MPP/MPA 2011 Applicants

[cckrspnl56]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MALD, MDP, USFP, and IR

Schools Applied To: Fletcher, SIPA (MDP) Korbel (MDP) SIS (USFP) and SAIS (lol)

Schools Admitted To:

Schools Rejected From:

Still Waiting: All

Undergraduate institution: Illinois State

Undergraduate GPA: 3.62

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): No idea. in the 3.6 range.

Undergraduate Major: History/Philosophy with minors in Sociology /Political Science

GRE Quantitative Score: 770

GRE Verbal Score: 600

GRE AW Score: 5.0

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): Graduated '09

Years of Work Experience: Eh.

Describe Relevant Work Experience: 6 months teaching in China, 2 months interning for a international poverty advocacy nonprofit, interning now for a top Democratic Senator (Although I'm doing constituent, not legislative, work), RA for three years on campus, did stints as a research and teaching assistant.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Lots and lots of revisions. All of my friends hate me for making them look it over. Repeatedly. And then again. But I'm fairly happy with the way they are turning out. Specificity and fit is the key.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): Two glowing recommendations from professors I worked close with, professional reference is not as strong because I was only at the internship for two months.

Other: If you're banging your head on the desk repeatedly because you don't think you're qualified enough for graduate school, keep on trucking.

[Siya210]

Program Applied To(MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP

Schools Applied To: HKS, CMU-Adelaide, NUS (Singapore), Sanford

Schools Admitted To: CMU-Adelaide

Schools Rejected From: None yet

Still Waiting: remaining

Undergraduate institution: Top in India

Undergraduate GPA: NA

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): NA

Undergraduate Major: Economics

Graduate Major: Economics

GRE Quantitative Score: 800 (94%)

GRE Verbal Score: 660 (94%)

GRE AW Score: 4.5 (67%)

Years Out of grad school (if applicable): 3.5

Years of Work Experience: 3.2

Describe Relevant Work Experience: More than three years for an infrastructure research company.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): It has taken me a long time to write the SOP. Overall, I think it effectively communicates why public policy, and builds a story which is both genuine and strong. My only trouble seems to be in incorporating a more conversational style, as opposed to the more "report" style I am accustomed to.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): One is from a very renowned economist (academic) and two from work. While the work are, in all probability, very strong and detailed, I am not sure about the academic one since it has been very long since I left Grad school and did not really stay in touch.

Other Comments: Overall I think I have a very strong application, but some of my grades in important courses will not compare well to the high US grades. Also, the 4.5 in AWA GRE (I don't know how!!!) won't exactly work in my favor.

[Crumpets]

How many have submitted HKS apps? And anyone doing Wagner before the Reynolds deadline??

I know this is old, but I submitted HKS and did Wagner before the Reynolds deadline. Now onto scholarship essays for HKS!

[compost&recycle]

I know this is old, but I submitted HKS and did Wagner before the Reynolds deadline. Now onto scholarship essays for HKS!

Crumpets,

I only looked briefly at HKS's scholarship e-mail. Looked a bit overwhelming. Did you figure out yet which of those we automatically will be considered as part of our application and which require separate applications?

[bdkk185]

Program Applied To: MPA

Schools Applied To: WWS for Field IV (seriously, I was going to apply to more, but I'm already a grad student and these things take a lot of effort. also, it's really only worthwhile to go in my situation - when i'm already working on another degree - if I can get solid funding, and I haven't heard glowing things about SAIS and HKS funding, so I prioritized WWS).

Schools Admitted To: --

Schools Rejected From: --

Still Waiting: WWS

Undergraduate institution: unknown liberal arts school

Undergraduate GPA: 3.76

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.9ish?

Undergraduate Major: Biochem & Polisci

GRE Quantitative Score: 770

GRE Verbal Score: 740

GRE AW Score: can't remember

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): graduated May '08

Years of Work Experience: 2 full-time in DC, plus lots of volunteer / internship type experiences domestically and abroad

Describe Relevant Work Experience: consulting firm with nonprofit clients - not super applicable, but still solid professional experience. i think the volunteer stuff has been more applicable.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): adapted from others I've written which have always seemed to do well, not a whole lot of new material in it.

