Grad school strategy

[USF_Rockstar]

Situation: I'm graduating next month and I'm looking at MPA & MPP programs. The earliest I can reasonably begin graduate school is January 09. Between now and then I intend on studying for and taking the GRE probably in August and September.

Goal: Get into the best school I can and graduate as soon as possible.

Plan 1: Apply to graduate school soon so I would begin in the spring... Work at an applicable job between now and January. Hopefully that work experience would help my admissions chances since I currently have no relevant work experience. In this case I would apply to all schools and enroll in one in the Spring.

Plan 2: Same as above except I don't apply to my choice schools. The reason is because I'm less likely to be admitted and less likely to get funding. In Plan 2 I would enroll in a good school or a safety school, take spring classes, then apply to transfer to my choice schools to begin in Fall 09. This way I waste no time and I'm somewhat more likely to get into a choice school.

Plan 3: Work all of next year and apply to begin classes in Fall 09. This way I'll have more work experience which would hopefully look better on an application, but that would mean sitting out an extra semester.

Which sounds like the most logical route to choose in order to reach my goal? What else should I take into consideration?

Thanks!

[Nofia]

If it were me, I'd say plan 3. Dont underestimate the amount of time you'll need to get a good application together, writing a solid SOP, a good writing sample, preparing for GREs, etc. and getting three good LORs from professors. Also, working for 4-5 months is much less impressive or useful than working for a year (or more)...and unless you go into the job with your employer knowing you plan to leave, they'll be mighty annoyed that they bothered training and employing someone for so short a period of time (unless its an internship or something, that's obviously different). I imagine if you're planning to go into a job in your field now, when you finish with your masters you're not going to want to have burned any bridges in the field. A year goes by quick, and the wait ultimately won't hold you back--it might be helpful even, since you'll have some practical experience, a sense of assurance that you are on the right path and a little time out of school.

[anese]

I second the third strategy, in fact, if you are looking at MPA/MPP, I would consider even two years off to three. You gain an amazing amount of perspective during that time off and the work experience will make you much more competitive with other applicants.

[rising_star]

Plan 3. MPA/MPP programs look for work experience in applicants. Get some, then apply.

[walrus314]

Hey Rockstar.

I saw you responded to the link I posted. I wanted to tell you that I graduated from the Kennedy School at Harvard with an MPP and the site has some good indicators for getting into some great programs like Harvard, Berkeley, and WashU.