MPA/MPP/IR 2012 Applicants

[commodus]

Program Applied To: IR, MPP

Schools Applied To: JHU (SAIS, MA), Columbia, Georgetown, Tufts, GWU, Harvard, Syracuse, Stanford, U Chicago, Southern CA

Undergraduate institution: Top 100

Undergraduate GPA: 3.714

Undergraduate GPA (last 60 hrs): 3.86

Undergraduate Major: History and Philosophy

GRE Quantitative Score: 660 (62nd percentile)

GRE Verbal Score: 730 (99th percentile)

GRE AW Score: 5 (81st percentile)

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 3.5

Years of Work Experience:3.5

Describe Relevant Work Experience: Taught English in Bologna, Italy, for 1 year. Worked for 1.5 years as a field worker with a human rights advocacy and conflict prevention NGO in Indonesia. Have worked a further 6 months with the same NGO as a consultant leading a project evaluation.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I have not started the SOP yet; nevertheless I intend to apply by the Jan. deadline to the above mentioned schools. I believe my reasoning for wanting to gain an MA in IR with focus on international economics is very sound and I will write a strong SOP.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): I have LORs from two undergrad professors (one in history, one in philosophy) and a letter from the INGO I've been working with in Indonesia, all of which are strong.

Question: Will my mediocre GRE quantitative score hold me back from the top tier IR schools, for example Johns Hopkins SAIS? Also, I took the GRE in August 2009, should I assume the schools will look at my scores under the previous score format regime?

Edited November 4, 2011 by commodus

[Grad_Nov]

Hi guys, would love some thoughts on my application chances:

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): IR/MPP

Schools Applied To: CIR, Yale Jackson, SIPA, MSFS, Fletcher, SAIS, UCSD

Undergraduate institution: Oxbridge

Undergraduate GPA: 3.6

Undergraduate Major: Law

GRE Quantitative Score: Yet to take but cautiously optimistic (practice tests Q750-800 V690-750)

GRE Verbal Score:

GRE AW Score:

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 3 by matriculation

Years of Work Experience: 2 mainly internships

Describe Relevant Work Experience: 6 month internship in Beijing law firm

3 month internship with international IP law firm

3 month strategy consultancy x 2

3 months policy internship - European work but based in London

6 months government internship (economic development)

2 months work in Bosnia

Worked as a lawyer in major US firm in London for 6 months before seeking career change

Got 3 major internships between now and matriculation

Languages: Urdu, French, Hindi, proficient in Mandarin and German. Learning Arabic

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Pretty good I feel, I can tell about my international experience and how it impacted me to change directions in my career. It ought to convey my desires for grad school effectively hopefully. But hoping for some SOP exchanges

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): Concern. 2 solid recs but 3rd one may be troubling. Prof is willing to write but hasnt responded to my requests to meet to explain my desire to change career paths. Also concerned that my LOR from work isnt gonna happen as I havent been able to get in touch with people who I have spent time with recently working (they have moved jobs!!)..might be an issue for SIPA at least but first choices are Yale or SAIS.

Other: As mentioned mainly work related LOR but hopeful I can ask for a LOR from my current internship but have only been there for 3 weeks.

I think I am aiming for the higher programs perhaps too ambitiously so desperate for some feedback. Thanks

Edited November 7, 2011 by Grad_Nov

[vegeta]

Regarding SAIS- I'm currently getting my certification in IDev from SAIS (part-time) and can say that the MA students are very sharp. Their backgrounds are anywhere from 2-6 years of very solid Int'l NGO work but few are from Ivy or super top schools.

Obviously there are a lot of international students as well but they tend to be older. From my experience, I'd make sure you're TOFL is pretty good because the readings are challenging for most Americans, so for those with less than perfect English, its clear that they struggle a bit in some classes.

My only constructive advice is discuss your post-grad plans with a lot of detail in your essays. Each school wants to make sure that their grads are employed soon after graduation and having a clear plan for that is essential.

