The 'Am I competitive' thread - READ ME BEFORE POSTING

[brmoran]

Hi all:

 

Wondering how realistic any of the schools mentioned below would be, based on my profile. I realize a couple of them are stretches (G'town, GWU). Are there any other schools you would recommend based on my profile/interests?

 

Program: MPP or MPA with policy focus

 

Schools being considered: NYU Wagner, Maryland SPP, Georgetown McCourt, GWU Trachtenberg, George Mason SPP

 

Career goals: Interested mostly in macro-econ policy issues. Want to come away with a strong quantitative background that could also be applied in the private sector, potentially in a consulting role.

 

Undergrad Institution: Davidson College, 2009 (currently #11 national liberal arts college)

 

Major: Political Science

GPA: 3.15

GRE score: Taking in the near future, but hope to score high, as I'm a strong test taker and have done well on practice tests

 

Years since undergrad: 5+

Work experience:  Since graduating I have worked as a paralegal within an immigration law practice (5+ years of experience). Was originally at a "Big Law" firm, have been at a smaller firm for the past year. Also worked as a research assistant to a well regarded comparative politics professor at Princeton during undergrad. Was Editor in Chief of the weekly student newpasper at Davidson.

 

Coursework: Intro Calc, Econ 101, Int'l Econ, Stats for Poli Sci.

 

Language skills: English, Intermediate French

 

Overseas experience (work, study and teaching): Study abroad in France

Statement of Purpose: Working on it. 

 

Extra Essays:

 

Letters of Recommendation: 

 

1) Undergrad Poli Sci professor with whom I took several courses

2) Above-mentioned Princeton prof for whom I did research work

3) Attorney supervisor from previous law firm

 

Concerns: GPA, whether work experience will be considered relevant at all

[informatives]

Looking for some advice on what schools I might consider applying to! My overall application isn't terrible, but my GPA is basically non-existent. I mean, I'd be better off just not putting it on my application. I'll explain below.

 

Undergraduate Institution: Top 50 US 

 

Undergraduate Major: Sociology and Political Science

 

Career interests: U.S. Foreign Policy, International Security/Intelligence, working with NGOs, State Department, US Foreign Service, etc.

 

GRE: 168V/154Q/5.5AWA

 

Work Experience:  Two years teaching at an elementary school, two years working as a research assistant for a professor (area of research was politics and sociology), one year AmeriCorps program working for the Red Cross

 

Volunteering: Several years of extensive leadership roles in various non-profit organizations as an undergrad, been volunteering at a food pantry for the last 6 months

 

Languages: Portuguese (conversational), several semesters of coursework in Japanese and Mandarin

 

Coursework: B+ in Stat 100, taking macro/micro Econ in the Spring (should definitely be getting an A)
 

Overseas: Didn't get to study abroad in college, but traveled extensively in elementary and high school (spent several months in India/Nepal in jr. high, lots of time in rural southeast Asia, and an exchange program for a summer in the UK). Will be working this into SOP.

 

LORs/SOP: Confident about these. One from the professor I worked for/took an independent study with, one from the principal at the school I worked at (she's known me since I was in 7th grade), and one from the supervisor at the food pantry that I work at (also knows me very, very well). I know my SOP will be my saving grace if they can look past the GPA, so I'm working my ass off on it and will be having everyone I know look at it in about two - three weeks. Basically I'll be talking about how my experience working with NPOs has given me a lot of insight into how I want to be able to have more influence than just direct action, and how working in schools has driven me to be passionate about education now in a way that I totally wasn't as an undergrad (hence, the terrible GPA). 

 

 

GPA: Okay so here it is...2.1. I know. Doesn't get much worse. Basically, I switched majors a few times, and had a few semesters where I more or less wasn't in school due to working a ton and family issues. I retook several courses, and although it doesn't show up as my "official" GPA, if factored in they would bump me up to a 2.7. Still terrible though.

 

 

Programs: I'm planning on applying to most of the "good" schools - SIS, Elliott, SIPA, SAIS, SFS, Korbel - but know it'll be a reach with my GPA.

 

 

 

Can anyone recommend schools that might actually look over my whole application instead of just throwing it out when they see how poorly I did in undergrad??

