MPA/MPP/IR 2012 Applicants

[Helpplease123]

Just when I thought February would never end, we got the 29th! Oh well, the month of destiny is just about 12 hours away. I am going on a trip to London around mid-to-late-March, and I am going to be freaking out over the (relative) lack of internet access for sure!

We have internet here as of 2011!

Edited February 29, 2012 by Helpplease123

[DualCitizenIR]

We have internet here as of 2011!

Note the use of the word "relative". Here I get to check my email anytime with mobile data and wifi at home. While visiting your lovely city, I'll only be able to check once or twice a day.

[senatorsmith85]

Who here was furious when they realized it was going to be a leap year (and thus theoretically an extra day of waiting at some schools)?

[lecorbeau]

Who here was furious when they realized it was going to be a leap year (and thus theoretically an extra day of waiting at some schools)?

loved this.

[fenderpete]

oh god dude you mean this coming wendesday or thursday? not that i even stand a great chance at the aforementioned places but its going to be a bummer bc my psring break starts on friday!!

I'm just talking about the day. In terms of dates it looks like it's usually second week of March, so it's basically down to whether you think this week counts as the first week or not. I'd be inclined to think it'll be not next week but the week after.

That's based on nothing more than that 14-15 March matches up a lot more closely with past notification dates than 7-9 March. Gotta say I really hope it's next week though, I'll be in the field the week after so no internet, and the week after the 14th I'll be travelling to the USA so will similarly lack proper internet access for the duration...

[clover123]

lol! Some schools won't notify me until April 15th! This is going to be a long ass process for me. sigh

[charlotte_asia]

Based on the extreme stalkage I have conducted over the past two weeks, it seems there is a reasonable chance WWS might be next week.

GWU, American, SAIS, etc will likely be the following.

Edited March 1, 2012 by charlotte_asia

[kkdk]

Based on the extreme stalkage I have conducted over the past two weeks, it seems there is a reasonable chance WWS might be next week.

GWU, American, SAIS, etc will likely be the following.

Harris sometimes rolls out decisions to international applicants in the 1st week of March...

[DancesWithDogs]

Based on the extreme stalkage I have conducted over the past two weeks, it seems there is a reasonable chance WWS might be next week.

GWU, American, SAIS, etc will likely be the following.

ugh, im on holiday from work, but i just cant stop the 'stalkage'!!! for some reason pressing refresh doesnt send any messages to the internet gods!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fenderpete]

Good luck this week ladies and gents - hopefully we'll all hear something, and it'll be good news.

[DualCitizenIR]

Good luck this week ladies and gents - hopefully we'll all hear something, and it'll be good news.

Ditto fenderpete. I think everything lines up well with the survey for some good news heading our way by Friday! Can't wait for the week to begin... Best of luck to all.

[domnulsl]

And it began!!! Good luck everybody!!!

[kc10]

Full time lurker here....best of luck to everyone this week, and the next. I'll be rooting for you all as I watch the admissions results page.

Edited March 5, 2012 by kc10

[fenderpete]

I've found an admissions blog for Elliott School http://esiagrad.wordpress.com/:

Fun facts about the Fall 2012 Applicants:

We are past the deadline for applying to GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs. As you sit and wait, here are some fun facts about our applicants for Fall 2012.

• Over 2,000 applications were received
  
• 57% were female, 43% male
  
• The most common last names were Wang (17) and Smith (14)
  
• The most common first names include: Katherine/Catherine/Kathryn (27), Daniel and Jonathan (28), Andrew and Michael (26), Matthew (23), Christopher (22), and Sarah/Sara (22)
  
• The most common undergraduate institutions attended: GW (64), Georgetown (27), UCLA (22), University of Florida (20)
  
• Other than English, the most common languages spoken: Spanish (777), French (534), Arabic (318)
  
• Most common birthday: 10 applicants share October 8th as their birthday
  
• Happy birthday to 5 applicants born TODAY, February 17th!
  

Edited March 5, 2012 by fenderpete

[wasistdas]

i found that blog last week, interesting stats. 2,000 applicants is crazy, does anyone have the total applicant number for any of the other schools?

[domnulsl]

^^^ Interesting blog. "The most common last names were Wang (17) and Smith (14)." Ain't kool Elliott, I have the shortest last name in the world and they didn't even mention it. I might have to reject their rejection letter next week.

[mirandaw]

Has anyone applied to any MPP programs in Canada? I'm looking particularly for people interested in SFU's MPP program. The results page shows two acceptances so far this cycle, and I have got to stop desperately checking my email.

[espresso_eyes]

^^^ Interesting blog. "The most common last names were Wang (17) and Smith (14)." Ain't kool Elliott, I have the shortest last name in the world and they didn't even mention it. I might have to reject their rejection letter next week.

lol!!

[DualCitizenIR]

Wow! 2000 is crazy, but not that surprising when you consider that Korbel gets around 1000 applicants a year...

[greendiplomat]

A bit tardy to the party, but before we start getting responses...

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): various degrees focusing on international climate policy / environmental economics.

Schools Applied To: Columbia SIPA; Harvard HKS; LSE; Princeton WWS; Tufts Fletcher; Yale joint FES/IDE.

