Rutabaga Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 I can state for a fact that both of you are more qualified than the average applicant for AU and GWU's MPP programs at least. At least in regards to your stats.
younglions Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 I know what you mean about the wait. I just want it to be mid-March already. I've gone through the gradcafe results from the past two years, and it seems like the first school that I might hear from is Chicago. Anyone already filled out their FAFSA? I'm waiting for my former employer to get me my W2. I think there are some others here applying to Harvard MPP. Do you know if our FAFSA has to be submitted by the February 6th scholarship application deadline? I suppose I could e-mail them, but I've already asked them a bunch of questions regarding scholarships and don't want to burden them with any more.
younglions Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 Also, just thought of a topic to keep us busy. Do you have any programs to which you regret not applying? Mine would definitely be Berkeley GSPP. I always considered it, but got scared away by a perceived lack of funding. Really, I didn't apply to anywhere that I didn't think could offer me at least some assistance. Besides having a great program, with a reputed strong quantitative curriculum, Berkeley is right next door to my favorite city in the United States--San Francisco. Similarly, I've had pangs of regret for not applying to SAIS. The reason was once again the paucity of funding going to first years. During university I lived in D.C. for a few months and I loved it... it wouldn't be a bad place to spend two years at a top notch school. Ultimately those two were my last cuts. I applied to six schools, and although I would have shelled out more cash for applications, I was reluctant to ask my recommenders to write two more letters.
linden Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 younglions: The FAFSA does have to be in by the Feb. 6 deadline. Nevertheless, the MYFAID page indicates that if you don't have your W2, you should fill out the FAFSA with estimates from pay stubs and then update the FAFSA once you have filed your taxes. Linden
policy_applicant Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 Mine would definitely be Berkeley GSPP. I always considered it, but got scared away by a perceived lack of funding. This was less of a concern for me since I'm a California resident, so it's already a pretty good deal without funding. I visited the school in September and sat in on two classes. The campus is amazing, and the Goldman School's 2-building nook is tucked away cozily in the southeast corner. The professors and students both seemed positive about the program and both were very kind and accessible. That said, the admissions person I met with said they only provide funding to the top third of acceptances, and all packages are only for the first year. If I could do it all over again, I probably would have applied to Duke and U of Chicago. Both seem to have really strong quantitative focuses. It would have been tough to make cuts from my (admittedly long) list, though.
younglions Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 I applied to U Chicago... Duke was one of my last cuts. Since I am a Peace Corps (PC) alumnus, I looked for some programs that offer assistance to PC folks. Duke offers one of the most generous packages, around 14,000 per year, but I ultimately decided to take my chances at U Chicago--they offer a scholarship for PC volunteers, although it seems more selective. Targeting PC scholarships, I ended up applying to Harvard MPP, Chicago MPP, and CMU MSPPM. Of that list only CMU guarantees aid, albeit a small amount.
younglions Posted January 18, 2009 Posted January 18, 2009 Somebody posted an acceptance to one of the schools to which I applied: Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Public Policy, Masters Accepted via Website on 17 Jan 2009 A 16 Jan 2009 with scholarship - GPA 3.66, GRE Verbal 690/Quant 730 Are you around here? When did you submit your application? I submitted mine in the middle of December, and it's still not complete. Seems like they received a large number of applications. Any other CMU hopefuls? Any results yet? Although it's generally considered a step below the big names, it offers one of my favorite programs--a two year split between Pittsburgh and DC.
Dreams Posted January 18, 2009 Author Posted January 18, 2009 Just a quick comment on CMU. It is a phenomenal program. I know two people who graduated from there with the MSPPM degree and I have to say they are among the best analytical thinkers I have ever seen. One of those people is my former boss. She attributes the program with helping her to pick even the most daunting policy issues apart.