As for your "chances", we're all on the board to hear a success story of someone like us but will probably not find it. As for the top schools, if they wanted, their entire class could be 800s across the board but obviously that is not the case. Don't be discouraged by the boards, most people are happy to share their experience but few of us really know what it takes to get in. Apply to enough safety schools to ensure you're in somewhere and you'll be fine.

-Long time reader, first post

[clover123]

Hi everyone,

Since I've been working on a few drafts for my SOP for MPA. I was wondering what you thought about going over the word limit? A friend of mine who's doing MPP at Harvard wrote a 3 page statement when they required only one. And same with another friend studying at NYU.

I'm assuming since they got admission they didn't care about the word limit? Although I've read otherwise and have been told that you need to stick to their limit provided by the particular schools?

Just thought I'd ask for your input

[MYRNIST]

Edited November 24, 2011 by MYRNIST

[gradapp916]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP/MPA

Schools Applied To: Columbia SIPA, NYU Wagner, Rutgers Bloustein, Princeton WWS, CM Heinz

Schools Admitted To: N/A

Schools Rejected From: N/A

Still Waiting: N/A

Undergraduate institution: Top Liberal Arts (affiliated w/ Ivy League)

Undergraduate GPA: 3.81

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): N/A

Undergraduate Major: Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures

GRE Quantitative Score: 610 (49%)

GRE Verbal Score: 660 (94%)

GRE AW Score: 4.0 (45%)

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2.5

Years of Work Experience: 1.5

Describe Relevant Work Experience: Two internships for non-profits where I honed my research and writing skills drafting reports on environmental issues (namely food and water security) in East and Southeast Asia.

Languages: Spanish, Mandarin Chinese

Quant: Statistics and Macro/Micro in the spring and summer

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I'm a good writer (despite what my AW score might suggest -- writing a first draft under pressure is, apparently, harder than it sounds) and have drafted a SOP that strongly articulates my interest in pursuing graduate study in public policy and why each school is a fit for me.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): They're solid. I have one LOR from my former thesis advisor who is familiar with my work from the two classes I've taken with him; another LOR from the program director of one of my internships; and a third from a former supervisor at my current private sector job to whom I reported before I was transferred to another department.

Other: I studied abroad twice -- 3 months in Beijing, and 6 months in Melbourne, Australia.

I'd appreciate some feedback on the competitiveness of my profile and whether or not I am applying to the "right" schools. I'm interested in environmental policy and will choose to specialize in that field at whichever program I get into/choose to attend. I should note that in SIPA's case, I'm actually applying to the one-year accelerated MPA in environmental policy, and not the regular two-year MPA.

Edited November 24, 2011 by gradapp916

[clover123]

Thank you so much!

I'm gonna stick to the word limit. lol

[DancesWithDogs]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP/MPA/IR/MEM

Schools Applied To: Columbia SIPA, NYU Wagner, UPenn SP2, Georgetown GPPI, Yale Jackson IR/MEM, Princeton WWS,

Schools Admitted To: SIPA($-0) + UPenn ($14k)

Schools Rejected From: N/A

Still Waiting: all the rest. I havent even completed my Wagner app yet! Yikes!

Undergraduate institution: CUNY

Undergraduate GPA: 3.83

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): N/A

Undergraduate Major: History and Sociology

GRE Quantitative Score: 700

GRE Verbal Score: 660

GRE AW Score: 3.5 dont ask me how....

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 4

Years of Work Experience: 5

Describe Relevant Work Experience: some is badass, some not so much. Admin work, Management work, Fulbright ETA, Started a non profit

Languages: Mandarin/Cantonese/Taiwanese Chinese (near fluent) and Swedish (elementary)

Quant: Micro/Macro, Precalc, Stat

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I laid out a plan of exactly what I want to do with my career (short and long term goals) and spent many hours praying. Lets see how it goes.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): I guess theyre good. It wasnt too hard, as the recommenders were real easy going and great (quick too!)

Other: Study abroad in China and Taiwan.

[kf888]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPA

Schools Applied To: Texas

Schools Admitted To:

Schools Rejected From:

Still Waiting:

Undergraduate institution: Texas

Undergraduate GPA: 3.73

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): Not sure but something similar.