Policy memo (WWS): thought it was kind of fun, got to do research on something I was interested in! Had two friends review this (more than my SOP)

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): one from undergrad professor/mentor, one from work supervisor, one from current professor/work supervisor. likely strong overall, but I haven't had letters from two of these before so it's hard to say.

Other: current masters student in epidemiology/global health at a top school of public health. no econ background in undergrad, and relatively little math, but my current program has a strong stats/quantitative component. applying to complete both programs as a joint degree - I think they'd compliment each other nicely.

[smerd]

Program Applied To MPP/MPA (depending on the program)

Schools Applied To: Wilson (MPA), Kennedy (MPP), LBJ (MPA), Ford (MPP), Goldman (MPP), Georgetown (MPP)

Schools Admitted To:

Schools Rejected From:

Still Waiting: All of 'em

Undergraduate institution: Top 5 lib arts

Undergraduate GPA: 3.5

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.65

Undergraduate Major: PoliSci/Econ

GRE Quantitative Score: 780

GRE Verbal Score: 720

GRE AW Score: 6.0

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 4

Years of Work Experience: 4

Describe Relevant Work Experience: Year of service in my area of policy interest, and now 2.5 years of progressively more substantive policy/legislative work in DC

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Hmm, by comparison, how can I tell? I haven't read anybody else's! I worked on it for about 4 months obsessively writing and rewriting, so I think it was decent. I felt good about it by the end, and I tailored it slightly (about 10% change) for each program. But who knows?

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): Feel very good about 2 of them, and the third could very well be good, but I'm not positive.

Other: I applied right out of undergrad to a couple of these schools and got rejected from both. In retrospect: thank god. I had little idea what I actually wanted to do, and these few years out of school have been fantastic. I would highly recommend against applying before working in the real world for a little bit. Worst case scenario, you spend a year or two having an adventure before getting back to academia. These are your early 20s--do things, have fun, rack up experiences!

Edited December 24, 2010 by smerd

[jb08]

Thanks for the words of encouragement compost&recycle (and sorry for the late reply). Like you suggested, my only reason for not applying to GSPP was b/c I'm trying to focus on schools in the Midwest and East Coast. I was definitely impressed by their program.

jb08, not sure if it makes you feel better, but my verbal GRE score is way below yours (500). Granted, I am not a native English speaker but 570 is not all that bad.

With a 5.0 AWA score I would not worry too much. For MPP/MPA programs, the quantitative score is more important anyway. Plus, the admissions committee will see your writing skills in the personal statement, so as long as you express yourself clearly, you should be just fine.

I was curious why you did not apply to GSPP. No interest in the West Coast or is it program related?

Best of luck to you!

[Crumpets]

Crumpets,

I only looked briefly at HKS's scholarship e-mail. Looked a bit overwhelming. Did you figure out yet which of those we automatically will be considered as part of our application and which require separate applications?

I think I'll be applying to three that need essays. Well, we'll see how that goes.

[Benefactor]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): A bit of everything, actually

Schools Applied To: WWS MPA, HKS MPP, SPPD MPA, SAIS, Yale IR, Ford MPP, Duke MPP, Cornell MPA, Brown MPP, Georgetown MA (Strategic Studies).

Schools Admitted To: None yet

Schools Rejected From: None yet

Still Waiting: N/A

Undergraduate institution: UNC System

Undergraduate GPA: 3.43

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): Approx 3.40

Undergraduate Major: International Business Admin.

GRE Quantitative Score: 780

GRE Verbal Score: 750

GRE AW Score: 5.5

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 3

Years of Work Experience: 3

Describe Relevant Work Experience: Temporary work with federal government, volunteered with non-profit org. and city government.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Work experience, clear goal in mind for what I want to study. Good fit with all the schools I applied to.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): I dunno...I guess the fact that I think all my LOR writers are really relevant to what I'm applying for.

