MPP/MPA - Final Decisions

[bmb7z]

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): UVA; UMD (grad cert)

Previous Degrees and GPA's: BA, Politics, GPA 3.0; Public Health Information Systems, GPA 4.0

GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 700+V, 600+Q, 5.5W

Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 6 years (4 at U.S. Department of Homeland Security as policy analyst, 2 at DC area think tanks-performance management and health care). Possess security clearance.

Math/Econ Background: Math - none since high school. Econ - basic Micro/Macro.

Foreign Language Background: Fluent Spanish, Passable Italian and French

Projected Field of Study in Grad School: MPA/.MPP

Long Term Professional Goals: Get out of DC for good. Intel analyst, city manager, or academia.

Schools Applied to & Results:

Accepted: UCONN, UMD, W&M, UGA (only applied to these 4)

Ultimate Decision & Why: UGA. Ranking impressed me, and the visit sealed the deal. Great folks. Was considering W&M due to $ offered, but couldn't passs up on UGA based on interactions.

So -- Does anyone have any insight into the UGA program? Loved the visit, but I'm curious that few people on this forum applied there. I may be the outlier -- already in the security game and looking to change it up a little bit. Plus, I'm looking forward to leaving DC. What do people know about the program's reputation? Any insight into why more folks aren't considering this program (despite is #4 ranking)?

Thanks!

[nclex]

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Small liberal arts college in Virginia, top tier

Previous Degrees and GPA's: BA - Journalism and Mass Communications, 3.23 GPA

GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 580(v) 670(q) 4.5(aw)

Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 3 yrs work experience, 2 working in communications/marketing for small nonprofit

Math/Econ Background: Some Calculus and Econ in college, about 4-6 courses total.

Foreign Language Background: Spanish 1 yr college

Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Nonprofit management, social policy

Long Term Professional Goals: Nonprofit in field of poverty alleviation or some health-related field, or NGO

Schools Applied to & Results:

Accepted - Brown (MPP), American (MPA), New School/Milano (Urban Policy Analysis and Management), NYU/Wagner (MPA - PNP), Texas/LBJ (MPAff), CMU/Heinz (MSPPM)

Ultimate Decision & Why: CMU/Heinz - It came down to Heinz or NYU and ultimately I decided that I liked the smaller size of Heinz and the heavy emphasis on skills/quant. There aren't quite as many classes geared specifically towards nonprofit management, but I think the skills and tools CMU will provide me with make it easy to move into whatever field I desire. Heinz also provided me with more money than NYU and cost of living is significantly lower in Pittsburgh. I feel like I will have an opportunity to really stand out in the smaller classes and have closer relationships with my professors at Heinz than I would have had I gone to a larger school.

Any advice to Future Applicants? Definitely don't discount any school, or choose a favorite for that matter, before you visit and really talk to students and professors. I was positive that I would be attending LBJ because I loved Austin and just had a great feeling. When I went to visit, I was very underwhelmed by the program and was definitely thrown for a loop in terms of making my decision. On the other hand, I wasn't particularly drawn to Heinz before I visited, but I ended up being really impressed by the students and the opportunities there, and I think I will receive a really top notch education there.

[drgunjansrivastava]

Hey Nimesis

I guess most of us are done with the critical part of making the decision and are nearly certain which school to join !!!

With Wagner' deadline of Apirl 15th already over..I guess , all those who intend to join...can raise their hands ...

Count me in , I shall be joining Wagner' MPA :Health Policy and Management.

Look forward to knowing more of you...we are going to be potential classmates !

And ya..there is a lot more to discuss yet..right from I20 processing to accomodation..phewwwwwwwwwwww..NYC is complicated and EXPENSIVE !!!

Lets figure out things together....what say?

Best,

Dr.Gunjan Srivastava

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Lots of people on these forums solicited help on making their decisions, but not enough people have posted about where they ultimately have decided to go. Since the April 15th deadline has passed, I'm sure many of you have made a decision. I'd like to hear where other people ended up going and why, so I'm bumping this thread.

[ched]

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Huge public school from the UC's

Previous Degrees and GPA's: Cell Biology, B.S.- GPA: 2.79 Relevant Coursework: Not sure..

GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): V: 530/Q: 650/AW:4.5

Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): Lots of volunteer-type community work, but also a good amount of leadership in these orgs. Also, Microfinancing/business training internship and been working at a small private academic publisher

Math/Econ Background: My math is pretty strong - Did really well in calculus. Not so well in econ, but I took it my first couple years of undergrad and was totally unfocused. I should have really taken them again before applying..

Foreign Language Background: Fluent in Spanish

Intended Field of Study in Grad School: MPP with a focus in economic development, possibly social entreprenuership.

Long Term Professional Goals: No idea... ?

Schools Applied to & Results: Accepted: UMN (accepted), JHU, NYU (accepted), U of Wash(accepted), Ford (waitlisted), Syracuse (denied), Columbia (denied), GWU (denied).

Ultimate Decision & Why: Johns Hopkins. I was pretty set on going to the East Coast and its unfortunate how big a factor funding was. I really wanted to go to NYU, but it was not feasible financially. Also, I was actually unimpressed with their program. I felt like I was going to be an undergrad all over again in 100+ classes. Even my electives would have been relatively large classes. The faculty were really amazing, but I could sense that their administrative staff were very outstretched (they would either take forever to answer my emails, or not answer them at all). I felt unwanted there. When I visited Johns Hopkins, I was given a really great tour of the city and the policy issues its been facing over the years. While I'm not super enthused about its timing, one of the very first classes you take is doing a project related to the City of Baltimore in trying to identify ways to make the city better--would be nice if we had more training before going into this class, but it still seems great. I really like that the programs seems invested in the city. I felt needed at Baltimore, and I felt like the education I would get was going to be more useful than in NYU. I'd be able to have a better connection with faculty.

Any advice to Future Applicants? I came from a biology background and I was sincerely worried that I was not going to get in anywhere. I was very surprised. I think that as long as you understand the field and know what you want to accomplish after graduating, you have a pretty good shot. Just make sure you have decent grades in econ and math (and if you dont retake those classes!) and that you have the experiences they are looking for and tie it all together in your personal statement. Show that you are committed to the field and back that up with the experiences and emotions you have felt over the years about the problems you want to address, and what you have learned about yourself about these experiences.

[CC139]

So I deleted my previous post because in an unexpected turn of events in the end I was offered a better aid package at Maxwell, so the decision became obvious: I'll be joining Maxwell. Hope to see you there.

[Crumpets]

I actually got a scholarship at HKS (one of the essay-based ones) I was totally shocked, but that made my decision super easy: Cambridge here I come!

[kyeulsa]

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Top 25 liberal arts college

Previous Degrees and GPA's: Public Policy Analysis, 3.4-ish

GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): V: 770, Q: 720

Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): Three years at a DC non-profit, previously Fulbright Scholar (5 years out of college).

Math/Econ Background: Did econ in college but no math other than stats (Did calc in high school)

Foreign Language Background: Advanced Mandarin Chinese and French

Intended Field of Study in Grad School: MPP with a focus on international energy/environmental policy

Long Term Professional Goals: Public sector, work at an international organization like the World Bank in the environment area - applied sustainable development

Schools Applied to & Results: Accepted: Duke Sanford ($), GPPI ($), UMichigan Ford ($), UChicago Harris, USC (full tuition). Rejected: HKS, Berkeley (the dream).

Ultimate Decision & Why: Duke Sanford. Every option was great but none was perfect. I wanted to get back to an academic setting and really focus on being a student for a while, and Sanford offered what I was looking for: small classes with a lot of camaraderie, strength in my field (Nicholas is well-known in enviro communities), well-balanced curriculum, and a totally liveable environment.

Any advice to Future Applicants? Turns out the hardest part of the whole process can be making the decision. I wish I had sat down in the beginning of the process and written down what it was I wanted to achieve by going back to grad school (specific skills? just checking the box on the resume? internships?) so that I could refer back to that. Also, perhaps, writing down your thoughts about the specific schools. I also got too hung up on rankings when I couldn't make my decision - I think, though, that there are really just the good schools and the less good schools, and that's the only difference worth paying attention to. Beyond that, if you're looking at the top tier programs, focus on what you want to get out of it. It can be really hard to maintain perspective, but really, this is just 18 months of your life. The grad degree paves the way for the first job after you graduate, but it's not going to make or break your career, so relax!