Schools Admitted To: --

Schools Rejected From: --

Still Waiting: All

Undergraduate institution: Top 5.

Undergraduate GPA: 3.3

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.5

Undergraduate Major: Economics; Environmental Science.

GRE Quantitative Score: 800

GRE Verbal Score: 710

GRE AW Score: 5.5

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2

Years of Work Experience: 2

Describe Relevant Work Experience: 2 years doing policy analysis / economics research at a leading environmental NGO, publishing research relevant to my field and representing the organization as an NGO observer at UN meetings. Relevant internships throughout college.

Languages: Fluent Japanese and French; intermediate Spanish.

Quant: Econ major, incl. math through Linear Algebra.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Since this is the second time I’m applying, I had a good 2 years to think about what to write and how to frame it. Overall, I think it was a strong essay, though, in retrospect, I think I spent a bit too much of the word limit on my background, which didn’t allow me to demonstrate the extent to which I had researched these programs.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): 2 econ professors, one with joint appointment w/ the policy school and the other with whom I did my senior thesis, plus one from a former Managing Director at my current workplace. Two of them showed me their recommendations, which were surprisingly glowing.

Other:

• Bumpy record in some key intro courses due to personal reasons, but I submitted a supplemental statement expressing my belief that I made up for that by excelling in upper-level economics classes.
  
• Applied straight out of college to the policy school at my undergraduate institution and got in (which is why my list is admittedly a bit reach-heavy).
  

Edited March 5, 2012 by greendiplomat

[sietval]

@greendiplomat: what do you mean by applied straight out of undergrad to the policy school THERE and got in?

[greendiplomat]

@greendiplomat: what do you mean by applied straight out of undergrad to the policy school THERE and got in?

Oh, my original post divulged where I went to school, but then I decided to conceal it (and thus the confusing phrasing in some areas). I meant at my undergraduate institution.

Edited. Maybe I should have had you read over my SOP for similarly unclear language?

Edited March 5, 2012 by greendiplomat

[AlphaDon]

Program Applied To (Masters in IR/IS): International Relations/Studies

Schools Applied To: Columbia SIPA; University of Washington Jackson School; Tufts Fletcher; NYU GSAS; American U School of Intl. Service; U of Chicago MA-CIR; Syracuse U; Georgetown; U of MD; University of San Fran.

Schools Admitted To: -- University of San Fran ($5000 scholarship)

Schools Rejected From: -- Syracuse and Georgetown

Still Waiting: All the rest

Undergraduate institution: Not very well known.

Undergraduate GPA: 3.2

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.2

Undergraduate Major: Political Science concentration in International Relations.

GRE Quantitative Score: 150

GRE Verbal Score: 152

GRE AW Score: 3.5

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 3

Years of Work Experience: 3

Describe Relevant Work Experience: Research internship at my university within the poli sci dept. Union organizer for 1 year. Various office positions within the state legislature.

Languages: Russian.

Quant:

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Very Strong.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): 1 - Chair of poli sci, 1 - senator, 1 - union VP. on a scale of 1-10 (10 being strongest) I would say that they are 8.5-9.

Any feedback would be great. I am especially curious about my chances for the UW program. Thanks to all and GOOD LUCK!!!

[KJ90]

I just got my decision from AU-SIS. Admitted for the MIA - Comparative Regional Studies Asia. Good luck to all who applied! Just a few more =]

[Paul Chung]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.) :MPP, Ph.D Public Policy

Schools Applied To: GSPP (UC Berkeley), George Washington, Univ. of Minnesota, USC, UCI (Ph.D in Planning, Policy, Design)

Schools Admitted To: GWU, UMN, USC

Schools Rejected From: UCI

Still Waiting: UC Berkeley

Undergraduate institution: TOP 10 Public School

Undergraduate GPA: 3.1

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate: 3.84 GPA (if applicable):

Undergraduate Major: Urban Planning/Economics

GRE Quantitative Score: 158

GRE Verbal Score: 157

GRE AW Score: 4

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):0

Years of Work Experience: 8 years in private sector including a 3 year run as an entrepreneur.

Describe Relevant Work Experience: The only policy related work experiences I've had are my internships during undergrad at the San Diego Housing Commission and research work. My private sector experience is mostly business related.

Languages: Korean, Spanish (I hope to be fluent by the end of Masters program)

Quant: Econ degree from a very quant demanding University.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): It was hastily written as if I was running into a deadline. However it's been conceptually written in my head for years. I've always known I wanted to get into policy work but I dropped out of college years back when I found lucrative private sector opportunities. To be frank, it's very difficult to go back to college when you make more money than mid-career graduate degree holding people make. On my SOP, I wrote about the personal experiences where I saw good (urban planning policies in Denver) and bad public policy (Access to Healthcare) in shaping my commitment to go back to college, complete my undergrad, turn my grades around, etc.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): I hope my professors were not as haste in writing the LOR. However I had personal relationships with all of them. I consistently engaged in thoughtful discussion. I sought out any presentation opportunity since I knew that public speaking would be something I had a leg up on my cohorts. I'm pretty sure if LOR's are a critical decision making factor in my acceptance, I'll be in solid footing.

Other: