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Brown MPA 2021

Devine123

By Devine123
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JJJ2

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1 hour ago, Devine123 said:

Hey All, 

Getting close to the time for Brown to release decisions for MPA applicants. Has anyone heard anything as of yet?

Hi! Nope, I applied for the early round and haven't heard back. 

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GradSchoolGrad

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Hate to damper on anyone's parade, but Brown MPA and Cornell MPA are basically awesome schools trying to leverage their brand to make money (because Grad programs are net profit while undergrad are net-loss) with new programs that are still figuring itself out and don't have a strong record of career success among its graduate yet (although in all fairness, Cornell is trying hard... but that's like App State trying to be D1 - sports reference).  

Don't be fooled by its slick marketing. You won't find many (if any) alums from these programs in blue chip careers. Also if you dig deeper, you'll find that even the pre-covid student experience was less than stellar. Don't pay and sacrifice years for a brand whose product hasn't proven itself. Pay for a trusted program that has real credibility. 

Edited by GradSchoolGrad
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evergreengirl

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I got in at Georgetown and Carnegie Mellon, and I'm waitlisted at Duke and Columbia. @GradSchoolGrad I've seen your thoughts on McCourt in other threads and you mentioned above that Brown's program is new and doesn't have a good record of career outcomes - what are your thoughts on Brown vs. Georgetown vs. Carnegie Mellon vs. Duke vs. Columbia and how they compare when it comes to the academic strength and overall reputation of their programs? And do you have any tips on what to do when you're waitlisted? 

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1 minute ago, evergreengirl said:

I got in at Georgetown and Carnegie Mellon, and I'm waitlisted at Duke and Columbia. @GradSchoolGrad I've seen your thoughts on McCourt in other threads and you mentioned above that Brown's program is new and doesn't have a good record of career outcomes - what are your thoughts on Brown vs. Georgetown vs. Carnegie Mellon vs. Duke vs. Columbia and how they compare when it comes to the academic strength and overall reputation of their programs? And do you have any tips on what to do when you're waitlisted? 

What do you want to do with your life first? Function? Policy Area? Location? How sure are you? How much do you care about policy innovation? Which programs are you targeting? 

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Skipper18542

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@GradSchoolGradI’d like to answer some of the questions you posed above to get your take on things:

1. My career goals would be to be a city manager or a county administrator in CA (home state). 
2. I’m interested in the areas of social policy/government administration. So more focused on the actual management of the organization as a whole as opposed to meticulous research into any one particular area of study. I’d like more of a holistic view to know a bit of everything to know enough to judge good decisions from bad ones 

3. I’ve worked all 4 years of my undergrad in this sort of stuff and I love it so I’m quite sure this is what I want 

4. I’m not necessarily into massive, bold innovation. I prefer more level headed, ponderous government thinking as opposed to radical new solutions that try to change everything all at once. 
5. So far I’ve gotten into: UCI, UCSD, UCLA, Cornell, UPenn, Georgetown, and UChicago (wait listed at UVA and Duke). Still waiting on Brown and Oxford and still negotiating up these programs in terms of financing (which is obviously a big factor). I would however like your professional opinion as to what you think. 

Edited by Skipper18542
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44 minutes ago, Skipper18542 said:

@GradSchoolGradI’d like to answer some of the questions you posed above to get your take on things:

1. My career goals would be to be a city manager or a county administrator in CA (home state). 
2. I’m interested in the areas of social policy/government administration. So more focused on the actual management of the organization as a whole as opposed to meticulous research into any one particular area of study. I’d like more of a holistic view to know a bit of everything to know enough to judge good decisions from bad ones 

3. I’ve worked all 4 years of my undergrad in this sort of stuff and I love it so I’m quite sure this is what I want 

4. I’m not necessarily into massive, bold innovation. I prefer more level headed, ponderous government thinking as opposed to radical new solutions that try to change everything all at once. 
5. So far I’ve gotten into: UCI, UCSD, UCLA, Cornell, UPenn, Georgetown, and UChicago (wait listed at UVA and Duke). Still waiting on Brown and Oxford and still negotiating up these programs in terms of financing (which is obviously a big factor). I would however like your professional opinion as to what you think. 

1. I strongly encourage you to stay in California for school for the following reasons:

a. Regional network strength and career connections

b. Experiential learning tied to California and learning about California solutions

c. All the California schools you highlighted here large Universities with lots of collaboration potential (if you try).

The key context is this - California (especially local and state) does policy development and administration decently different from the rest of the country (and more different than non-West Coast. The stakeholders, best practices, considerations, demographics, culture, and etc. are different. I realized this as someone who moved to California for a short period of my life and was simply wowed by how drastic policy matters are different in California. Bottom line, my East Coast sensibilities + educated context/background didn't really serve me well professionally and etc. 