Undergraduate Major: Theatre & Dance (I know, I know), Business Minor

GRE Quantitative Score: 750 (159)

GRE Verbal Score: 650 (163)

GRE AW Score: 4.5

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2

Years of Work Experience: 2-ish total

Describe Relevant Work Experience: Spent last full year of undergrad working practically full-time with a nonprofit devoted to cancer research. Then took a job in professional theatre management for a while, now doing an Americorps VISTA year with a literacy nonprofit. The concentration I'm interested in is nonprofit management.

Languages: French (intermediate), Norwegian (basic), Spanish (basic)

Quant: No background, pretty much. Had a business minor but only had to take microeconomics and management information systems as it relates to quant. Tested out of math in college for my degree. Will have to enroll in stats & calc at a community college before fall 2012 if UT admits me. That said, I'm good at math, just out of practice.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I feel like my SOP was a 4 out of 5. I talked (very clearly, I thought) about my nontraditional background and my experience in nonprofits up to this point. I also relayed my goals really clearly and connected it to why UT.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): 2 academic, 1 professional-ish. I had my college faculty advisor right one which I am sure is laudatory. Then I got one from the executive director of the nonprofit I worked for in college (that one should also be really good). The last one is from a college professor who taught me in a writing course but it's been a few years out so I hope she was able to make a good go of it. She and I always got along well so I think it will be fine.

Other: I am only applying to UT for a vast number of reasons. I'd considered Korbel a few times, and even UW, but what it ultimately came down to was how well the program fit what I needed/wanted out of a graduate education. And I'm okay with not getting in. If I have to apply again, it won't kill me. Of course, I hope I get in. Not sure what my chances are though really. Seems like a crap shoot to me, as I think some people might take one look at my undergrad major and balk outright.

[beefmaster]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): Middle East Studies / IR etc.

Schools Applied To: Fletcher (MALD), Georgetown (Arab Studies), George Washington (Middle East Studies), SAIS (Middle East Studies)

Schools Admitted To: 0

Schools Rejected From: 0

Still Waiting: All

Undergraduate institution: UK university

Undergraduate GPA: 1st

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable):

Undergraduate Major: History

GRE Quantitative Score: 145 :( :(

GRE Verbal Score: 154

GRE AW Score: ?

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2

Years of Work Experience: 3

Describe Relevant Work Experience:

2 years at NGO in the Middle East as a Programme Officer. Written proposals, gained funding, and implemented projects from funders such as USAID, MEPI, US Embassy, Irish Embassy, UK Embassy, Sawaris Foundation, National Endowment for Democracy, National Democratic Institute, Finnish Embassy, Swedish International Development Association, Germany Embassy, GTZ, UNDP, New Zealand Embassy, and the American Development Foundation.

Managed project budgets in the region of 15,000 USD - 500,000 USD

Following the 'Arab Spring' worked on capacity building for new political parties etc.

Travelled extensively throughout the Middle East (Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Palestine, and Egypt) and have spent time studying Arabic in both Syria and Egypt.

Languages: English (native), Arabic (working knowledge), French (limited knowledge)

Quant: Financial management of project budgets as describe above, will be taking intro macro and micro through the University of Oxford school for Continuing Education from Jan - June 2012

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Work and travel experience as described above.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): 3 professors from undergraduate institution who I took final year classes with and one of whom was my dissertation supervisor.

Anyone got any idea how I stand considering my terrible quant score? Should I even bother paying the fee and submitting my applications?

[dazedandfazed]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP/MPA/IR/MEM

Schools Applied To: Columbia SIPA, NYU Wagner, UPenn SP2, Georgetown GPPI, Yale Jackson IR/MEM, Princeton WWS,

Schools Admitted To: SIPA($-0) + UPenn ($14k)

Schools Rejected From: N/A

Still Waiting: all the rest. I havent even completed my Wagner app yet! Yikes!

Undergraduate institution: CUNY

Undergraduate GPA: 3.83

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): N/A

Undergraduate Major: History and Sociology

GRE Quantitative Score: 700

GRE Verbal Score: 660

GRE AW Score: 3.5 dont ask me how....

