Starting my MPP grad admissions journey, help guide me

[cornfused]

I feel like I come from a different background than alot of the people here. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to go to college out of HS and while I did end up getting my act together at the end of my undergrad, I certainly had no intentions of trying to enter high level grad programs afterwards. Now that I'm out of college and have had a little taste of the real world i have given things some though and decided that a MPP track is what I really want to be doing. I feel like I have some things going for me as well as against me and I would like to see where others think I stand in terms of what tier I am eligible for, as well as what I could do over the next years to increase my chances.

Here are my basic stats:

Intended enrollment : Fall 2013 -2015 still figuring things out

UG School: Pitt ( ranked #64 US University so middle of the road)

Major: Economics and Anthropology

GPA: 3.2

Econ GPA: 3.4

GRE (v/q/aw): 580/740/4

Exp.: Minimal. I volunteer at a needle exchange program right now and I'm trying to get involved in policy advocacy through them. I will be teaching English in Korea next year.

LORs: I have a econ professor from undergrad who I could get a good recommendation from and maybe one from my advisor as well. I need to work on building another relationship for an LOR.

SOP: I am very passionate about Reforming US Drug law, as well as aspects of our Legal and Penal systems. I am working on getting experience in the field. I hope my passion will be able to shine through in an SOP. I also did terrible in my first two years of undergrad and relatively well ( about 3.5) for my second two years. I'm hoping I can throw in a maturity narrative.

Math: Stats/ Calc 1 (got a C though)/ econ background

Desired Schools: My # 1 goal right now is UCLA. I would love to do Berkley but I don't see it happening. I would also consider Pitt's GSPIA program although I think I may be capable of better and I want to get out of Pittsburgh after 5 years here. I'd really like to be on the west coast or maybe colorado if possible.

So there's where I stand. I feel like it sounds worse than I expected writing it down on paper but I think I have some things going for me with the good GRE ( again for my standards, I never had any intention of going to Harvard or Berkley) and the economics background, and more importantly I have some time to gain experience/ LOR prospects which I want to use as wisely as possible.

One last thing I want to note is that I LUCKED OUT on my GRE quant. I was expecting to get about 620v/ 550-600 q. Thats about what my practice tests came out at. I thought I was bombing the quant while I was taking it and my head almost exploded when I saw the score. I took the GRE about a week ago meaning I have my 5 year window to use the scores. Because I can't plausibly see myself doing that well if forced to retake, I have to apply in that time frame so my time to gain experience is limited.

So please let me know, what tier of schools if any would I be able to apply to at the moment, how can I compensate for some of the lower points of my applicant package, and what would be the optimal use of my time in terms of gaining experience. Specifically I'm interested in hearing how much the fact that I achieved a grad school worthy GPA for my second half of school will help me compensate for the 3.2 overall.

[fenderpete]

First off, welcome to the board. Second off - never count out our dream program! Loads of people on here have gotten into Princeton/Harvard/Stanford/Berkley/Columbia with what they considered to be 'regular' scores. If you don't apply it's 100% you won't get in, but if you don't apply you'll never know what your odds could have been.

Your profile sounds good to me, and may in fact stick out because you've taken a slightly less traditional route towards MPP. You've got a great GRE quant score and obviously have real passion and good reasons to do the MPP - crafting a SOP that lets that shine through is the next step.

I can't really comment on your GPA as I don't know how big a factor it'll be (and I'm not American ) but I think getting relevant work experience between now and grad school will really help your application. If you're not in a huge rush (other than the five year GRE cutoff) I would take a couple of years and try to get work experience with some other public health organisations. A couple of years of experience might also really narrow down where you want to study (or completely change your mind) and coming into grad school more focused can only be a good thing.

[carpecc]

I agree with fenderpete, go abroad and get some work experience and learn a foreign language. You'll enjoy the time off from school and have some time to reflect before getting an MA. Also you should know that it's tough to get a job with these degrees without any work experience. So I'd apply for the peace corps or go teach ESL in a foreign country.

[cornfused]

Thanks for the input! I definitely feel better after reading that.

Carpecc, do you have any opinion on how good or bad my credentials are in terms of getting into second or third tier schools such as UCLA ( I don't know how exactly the people on this forums would classify UCLA honestly).

[carpecc]

Thanks for the input! I definitely feel better after reading that.

Carpecc, do you have any opinion on how good or bad my credentials are in terms of getting into second or third tier schools such as UCLA ( I don't know how exactly the people on this forums would classify UCLA honestly).

Based on my research and own application process, I'd say your academic credentials look fine, but you need more work experience. Any work experience, but especially if it's public policy related helps. Are you looking for foreign or domestic focus? If foreign then some time abroad plus a little foreign language training.

In general this field is less competitive and looks at different criteria then say law or medicine (since it doesn't lead to the best pay) so don't be intimidated. You're essays will be important.