid policy work in undergrad
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  Two terms as Student Body President at large SEC university, policy work with State Council on Postsecondary Education, currently working at my undergrad alma mater as a student life coordinator and contact tracer
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Maybe 8.5/10 I had all of my recommenders read it and they each said it was very strong. A lot about personal ties to impact of education policy and goals of serving rural low-income communities through policy work.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  A 9/10 Each from a reputable faculty member who know me personally and respect the work I have done. One was from a professor and faculty advisor for a lobbying/advocacy project I did. The second was from another professor who I had twice for policy/civil rights related courses, but he was also heavily involved with uni admin, so we worked closely during my time as SBP. The final letter was from our faculty senate chair, and we had a great working relationship.
Other: My main dilemma is choosing between an education-specific MPP at Vanderbilt or a general MPP but with a focus on education policy. All of the MPP programs I have applied to have strong education colleges/research, so I think they would be well equipped to serve my research and curricular interests. I'm sure I want to work in the realm of education policy, but I'm not dead set on a particular path. Ideally I would like to work with a think tank for a while and then take my expertise either to federal or state government work. Consulting is also really intriguing to me but I don't know much about how to navigate that world. This may be a better question for the education forum, but I know ed policy is a popular focus for many MPP students. 

Also, I was wondering about the waiving of GRE score requirement for all of these programs. I did not take it, and I feel like the rest of my application is pretty strong, but I'm wondering if that will hurt me. I don't have much post-grad work experience in policy, but COVID knocked me out of a policy job I had lined up. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated! 

[EscapingBrexit]

There can't be that many schools left now that haven't released results? Harvard, Georgetown, Tufts obviously.

Expecting another quiet week here. 

[Think Tanker]

10 minutes ago, EscapingBrexit said:

There can't be that many schools left now that haven't released results? Harvard, Georgetown, Tufts obviously.

Expecting another quiet week here. 

If only!! I'm still waiting on UMichigan, Princeton, Georgetown, Tufts, Harvard, Columbia, and Berkeley. Another quiet week might break me  

[EscapingBrexit]

8 minutes ago, Think Tanker said:

If only!! I'm still waiting on UMichigan, Princeton, Georgetown, Tufts, Harvard, Columbia, and Berkeley. Another quiet week might break me  

Wowwww! I take back everything I said ?

[academiaenthusiast]

And Yale!

[sp_]

Also waiting on Stanford FSI unless anyone has heard anything back yet.

[taxbat]

Still waiting on GWU as well. I got an email from CCAS that my application was in review but that was 3 weeks ago. 

Edited March 8, 2021 by taxbat

[MPA2021]

1 hour ago, taxbat said:

Still waiting on GWU as well. I got an email from CCAS that my application was in review but that was 3 weeks ago. 

Same with me! Based on years prior, I was expecting to hear last week. Hopefully early this week!

[mppapplicant2021]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP
Schools Applied To:  UChicago Harris, Duke Sanford, UMichigan Ford, UC Berkeley Goldman, HKS
Schools Admitted To:  UChicago Harris (35k/year funding), Duke Sanford (TBD funding) 
Schools Rejected From:  
Still Waiting:  UMichigan Ford, UC Berkeley Goldman, HKS
Undergraduate Institution: Ivy league (very unique major so I won't name it ) 
Undergraduate GPA: 3.48
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  164 Q / 167 V / 5.0 AW
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  3
Years of Work Experience:  3 by the start of fall semester
Describe Relevant Work Experience: 3 years at a think tank with 3 publications (one is first-author). 5 years of part-time research work for professors from college (2 years during undergrad, 3 years post-college).
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  I think they were decent--I made very clear ties between my personal narrative and my professional interests. If I'm being honest, I didn't start drafting my essays more than a week before the deadline (lol) so they could have been stronger.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): Very strong--I only saw the LOR my supervisor wrote. The other two were from professors from college that I've continued to do research for part-time since graduating, so they know me well academically and professionally. 
Other: I'm a URM. I'm very involved in service/volunteering, and have held several leadership positions. My biggest weak point is my quant skills--those are the courses that brought down my GPA during my freshman year. I re-took microecon last summer online, got a certificate in program evaluation, and highlighted how I utilize SPSS in my current job.

