2022 Results

[ThoughtsOnTap]

Head start on this year's apps --

Previous versions of this thread are here: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017

Format below:

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): 
Schools Applied To:  
Schools Admitted To:  
Schools Rejected From:  
Still Waiting:  
Undergraduate Institution:  
Undergraduate GPA:   
Undergraduate Major:  
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  
Years of Work Experience:  
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  
Other:

[ThoughtsOnTap]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP
Schools Applied To:  UChicago, Duke, USC, HKS, Georgetown
Schools Admitted To:  NA
Schools Rejected From:  NA
Still Waiting:  All
Undergraduate Institution:  Small liberal arts school
Undergraduate GPA:   3.7
Undergraduate Major:  Econ / English
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  163 / 162 / 5.5
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  3
Years of Work Experience:  3
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  Investment Banking / M&A
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Spent a good amount of time on this piece. Looking to transition into the non-profit space and leverage my business background to eventually found an organization in the early education space
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Solid -- two senior folks at my firm that I've worked with closely and one former client

[GradSchoolGrad]

22 hours ago, ThoughtsOnTap said:

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP
Schools Applied To:  UChicago, Duke, USC, HKS, Georgetown
Schools Admitted To:  NA
Schools Rejected From:  NA
Still Waiting:  All
Undergraduate Institution:  Small liberal arts school
Undergraduate GPA:   3.7
Undergraduate Major:  Econ / English
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  163 / 162 / 5.5
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  3
Years of Work Experience:  3
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  Investment Banking / M&A
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Spent a good amount of time on this piece. Looking to transition into the non-profit space and leverage my business background to eventually found an organization in the early education space
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Solid -- two senior folks at my firm that I've worked with closely and one former client

You want to focus on schools that have a really strong founder / non-profit innovation network.

HKS, U.Chicago, and Duke MPP are strong in this space. Georgetown definitely is not (they are more focused on traditional Fed government stuff). USC - I don't know enough about. Another route to consider is maybe think about MBA and go to the social impact route. You might actually get more out of it + better opportunities. 

[PolicyApplier]

All applications will be submitted on December 1st, except for Chicago which was submitted in August.

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP
Schools Applied To: Georgia Tech (MPP), CMU (MSPPM-DA and MSPPM), Chicago (MSCAPP and MAPP with Research Methods), USC (MPPDS), Minnesota (MPP), Georgetown (MPP-DS), Berkley (MPP), Michigan (MPP), Duke (MPP) 
Schools Admitted To: 
Schools Rejected From: 
Still Waiting: All
Undergraduate/Graduate Institution: Top 40 USNews school/Directional southern school 
Undergraduate/Graduate GPA:  2.79/3.25
Undergraduate/Graduate Major: Microbiology/Biology: Computational Biology 
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores: 157(62%) / 164(94%) / 4.0(54%)
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 9 years out of full-time graduate school.
Years of Work Experience: 9+ years of work experience. I've worked as a software engineer throughout that time and as a technical project manager and people manager in varying degrees as well. 
Describe Relevant Work Experience: I'm presenting myself as a technically competent person interested in creating robust data sets for national and state-level policies regarding voting rights and reproductive rights.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I think it's pretty good. I've had them read over by about three people, all of who have had pretty good academic success, and have put them all through several edits. My general angle is bringing up policy lifecycles and the need for professionals that can sift through the noise to find signals for x or y outcomes. Generally, talking over these points with advisors from the above schools has gotten me positive comments, so I presume as long as they are well-written, I'm in a good spot.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): More professionally focused than otherwise, but they show me as a civically active, compassionate, and capable person. One is the social worker contact that I have through some volunteering I did in the previous year, focusing on my ability to see that problems in society are often multi-faceted and my general sense of empathy. The other two are from my coworkers, one is my manager of two years, and the other is a staff-level software engineer who was previously an academic and 15+ year FAANG employee. Those two letters focus on my ability to achieve consistently, my fondness for learning, and my compassionate approach to business.
Other: Given that I am a working professional and well out of school, I am at a point where I want to apply to these schools and figure out where I'd like to be, depending on the schools I get into. Should I decide against those above because I don't get in or decide that full-time isn't for me, I am also looking at the Minnesota MPA and UChicago MAPP programs. I know that my GPA is lacking, but my additional essay accounts for that and my hope is that my history of consistent promotions makes that less of a scare.