Other:

Edited December 27, 2010 by Benefactor

[legs]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP and MPAffairs

Schools Applied To: Berkeley GSPP, HKS, WWS, USC SPPD, Texas LBJ, UCLA, Michigan Ford, Georgetown

Schools Admitted To: None yet

Schools Rejected From: None yet

Still Waiting: Very much so

Undergraduate institution: Ivy

Undergraduate GPA: 3.3

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): Little lower

Undergraduate Major: Econ & History

GRE Quantitative Score: 720

GRE Verbal Score: 670

GRE AW Score: 4.5

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 4.5

Years of Work Experience: 4.5

Describe Relevant Work Experience: I work on Wall Street -- it's a very quantitative, analytical, and highly demanding job, but clearly not policy. I'm looking to make a career change, so we'll see how they view my experience. My volunteer work is public service related in the social/poverty related area I want to focus on.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I think I describe why I want to change careers well and why I want to study policy. Probably a little light on the exact area within domestic social/poverty policy I want to focus on (still figuring that out).

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): No academic references, which could really hurt me, but the 3 I have know me well and are all very flattering, in that they describe me as a go-getter who has made a big impact. 2 are previous bosses from work, one is from the charity I volunteer with.

We'll see...

[kyeulsa]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP

Schools Applied To: UCB GSPP, HKS, UM Ford, UChicago Harris, Duke Sanford, Georgetown PPI, USC SPPD

Undergraduate institution: Top 30 Private

Undergraduate GPA: 3.3

Undergraduate Major: Public Policy

GRE Quantitative Score: 720

GRE Verbal Score: 770

GRE AW Score: 5.0

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 5 by fall 2011

Years of Work Experience: 4ish by fall 2011

Describe Relevant Work Experience: 1 year Fulbright research grant followed by one semester of employment at the host university as a TA/RA, 3 years as a policy analyst (now senior policy analyst) at a large DC non-profit.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I work on them for a while - then trash them and start over the day that they're due. I think they've been good, regardless, but not exceptional. I try to tailor the content to the school and the program.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): 1 from director of the policy program at my college, 2 from my current employers. Haven't seen them but think they're all great.

[poiuytrewq]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP/MPA

Schools Applied To:HKS(mpp), UCLA(mpp), USC(mpa), Cornell(mpa), Syracuse(mpa)

Undergraduate institution: an international univ

Undergraduate GPA: 3.75 (major 3.9/4.0)

Undergraduate Major: international relations

GRE Quantitative Score: 780

GRE Verbal Score: 610

GRE AW Score: 3.5

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 0 directly apply as a senior univ student

Years of Work Experience: 0

Describe Relevant Work Experience: No full-time working experince, but have several internships: conducted a project in India as an international volunteer for slum children educational fund raising; project manager in a small foreign NGO in China, interned in another two local NGOs in China. And tons of volunteer experience.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): i talked about some experinces in the field in sop, and explained my commitment to NGO and my understanding to the cross-sector collaboration.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): 1 from my dean, a brief but good one; 1 from my formal prof, a HKS alumni, a very strong rec to prove my study ability; 1 from my Holland supervisor in an NGO i worked for, a detailed and strong one.

Questions: 1. I havent taken any economic, maths or statistics classes in univ at all. and my quantatitive background is only my 780 GRE q score. will that be enough?

2. My AW score... ...will it be a big problem during my application?

3. No full-time working experience--can my internship experinces compensate for that? THX!

[latamstudent]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP/MPA

Schools Applied To:HKS(mpp), UCLA(mpp), USC(mpa), Cornell(mpa), Syracuse(mpa)

Undergraduate institution: an international univ

Undergraduate GPA: 3.75 (major 3.9/4.0)

Undergraduate Major: international relations

GRE Quantitative Score: 780

GRE Verbal Score: 610

GRE AW Score: 3.5

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 0 directly apply as a senior univ student

Years of Work Experience: 0

Describe Relevant Work Experience: No full-time working experince, but have several internships: conducted a project in India as an international volunteer for slum children educational fund raising; project manager in a small foreign NGO in China, interned in another two local NGOs in China. And tons of volunteer experience.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): i talked about some experinces in the field in sop, and explained my commitment to NGO and my understanding to the cross-sector collaboration.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): 1 from my dean, a brief but good one; 1 from my formal prof, a HKS alumni, a very strong rec to prove my study ability; 1 from my Holland supervisor in an NGO i worked for, a detailed and strong one.