[Samdaman164]

Just got the rejection letter for Yale Jackson MGA. Sucks but probably a good thing. Narrows down the choices for me!

[GradSchoolGrad]

8 hours ago, maham said:

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.):  MPP/M.Ed Policy
Schools Applied To:  Vanderbilt Peabody, HGSE, Sanford, Ford, GW Trachtenberg, UVA Batten
Schools Admitted To:  Peabody ($$), Batten ($$), and Sanford!!(funding to come this week so the !! may quickly diminish lol)
Schools Rejected From:   
Still Waiting:  HGSE, Ford, GW
Undergraduate Institution: State flagship
Undergraduate GPA:   3.94
Undergraduate Major: Political science
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  Not submitted
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  1
Years of Work Experience:  3 -- paid policy work in undergrad
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  Two terms as Student Body President at large SEC university, policy work with State Council on Postsecondary Education, currently working at my undergrad alma mater as a student life coordinator and contact tracer
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Maybe 8.5/10 I had all of my recommenders read it and they each said it was very strong. A lot about personal ties to impact of education policy and goals of serving rural low-income communities through policy work.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  A 9/10 Each from a reputable faculty member who know me personally and respect the work I have done. One was from a professor and faculty advisor for a lobbying/advocacy project I did. The second was from another professor who I had twice for policy/civil rights related courses, but he was also heavily involved with uni admin, so we worked closely during my time as SBP. The final letter was from our faculty senate chair, and we had a great working relationship.
Other: My main dilemma is choosing between an education-specific MPP at Vanderbilt or a general MPP but with a focus on education policy. All of the MPP programs I have applied to have strong education colleges/research, so I think they would be well equipped to serve my research and curricular interests. I'm sure I want to work in the realm of education policy, but I'm not dead set on a particular path. Ideally I would like to work with a think tank for a while and then take my expertise either to federal or state government work. Consulting is also really intriguing to me but I don't know much about how to navigate that world. This may be a better question for the education forum, but I know ed policy is a popular focus for many MPP students. 

Also, I was wondering about the waiving of GRE score requirement for all of these programs. I did not take it, and I feel like the rest of my application is pretty strong, but I'm wondering if that will hurt me. I don't have much post-grad work experience in policy, but COVID knocked me out of a policy job I had lined up. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated! 

Not taking the GREs will only hurt you if you have no quant grades or less than stellar grades in general. GREs are meant to show your forward trajectory (these days in admissions anyway) or a confirmation of academic capability. However, if your grades and professional activities justify you with no academic/achievement oriented holes, you should be fine. 

[qwertympp]

In at Georgetown! No info about aid? Anybody get anything?

[MPPNYC]

Just now, qwertympp said:

In at Georgetown! No info about aid? Anybody get anything?

Yay, also in!

Scroll to the bottom -- mine had another link/attachment for FA. 

[qwertympp]

Just now, MPPNYC said:

Yay, also in!

Scroll to the bottom -- mine had another link/attachment for FA. 

Oops, totally got too excited and missed that, thanks! Congrats to you too!

[startree529]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): Harris MPP, Georgetown MPP, Georgetown MS-DSPP, SIPA MPA
Schools Applied To:  UChicago Harris, Georgetown, Columbia
Schools Admitted To:  Harris MPP, Georgetown MPP, Georgetown MS-DSPP
Schools Rejected From:  
Still Waiting:  SIPA MPA 
Undergraduate Institution:  UCLA
Undergraduate GPA:   3.7
Undergraduate Major:  Econ
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  162/169/4 (lol at 4)
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  2
Years of Work Experience:  2 full time 
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  public accounting 
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  strong but all professional
Other:

 

Hi All, 

Not sure if this is the correct forum to post this but I've been admitted to the Harris MPP and Georgetown MS-DSPP programs and I was hoping to get some feedback from the community as to pros/cons of each. 

Career-wise, I hope to work in economic policy either within the public or non profit sector. A few examples of organizations I would be interested in working at include the federal reserve system, the congressional budget office, the urban institute, center on budget and policy priorities, and others like these. 