Edited October 22, 2021 by PedroTheNoun

[PolicyApplier]

My updated AW score for the GRE is 4.5 (80%), seems I can no longer edit that post.

[GradSchoolGrad]

On 10/22/2021 at 6:32 PM, PedroTheNoun said:

All applications will be submitted on December 1st, except for Chicago which was submitted in August.

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP
Schools Applied To: Georgia Tech (MPP), CMU (MSPPM-DA and MSPPM), Chicago (MSCAPP and MAPP with Research Methods), USC (MPPDS), Minnesota (MPP), Georgetown (MPP-DS), Berkley (MPP), Michigan (MPP), Duke (MPP) 
Schools Admitted To: 
Schools Rejected From: 
Still Waiting: All
Undergraduate/Graduate Institution: Top 40 USNews school/Directional southern school 
Undergraduate/Graduate GPA:  2.79/3.25
Undergraduate/Graduate Major: Microbiology/Biology: Computational Biology 
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores: 157(62%) / 164(94%) / 4.0(54%)
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 9 years out of full-time graduate school.
Years of Work Experience: 9+ years of work experience. I've worked as a software engineer throughout that time and as a technical project manager and people manager in varying degrees as well. 
Describe Relevant Work Experience: I'm presenting myself as a technically competent person interested in creating robust data sets for national and state-level policies regarding voting rights and reproductive rights.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I think it's pretty good. I've had them read over by about three people, all of who have had pretty good academic success, and have put them all through several edits. My general angle is bringing up policy lifecycles and the need for professionals that can sift through the noise to find signals for x or y outcomes. Generally, talking over these points with advisors from the above schools has gotten me positive comments, so I presume as long as they are well-written, I'm in a good spot.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): More professionally focused than otherwise, but they show me as a civically active, compassionate, and capable person. One is the social worker contact that I have through some volunteering I did in the previous year, focusing on my ability to see that problems in society are often multi-faceted and my general sense of empathy. The other two are from my coworkers, one is my manager of two years, and the other is a staff-level software engineer who was previously an academic and 15+ year FAANG employee. Those two letters focus on my ability to achieve consistently, my fondness for learning, and my compassionate approach to business.
Other: Given that I am a working professional and well out of school, I am at a point where I want to apply to these schools and figure out where I'd like to be, depending on the schools I get into. Should I decide against those above because I don't get in or decide that full-time isn't for me, I am also looking at the Minnesota MPA and UChicago MAPP programs. I know that my GPA is lacking, but my additional essay accounts for that and my hope is that my history of consistent promotions makes that less of a scare.

The number of schools you are applying to is a bit out of control. Not only is it a lot of schools, you are applying to 3 different types of programs (MPP, MPA, and Data oriented policy programs). I don't think you completely though through what programs best serve you and you are going the shotgun approach. More often than not, people I know who do that approach end up in grad schools that doesn't necessarily fit them well. Not exactly sure what side of software you did at FANG, but if you know data science already, a data programs makes zero sense for you. 

[PolicyApplier]

25 minutes ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

The number of schools you are applying to is a bit out of control. Not only is it a lot of schools, you are applying to 3 different types of programs (MPP, MPA, and Data oriented policy programs). I don't think you completely though through what programs best serve you and you are going the shotgun approach. More often than not, people I know who do that approach end up in grad schools that doesn't necessarily fit them well. Not exactly sure what side of software you did at FANG, but if you know data science already, a data programs makes zero sense for you. 

One of my letter writers worked at the FAANG spot, not me. The MPP and MPPDS programs are the primary ones, though the redundancy is definitely noted. We’ve talked about this in previous threads. The MPAs, or rough equivalents, are things I’ll pursue if full-time doesn’t work out for whatever reason and I’m still feeling that route.

As far as the shotgun approach is concerned, I have a general idea of what I’m looking for and the advisors from each spot seem to think I can accomplish my goals within those degrees. My mentality currently is that I’ll shotgun them out and then decide afterward if a program or any program specifically fits. A lot of it stems from a “don’t count your eggs until they are hatched” mentality.