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 4

Years of Work Experience: 5

Describe Relevant Work Experience: some is badass, some not so much. Admin work, Management work, Fulbright ETA, Started a non profit

Languages: Mandarin/Cantonese/Taiwanese Chinese (near fluent) and Swedish (elementary)

Quant: Micro/Macro, Precalc, Stat

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I laid out a plan of exactly what I want to do with my career (short and long term goals) and spent many hours praying. Lets see how it goes.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): I guess theyre good. It wasnt too hard, as the recommenders were real easy going and great (quick too!)

Other: Study abroad in China and Taiwan.

hi , dude do u mean to say you have already heard back from Penn Fels?

cuz i applied 2 weeks ago and do they reply that soon?

[Fell4Ever]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MAAPPS, IR, Asian Studies

Schools Applied To: White Head School of Diplomacy (Seton Hall University), Masters of Arts in Asian Pacific Policy Studies (University of British Columbia)

Schools Admitted To: N/A

Schools Rejected From: N/A

Still Waiting: SHU, UBC

Undergraduate institution: Only American school in Japan

Undergraduate GPA: 3.83 (Not counting this last semester, hoping for all As, though an A- or B+ might sneak in here)

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): N/A

Undergraduate Major: Asian Studies (Poli Sci Minor)

GRE Quantitative Score: 155 (69%)

GRE Verbal Score: 161 (89%)

GRE AW Score: 5.0 (87%)

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 0, applying as Senior

Years of Work Experience: 0

Describe Relevant Work Experience: I tought English for a 7 months in Japan, and I've been a personal assistant for a major French Cosmetic company in the US, but I have no IR Work Experience. I got offered an Internship at the Human Rights Campaign, but had to turn it down because I can't afford to live in DC for 4 months. I also got offered an internshp for this Spring (semester after I graduate) for the Democratic Party in New Jersey. But these aren't on my resume or anything, so my schools don't know about them XD

Languages: English. Conversational in Japanese

Quant: Calculaus in College. No statistics outside of high school.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I'm not sure.To be honest, I made sure to write about my international experience and explain my love of social policy - and my belief that better cultural understanding leads to better policy. But you can never really tell with these things.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): One professor was my mentor for my Indepdendent Study on Comparative Feminism in Japan and the US. One is from a Professor who (kindly, made me so happy) told me I was the student who, in his 20 years of teaching, seemd to have the most Grad School potential. My last recommendation is from a Professor who's class I stood out in, but who didn't know me very well, and was then fired from the University for preaching anarchy...

Other: I spent roughly 2 years in Japan finsihing up my Undergraduate degree. My school is an American university - my degree is recognized in both the United States and Japan as "official", and I am a branch school of an established American university in Penn. Techncially I do not have "study abroad" experience because my school was abroad. I've been to 3 schools though. UVM for one year, dropped out because funding got cut off, then community college for a semester, then this school in Japan.

I was orgionally going to apply to 6 schools, but between money (applications so expensive!) and a change in heart, I'm only applying to these two. UBC is just fantastic - it mixes my love for Asian Studies with my strong interest in Policy Studies. If I get in, I MIGHT be able to afford living in Vancouver because of Stafford Loans. Seton Hall is interesting too because its a joint Asian Studies/Diplomacy, International Relations Degree... and the school si 30 minutes from my house and I can live at home! My plan now is to wait until I find out about these schools - if I get in, GREAT. If I don't, then I will try to find a IR/MPA job to gain some experience and start paying off my loans and will then re-apply to more grad schools once I've built up a better resume. If I can't find a job, its back to Japan to teach English for 2 years

I wish you all the best!

PS: Typing on an old computer with a sticky keyboard. Its quite possibly my "M" key doesn't work very well either. Sorry for any and all spelling mistakes.