[poisondoux]

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Middle tier engineering school in India, Pursuing MA in econ along-with work

Previous Degrees and GPA's: Engineering (3.7), Econ (3.6)

GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): V: 540, Q: 720, A - 4.5 (I know i screwed it up, but i didn't have enough time to prepare due to some very important work commitments)

Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 14 months as an analyst at a sales and marketing consultancy, 2.5 years as a researcher at a non-profit research based public advocacy group.

Math/Econ Background: Decent Math background thanks to engineering,

Foreign Language Background: Hindi

Intended Field of Study in Grad School: MPP with a focus on international energy/environmental policy

Long Term Professional Goals: Public sector, work at an international organization like the World Bank in the environment area - applied sustainable development, or work at a think tank such as the World Resource organisation.

Schools Applied to & Results:

Accepted: Cornell ($), NYU Wagner, UMD ($)

Rejected: WWS, Duke, Penn State Phd program (low GRE scores was the reason cited by Penn State)

Waitlisted: Yale.

Ultimate Decision & Why: UMD. My first choice certainly was WWS. However, I am really happy UMD. Firstly, I have got a great funding offer that would really make my life easier. Secondly, UMD has many research groups working on issues related to global climate change and energy. In fact I also corresponded with the faculty and found them to be warm. I know for a fact that they are very talented and have been doing good research in the fields I am interested in. And since I have a GA, I can make the most of it by working with such research groups and faculty. And to add to the pros, it is close to DC and some of their environmental courses are conducted at the EPA. Thus offering enough exposure and taking care of the networking bit.

Any advice to Future Applicants? START EARLY, as early as possible. Look at all possible schools, go through the faculty interests, correspond with them if required, make an excel sheet putting in the pros and the cons of each program, weigh them well and decide on the top 6-8 programs. No point applying to 12 different programs. Wastes time, energy and MONEY! And finally make an excel sheet with information about deadlines, requirements(GRE, SOP, Recos) etc and keep a tab on it. I almost missed my NYU deadline! :\ All the best!

Edited April 29, 2011 by poisondoux

[tj19]

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Top 10 Southern Regional University

Previous Degrees and GPA's: BA, 2.8

GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 600/620/4

Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): Part-time during school year and summers, 4 years.

Math/Econ Background: Statistics minor, GIS minor

Foreign Language Background: None

Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Policy Analysis, Program Analysis

Long Term Professional Goals: Work in the emergency management/disaster response field

Schools Applied to & Results: Accepted: American, Georgia State, George Mason, University of Maryland -- Baltimore County, University of Texas-Dallas, Appalachian State. Rejected: University of Delaware

Ultimate Decision & Why: American. Received no money anywhere, and American isn't that much more expensive than my other admits, but is probably the best school.

Any advice to Future Applicants? Apparently, ignore the GPA and GRE minimum scores if you really want to apply. Many of the schools I was accepted at gave the clear impression that they wouldn't even consider my below-3.0 GPA. But a good statement, good references and a clear history of involvement in the field helped overcome that.

[PKSkull]

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): University of Denver (#80 in US News College Ranks)

Previous Degrees and GPA's: BA in Public Policy, Political Science

GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 600/640/5.0

Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): Just campaign internships and staffing leadership programs for teens.

Math/Econ Background: 1 Stat and 2 Econ classes as an undergrad. Not my strong suit.

Foreign Language Background: English, some Hebrew and Dutch

Intended Field of Study in Grad School: MA Public Policy (MPP)

Long Term Professional Goals: I want to begin my career in policy analysis, and then move into either developing, lobbying, or advising on policy in either Education or Foreign affairs.

Schools Applied to & Results: American (SPA) MPP, University of Denver (IPPS) MPP, George Mason MPP, George Washington MPP, Maryland MPP.

Ultimate Decision & Why: Still deciding between AmericanU and and UDenver (have been admitted to both MPP programs).