Your words are noted and appreciated though.

Edited October 26, 2021 by PedroTheNoun

[GradSchoolGrad]

2 minutes ago, PedroTheNoun said:

One of my letter writers worked at the FAANG spot, not me. The MPP and MPPDS programs at the primary ones, though the redundancy is definitely noted. We’ve talked about this in previous threads. The MPAs, or rough equivalents, are things I’ll pursue if full-time doesn’t work out for whatever reason and I’m still feeling that route.

As far as the shotgun approach is concerned, I have a general idea of what I’m looking for and the advisors from each spot seem to think I can accomplish my goals within those degrees. My mentality currently is that I’ll shotgun them out and then decide afterward if a program or any program specifically fits. A lot of it stems from a “don’t count your eggs until they are hatched” mentality.

Your words are noted and appreciated though.

I don't doubt that each spot seems to think you can accomplish your goals within those degrees just like you could probably accomplish your goals without a degree (granted it would be harder). I just don't want you eat the marketing and get the constipation later. Grad schools (unlike undergrad) are profit centers for Universities and have recently come under a lot of pressure to grow their class sizes to help boost their financial intake for the University.

More often than not, the after the admissions come in triangulation approach forces people to think about how they fit a school rather than how a school fits their life trajectory. I seen this movie too many times after people get excited with the scholarship money + brand + fun of orientation, they lose sight of their career trajectory and just eat up the rosy side of marketing. 

Ultimately, you do you and you seem pretty convinced you got the right way. Not trying doubt you, just seen this movie before - a lot. 

[PolicyApplier]

3 minutes ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

I don't doubt that each spot seems to think you can accomplish your goals within those degrees just like you could probably accomplish your goals without a degree (granted it would be harder). I just don't want you eat the marketing and get the constipation later. Grad schools (unlike undergrad) are profit centers for Universities and have recently come under a lot of pressure to grow their class sizes to help boost their financial intake for the University.

More often than not, the after the admissions come in triangulation approach forces people to think about how they fit a school rather than how a school fits their life trajectory. I seen this movie too many times after people get excited with the scholarship money + brand + fun of orientation, they lose sight of their career trajectory and just eat up the rosy side of marketing. 

Ultimately, you do you and you seem pretty convinced you got the right way. Not trying doubt you, just seen this movie before - a lot. 

Heh, I appreciate the perspective. I’ll also keep that money factory angle in mind as well.

[Muddy Dangers]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): IR
Schools Applied To:  Columbia SIPA, American SIS, George Washington Elliot, Boston University Pardee
Schools Admitted To:  SIPA (no funding), SIS (no funding), Elliot (34k), Pardee (didn't look)
Schools Rejected From:  none
Still Waiting:  N/A
Undergraduate Institution:  Florida State University & community college
Undergraduate GPA:   3.57 cumulative, 3.9 at Florida State
Undergraduate Major:  International Affairs, Economics minor
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  N/A
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  
Years of Work Experience:  5 years as a paralegal, 2 years part time as cofounder for legal tech startup
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  internship with state representative for 1.5 years, internship through Department of State with Embassy in Qatar
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  moderate
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  moderate
Other: deciding between Elliot and SIPA at the moment. the financial component is less important as my family has offered to cover costs. While SIPA seems to be the marginally better program, Elliot is in a better location with access to networking and job connects. I plan to work for the government doing intelligence analyst work. 

[GradSchoolGrad]

4 hours ago, Muddy Dangers said:

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): IR
Schools Applied To:  Columbia SIPA, American SIS, George Washington Elliot, Boston University Pardee
Schools Admitted To:  SIPA (no funding), SIS (no funding), Elliot (34k), Pardee (didn't look)
Schools Rejected From:  none
Still Waiting:  N/A
Undergraduate Institution:  Florida State University & community college
Undergraduate GPA:   3.57 cumulative, 3.9 at Florida State
Undergraduate Major:  International Affairs, Economics minor
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  N/A
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  
Years of Work Experience:  5 years as a paralegal, 2 years part time as cofounder for legal tech startup
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  internship with state representative for 1.5 years, internship through Department of State with Embassy in Qatar
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  moderate
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  moderate
Other: deciding between Elliot and SIPA at the moment. the financial component is less important as my family has offered to cover costs. While SIPA seems to be the marginally better program, Elliot is in a better location with access to networking and job connects. I plan to work for the government doing intelligence analyst work. 