My thoughts re the two programs:

• UChicago's "name brand" is stronger than Georgetown's, even if incrementally. I think UChicago generally and Harris specifically are also thought to be quantitively quite strong.
• Georgetown's MS-DSPP curriculum is certainly more quantitative since it has a specific data science bent. 
• Georgetown's location is better for the organizations I hope to work for

So I guess the question is whether the incremental name value premium of Chicago outweighs the better curriculum of Georgetown's program. 

Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Thank you! 

Edited March 9, 2021 by startree529

[MPP2021app]

23 minutes ago, startree529 said:

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): Harris MPP, Georgetown MPP, Georgetown MS-DSPP, SIPA MPA
Schools Applied To:  UChicago Harris, Georgetown, Columbia
Schools Admitted To:  Harris MPP, Georgetown MPP, Georgetown MS-DSPP
Schools Rejected From:  
Still Waiting:  SIPA MPA 
Undergraduate Institution:  UCLA
Undergraduate GPA:   3.7
Undergraduate Major:  Econ
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  162/169/4 (lol at 4)
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  2
Years of Work Experience:  2 full time 
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  public accounting 
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  strong but all professional
Other:

 

Hi All, 

Not sure if this is the correct forum to post this but I've been admitted to the Harris MPP and Georgetown MS-DSPP programs and I was hoping to get some feedback from the community as to pros/cons of each. 

Career-wise, I hope to work in economic policy either within the public or non profit sector. A few examples of organizations I would be interested in working at include the federal reserve system, the congressional budget office, the urban institute, center on budget and policy priorities, and others like these. 

Another pipe dream I have is to pursue a PhD in economics. I've been taking post-bacc math classes so what I really lack as a econ PhD applicant is research experience which I hope to gain through a masters program. (Research experience isn't the only reason why I'm interested in a masters of course; a public policy masters is a great terminal degree that can help me achieve many of my career goals).

My thoughts re the two programs:

• UChicago's "name brand" is stronger than Georgetown's, even if incrementally. I think UChicago generally and Harris specifically are also thought to be quantitively quite strong.
• Georgetown's MS-DSPP curriculum is certainly more quantitative since it has a specific data science bent. 
• Georgetown's location is better for the organizations I hope to work for

So I guess the question is whether the incremental name value premium of Chicago outweighs the better curriculum of Georgetown's program. 

Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Thank you! 

I work in an academia adjacent space, specifically with economists. My sense is that for some Econ PhD programs, a terminal degree like an MPP can actually hurt you. If you rly want to pursue an Econ PhD, it would be worth it to explore two-year-long pre doc positions where you can work directly with academics and they can write your LORs etc

[startree529]

1 minute ago, MPP2021app said:

I work in an academia adjacent space, specifically with economists. My sense is that for some Econ PhD programs, a terminal degree like an MPP can actually hurt you. If you rly want to pursue an Econ PhD, it would be worth it to explore two-year-long pre doc positions where you can work directly with academics and they can write your LORs etc

interesting, in what why? because its viewed as a wasted two years? 

 

thanks for the reply! 

[startree529]

Just now, startree529 said:

interesting, in what why? because its viewed as a wasted two years? 

 

thanks for the reply! 

sorry in what way** 

[MPP2021app]

Just now, startree529 said:

interesting, in what why? because its viewed as a wasted two years? 

 

thanks for the reply! 

Take this info with a grain of salt bc I'm def not an authority on Econ PhD admissions. My understanding is that MPPs are viewed as terminal, professional degrees. Going from an MPP to a PhD would be viewed as a pivot (since MPPs are not preparing you for research in the way that an Econ MA or pre-doc position might).

Here is a helpful blog post: https://chrisblattman.com/2013/10/04/what-ma-mpa-or-mia-program-is-for-you/

[hholly77]

Whelp I feel like I might as well jump in... 

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.):  MPA
Schools Applied To:  GW Trachtenberg 
Schools Admitted To:  
Schools Rejected From:   
Still Waiting:  GW
Undergraduate Institution: State flagship
Undergraduate GPA:   3.90
Undergraduate Major: Public Administration (in the school of business) 
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  Not submitted
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  
Years of Work Experience: 3
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  1.5 years working in a congressional district office, other roles included think tank policy work and working for a top investment banking firm. Roughly 1 year of campaign experience as well. 
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Probably like a 7/10 -- I had a really hard time with my SOP but I had a couple people at the office read it and they said it was strong. 
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  A 9/10, one from a sitting member of congress who I have a strong personal and professional relationship with. My other LOR came from a faculty member I have a really strong relationship with, so much so that he had my LOR written before I even asked him for it, though I have not gotten a chance to read what he wrote. 
Other: Super involved on campus, holding leadership positions in 5 student orgs and served as an undergrad TA

Edited March 10, 2021 by hholly77

[taxbat]

5 hours ago, MPPNYC said:

Yay, also in!

