anxiouslywaiting Posted February 26, 2009 Posted February 26, 2009 A professor I spoke with at Berkeley also lamented the students' idealogical homogeneity. It made me briefly (and unseriously) consider posing as a Republican to increase my chances of admission. Tell me about it. Last fall I was applying for a summer internship at the State Dept which I knew would be read by the transition team for whoever ended up winning the presidency. I really wanted to talk about my work on the Obama campaign because it was very relevant to the position, but worried that my political affiliation could hurt me, so I ended up referring to my experience with "a presidential campaign". As it turns out, it wouldn't have been a problem, but I got the job anyway so its all good. I wonder if they take a more nuanced look at candidates rather than categorizing them as democrats or repubs. My interests aren't among the traditional liberal issues like development and human rights, so perhaps that's a mitigating circumstance...
Cornell07 Posted February 26, 2009 Posted February 26, 2009 Tell me about it. Last fall I was applying for a summer internship at the State Dept which I knew would be read by the transition team for whoever ended up winning the presidency. I really wanted to talk about my work on the Obama campaign because it was very relevant to the position, but worried that my political affiliation could hurt me, so I ended up referring to my experience with "a presidential campaign". As it turns out, it wouldn't have been a problem, but I got the job anyway so its all good. I wonder if they take a more nuanced look at candidates rather than categorizing them as democrats or repubs. My interests aren't among the traditional liberal issues like development and human rights, so perhaps that's a mitigating circumstance... Tell me about it. I am a dem and OFA alum, but I am interested in international relations and conflict resolution, which isn't quite as clear on party lines as certain other issues. I do admit, however, to having somewhat liberal views on the people with whom we should conduct diplomacy, what and when various intervention methods should be used, and so on. Oddly enough, despite my primary interest in these matters, for my policy paper, I wrote about an issue involving trade barriers and agricultural subsidies, because it's what I've been researching and instructing college policy debaters in for the past half a year.
mpp_hopeful Posted February 27, 2009 Posted February 27, 2009 I think you'll be fine, actually. Harvard is actively recruiting Republicans--in fact, in one admissions information session, one of the current students joked that he felt like it was the first time something like affirmative action worked for him. It was a joke, of course, but something to think about. So on top of your financial industry/regulator experience/government experience, that WH line on your resume is going to look great. I'm just hoping someone at Harvard admits me so they have someone to debate the issues with in class .
dagger Posted February 28, 2009 Posted February 28, 2009 Just curious, has anyone still not gotten their official GW acceptance letter? I was admitted on the 5th, but still have not received anything through the mail. Do you think I should contact the program?
mpp_hopeful Posted February 28, 2009 Posted February 28, 2009 Just curious, has anyone still not gotten their official GW acceptance letter? I was admitted on the 5th, but still have not received anything through the mail. Do you think I should contact the program? Hey Dagger: I'm not sure if you're also on the GWU MPP GoogleGroup, but I believe Catherine (Admissions Office) said to contact her if you haven't received your official letter yet. If you need her contact information, send me a private message and I'll get it to you. Hope this helps.
dagger Posted February 28, 2009 Posted February 28, 2009 Hey Dagger: I'm not sure if you're also on the GWU MPP GoogleGroup, but I believe Catherine (Admissions Office) said to contact her if you haven't received your official letter yet. If you need her contact information, send me a private message and I'll get it to you. Hope this helps. If you could I'd appreciate that. I went ahead and joined the group as well (its pending). Thank you for the information.
mpp_hopeful Posted February 28, 2009 Posted February 28, 2009 If you could I'd appreciate that. I went ahead and joined the group as well (its pending). Thank you for the information. No problem. I just sent you a PM.