If you want to do intelligence work, Elliot has better connections than SIPA. SIPA might be a better brand overall. However, it isn't exactly the best for intelligence or defense.

[oop2021]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.):  Master's Global Policy Studies, D.C.
Schools Applied To: LBJ
Schools Admitted To:  TBD
Schools Rejected From:  TBD
Still Waiting:  LBJ
Undergraduate Institution:  Texas A&M University
Undergraduate GPA:   3.727 (4.0 when recalculated for upper division courses)
Undergraduate Major:  International Studies
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  N/A
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  2 years (in law school)
Years of Work Experience:  1-2 years counting internship/externship/college jobs, etc. 
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  Election Law NGO & a USAID initiative in Ukraine, law firm recruitment, tutoring, etc.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Got personal in the first half, connected to what I'm doing in the second half, and tied it all together in the conclusion. Probably decent, idk. 
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Two law professors and a former supervisor. All know me very well. 
Other: Most will be asking why if I am wrapping up law school (T-40). On journal, good grades, no big law aspirations at all. Other than that I am a masochist,  I've spoken to multiple mentors, professors, attorneys in the policy field, the DC team at LBJ, and feel this is a viable path for me to pursue. Decision will depend on aid received. Pursuing clerkships and other job opportunities in public service and not solely relying on this graduate application alone. 

Edited November 29, 2021 by oop2021

[thatgirlishot]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MIA
Schools Applied To:  UCSD (GPS), Columbia (SIPA), NYU (SPS), BU (Pardee), Tufts (fletcher), American (SIS), USC (Annenberg), Northeastern, UCSB
Schools Admitted To:  
Schools Rejected From:  
Still Waiting:  all
Undergraduate Institution:  Penn State
Undergraduate GPA: 3.46
Undergraduate Major:  Broadcasting Journalism with double minors in German and Global and International Studies
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  didn't take. (choosing the waived option)
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  .5
Years of Work Experience:  .5
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  Internship with a Non-Profit that works with the Department of State
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  SOP has a heavy focus on my personal and academic experience living, working, and studying abroad as well as a strong emphasis on my internship work within the government and how that has made me want to further pursue academia in the field. Each SOP is heavily individualized between specific programs and schools.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): 2 strong letter from supervisors, 1 strong letter from highly regarded professor  
Other: GPA is low due to lower grades as a lowerclassmen on an "Undecided" major course. Mostly A's and a few high B's the last 2 years of undergraduate.

[XIII_Gemina]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): International Relations (MAIR, MALD, Security Studies etc)
Schools Applied To:  Tufts Fletcher (MALD), George Washington University  (Elliott - Security Policy Studies), American University (SIS), Georgetown (Walsh SSP), Columbia (SIPA MIA), Johns Hopkins University (SAIS MAIR), University of Chicago (Master of Arts in IR), UT Austin (LBJ MGPS)
Schools Admitted To:  Just got in to Fletcher MALD today!
Schools Rejected From:  TBD
Still Waiting:  Everywhere else
Undergraduate Institution:  Indiana University
Undergraduate GPA:   3.77
Undergraduate Major:  International Studies with minor in Political Science
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  N/a
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  0
Years of Work Experience:  7 - 8 counting time between first go at undergrad in 2012 a nd my current experiences graduating undergrad
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  2 Years in the mid 2010s living and working in Hong Kong as a corporate sales rep for a major Australian-based hospitality firm, Political Internship during 2020 presidential campaign cycle, Campaign organizing position for congressional candidate during 2018 campaign cycle, Internship for local political party (approx 1 year), Political Internship during 2016 presidential campaign  cycle
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Fairly strong, I write about my experiences living in NYC during 9/11 as a child as well as my experiences overseas coming together to influence my interest and personal commitment to service to the US and why I'm pursuing security studies particularly. I discuss my specific career goals as aiming for Office of Net Assessment, Department of Defense. Also briefly discussed my first attempt at undergrad in 2012 and how it has shaped my career and academic goals to be much more particular and specific. 600 word policy papers for GWU, SAIS, and Gtown are broadly the same covering strategic realignment in the Indo-Pacific and arguing that the US must further entrench itself via deep engagement to project US power against a rising China and prevent a Thucydides Trap.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  One extremely strong from my undergrad thesis advisor, tenured professor and dept chair, and have taken 3 courses with them previously. One strong from tenured professor I have taken 2 courses with  and is a non-resident fellow at Brookings One strong but probably less personalized lor from professor and former representative of Iraq at the UN.

