Unusual Profile - your advice?

[FrenchMess]

Hi!

I'd like your advice very much on my profile which is supposed to be very unusual, at least, that's what I've been told by several students in my field of interest. I don't expect a prediction of my chances to get in (that's impossible, I'm aware of that), but mostly your opinion about the relevance of my application.

I'm an international applicant, applying to MPP/MPA at the top schools (HKS, SIPA, Princeton, Berkeley).

First, scores : TOEFL (my score is better than what is required), GRE 670V 750Q.

Background : political communication all the way (MA in political science in the best university of my country, high GPA, thesis on the communication strategies of the extreme right wing), communication adviser for an important minister (2 years), then communication advisor in public and crisis communication in a major international communication agency (+several internships when I was a student in the field of political communication and public affairs). Great recommendations (minister, professor and internship tutor). Outline of my SoP : political communication is first about politics and your understanding of it / the more you get to deepen your knowledge of public policies the better you are at this job which is very influential / the way you do this job (with or without ethics) is defining for the wellbeing of democracy (don't worry, this a rough summary, the actual SoP is more subtle ;-))

My problem is, some american friends enrolled in political science program (MPP, PhD) told me that my profile would fit and would be relevant to the Admission Boards. Some others (especially in my country) told me that I was not what these schools are looking for (no non profit activity except as a private past-time, no real connection to the policy-making which is not true by the way). So I'm puzzled. I don't know! In the US, is political communication a part of the political science field or a part of the communications field?

Please, I'd be grateful if you could give me your opinion. I don't want to spend more time on this if my profile is totally iconoclast for these programs. Thanks a lot...

[Octavia]

Hi!

I'd like your advice very much on my profile which is supposed to be very unusual, at least, that's what I've been told by several students in my field of interest. I don't expect a prediction of my chances to get in (that's impossible, I'm aware of that), but mostly your opinion about the relevance of my application.

I'm an international applicant, applying to MPP/MPA at the top schools (HKS, SIPA, Princeton, Berkeley).

First, scores : TOEFL (my score is better than what is required), GRE 670V 750Q.

Background : political communication all the way (MA in political science in the best university of my country, high GPA, thesis on the communication strategies of the extreme right wing), communication adviser for an important minister (2 years), then communication advisor in public and crisis communication in a major international communication agency (+several internships when I was a student in the field of political communication and public affairs). Great recommendations (minister, professor and internship tutor). Outline of my SoP : political communication is first about politics and your understanding of it / the more you get to deepen your knowledge of public policies the better you are at this job which is very influential / the way you do this job (with or without ethics) is defining for the wellbeing of democracy (don't worry, this a rough summary, the actual SoP is more subtle ;-))

My problem is, some american friends enrolled in political science program (MPP, PhD) told me that my profile would fit and would be relevant to the Admission Boards. Some others (especially in my country) told me that I was not what these schools are looking for (no non profit activity except as a private past-time, no real connection to the policy-making which is not true by the way). So I'm puzzled. I don't know! In the US, is political communication a part of the political science field or a part of the communications field?

Please, I'd be grateful if you could give me your opinion. I don't want to spend more time on this if my profile is totally iconoclast for these programs. Thanks a lot...

I guess it all depends on your professional goals. I would say that your "profile" (or background) fits students in PhD programs in Political Science more than those in public policy programs. In a nutshell, MPP/MPA programs are considered professional in a sense that they train generalists and provide skills required for public policy analysis and management (very broadly defined). Of course, one can combine these degrees with an MBA, a law degree etc and study very particular aspects of public policy (eg. foreign policy or finance).

I think there are two sides to your profile. Surely, one could argue that your political communication specialization gives you a niche as far as admissions are concerned. Your stats are great so I wouldn't worry about that (not sure what your GPA is). On the other hand, you really lack solid work experience to be considered truly competitive.

