Brown MPA 2021

[Skipper18542]

@Devine123 @kmatsCongrats on your acceptance. Hope you get a good air package. Are you guys considering going there? 

[Devine123]

I think the financial aid package will have a big part in deciding!

[kmats]

On 3/19/2021 at 3:44 PM, Skipper18542 said:

@Devine123 @kmatsCongrats on your acceptance. Hope you get a good air package. Are you guys considering going there? 

Thank you! Really depends on the financial aid package, too. 

[Devine123]

15,000 in aid

[UKPolicyEnthusiast]

65,000 in aid plus a stipend - I’m very suprised as didn’t think they offered much by way of finance aid and I’ve already accepted another course (on this assumption). 

[MBAngineer]

On 3/22/2021 at 2:33 PM, UKPolicyEnthusiast said:

65,000 in aid plus a stipend - I’m very suprised as didn’t think they offered much by way of finance aid and I’ve already accepted another course (on this assumption). 

Congratulations! Did you say no to them already?

[MBAngineer]

Does anyone have any information about the deferral process at Brown for MPA? Do they do defers?

[MBAngineer]

On 3/22/2021 at 2:33 PM, UKPolicyEnthusiast said:

65,000 in aid plus a stipend - I’m very suprised as didn’t think they offered much by way of finance aid and I’ve already accepted another course (on this assumption). 

Also may I ask, what other course have you accepted/ been contemplating to join?

[UKPolicyEnthusiast]

17 minutes ago, MBAngineer said:

Congratulations! Did you say no to them already?

Yes - I did - for me New York is easier for me and for my partner to work so while it was a tough decision and a dream place with super generous funding, I ended up going with Columbia. If you have been accepted may be worth reaching out to the uni as I assume they will be able to reallocate the merit aid they gave to me. I hope someone else can benefit as grad school is mad expensive!

[UKPolicyEnthusiast]

16 minutes ago, MBAngineer said:

Also may I ask, what other course have you accepted/ been contemplating to join?

I went with Columbia in the ended as (1) they gave me a very generous two year scholarship and (2) my partner can work in New York so logistics are way easier. Other places were mostly Europe based (as I initially preferred a one year format) - but this works out as I’ve always wanted to experience New York!

[Skipper18542]

On 3/22/2021 at 11:33 AM, UKPolicyEnthusiast said:

65,000 in aid plus a stipend - I’m very suprised as didn’t think they offered much by way of finance aid and I’ve already accepted another course (on this assumption). 

Damn wow. Congrats. I know you chose not to go there but that is still amazing 

[MBAngineer]

On 3/25/2021 at 9:57 AM, UKPolicyEnthusiast said:

I went with Columbia in the ended as (1) they gave me a very generous two year scholarship and (2) my partner can work in New York so logistics are way easier. Other places were mostly Europe based (as I initially preferred a one year format) - but this works out as I’ve always wanted to experience New York!

Hey, if you don't mind, would you please share your profile stats? I just want to understand how they (Brown) decide. I got an admit with a $25k aid but I am considering to defer this year as I can't afford the rest. I am asking so that I have a benchmark to see what profile stats they are looking for so that could give me a starting point to prepare for the next year as I try to enhance my profile. Thank you and Good luck with Columbia! I am sure you'll love the big apple.

Edited March 31, 2021 by MBAngineer

[UKPolicyEnthusiast]

9 minutes ago, MBAngineer said:

Hey, if you don't mind but would you please share your profile stats? I just want to understand how they decide. I got an admit with a $25k aid but I am consider to defer this year as I can't afford the rest. I am asking so that I have a benchmark to see what profile stats they are looking for so that could give me a starting point to prepare for the next year as I try to enhance my profile. Thank you and Good luck with Columbia! I am sure you'll love the big apple.

Sure. Best of luck! Would also ask them for more $$ and cite you can’t afford it atm. I would hope they redistribute funds where offers are not accepted. GRE: 168 (V) / 152 (Q) / 5.5 (W). Graduated top international law school several years ago (had some awards for human rights work/grades). Worked for top firms in Singapore and Hong Kong for several years. In a senior position now. Experience with world bank, Asian development bank, UN, governments etc. Speak French fluently, ok Spanish. Do a lot of charity work, on charity boards etc. Diversity advocate and have been involved in diversity campaigns. I think they have a chunky scholarship because I’m late 30s (with other family commitments) and made it clear I want to do international human rights work (and have evidence to show this going back some years).
 

Edited March 31, 2021 by UKPolicyEnthusiast

[MBAngineer]

2 hours ago, UKPolicyEnthusiast said:

Sure. Best of luck! Would also ask them for more $$ and cite you can’t afford it atm. I would hope they redistribute funds where offers are not accepted. GRE: 168 (V) / 152 (Q) / 5.5 (W). Graduated top international law school several years ago (had some awards for human rights work/grades). Worked for top firms in Singapore and Hong Kong for several years. In a senior position now. Experience with world bank, Asian development bank, UN, governments etc. Speak French fluently, ok Spanish. Do a lot of charity work, on charity boards etc. Diversity advocate and have been involved in diversity campaigns. I think they have a chunky scholarship because I’m late 30s (with other family commitments) and made it clear I want to do international human rights work (and have evidence to show this going back some years).
 

Wow! I am really impressed with your profile. Thanks again for sharing this information and your advice - I will reach out to Brown to reconsider my aid. Once again, congratulations on all your achievements, you really deserve it all. I am definitely intimidated by your profile, but in a positive way!

Edited March 31, 2021 by MBAngineer

[UKPolicyEnthusiast]

1 minute ago, MBAngineer said:

Wow! I am really impressed with your profile. Thanks again for sharing this information and your advice - I will reach out to Brown to reconsider my aid. Once again, congratulations on all your achievements, you really deserve it all. I am definitely intimidated by your profile, but in a positive way!

Good luck! It’s an incredibly opportunity and I hope you can make it work. I asked another school about deferring and was told all fellowships would be lost and would have to be reconsidered - so ask that specifically before deferring. You don’t want to lose money you have at the moment (who knows how much they will have next time round!)

[nursa]

On 3/17/2021 at 6:59 AM, 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. 

Hello! I'm an international applicant with a background in business. Currently working in the government sector, and my government scholarship covers all the fees for grad school if I get into a program. My goal is to enter consulting (desirably in the public sector) (back up plan Embassy, UN, WB, etc). What graduate school and program (MPP/MPA/MSc) would you recommend pursuing? Also, I have one year of extension from my scholarship to work for F500 companies and then return to my country. So I'd love to gain work experience in the US. Thank you in advance!