[PolicyApplier]

Could we get this topic pinned to the top of the forum like these two results threads:

 

I also think there is some value in having the 2021 Results thread pinned as well.

 

[XIII_Gemina]

On 12/10/2021 at 4:57 PM, XIII_Gemina said:

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): International Relations (MAIR, MALD, Security Studies etc)
Schools Applied To:  Tufts Fletcher (MALD), George Washington University  (Elliott - Security Policy Studies), American University (SIS), Georgetown (Walsh SSP), Columbia (SIPA MIA), Johns Hopkins University (SAIS MAIR), University of Chicago (Master of Arts in IR), UT Austin (LBJ MGPS)
Schools Admitted To:  Just got in to Fletcher MALD today!
Schools Rejected From:  TBD
Still Waiting:  Everywhere else
Undergraduate Institution:  Indiana University
Undergraduate GPA:   3.77
Undergraduate Major:  International Studies with minor in Political Science
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  N/a
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  0
Years of Work Experience:  7 - 8 counting time between first go at undergrad in 2012 a nd my current experiences graduating undergrad
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  2 Years in the mid 2010s living and working in Hong Kong as a corporate sales rep for a major Australian-based hospitality firm, Political Internship during 2020 presidential campaign cycle, Campaign organizing position for congressional candidate during 2018 campaign cycle, Internship for local political party (approx 1 year), Political Internship during 2016 presidential campaign  cycle
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Fairly strong, I write about my experiences living in NYC during 9/11 as a child as well as my experiences overseas coming together to influence my interest and personal commitment to service to the US and why I'm pursuing security studies particularly. I discuss my specific career goals as aiming for Office of Net Assessment, Department of Defense. Also briefly discussed my first attempt at undergrad in 2012 and how it has shaped my career and academic goals to be much more particular and specific. 600 word policy papers for GWU, SAIS, and Gtown are broadly the same covering strategic realignment in the Indo-Pacific and arguing that the US must further entrench itself via deep engagement to project US power against a rising China and prevent a Thucydides Trap.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  One extremely strong from my undergrad thesis advisor, tenured professor and dept chair, and have taken 3 courses with them previously. One strong from tenured professor I have taken 2 courses with  and is a non-resident fellow at Brookings One strong but probably less personalized lor from professor and former representative of Iraq at the UN.

Just updating I was accepted GWU Elliott early decision! Received offer on the 20th and then got funding notification ($10k/year) a few days later. Waitlisted at Columbia SIPA. Stilling waiting on AU, Georgetown, UChicago, and SAIS.

[PolicyApplier]

 

On 10/22/2021 at 5:32 PM, PolicyApplier said:

All applications will be submitted on December 1st, except for Chicago which was submitted in August.