A simple thought experiment to validate this is simply this. As a Californian, how do you think about regulation car emissions? - well you do it as a State... same with medically required practices and etc. For the rest of country, the answer is Federal government and maybe as part of a regionally aligned/multi-state compact - not so in California. I can probably go with a lot more thought experiments to illustrate this, but that should work. 

2. U. Chicago and Georgetown are essentially data analysis focused programs. Obviously data is important, but focusing on data means you are taking less time focusing on execution, org design, and best practices in your limited 2 years of grad school. Georgetown in particular is very federal powers focused and struggles with local and state stuff.

3. U. Penn is interesting because although Fels struggles in rankings, I think of hit as a very robust program that does really well for local and state governance within the Mid-Atlantic (although U. Penn is an awesome brand). However, this does not really apply to you.

4. Cornell is a program that is new and trying to reinvent itself with a cash infusion. It is not a good idea to go to a school that has a weak track record (though great University brand) and is far away from major population centers (UVA being an exception to this). 

5. Duke is probably the best all around program for state and local policy/non-profit in particular - however it leans East Coast (for obvious reasons). 

6. I love UVA as a program, probably the most leadership focused program. Most exits go East Coast as well. 

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4 hours ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

1. I strongly encourage you to stay in California for school for the following reasons:

a. Regional network strength and career connections

b. Experiential learning tied to California and learning about California solutions

c. All the California schools you highlighted here large Universities with lots of collaboration potential (if you try).

The key context is this - California (especially local and state) does policy development and administration decently different from the rest of the country (and more different than non-West Coast. The stakeholders, best practices, considerations, demographics, culture, and etc. are different. I realized this as someone who moved to California for a short period of my life and was simply wowed by how drastic policy matters are different in California. Bottom line, my East Coast sensibilities + educated context/background didn't really serve me well professionally and etc. 

A simple thought experiment to validate this is simply this. As a Californian, how do you think about regulation car emissions? - well you do it as a State... same with medically required practices and etc. For the rest of country, the answer is Federal government and maybe as part of a regionally aligned/multi-state compact - not so in California. I can probably go with a lot more thought experiments to illustrate this, but that should work. 

2. U. Chicago and Georgetown are essentially data analysis focused programs. Obviously data is important, but focusing on data means you are taking less time focusing on execution, org design, and best practices in your limited 2 years of grad school. Georgetown in particular is very federal powers focused and struggles with local and state stuff.

3. U. Penn is interesting because although Fels struggles in rankings, I think of hit as a very robust program that does really well for local and state governance within the Mid-Atlantic (although U. Penn is an awesome brand). However, this does not really apply to you.

4. Cornell is a program that is new and trying to reinvent itself with a cash infusion. It is not a good idea to go to a school that has a weak track record (though great University brand) and is far away from major population centers (UVA being an exception to this). 

5. Duke is probably the best all around program for state and local policy/non-profit in particular - however it leans East Coast (for obvious reasons). 

6. I love UVA as a program, probably the most leadership focused program. Most exits go East Coast as well. 

I took a few hours to think of the things you mentioned and I think you are right. Having travelled to other states and having seen just how different they are, California is a world of its own in that regard with much more extensive regulations than any other state and I think the value of such a regionalized education is priceless in that regard. I already went to a UC for my undergrad (Berkeley) so UCLA would be a good fit to also study in another part of the state and gain a larger perspective. It would have been interesting to consider an Ivy since I didn’t get to go to one for my undergrad degree (Berkeley gave me a full ride so couldn’t say not to that) but in the end this is for the best. 
 

Thanks for your advice! 

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5 hours ago, Skipper18542 said:

I took a few hours to think of the things you mentioned and I think you are right. Having travelled to other states and having seen just how different they are, California is a world of its own in that regard with much more extensive regulations than any other state and I think the value of such a regionalized education is priceless in that regard. I already went to a UC for my undergrad (Berkeley) so UCLA would be a good fit to also study in another part of the state and gain a larger perspective. It would have been interesting to consider an Ivy since I didn’t get to go to one for my undergrad degree (Berkeley gave me a full ride so couldn’t say not to that) but in the end this is for the best. 
 

Thanks for your advice! 

Ha I was wondering why you didn’t apply to USC Price! But Cal explains it

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On 3/17/2021 at 4:24 AM, GradSchoolGrad said:

Ha I was wondering why you didn’t apply to USC Price! But Cal explains it

I wanted to ask your opinion on UCSD's MPP. I just got accepted there with a full ride and I am trying to leverage that for UCLA to get a full ride as well (current aid is weak at only $6000 a year). I was wondering what your thoughts were on their programs in case that that does not work out. 

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2 hours ago, Skipper18542 said:

I wanted to ask your opinion on UCSD's MPP. I just got accepted there with a full ride and I am trying to leverage that for UCLA to get a full ride as well (current aid is weak at only $6000 a year). I was wondering what your thoughts were on their programs in case that that does not work out. 

I can't speak to level off detail about west coast schools

Edited by GradSchoolGrad
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