My advice is to 1) think about what is it that you really want to do professionally 2) try to match a potential graduate program with the skillset required to achieve your professional goal 3) if you still are unsure, read student bios (princeton's website has a lot of those) and perhaps you will find some students with similar experiences and professional goals as yours.

[adaptations]

Based on the information you provided, I think you have a good chance of getting in. I would be careful in your SOP to focus on your future goals and how the MPP facilitates/develops those goals, as opposed to focusing too much on how your past communications experience is relevant to the MPP. I guess, I am just reminding you to strike a balance between the two.

Best of luck,

[FrenchMess]

To Octavia : thank you for your reply that surprised me! I'm 26, and I have worked more than 40 months (and was also enrolled full time at school for the first 15 of them...). I'm more than ready to pay attention to all advice, but "a lack of strong professional background" seems to me a little... surprising. My application may have many weaknesses, of course, but I don't think that the lack of professional experience can be one of them. Moreover, 2 years in a cabinet worths more than 4 in the private sector (in terms of salary and responsabilities). What would it be different for the Admission Boards? Does it mean that working for a minister as an adviser is not considering valuable in the US? And if so, why? Is it because it's a foreign governement? Moreover, the minister I worked for is well-known in the US so I don't understand, please elaborate, you make me nervous lol.

GPA : about 3.9 translated in the US version of it.

Why would I have more chances to get in a PhD?

You're right, I should have mention my professional goal in the first place : I wanna work in US political communication. Your country is mine's future in terms of political communication. Fort better or for worse (it would take a very long time to explain this, don't wanna get everyone bored), but it is. I need to learn from this country, academically and professionally. Harvard has an amaizing center specialized in the studies of political communication (domestic and international). So the MPP is my only way to get to it. Moreover, studying public policies more deeply will be an asset to do my job. I don't want to spend 3 years on a PhD, I want to get back to politics as soon as possible after I graduate, enrished of all I will have learn there.

Thanks in advance for elaborating, I'm freaking out now ;-)

To adaptations : thanks a lot for your accurate remark. You're totally right, it would be a huge mistake too spend to much time explaining myself on this. You're so right, I was on the wrong track with at least a paragraph of my SoP. Thanks again. So, should I say directly that I wanna work in political communication more than explaining why a MPP is relevant for me?

[Octavia]

LOL. Perhaps I have a different point of reference (I've been working for the UN for some time now). The work exprience you described looked a bit...chaotic. I was under the impression that you had different internships here and there rather than a consistent career path. I might be wrong, of course, about what schools consider "solid work epxrience" so I won't argue about it. I recently attended a career fair with the UN Harvard Kennedy Club and the alumni, who currently are working for the UN, suggested that Harvard liked consistent work experience as opposed to an internship here, a 12-month job there. Of course, there is an exception to every rule.

I would definitely not agree that the often misplaced European assertion that "2 years in a cabinet is worth more than 4 years in the private sector" is true. It is certainly not true in the US (especially not in terms of salaries ;-)) I happen to work for the UN Peacekeeping but wouldn't argue that my 4 years of experience count as 8 years of work for Goldman Sachs. Anyway, good luck.

One question: "I wanna work in US political communication". What is US political communication? ;-) Just wondering....

To Octavia : thank you for your reply that surprised me! I'm 26, and I have worked more than 40 months (and was also enrolled full time at school for the first 15 of them...). I'm more than ready to pay attention to all advice, but "a lack of strong professional background" seems to me a little... surprising. My application may have many weaknesses, of course, but I don't think that the lack of professional experience can be one of them. Moreover, 2 years in a cabinet worths more than 4 in the private sector (in terms of salary and responsabilities). What would it be different for the Admission Boards? Does it mean that working for a minister as an adviser is not considering valuable in the US? And if so, why? Is it because it's a foreign governement? Moreover, the minister I worked for is well-known in the US so I don't understand, please elaborate, you make me nervous lol.

GPA : about 3.9 translated in the US version of it.

Why would I have more chances to get in a PhD?