Any advice to Future Applicants? Work hard on you personal statement, but don't fret about GRE scores. As you can see mine are very mediocre but I was still able to get into very good MPP programs. Think about where you want to work after grad school, and apply to schools in that area -- that's always the best way to ensure that you get a job where you want one.

[abogs78]

Applying to 10-11 schools does not necessarily mean people are exceptionally paranoid. Unfortunately, especially for folks who are international students, our admissions rate into top schools in the US is lower compared to domestic students. The ration is about 60% to 40% of the entire student body or in some cases 80% to 20% in favor of the domestic student body that are eventually admitted so we (international students) have it really tough and we have to compensate for that by applying to more schools to increase our probability/chances of getting into at least one or two schools. We all have our reasons for applying to so many schools and it does not necessarily have to do with anything related to been paranoid. Thanks Peace in the Middle East!

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Small private university

Previous Degrees and GPA's: BS in Political Science, minor in History, GPA: 3.78

GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 640V, 730Q, 6AW

Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 3 years, working in various health related non-profits/organizations

Math/Econ Background: Calculus 1 & 2, Elementary Stats, Intro to Microeconomics (both taken at community colleges after graduating, I would highly recommend doing this if you're applying to Berkeley, Harris, WWS, or the other really quantitatively oriented programs)

Foreign Language Background: None

Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Health Policy, Education Policy

Long Term Professional Goals: I want to work in the public sector in SF or the Bay Area either at the local, state, or federal level. Probably in health policy, but I'm open to other areas as well.

Schools Applied to & Results: UC Berkeley GSPP (MPP, Accepted, $$), USC (MPP, Accepted, $$$), UCLA (MPP, Accepted, $), UT Austin LBJ (MPAff, Accepted, $$$), UW Evans (MPA, Accepted, $$)

Ultimate Decision & Why: UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy. This was my dream school all along, I wasn't sure whether I would get in, and when I did it immediately became my top choice. Visiting the program beforehand and then also visiting at the Open House cemented my excitement for the school and I was blown away by the quality of the program itself, the faculty, the career services, and the group of people in the cohort both already in the program and entering. My ultimate goal is to live and work in the Bay Area (preferably in SF) and Berkeley is my ticket to achieving that goal. I was deciding between Berkeley and USC in the end, and I feel that both programs are very strong, but USC doesn't have the same level of prestige/brand as Berkeley, and the campus itself just isn't as exciting. As a political science major I really feel that I need to boost my quantitative skills to boost my future job prospects, and I feel very strongly that GSPP will provide me with that and more. It also doesn't hurt that their placement rate is extremely high (with estimates of 90-100% by the summer following graduation). Regardless of whether that is exaggerated or not, I feel like I can't go wrong going to the best public school in the world.

Any advice to Future Applicants? Start the process early and approach it with a holistic approach, because the elite schools will also judge you holistically for the most part. If you have a strong GPA that's great, but you can always offset that with good work experience or GRE scores or other parts of your application. Make sure you put together the best package you can. I felt like having at least 3 years of work experience was really beneficial for me, and allowed me to get into all the programs I applied to. As I said before, if you are applying to the heavily quantitative programs like Goldman, Harris or WWS, I would recommend taking calc, stats, and econ to boost your credentials. Do not be concerned if a certain piece of your application is weaker than others, just make sure you appear well rounded to the admissions committee. Reach out to professors and/or work supervisors so you can cultivate relationships which will result in stronger letters of recommendation. As far as studying for the GRE, I would recommend focusing heavily on vocab and I personally found the ETS CD they send to be a good resource because its practically the only way to gauge how you will actually do on the test with computer adaptive conditions in effect. Doing paper problems doesn't give you that same experience. Lots of people on these boards applied to 10-11 schools, but I feel like 5-6 is a good number, unless you're exceptionally paranoid. Whether you apply to 5 or 15, at the end of the day its likely to come down to 2 choices or so, so what's the point of having all those extra options cluttering your decision-making process? I would also recommend visiting the programs either before or after the application process, because there's no replacing the actual experience/understanding of a program you get from visiting personally. You will get a strong sense of the quality of the program and the career services/support staff by visiting. If you are unable to visit, then having these forums around as a resource is invaluable. I've kind of rambled on here, but hopefully what I've said so far can serve as a good starting point for future applicants.