Questions: 1. I havent taken any economic, maths or statistics classes in univ at all. and my quantatitive background is only my 780 GRE q score. will that be enough?

2. My AW score... ...will it be a big problem during my application?

3. No full-time working experience--can my internship experinces compensate for that? THX!

Regarding question number 2, I have the same doubt....Is a low AW score a big concern for universities?

[seahawk2k]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MEM (Master of Environmental Management) and MSES/MPA

Schools Applied To: Indiana University (MSES/MPA), Arizona State University (School of Sustainability), Duke (MEM), University of Michigan, UCSB

Schools Accepted To: Indiana University (haven't heard from the rest)

Undergraduate institution: state university

Undergraduate GPA: 3.9

Undergraduate Major: environmental studies, nonprofit management, general business

GRE Quantitative Score: 720

GRE Verbal Score: 610

GRE AW Score: 4.5

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 0 directly apply as a senior university student

Years of Work Experience: 0

Describe Relevant Work Experience: Internship at county environmental protection division, independent research, research project through city and university

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I felt like I explained my experiences strongly, but maybe my career goals were not super specific

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): 1 from my supervisor at my internship, 1 from a professor who I worked with on an independent study, and 1 from my research mentor

[Nimesis]

Did anyone who applied to Berkeley get any kind of email over the past week or so confirming receipt of all application materials? I was told by the admissions office they would be sending out confirmation emails over the "next few weeks", and that was on December 1st.

[compost&recycle]

Nimesis, I have not received any e-mails from Berkeley either. Now that I think about it, I am starting to worry since I did not check in with them either. For some reason I just assume that the programs will notify one when items are missing. I just called HKS because a couple things were noted as incomplete (even though they are not) and they said to check back later since they are still catching up with all the applications. That said, I almost feel like I am adding more work to the admissions offices by calling instead of letting them figure out what is missing at the end.

Anyone have more insight on this?

Did anyone who applied to Berkeley get any kind of email over the past week or so confirming receipt of all application materials? I was told by the admissions office they would be sending out confirmation emails over the "next few weeks", and that was on December 1st.

[Nimesis]

Nimesis, I have not received any e-mails from Berkeley either. Now that I think about it, I am starting to worry since I did not check in with them either. For some reason I just assume that the programs will notify one when items are missing. I just called HKS because a couple things were noted as incomplete (even though they are not) and they said to check back later since they are still catching up with all the applications. That said, I almost feel like I am adding more work to the admissions offices by calling instead of letting them figure out what is missing at the end.

Anyone have more insight on this?

I guess I'll just wait and see what happens because I'm sure they were out of the office for the holiday break and they're just getting to the apps now. I feel like bothering them a lot with admissions questions is going to give you negative attention in the application process so I don't really want to contact them.

[Thecaptain789]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MIA, IR (International Development)

Schools Applied To: SAIS Idev, SIPA MIA, Fletcher MALD, Yale IR, Fordham IPED, Georgetown SFS

Undergraduate institution: Large US public university

Undergraduate GPA: 3.89 (Major: 3.92)

Undergraduate Major: Spanish/Philosophy

GRE Quantitative Score: 760

GRE Verbal Score: 650

GRE AW Score: 5.0

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2.5

Years of Work Experience: 2

Describe Relevant Work Experience: Peace Corps, international business internship in Argentina (7 months), international business internship DC (3 months), lots of college organization leadership and volunteer, Spanish teacher

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): All so far (Fordham, SIPA, SAIS, Yale) were written very last minute, as in finishing at 10:55 for the 11pm deadlines. I wasn't able to start on the essays until very late, although luckily the rest of the applications (i.e. scores, transcripts, etc.) were already done awhile ago. That being said, I think I wrote strong SOP's with a lot of passion, very specific on my career/study interests and with a very unique story and background. Overall, the last minuteness of the writing which surely had some mistakes probably counter-balanced the overall good content, so I would say they're probably about average. Still have Tufts and Georgetown to go, so I'm going to hopefully spend some more time on those!