anxiouslywaiting Posted February 28, 2009 Posted February 28, 2009 So it seems like the deluge of decisions may be about to begin this coming week! The irony for me is that I have been checking my email and Grad Cafe zillions of times a day even though I knew there was pretty much no chance I would hear anything before March. Now, when I probably will start hearing back, I am going to Mexico for 10 days so probably won't be able to check email often and certainly won't be able to check the post. I am holding out hope that GSPP might notify on Thursday (before I leave) since last year they sent some emails out on the first Thursday in March. However, they seem to send some decisions over email and some via postal services over the course of about two weeks, which is just strange. I'm guessing that GSPP and SIPA will be this upcoming week and then WWS and KSG the week after (at least for those lucky enough to be accepted!) I'm really looking forward to just hearing from all these places. I feel like I've been waiting forever!!!!!!
riz1 Posted March 1, 2009 Posted March 1, 2009 So it seems like the deluge of decisions may be about to begin this coming week! The irony for me is that I have been checking my email and Grad Cafe zillions of times a day even though I knew there was pretty much no chance I would hear anything before March. Now, when I probably will start hearing back, I am going to Mexico for 10 days so probably won't be able to check email often and certainly won't be able to check the post. I am holding out hope that GSPP might notify on Thursday (before I leave) since last year they sent some emails out on the first Thursday in March. However, they seem to send some decisions over email and some via postal services over the course of about two weeks, which is just strange. I'm guessing that GSPP and SIPA will be this upcoming week and then WWS and KSG the week after (at least for those lucky enough to be accepted!) I'm really looking forward to just hearing from all these places. I feel like I've been waiting forever!!!!!! I'm nervous as hell. I applied to school this year because I realized what I wanted to do after 11/26 [Mumbai]. So lining up all my ducks and setting everything straight was difficult when deadlines were around New Year's or mid-Jan. I've been in the private sector for a while, but my job was neither what I went to undergrad for nor what I really wanted to do. It was just a way to sustain myself while I figured out what really drives me. Now I know what that passion is, and I've tried to act upon it by researching schools and applying to the programs that have the most to offer me, but I'm afraid that if I don't get into school this year, I'll be in for a LONG and nerve-wracking year before I can apply again. To compound my anxiety, my company just went through a round of layoffs and although I barely escaped this one, I don't think I'll be so lucky at the start of Q3. Does anyone have any sage words of wisdom they can share to help me calm my nerves? And no, a cigarette won't do the trick :wink: Thanks!
dagger Posted March 1, 2009 Posted March 1, 2009 Does anyone have any sage words of wisdom they can share to help me calm my nerves? And no, a cigarette won't do the trick :wink: A nice glass of bourbon.
anxiouslywaiting Posted March 1, 2009 Posted March 1, 2009 Although I agree that a nice glass of your favorite alcoholic beverage can be excellent for nerves, I think the great thing about the IR/Public Policy grad school process is that there are so many good programs. As long as you were wise in terms of diversifying your applications and you have decent qualifications, you should be able to get into (at the very least) a few solid programs. Beyond that, you should feel very good about realizing what you want to do in life, because now you're on a track to being much more fulfilled by what you're doing. Best of luck to you!
younglions Posted March 1, 2009 Posted March 1, 2009 March has come! March has come! Let the madness of graduate admissions commence! To celebrate, I'm taking the five hour bus ride down to Acapulco tomorrow for a couple days of relaxation on the beach. At least I hope there will be relaxation; I'm not sure if the college spring breakers are breaking yet.
golonghorns Posted March 3, 2009 Posted March 3, 2009 Just curious, has anyone still not gotten their official GW acceptance letter? I was admitted on the 5th, but still have not received anything through the mail. Do you think I should contact the program? I still haven't either!
dagger Posted March 3, 2009 Posted March 3, 2009 I still haven't either! I sent an e-mail off on Sunday night but have yet to hear. I'm getting particularly frustrated about it. I'd like to know whether or not I should be attending the admitted students day (funding would be a factor) and I need to respond by the end of the week. I think I'll wait it out two more days and call.
younglions Posted March 6, 2009 Posted March 6, 2009 It's officially Friday. According to gradcafe, the first acceptances for Georgetown MSFS came out the first Friday of March last year. Good luck to those awaiting a decision.
javajava Posted March 6, 2009 Posted March 6, 2009 Hello, SIPA-MPA has started releasing decisions too. I know there is another thread specifically for SIPA but just in case anyone was interested. Any thoughts on Fletcher-MALD vs SIPA-MPA and how the two compare, incidentally? I'm in at both and would love input from those with time on their hands (what with all the waiting!) My career interest is intl development - my focus is microfinance/microinsurance and other financial-related development interventions. Thanks for any advice suggestions!
Cornell07 Posted March 6, 2009 Posted March 6, 2009 It's officially Friday. According to gradcafe, the first acceptances for Georgetown MSFS came out the first Friday of March last year. Good luck to those awaiting a decision. By the same logic, Yale should release today.
console Posted March 6, 2009 Posted March 6, 2009 Hello, SIPA-MPA has started releasing decisions too. I know there is another thread specifically for SIPA but just in case anyone was interested. Any thoughts on Fletcher-MALD vs SIPA-MPA and how the two compare, incidentally? I'm in at both and would love input from those with time on their hands (what with all the waiting!) My career interest is intl development - my focus is microfinance/microinsurance and other financial-related development interventions. Thanks for any advice suggestions! If you're sure you want to get into development finance--and it sounds like you are--SIPA hands sdown. No question about it in terms of strength of program. Money is another issue though.
Rhymenoceros Posted March 6, 2009 Posted March 6, 2009 I'm currently in Asia and "brand name" is everything. Especially if you have Ivy League credentials - they go crazy for that stuff. Other programs might be better in terms of rankings and actual experiences, but if you want instant international credibility all you need to say is the name of an Ivy League school. It's sad, but true Example: My gf just applied for her MBA and got into one of the T3 schools in the nation (non-Ivy). However, a survey of international business leaders said they considered a Yale MBA to be 2nd only to a Harvard MBA. Yale MBA is generally considered to be perhaps the 15th best in the country; it's definitely nowhere near as good as Harvard, Columbia, Northwestern, Stanford, Univ of Chicago or INSEAD. Nonetheless, international business leaders love the Yale name and the MBA gets a boost in reputation simply because Yale undergrad is so good. We like to pretend like this stuff doesn't matter and to a certain extent in the US, it does not. But once you get outside the US, it's a completely different ballgame. The last thing you want to do is defend the relevancy of your degree and explain where you went to school. Keep this in mind when making your admission decisions. Think long & hard about where you want to end up in your career.
surrender Posted March 6, 2009 Posted March 6, 2009 Did anyone else go to the Texas A&M-Bush School interviews last weekend? They had about 80 people, and 55-60 get in, so the odds are pretty decent. However, I'm still nervous because I was a marginal candidate (terrible GPA, great GRE and recommendations).
linden Posted March 8, 2009 Posted March 8, 2009 I just read a message on another board ("Decisions, Decisions," I think), and a poster mentioned that master's degree programs do not necessarily abide by the April 15 decision deadline. Is this information correct? I was under the impression that this rule applied to master's degree programs. I have not received official letters from GWU and GPPI, and I have no idea of what their deadlines are.
younglions Posted March 8, 2009 Posted March 8, 2009 linden - Based on experience, I think it may be true, but I'm not sure. One school that I was accepted into requested a response by the end of next week. However, all I had to do (and another poster here too) was send a polite e-mail requesting a month extension so I could make a informed choice. They extended the deadline to 4/15.
linden Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 younglions: Thanks for info. Indeed, I remember that discussion a few weeks ago; I just assumed the school had made a typo. But, I see that I should contact my schools. Thanks!
thewaitinggame09 Posted March 10, 2009 Posted March 10, 2009 Did anyone else go to the Texas A&M-Bush School interviews last weekend? They had about 80 people, and 55-60 get in, so the odds are pretty decent. However, I'm still nervous because I was a marginal candidate (terrible GPA, great GRE and recommendations). I know a friend who went to the interview conference in mid-Feb. Anyways, I applied there but I missed the priority deadline. So I am waiting to here back from them in order to make a decision too. Did you apply for the MPSA or the MIA degree?
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