[MPA455]

Program Applied To : MPA/MPP

Schools Applied To: HKS,WWS,SIPA,GWU,Yale

Schools Admitted To: N/A

Schools Rejected From: N/A

Undergraduate institution: Top school in West Africa (actually graduate degree I've got a master)

Undergraduate GPA: 3.3

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): N/A

Undergraduate Major: Economics/Statistics

GRE Quantitative Score: 750 (82%)

GRE Verbal Score: 610 (86%)

GRE AW Score: 4.0 (48%)

TOEFL: 107/120

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2.5

Years of Work Experience: 2.5

Describe Relevant Work Experience: Worked as an Economist for 1.5 years in the Cabinet of the Minister of Finance in my country. Then moved to DC where I've got another Economist position in one of the Bretton Woods institution, now working on moacroecon issues for african developing countries.

Languages: French, English, Russian

Quant: Advanced calculus and statistics.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Quite strong. I've been working on national wide development projects plus I am involved in some research. For being African, I have a special understanding of development issues.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): Strong. One academic, one from an Advisor to the Minister of Finance and one from an advisor in the institution I am now working in. They have all directly supervised my work.

Thank you!

[yo_yo86]

Long time listener, first time caller (man, that makes me sound old...)

Program Applied To: IR

Schools Applied To: GW (Elliott), Georgetown (SFS), JHU (SAIS), Syracuse (Maxwell), Texas (LBJ), Tufts (Fletcher)

Undergraduate institution: Ivy (transfered in)

Undergraduate GPA: 3.6 (Major: 3.8)

Undergraduate Major: Poli Sci

GRE Quantitative Score: 670

GRE Verbal Score: 610

GRE AW Score: 5.0

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 7 (non-trad; took 3.5 years off during school)

Years of Work Experience: 4.5 (excludes volunteer work and research abroad)

Quant: Microecon, Stats 101, will complete Macoecon before Fall 2012

Languages: Spanish (intermediate), Hindi (basic)

Describe Relevant Work Experience: Volunteered in Canada for 2 years. Research assistant for professor while in undergrad. Paralegal in NYC for BigLaw firm. Also conducting research and volunteering (on my own dime) in India, hoping to publish paper.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Solid. Lots of edits, yadda, yadda, yadda. We'll see...

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): Solid. No super stars, but one full professor (that is somewhat well known) from undergrad who oversaw my senior thesis and the prof I worked for. Also an attorney I worked with.

Other/Misc.: Not particularly strong GRE scores. I am currently in India studying Hindi and writing a paper. Really stressed India in my SOPs. Hopefully that helps. I am willing to sit this year out if nothing great comes along my way in April. Likely applying to law schools in 2012 (to start in 2013).

Edited December 14, 2011 by yo_yo86

[yo_yo86]

Beefmaster

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): Middle East Studies / IR etc.

Schools Applied To: Fletcher (MALD), Georgetown (Arab Studies), George Washington (Middle East Studies), SAIS (Middle East Studies)

Schools Admitted To: 0

Schools Rejected From: 0

Still Waiting: All

Undergraduate institution: UK university

Undergraduate GPA: 1st

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable):

Undergraduate Major: History

GRE Quantitative Score: 145 :( :(

GRE Verbal Score: 154

GRE AW Score: ?

Yikes on the quant score. Not one to talk, I know, but I would retake before applying. You have some decent experience, but that score may get your application tossed before it's even considered. Plus, another year of experience aboard can only strengthen your application.

[clover123]

Anyone heard of the online interview at CIPA?

I was asked to do one within the next 5 days. Have you heard anything about it?

[yo_yo86]

Grad_Nov,

I know you created a separate Yale IR thread, but if you're still checking I would say while you certainly have solid numbers (assuming you score as well as you think on the GRE) and good language skills, your work experience is a bit inconsistent (nothing more than 6 months). You may want to take a year (or two) and work at a job doing something relevant to demonstrate your commitment to the career change. Just my thoughts. Never hurt to apply, but you may get better results with some more experience.

[bkluttz]

program: MPA/MPP

schools applied to: syracuse, unc, duke, gwu, american

accepted: american

waiting on: syracuse, unc, duke, gwu, american

gre: 91st percentile verbal, 65 percentile math, 4.5 writing

under grad gpa: 3.8 -- political science UNC

desperately waiting to hear back. syracuse is my dream school but i'll take what money i can get for my relatively low gre scores. anyone know anything about syracuse decisions? thanks!