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): On these, I definitely didn't think enough into them. I should have been on this board wayyy before last week! I don't doubt that they are good recs, but I only talked extensively about my passions and goals with 2 of them and my one professor really didn't know me very well. So, these were probably overall average as well.

[DeathBeforeDecaf]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPA/MPP

Schools Applied To: American, UGA, Northeastern, and GWU

Undergraduate institution: Top 25 private college

Undergraduate GPA: 3.14

Undergraduate Major: Anthropology

GRE Quantitative Score: 730

GRE Verbal Score: 680

GRE AW Score: Unknown now (probably 5-ish)

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 1

Years of Work Experience: 1/2 - 1

Describe Relevant Work Experience: Internship with park service, fairly respectable work study positions, high school tutoring and a lot of retail. Currently, I'm a bookseller at B&N, and I tutor twice a week. It's been tough getting a paid internship while in college and getting a decent job after graduation. Probably put in over 100 job applications by now.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Honestly, it took me awhile to realize what I wanted to pursue. Deciding on a Masters program would have undoubtedly been easier if I had had more relevant work experience. Thus, I'm trying to downplay my pessimism and lack of work experience. Focusing more on my 4 undergrad seminar projects related to policy, and the influence of my comrades in park service. In college, I co-ran a student group, and began a series of highly successful "Human Rights Coffee Houses" focusing on development and health issues. Primarily, each SOP is tailored to the schools their destined for, so there's a lot of diversity between them, since the four schools I want are a bit diverse in terms of program criteria/location.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): I have two from profs and one from my current supervisor. All will be outstanding. Unfortunately, I was late to one prof's 9am classes more than once. I don't know if he noticed or if he will mention that.

[Energizer]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP

Schools Applied To: GSPP, WWS, HKS

Undergraduate institution: IIT Delhi (one of the better engineering universities in India)

Undergraduate GPA: 9.1/10 (Summa Cum Laude)

Major GPA: 9.6/10

Undergraduate Major: Engineering Physics

GRE Quantitative Score: 800

GRE Verbal Score: 700

GRE AW Score: 4.5

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2

Years of Work Experience: ~2

Describe Relevant Work Experience: worked with the Planning Commission of India for almost an year, co-authored a couple of policy papers and a book chapter. Involved with the NATCOM document preparation or the Government of India.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Took over 6 weeks - got inputs from a former HKS professor. Highlights my background (rural) and commitment towards provision of energy services for the poor in developing countries.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): Physics professor - should be solid; former HKS professor - super solid; a former Manager: should be solid

Questions: Hoe much of a handicap would the work experience thing be? I've undertaken courses in economics and policy (Calculus was aplenty - thanks to my Physics major). Would it make more sense to wait for an year even if I get offers?

[nightjars]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPA, MPP, MA - All environmental policy concentrations

Schools Applied To: George Washington, University of Delaware, UC-Denver, William & Mary, George Mason, VCU (may apply)

Schools Admitted To:

Schools Rejected From:

Still Waiting: All

Undergraduate institution: Top private liberal arts college

Undergraduate GPA: 3.39

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.6

Undergraduate Major: English, Rhetoric

GRE Quantitative Score: 680

GRE Verbal Score: 540 (Ouch, not a great standardized test taker)

GRE AW Score: 5.0

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2.5

Years of Work Experience: 3+. I worked retail jobs and on-campus positions in the communications departments during undergrad to help cover books and living costs.