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP
Schools Applied To: Georgia Tech (MPP), CMU (MSPPM-DA and MSPPM), Chicago (MSCAPP and MAPP with Research Methods), USC (MPPDS), Minnesota (MPP), Georgetown (MPP-DS), Berkley (MPP), Michigan (MPP), Duke (MPP) 
Schools Admitted To: 
Schools Rejected From: 
Still Waiting: All
Undergraduate/Graduate Institution: Top 40 USNews school/Directional southern school 
Undergraduate/Graduate GPA:  2.79/3.25
Undergraduate/Graduate Major: Microbiology/Biology: Computational Biology 
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores: 157(62%) / 164(94%) / 4.0(54%)
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 9 years out of full-time graduate school.
Years of Work Experience: 9+ years of work experience. I've worked as a software engineer throughout that time and as a technical project manager and people manager in varying degrees as well. 
Describe Relevant Work Experience: I'm presenting myself as a technically competent person interested in creating robust data sets for national and state-level policies regarding voting rights and reproductive rights.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I think it's pretty good. I've had them read over by about three people, all of who have had pretty good academic success, and have put them all through several edits. My general angle is bringing up policy lifecycles and the need for professionals that can sift through the noise to find signals for x or y outcomes. Generally, talking over these points with advisors from the above schools has gotten me positive comments, so I presume as long as they are well-written, I'm in a good spot.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): More professionally focused than otherwise, but they show me as a civically active, compassionate, and capable person. One is the social worker contact that I have through some volunteering I did in the previous year, focusing on my ability to see that problems in society are often multi-faceted and my general sense of empathy. The other two are from my coworkers, one is my manager of two years, and the other is a staff-level software engineer who was previously an academic and 15+ year FAANG employee. Those two letters focus on my ability to achieve consistently, my fondness for learning, and my compassionate approach to business.
Other: Given that I am a working professional and well out of school, I am at a point where I want to apply to these schools and figure out where I'd like to be, depending on the schools I get into. Should I decide against those above because I don't get in or decide that full-time isn't for me, I am also looking at the Minnesota MPA and UChicago MAPP programs. I know that my GPA is lacking, but my additional essay accounts for that and my hope is that my history of consistent promotions makes that less of a scare.

I got in at Minnesota but they aren’t releasing merit scholarships until mid-March.

[waterweirdo]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): IR
Schools Applied To:  Johns Hopkins SAIS (MAIR), GW Elliot (IA), Denver Korbel (GES), American SIS (IAPA), Yale Jackson (MPP), Georgetown SFS (MSFS), Syracuse Maxwell (MAIR/MPA)
Schools Admitted To:  Johns Hopkins SAIS, GW Elliot, Denver Korbel
Schools Rejected From:  
Still Waiting:  American SIS, Yale Jackson, Georgetown SFS, Syracuse Maxwell
Undergraduate Institution:  Large state school
Undergraduate GPA:   3.9
Undergraduate Major:  International Relations
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  n/a
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  3.5
Years of Work Experience:  3.5 (full-time)
Describe Relevant Work Experience: 

• Undergraduate: Summer internship in local government, research assistant, writing tutor
• Post-graduation: 2 years in local government/AmeriCorps, 1+ years teaching internationally

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  I think it is fairly strong. About 1/3 of the statement was tailored to each application (more for applications that allowed longer SOPs). I recieved feedback from my recommenders, a family friend who is a university professor, and trusted friends and family. I worked on it for about five months before I submitted my first application.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I waived my right to read my letters. For most applications, I provided three references (two former professors) and a former supervisor. 
Other:

• Language: Intermediate-Advanced Hebrew, Intermediate Russian, very basic Mandarin 
• Techincal/Quantitative: GIS minor, 1 class in R, 3 classes in economics

[GradSchoolGrad]

13 hours ago, waterweirdo said:

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): IR
Schools Applied To:  Johns Hopkins SAIS (MAIR), GW Elliot (IA), Denver Korbel (GES), American SIS (IAPA), Yale Jackson (MPP), Georgetown SFS (MSFS), Syracuse Maxwell (MAIR/MPA)
Schools Admitted To:  Johns Hopkins SAIS, GW Elliot, Denver Korbel
Schools Rejected From:  
Still Waiting:  American SIS, Yale Jackson, Georgetown SFS, Syracuse Maxwell
Undergraduate Institution:  Large state school
Undergraduate GPA:   3.9
Undergraduate Major:  International Relations
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  n/a
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  3.5
Years of Work Experience:  3.5 (full-time)
Describe Relevant Work Experience: 

• Undergraduate: Summer internship in local government, research assistant, writing tutor
• Post-graduation: 2 years in local government/AmeriCorps, 1+ years teaching internationally

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  I think it is fairly strong. About 1/3 of the statement was tailored to each application (more for applications that allowed longer SOPs). I recieved feedback from my recommenders, a family friend who is a university professor, and trusted friends and family. I worked on it for about five months before I submitted my first application.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I waived my right to read my letters. For most applications, I provided three references (two former professors) and a former supervisor. 
Other:

• Language: Intermediate-Advanced Hebrew, Intermediate Russian, very basic Mandarin 
• Techincal/Quantitative: GIS minor, 1 class in R, 3 classes in economics

You are in really good shape. The only thing that might get you is if you are diverse enough for the program you are applying (in comparison to the applicant pool). Remember this is diverse enough relative to the applicant pool. You might want to clarify you policy interest a bit. 