[agregg]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP, a few dual MPP/MIA programs

Schools Applied To: Berkeley, Michigan, Texas LBJ, Georgetown (applying to both MPP and MSFS), Chicago (applying to both MPP and MIA), Heinz-CMU

Schools Admitted To:

Schools Rejected From:

Still Waiting: All

Undergraduate institution: Emory

Undergraduate GPA: 3.55

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.79

Undergraduate Major: Political Science with a second major in music

(scored on new GRE scaling)

GRE Quantitative Score: 164 (91st percentile)

GRE Verbal Score:165 (96th percentile)

GRE AW Score: 164 (87th percentile)

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 0

Years of Work Experience: None

Describe Relevant Work Experience:Worked part-time for one year as a research assistant at the college's department of global health (mostly administrative work). Interned for a civil rights advocacy group in DC, a Ugandan newspaper (during study abroad), and an Atlanta-based international non-profit. Also volunteered full time for a summer with a refugee organization in Atlanta.

Languages:Spanish (definitely not fluent but working on it)

Quant:Took calculus 1 in high-school, which transferred to college credit. Introductory Micro (C+ during freshman year), introductory Macro (, Intermediate Micro (. Also got an A in a political science course in quantitative research methods.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):My one for Berkeley was terrible, kind of last minute in a busy time of the semester. The others are still in the works but I think they will come out to be very strong.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc):Moderate to good. Really have no idea.

[DancesWithDogs]

hi , dude do u mean to say you have already heard back from Penn Fels?

cuz i applied 2 weeks ago and do they reply that soon?

sorry i took so long to respond. i didnt apply to penn fels, its penn sp2. and i did it super early and in time for early admission. good luck!

[linds]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MA / MPA (International Development)

Schools Applied To: GW (Elliott), Columbia (SIPA), Princeton (WWS), Eastern Mennonite

Schools Admitted To:

Schools Rejected From:

Still Waiting: all

Undergraduate institution: Large public university

Undergraduate GPA: 3.69

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable):

Undergraduate Major: Public and Urban Affairs (Global Development); Political Science; minor - Math

Study Abroad:1 month Germany; 4 months Vienna, Austria

GRE:

Q: 160 (84%)

V: 163 (93%)

AW: 5.0 (87%)

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 3

Years of Work Experience: 3

Describe Relevant Work Experience: 4 month internship with UNCITRAL in Vienna; 3 month internship with large development nonprofit (program development department; 2 and a half years helping to start a nonprofit in an area recovering from an earthquake in Central America

Quant: minored in math; 4 econ classes; 2 stat classes

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Worked/working through it a lot. Explaining a little of why my passion and experience have led me here and how I want to commit my life to public service. Getting lots of other opinions.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): Head of honors program at my undergrad who knows me academically and personally. Former supervisor at large international nonprofit. Current supervisor starting nonprofit in the field.

Languages: English (native); Spanish (very conversational); German (basic).

International Experience: Studied in Germany (6 weeks and 4 weeks) and Austria (4 months). Worked in rural Costa Rica (2.5 years). Short service trips to Nicaragua (3 times), Chile (twice), Mexico, Turkey, London. Travelled to over 20 countries in total.

Questions/Comments: Money will definitely be a large issue. Are there any other schools I should consider (quickly) that are top programs but offer great aid?

[wegmanstuna]

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPA/MPP

Schools Applied To: HKS, WWS, Penn, Duke

Schools Admitted To:

Schools Rejected From:

Still Waiting: all

Undergraduate institution: Top 30 Private

Undergraduate GPA: 3.79

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable):

Undergraduate Major: Math and Econ, Minor in Philosophy

Study Abroad: 4 months in London

GRE:

Q: 770

V: 500 (ouch!)

AW: ??? (forget)

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2

Years of Work Experience: 3

Describe Relevant Work Experience: All private sector. However, 2 years in econ research at a large bank -- econ policy is my intended career path -- and a good deal of nonprofit work on the side.

Quant: Tons

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Came out strong. I hope I got the message out that I am tired of the private sector and ready to transition into a public sector/policy/development role

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): Should be strong. Two professors and my current boss, whom has worked a number of years on Capitol Hill as an econ policymaker.