Describe Relevant Work Experience: After graduation I took on admin roles within the insurance industry and eventually worked under an estate planning attorney handling paralegal/admin tasks for him. I now work as a jack-of-all-trades admin manager at an engineering firm, where I assist with project management, edit proposals, write articles on energy conservation, and handle general office management. Although this work experience is not relevant per se, I felt fortunate to have full-time employment, and I've been able to take on projects that utilize my analytical/writing strengths.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I've been revising my SOP for 7+ months and feel pretty confident that it competently illustrates my background, developing interests, and strengths. A few colleagues reviewed my SOP for me and also think it's very strong.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): Honestly I don't expect anything remarkable out of my LORs. I was fairly introverted in undergrad and only had one professor from whom I took multiple classes, so that professor is writing my academic LOR. I do volunteer work (communications, newsletter work, and grant writing) with a local environmental non-profit and the director agreed to write a LOR for me. The last LOR comes from a former employer (attorney) who knows me very well both professionally and personally. So nothing negative but nothing standout.

Other: As a side note, I'm only applying to programs with concentrations in environmental policy since ultimately that is the area in which I want to find a career. Although my GRE scores and GPA are relatively low compared to the rest of people on this board, I have a well-stated SOP which clearly explains why I've chosen environmental policy and what I want to accomplish. No Duke or Indiana applications simply because I'm attempting to find full funding (or as close as possible) with hopefully an assistantship. Not willing to take on a lot of debt, but we'll see how it goes.

[just4u1530]

Hi Energizer

Have you applied to WWS MPP programme. As far as I understand, you need to have minimum 7 years experience before you apply to MPP programme..or is it that you're aiming for MPA..

all the best..

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP

Schools Applied To: GSPP, WWS, HKS

Undergraduate institution: IIT Delhi (one of the better engineering universities in India)

Undergraduate GPA: 9.1/10 (Summa Cum Laude)

Major GPA: 9.6/10

Undergraduate Major: Engineering Physics

GRE Quantitative Score: 800

GRE Verbal Score: 700

GRE AW Score: 4.5

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2

Years of Work Experience: ~2

Describe Relevant Work Experience: worked with the Planning Commission of India for almost an year, co-authored a couple of policy papers and a book chapter. Involved with the NATCOM document preparation or the Government of India.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Took over 6 weeks - got inputs from a former HKS professor. Highlights my background (rural) and commitment towards provision of energy services for the poor in developing countries.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): Physics professor - should be solid; former HKS professor - super solid; a former Manager: should be solid

Questions: Hoe much of a handicap would the work experience thing be? I've undertaken courses in economics and policy (Calculus was aplenty - thanks to my Physics major). Would it make more sense to wait for an year even if I get offers?

[fishpoo]

Regarding question number 2, I have the same doubt....Is a low AW score a big concern for universities?

I can't speak for most of the schools, but the GWU app didn't even have a space for me to put my unofficial score. This is just a guess, but I imagine this would be more important for international applicants, and less so for US citizens.

[Energizer]

I am sorry -- it is the MPA program indeed

Hi Energizer

Have you applied to WWS MPP programme. As far as I understand, you need to have minimum 7 years experience before you apply to MPP programme..or is it that you're aiming for MPA..

all the best..

[SubjectNotebook]

Nimesis, I have not received any e-mails from Berkeley either. Now that I think about it, I am starting to worry since I did not check in with them either. For some reason I just assume that the programs will notify one when items are missing. I just called HKS because a couple things were noted as incomplete (even though they are not) and they said to check back later since they are still catching up with all the applications. That said, I almost feel like I am adding more work to the admissions offices by calling instead of letting them figure out what is missing at the end.

Anyone have more insight on this?

Hey,

I called the HKS AdCom too (about my incomplete file) and they told me to check back after the 15th. I'm going to call in today or tomorrow to figure things out if the file still says incomplete. The SPARKS portal is down now.

Do let me know if you hear anything.

I agree - I don't want to burden the Admissions office, but I'm anxious about the application!

Sarayu