Geetha Posted January 20, 2009 Posted January 20, 2009 Hi, I've an undergrad degree in Information Technology and have applied to Brown MPP program.What are my chances???? Also,can someone tell me the expected GRE score for this program??Thanks.
younglions Posted January 20, 2009 Posted January 20, 2009 GRE scores are, at best, a tertiary factor in public policy admissions. Also, nobody can tell you what your chances are with the information you gave us. However, if you're an undergrad without relevant work experience, it will be difficult to be accepted into many of the more competitive programs. Despite Brown's ivy league status, its MPP program is largely unknown. It is only a few years old and has yet to establish a reputation for either quality or mediocrity. I assume you will get a decent education given its parent university, however, it takes years to attract top notch professors and build a large alumni base for graduates to exploit. Don't forget, we're not exactly learning rocket science here. These degrees have as much instrumental value as they do constitutive, if not more. If your degree won't afford you the contacts and "prestige" that its cost commands, it might be better off looking elsewhere. That said, I think I read somewhere that Brown offers decent financial aid packages to some of its admits. If you can get in with funding, I think it would be a very good option.
Geetha Posted January 20, 2009 Posted January 20, 2009 Thanks for the reply. I've an GRE score of 1200 and an undergrad GPA of 3.6 I also have one year experience in programming. I'll explore other options too.
splic Posted January 21, 2009 Posted January 21, 2009 Has anybody here applied to Columbia's new MPA in development practice? I'm a law graduate (GPA 3.5) with 4 years of WE as a journalist. GRE scores are 770V, 760Q. Do I have a shot?
policy_applicant Posted January 21, 2009 Posted January 21, 2009 Has anybody here applied to Columbia's new MPA in development practice? I'm a law graduate (GPA 3.5) with 4 years of WE as a journalist. GRE scores are 770V, 760Q. Do I have a shot? I have not. But with the law degree, those GRE scores and the work experience, I imagine it'll come down to your SOP and having a compelling reason for wanting the degree.
40404 Posted January 22, 2009 Posted January 22, 2009 About 60 more days until we first get word of acceptances and rejections! Certainly better than the 90 that remained when I submitted my applications a month ago, which by the way, have still not been marked as complete by some schools. I hope that doesn't mean that applications are up this year. I guess I'll make the leap and post my profile. I am an econ grad with a 4.0 and departmental honors for outstanding student my last two years in university. I took the GRE two times (also applied to graduate school when I first graduated university) and the second time ended up with 790 / 770 / 5.5. I was in the Peace Corps for two years, and had two internships with big players in the development community. I also TA'ed for some upper division econ courses while in university. Honestly, I think I have a good chance at most schools to which I applied. I expect a majority of my applications to be accepted, with funding from at least two or three (hopefully more). I only applied to schools that I know I would be enthusiastic to attend. Although I prefer some schools over others, ultimately a big factor in my decision will be where I can study while maintaining my financial flexibility to pursue a low-paying public service career. These degrees aren't exactly income changers. Three years ago I applied to American SIS, LSE MPA, and Geneva HEI for masters of international economics. I got in everywhere, but decided that I'd rather get some experience with the Peace Corps before making a commitment to graduate school. Hi Younglions...I saw HEI from the internet. What's their reputation? Is it highly regarded? I think its centrally located being in Geneva and all.
younglions Posted January 22, 2009 Posted January 22, 2009 HEI is actually called something else now... "The Graduate Institute of International Development". As you said, it is located right in the center of Geneva, next to lake and across the street from the UN and other various international institutions. Here's a better look: http://graduateinstitute.ch/corporate/p ... us_en.html I applied for what is essentially a masters degree in international economics. Being a European school, all the syllabi are posted on the website, along with problem sets for some courses--at least they were two years ago. For the economics concentration, the classes seemed to be at a masters level in econ (that is more mathematically rigorous than the core courses you would see at a SAIS or SFS), possibly comparable to something you might see at the Harvard MPA/ID program. When I applied three years ago, I was also accepted into the LSE Masters of Public and Economic Policy and American's International Economic Relations program. Among these three, I decided that I liked HEI the most. It seemed like a lot of the economics students were working across the street at the UN, WTO, etc. Also, the students in the program are EXTREMELY impressive, at least according to the short bios listed on the website: http://graduateinstitute.ch/economics/faces.html . One of the big pluses for me was the opportunity to pick up French while living in Geneva for a couple years. One of the big negatives was living in Geneva. Although the setting is beautiful, I heard almost uniformly bad things about the city from like-minded young people: expensive, pretentious, and boring. Even though the tuition is something ridiculously cheap--like $6,000 a year when I considered going--two years in Geneva would hurt the wallet, especially with limited part-time employment options. Moreover, I asked a former supervisor at USAID what he thought about the school, and he didn't have much of an impression but mentioned that he thought it might be a training ground for European diplomats. If you check out the "faces" page I linked above, you'll see only three Americans in the international economics program. With such a limited amount of US students, the career network stateside is likely limited. All things considered, its a great option if you're willing to forgo the more US-centric career services department available at comparable US institutions. If I had the choose between LSE, American, and HEI/Graduate Institute again, I would pick HEI/Graduate Institute. Very few, if any, US programs offer a comparable pathway into the big-time international institutions. Hope I was helpful.