You're right, I should have mention my professional goal in the first place : I wanna work in US political communication. Your country is mine's future in terms of political communication. Fort better or for worse (it would take a very long time to explain this, don't wanna get everyone bored), but it is. I need to learn from this country, academically and professionally. Harvard has an amaizing center specialized in the studies of political communication (domestic and international). So the MPP is my only way to get to it. Moreover, studying public policies more deeply will be an asset to do my job. I don't want to spend 3 years on a PhD, I want to get back to politics as soon as possible after I graduate, enrished of all I will have learn there.

Thanks in advance for elaborating, I'm freaking out now ;-)

To adaptations : thanks a lot for your accurate remark. You're totally right, it would be a huge mistake too spend to much time explaining myself on this. You're so right, I was on the wrong track with at least a paragraph of my SoP. Thanks again. So, should I say directly that I wanna work in political communication more than explaining why a MPP is relevant for me?

[adaptations]

To FrenchMess: First, I wouldn't stress too much about the value of your existing work experience, and here's why: 1) you aren't going to change it, so no need stressing over it (although it is beneficial to be pragmatic about it) 2) the comments arguing over the relative value of different work experience is really splitting hairs(I hope this isn't just an American colloquialism). There are many types of valuable work experience and yours certainly falls into that category. The key is tying it all together in your SOP, so you explain how your previous experience strengthens your future potential. It is also important, as I previously noted, to clearly articulate what you want to do and how it fits with the degree you are seeking. I think this is a point you can improve upon, based upon what I've read here. Although I understand where you are coming from, an MPP does not obviously translate to a communications/public relations position. Thus, it will be important for you to outline how the skills you gain in your MPP will be directly applied to what you want to do. Since there are many communications people who never even consider an MPP, you will need to go a step further than some applicants to make the connections between your goals and the degree very explicit.

I hope this is helpful to you. (And as a side note, I would take all comments with a grain of salt. For the most part, all the posters are trying to be helpful, but we all approach things a little differently, so you have to weed through the good and the bad for yourself... and that includes my post)

[FrenchMess]

To Octavia, thanks for elaborating, I know understand why you were misled by my explanations, working for the UN has nothing to do with a cabinet. Not the same job ;-). A cabinet is the staff of a minister or a president, I'm sure you know that. It's a very particular job, not better, not worse, just different. And you're right, working for an international organisation is not as valued by the private sector as a cabinet position. Clearly.

I'm 26, 3 years of full time experience after graduation, 2 for my government, 1 in the private sector (related to public institutions) the rest in internships relevant to my field when I was a student, pretty steady on my career goals. So, "an internship here, a 12 months job there" doesn't exactly describe my situation. But thanks for the input. And I agree with you, international organisations are not valued enough as work experience. Strangely, a friend my age who was working as an adviser in an other minister's cabinet for only one year when I was, just got in Harvard MPA. My friend who was working for the UNESCO didn't though. You're right, exception to every rule I guess. ;-)

US political communication = as opposed as the french political communication : larger country, more elective positions, different apprehension of politics, more money, hence more tools. Very rough outline, but if you're interested I'd be more than happy to elaborate in private messages. It would be a long explanation here, since you may not know the french system (we're a very small country, always on strike, eating croissants, not very interesting I give that to you ;-))

To adaptations : thanks again. You are right, I need to be very explicit about the relevance of an MPP concerning my career goals. And my problem is, I have NO IDEA on how is perceived political communication in America. I've read a lot about it, studied it but I don't know anyone involved in political communication field in the US. So I don't have the insights. Then, I don't know how hard I need to insist on the link between public policies and political communication. An other friend got in Harvard MPP two years ago, she was a young journalist (not even working directly on political issues), I'm puzzled... And to be honest, it is incredibly hard to apply as a foreigner : huge cultural gap and it is hard to rely on your instinct when you were not born in the country. Thanks a thousand time for your help and kindness. I'm stressing out, always thinking that what I do is never enough. Do you think I should be explicit about my desire to work in american political communication? Or be more elusive? They might not like it...