The Election's Effect on Applications

[linden]

Okay, I will start off by admitting that I am looking for any reason to anguish over my applications to public policy programs. But, as I watched the cheering crowds on Election Day, a wave of panic overcame me: All those excited youngsters are going to want to go into public policy programs!

I know I am exaggerating. But, I am worried about the "Obama effect" increasing the competition for entry into public policy programs. Those of you still in school or working in the United States, do you get the impression that some individuals who were not previously planning to get a policy degree now want to pursue one? (I am outside of the country and have no way of gauging what the impact of this will be on applications to public policy programs.)

Linden

[jaw17]

I actually think that the demand for MPP/MPA degrees will go down in the short-term, since all the young policy-minded U.S. citizens are descending on Washington en masse in the vain hope of working in the transitional Obama administration. For those folks, the opportunity cost of sitting out the next few years on the graduate school sidelines seems pretty high.

Think about the analogy to MBA programs, for example: when the economy is flush, everyone was enjoying their i-banking salaries and bonuses, but when it starts to tank they all figured that graduate school was preferable to the unemployment lines...

[Cornell07]

Well, as someone who just finished working with the Obama campaign, though many of us are applying for transition jobs, most are applying directly to grad school because it will be awful going from having so much power and responsibility on the trail (running local/regional field offices) to being recently minted undergrads in paper pushing jobs.

[linden]

Thanks for the responses. You both make some good points.

I guess I am not so worried about the effect of former campaign workers applying. After all, I imagine graduate schools would want some diversity in their classes, and admissions committees are not going to fill an incoming class with campaign workers. I guess I am more concerned about other students--with varied experiences and backgrounds--being inspired to apply to MPP/MPA programs because of the present political climate and the excitement that the election seems to have created among the nation's youth. (But, again, being outside of the country and far from a university campus, it is hard to gauge.)

It would still be interesting to hear other comments. Nevertheless, I guess I must remember that this--like so many other aspects of this application process--is out of my hands.

Linden

[sosh]

I think there will be a glut of new grad school apps, including at policy schools. It will be from the horrible economy, not Obama winning though.

[linden]

In case anyone was wondering, here is the awful truth. (I am hoping that 80 is a typo, though.) I know it's unrelated to the election, but it speaks to the increase in applications.

"As a result of the financial crisis, [Kennedy School Dean] Ellwood said, the school anticipates a sharp rise in domestic applications for next year, citing an 80 percent increase in applications for the Kennedy School

[younglions]

I'm optimistic that most of that jump has come from job-seeking MBAs who have decided to add on the MPP in the face of weakening job prospects and anticipated growth in public sector spending.

I'm sure there will be a jump in MPP/MPA/IR applications, but not 80%.

[linden]

Younglions:

I was hoping the same thing. Other schools have said that their applications have not increased. Despite the economic crisis, I am surprised to hear that KSG is registering an 80 percent increase. But, we also have to remember we have spent more than a year preparing our applications, as have many others on this board. Our applications should be stronger than those of an applicant who cobbled his or her application together in a matter of weeks. I hope, in any case.

Linden