Scroll to the bottom -- mine had another link/attachment for FA. 

Congrats on admission and FA! For how many semesters was your aid awarded? Mine was only the 1st 3 semesters but I also applied for the part time program, not sure if that would change things. 

[GradSchoolGrad]

5 hours ago, startree529 said:

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): Harris MPP, Georgetown MPP, Georgetown MS-DSPP, SIPA MPA
Schools Applied To:  UChicago Harris, Georgetown, Columbia
Schools Admitted To:  Harris MPP, Georgetown MPP, Georgetown MS-DSPP
Schools Rejected From:  
Still Waiting:  SIPA MPA 
Undergraduate Institution:  UCLA
Undergraduate GPA:   3.7
Undergraduate Major:  Econ
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  162/169/4 (lol at 4)
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  2
Years of Work Experience:  2 full time 
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  public accounting 
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  strong but all professional
Other:

 

Hi All, 

Not sure if this is the correct forum to post this but I've been admitted to the Harris MPP and Georgetown MS-DSPP programs and I was hoping to get some feedback from the community as to pros/cons of each. 

Career-wise, I hope to work in economic policy either within the public or non profit sector. A few examples of organizations I would be interested in working at include the federal reserve system, the congressional budget office, the urban institute, center on budget and policy priorities, and others like these. 

My thoughts re the two programs:

• UChicago's "name brand" is stronger than Georgetown's, even if incrementally. I think UChicago generally and Harris specifically are also thought to be quantitively quite strong.
• Georgetown's MS-DSPP curriculum is certainly more quantitative since it has a specific data science bent. 
• Georgetown's location is better for the organizations I hope to work for

So I guess the question is whether the incremental name value premium of Chicago outweighs the better curriculum of Georgetown's program. 

Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Thank you! 

Search McCourt MPP, and you'll see the forum I which I have highlighted McCourt at length.

[tpip123]

Alrighty, here goes. I am still waiting on Goldman which is my #1... finger's crossed!

--

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.):  MPP/MPA
Schools Applied To:  Luskin UCLA, Goldman UC Berkeley (MPP/ERG Dual), LaFollette Wisconsin Madison, Evans UW, Sanford Duke ($$), CIPA Cornell ($$).
Schools Admitted To:  Luskin UCLA,  LaFollette Wisconsin Madison, Evans UW, Sanford Duke, CIPA Cornell.
Schools Rejected From:  ERG at UC Berkeley
Still Waiting:  Goldman UC Berkeley 
Undergraduate Institution:  UC Davis
Undergraduate GPA:   3.7
Undergraduate Major:  Community and Regional Development 
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  NA - did not submit
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  7
Years of Work Experience:  6
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  3 years program management at a regional climate change non profit, 3 years working for CA state legislature on environmental and water policy.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Strong - I was told by UCLA that it was one of the best SOP's they have seen (not to toot my own horn!!). It was reviewed by 4 trusted friends, and 3 contacts who work in academic and admissions. 
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  I believe strong--- one from a current sitting state legislator, one professor from my undergrad, and a project partner that I have a close and personal relationship with.
 

Other:

Edited March 10, 2021 by tpip123

[MPPNYC]

3 hours ago, taxbat said:

Congrats on admission and FA! For how many semesters was your aid awarded? Mine was only the 1st 3 semesters but I also applied for the part time program, not sure if that would change things. 

Thanks, congrats to you too! It lists 2 semesters and I was admitted full-time. Interesting point though; I wonder if it is renewable. I'll ask tomorrow

Edited March 10, 2021 by MPPNYC

[EC1225]

I need help deciding on the programs I’ve been accepted to! USC MPA is 40 credits and NYU MPA is 57 credits. They’re both 2 years, but one is both more expensive and more classes. How should I weigh this?