Languages: English (native); German (basic).

International Experience: 3 month Internship in finance in London.

Questions/Comments: I'm really worried that I will get dinged for having only private sector work experience. In hindsight, I probably should have waited another year or so, worked for a bit in the public sector, and then applied. But there's nothing I can do at this point. The apps are pretty much out the door!

Edited December 29, 2011 by wegmanstuna

[JoshRudes]

Program Applied To:

Schools Applied To: HKS (MPP), WWS (MPA), SAIS (MA), Goldman (MPP), Harris (MPP)

Schools Admitted To:

Schools Rejected From:

Still Waiting: All

Undergraduate institution: Small but good business college

Undergraduate GPA: 3.73

Undergraduate Major: Finance

GRE:

Q: 161 (86%)

V: 165 (96%)

AW: 4.5 (72%)

Years Out of Undergrad: 6.5

Years of Work Experience: 6.5

Describe Relevant Work Experience: 6.5 years at a top investment bank, half that time focused on public finance.

Quant: 4 math/stats classes, 6 econ classes - A's in all 10

Foreign languages: None

International experience4: None

Strength of SOP: Genuinely explains where my passion for public service comes from. This is critical for me because all my experience is on Wall Street. I think my SOP does what it needs to do.

Strength of LOR: One professor for whom I TA'd. Two bosses at the bank.

Questions/Comments: Long time reader, first time post. I think my numbers are good and experience is good. Question is whether they overcome my lack of languages/int’l. Any thoughts are welcome. Best of luck everyone! Thanks for everyone whose posts have helped me think through the process (too many ppl to list).

[gomer]

Schools and Programs Applied To: JHU (SAIS and HNC), Georgetown (MSFS), Wisconsin (MIPA), Columpia SIPA (MIA), UCSD IR/PS (MIA), Texas (MGPS)

Schools Admitted To: waiting

Schools Rejected From: waiting

Still Waiting: all

Undergraduate institution: top 10 public university

Undergraduate GPA: 3.58

Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.69

Undergraduate Major: Political Science and Spanish

GRE Quantitative Score: 710

GRE Verbal Score: 600

GRE AW Score: 5.0

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 4.5

Years of Work Experience: 4.5

Describe Relevant Work Experience: English teaching, marketing, non-profit management, event organization

Languages: advanced Chinese and Spanish, some Portuguese

Quant: one undergraduate, introductory level class each in calculus, statistics, physics, microeconomics and macroeconomics (with grades of B or higher)

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): hard to do a self evaluation of my statements, good but not great, I guess.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): same as my statements, hard to know, but I think they're all pretty good letters

[posliv]

Schools and Programs Applied To: SIPA, Georgetown MSFS, Fletcher, SAIS, NYU Wagner, GWU Elliott, HKS

Schools Admitted To:

Schools Rejected From:

Still Waiting: All

Undergraduate institution: Top 30 university

Undergraduate GPA: 3.53

Undergraduate Major: International Relations and History; minor in Arabic

GRE Quantitative Score: 780

GRE Verbal Score: 650

GRE AW Score: 5.0

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2

Years of Work Experience: 2

Describe Relevant Work Experience: Internship at refugee centre in Cairo, one year at large INGO working with UN advocacy affairs, currently working with trafficked children in India (6 months)

Languages: Fluent Bengali and English, advanced Arabic, proficient French, learning Hindi currently

Quant: Two undergraduate classes in economics; one in statistics, and one in math (with grades of B or higher)

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Not sure how strong it is but talked about experience growing up in different places, my internships, what I hope to do in the future and how each school can help me.

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): Former employer who used to be a SIPA professor, very highly regarded in the NGO community; well-known professor and advisor from my university; professor who knows my skills well.

My absolute dream is to go to SIPA. I worked extensively with SIPA students and professors while at the NGO in New York, and was highly impressed with their connections with institutions and level of access. Also, a SIPA professor who isn't involved in the admissions process, but is influential nonetheless said he'd "keep an eye" on my application. Was wondering what my chances were specifically at SIPA, and what kinds of candidates they usually look for. Thank you.