linden Posted January 22, 2009 Posted January 22, 2009 Does anyone know when we can expect to hear from Georgetown GPPI?
policy_applicant Posted January 22, 2009 Posted January 22, 2009 Does anyone know when we can expect to hear from Georgetown GPPI? From the Results Search, it looks like as early as early to mid February. Does GPPI have rolling admissions? I submitted my application in late October, so if they do, I should hear on the early side.
Dreams Posted January 22, 2009 Author Posted January 22, 2009 On a side note, I just read an article talking about WWS dean Anne-Marie Slaughter's decision to step down for a position at State. She will remain on the faculty though.
policy_applicant Posted January 22, 2009 Posted January 22, 2009 On a side note, I just read an article talking about WWS dean Anne-Marie Slaughter's decision to step down for a position at State. She will remain on the faculty though. This seems to be a not uncommon theme. I actually breathed a little sigh of relief that Obama didn't tap Robert Reich for a position, since I am looking forward to taking his class next year (assuming I'm admitted to Goldman).
traveler06 Posted January 23, 2009 Posted January 23, 2009 I just discovered this website. I've been driving myself nuts during the application process for these programs. It's neat to see so many other people interested (although I must admit that it's a bit intimidating seeing some of your stats!). I'm looking at many of the same schools as you all, but I'm refraining from visiting until I know the results. I applied to Brown, KSG, NYU, WWS, Maryland, AU, GW, GPPI, GMU, Duke, CMU, LSE, and JHU. I'm worried about my quant score because its a bit lower than all my practices were. Must've made some mistakes. I tool Calc III, Stats, and two econ courses in college with all A's. Do you know if they value your transcript more than the GRE score? I'll be patiently waiting just like everyone else!
mpp2011 Posted January 23, 2009 Posted January 23, 2009 Traveler - Relax. I'm applying to many of those same programs, and if you have decent work experience, essays, and recommendations, I think you'll do quite well. Your Q score is slightly lower than average for schools like KSG, GPPI, and WWS, but yes, I get the sense that your transcripts are more important than your GRE, especially for a recent graduate. The fact that you got As in Calculus III and those other classes, and graduated SCL and PBK, is very impressive, and should more than offset any worries over the Q score. I think the folks who posted their stats in this thread - yourself included by the way - represent the far right end of the bell curve. I'm guessing that a lot of you will be getting into your top choices in a couple of months. Best of luck!
Rutabaga Posted January 23, 2009 Posted January 23, 2009 I know that the GW apps have gone to the committee for review at least based on email exchanges with the dept.
linden Posted January 23, 2009 Posted January 23, 2009 Thank for the info, Rutabaga. Let's hope they make up their minds soon (as in, before the weekend starts ) so that we can have something (I hope!) to celebrate. Speaking about GWU, does anyone care to share their impressions of the program? How is it perceived in DC? And, if you had to pick between American's MPP and GWU's MPP, which one would you select?
Rutabaga Posted January 23, 2009 Posted January 23, 2009 I'm at GW now for the MPP and I seriously love it. The program has treated me really well and the professors I've had to date have all been engaging (with the exception of 1 that's easy to avoid). The main difference between the 3 programs (AU, GW, and Gtown) is the graduation requirements. GW for example doesn't have a thesis, they have a capstone where you actually go out and use your skills in the community. Also some programs require more quant than others. My impression is also is that people in DC thing well of GW. There are alumni in a lot of pretty nice spots downtown.
policy_applicant Posted January 23, 2009 Posted January 23, 2009 Edit: I contacted GSPP recently about sending an updated resume (I just got promoted!), but she said the committee was already reviewing applications. The process is underway! (Makes me more nervous...which I didn't think I could be) ...and now I'm nervous, too. I've recently been really getting my hopes up about GSPP.
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