[mvose]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP
Schools Applied To: GWU (Trachtenberg), American University (SPA), UC Berkeley (Goldman), UCLA (Luskin), Harvard (Kennedy), Duke (Sanford), Carnegie Mellon (Heinz), UChicago (Harris)
Schools Admitted To:  American, GWU, UChicago
Schools Rejected From:  
Still Waiting: Berkeley, UCLA, Harvard, Duke, CMU
Undergraduate Institution: San Diego State University
Undergraduate GPA: 3.99 (Cumulative) 4.00 (Major)
Undergraduate Major: Economics
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores: Didn't take
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): Applying straight from undergrad
Years of Work Experience: 1
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Worked at SDG&E (San Diego Gas & Electric) doing financial and strategic analysis, also did some policy work for them as part of a management training internship. Also working as a Research Assistant for an econ professor at SDSU where we're conducting research on the Salton Sea. I'll be presenting my research at my schools research symposium
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  I think my SOP's were pretty good, but writing has never been my strong suit so I spent a lot of time working on them, constantly editing them and updating them. I tried to answer the questions as directly as possible, and as honestly as possible, and overall I think they were strong and helped to compensate for my lack of GRE scores
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I think my LORs were incredibly strong. 1 LOR was from the professor i'm doing research with, the other was from a professor I've had since my freshman year who knows me incredibly well and was the one who encouraged me to apply to graduate school, and the other is a faculty advisor for an organization im on the executive board for, she was also a former professor at Harvard Kennedy School
Other:

[patientlywaiting86]

I was wondering if anyone knew if and when harvard gse Ed. LD program has sent out interviews?

[publicpolicyispublicpeeing]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP (except for NYU MPA)
Schools Applied To: UC Berkeley (Goldman), Duke (Sanford), NYU (Wagner), Georgetown (McCourt), Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, Sciences Po/Columbia (SIPA)
Schools Admitted To: n/a
Schools Rejected From:  Cambridge, LSE, Sciences Po
Still Waiting: Berkeley, Duke, Georgetown, NYU
Undergraduate Institution: University of Michigan
Undergraduate GPA: 3.03 (Cumulative) 3.54 (Majors)
Undergraduate Major: Political Science and French Studies (Minor in Env. Sustainability)
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores: N/A
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 4
Years of Work Experience: 4
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Internship and post-grad experience at local and federal gov't offices, local DA's office, worked at two law firms when interested in litigation/legal route. Now currently interviewing for a Strategist/Consultant role at a start-up and a strategy advising firm, as well as policy + project management role at a hugely-research heavy hospital.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  After applying last cycle and getting rejected/waitlisted, I decided to work with a consultant on this given my little work-life balance (he's MPP/MBA at HKS/HBS right now). This was ridiculously expensive, but I'm praying it will have been worth it.  I think they were OK, but I'm not sure if they were strong enough to help my low undergraduate GPA (statistics and a difficult Econ course in one semester, while a varsity athlete, hit me really hard and I spent my last two years playing catch up.)
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I think my LORs were strong. Two from partners at law firms that do impact work (lots of ACLU-adjacent projects), one from previous manager that works for a Top10 law firm and has ties to Goldman School, one from previous PhD candidate that I did undergraduate research for on Gaza/Israeli border conflict. 
Other: This cycle feels like a dumpster fire, so I hope everyone is doing okay, and remembering to workout (exercise has been key for me keeping my sanity). I hope this post is helpful.

[GradSchoolGrad]

On 2/15/2022 at 12:41 PM, publicpolicyispublicpeeing said:

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP (except for NYU MPA)
Schools Applied To: UC Berkeley (Goldman), Duke (Sanford), NYU (Wagner), Georgetown (McCourt), Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, Sciences Po/Columbia (SIPA)
Schools Admitted To: n/a
Schools Rejected From:  Cambridge, LSE, Sciences Po
Still Waiting: Berkeley, Duke, Georgetown, NYU
Undergraduate Institution: University of Michigan
Undergraduate GPA: 3.03 (Cumulative) 3.54 (Majors)
Undergraduate Major: Political Science and French Studies (Minor in Env. Sustainability)
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores: N/A
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 4
Years of Work Experience: 4
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Internship and post-grad experience at local and federal gov't offices, local DA's office, worked at two law firms when interested in litigation/legal route. Now currently interviewing for a Strategist/Consultant role at a start-up and a strategy advising firm, as well as policy + project management role at a hugely-research heavy hospital.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  After applying last cycle and getting rejected/waitlisted, I decided to work with a consultant on this given my little work-life balance (he's MPP/MBA at HKS/HBS right now). This was ridiculously expensive, but I'm praying it will have been worth it.  I think they were OK, but I'm not sure if they were strong enough to help my low undergraduate GPA (statistics and a difficult Econ course in one semester, while a varsity athlete, hit me really hard and I spent my last two years playing catch up.)
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I think my LORs were strong. Two from partners at law firms that do impact work (lots of ACLU-adjacent projects), one from previous manager that works for a Top10 law firm and has ties to Goldman School, one from previous PhD candidate that I did undergraduate research for on Gaza/Israeli border conflict. 
Other: This cycle feels like a dumpster fire, so I hope everyone is doing okay, and remembering to workout (exercise has been key for me keeping my sanity). I hope this post is helpful.

Eeek, usually the trick with low GPA is high GRE scores (with great work experience on too). No GRE is what might ultimately hurt you.

[lemonscone]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP, MPA, MA, MSc, MEM
Schools Applied To:  Yale (School of Environment), Univ. of Michigan SEAS, Columbia Climate School, NYU (SPS), American (SIS), Georgetown (McCourt), Univ. of Washington (Evans), Sciences Po
Schools Admitted To: Columbia, Michigan SEAS, NYU, American
Schools Rejected From:  n/a
Still Waiting: Yale, Georgetown, Washington Evans, Sciences PO
Undergraduate Institution: Top 25 US private university
Undergraduate GPA: 3.5/4
Undergraduate Major: Political Science and Environmental Studies
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores: N/A
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2
Years of Work Experience: 4
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Internship and post-grad experience at local and federal gov't offices, paralegal at top global law firm, internship experience in environmental non-profits.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Pretty strong, I think. I worked on it for a few weeks before submitting, then tweaked the same one for each subsequent application. Described academic experience, professional goals, study abroad experience, etc. All very climate change focused.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I think my LORs are the most compelling part of my application. Two from professors, one from a government official. 

[policyapp2022]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP, MPA, MIP
Schools Applied To:  Berkeley Goldman (MPP), USC Price (MPP and MPA), UCLA Luskin (MPP), Stanford (MIP), UCSD GPS (MPP), UW Evans (MPA)
Schools Admitted To:  USC Price (MPP and MPA, 25% funding to both)
Schools Rejected From:  None
Still Waiting:  Berkeley Goldman (MPP), UCLA Luskin (MPP), Stanford (MIP), UCSD GPS (MPP), UW Evans (MPA)
Undergraduate Institution:  Ivy
Undergraduate GPA:   3.7-ish
Undergraduate Major:  History, Political Science 
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores:  Didn’t take
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  Will be 3 in May
Years of Work Experience:  3 full-time, also worked through college and high school 
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  Local Government, Federal Government, AmeriCorps, and Political Campaigns (focused on environmental advocacy theme throughout employment)
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Had 4 different base SOPs I tailored to the program and prompt. Included some personal information about academic and personal struggles, then focused on my goals and why I’m applying to the program. 
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Waived my rights and varied on recommender. Had 4 total recommenders that I switched between depending on the program requirements. 2 professors, 2 former supervisors. Professors would be very strong, and supervisors I’m honestly not sure. 
Other: Only applied to CA and WA schools for personal reasons/needing to be close to family through some tough medical issues. Applying this cycle to use the rest of my GI Bill benefits before I lose them. 

Edited February 24, 2022 by policyapp2022