[CafeB]

 

 

With an average GPA and a--I'll be brutally honest here--terrible GRE quant score, I'd bet a lot of money you're not going to get into HKS, WWS, and probably any of the other ones. If you do get in, funding (or lack thereof) may be an issue--can you afford $50,000+ per year for these programs? If you can retake the GRE, I would do that ASAP. You have good work experience, which works to balance out some of the negative aspects, but there are a lot of negative aspects based on what you said.

Also, for LoRs, no one cares about the titles the writers have, whether they're "Professor" or "Associate Professor." What matters is that they actually know you and can speak to your strengths accurately. In fact, in many cases having a "prestigious" writer for your LoRs can hurt you, because it's obvious it's a form letter they use for everyone they recommend.

 

Hi Pavlik

 

Thanks for your brutally honest feedback. I am in the process of retaking the GRE. Is there anything else that I can do? I've been told by several schools that the fact that I have 13 years of work experience by the age of 30, and half of it working overseas in international development in managerial positions is a huge plus. Do you think that may offset my GPA and quant problems?

 

Thanks for your help.

[laurbee]

To everyone on here who has like 169 V, 165 Q, and 5.0 AW with 3.99 GPAs and like 5 years of work experience... I'm way jealous.

 

Schools: NYU MA-IA, Fordham IPED, New School MA IR, Columbia SIPA MIA, Seton Hall Whitehead, GWU Elliot, Georgetown MSFS (I know, a lot of these are top schools)

 

Career Goals: American foreign/economic policy towards Europe/Russia or anything relevant to that sort of work

 

Undergrad Institution: Small private liberal arts school in Virginia

 

Major: Government, minor in History

 

GPA: 3.31

 

Years out of undergrad: 3

 

GRE: 159 V, 156 Q, 5.0 AW

 

Work experience: Career changer; did a lot of hospitality work especially event coordination (kind of fell into it during college with my campus job)

 

Campus/Community Involvement: Volunteering with my local International House as well as a refugee resettlement agency; Model UN in College

 

Coursework: Intro to Micro & Macro postgrad (As in both), Statistics  , Intermediate French, various courses on IR and Europe throughout my major and minor coursework

 

Language Skills: Decent French, am interested in studying Russian as well

 

SOP: Not too worried about it as the easiest thing to talk about is usually yourself, but there's a lot I need to address/say in (usually) short spaces, like my GRE debacle (mentioned later), my reason for a career change, and being a first-generation student

 

LORs: All 3 are from professors because my place of employment has some dumb policy that they can't write recommendations. But these professors I was very close to during undergrad (found out that one of them publicly told an academic committee I was his favorite student  ) and I know the LORs are going to be glowing. They all thought I was brilliant and should have been going to grad school from the outset.

 

Concerns: I'm a career changer, so even though my degree is very relevant, none of my experience really is. And I never did study abroad for rather unique reasons (my undergrad school has many experiences that students can only experience at a certain point in their time there, and I didn't want to miss any of them). And my GRE score was SO DISAPPOINTING. I studied for ages and was hoping for high scores like all my practice tests were saying and of course three days before test day I get the flu (and in the test room it certainly didn't sound like I was the only one in this situation, lots of sniffles). Worst luck ever, and I seriously doubt I can take it again. I'm wondering if I can mention that in my SOP? So basically in sum, my concerns are my GRE score (though I'm hoping explaining to them the flu situation can help offset that) and my lack of international/100% relevant work experience.

Edited November 14, 2014 by laurbee

[pavlik]

 

Hi all:

 

Wondering how realistic any of the schools mentioned below would be, based on my profile. I realize a couple of them are stretches (G'town, GWU). Are there any other schools you would recommend based on my profile/interests?

 

Program: MPP or MPA with policy focus

 

Schools being considered: NYU Wagner, Maryland SPP, Georgetown McCourt, GWU Trachtenberg, George Mason SPP

 

Career goals: Interested mostly in macro-econ policy issues. Want to come away with a strong quantitative background that could also be applied in the private sector, potentially in a consulting role.

 

Undergrad Institution: Davidson College, 2009 (currently #11 national liberal arts college)

 

Major: Political Science

GPA: 3.15

GRE score: Taking in the near future, but hope to score high, as I'm a strong test taker and have done well on practice tests

 

Years since undergrad: 5+

Work experience:  Since graduating I have worked as a paralegal within an immigration law practice (5+ years of experience). Was originally at a "Big Law" firm, have been at a smaller firm for the past year. Also worked as a research assistant to a well regarded comparative politics professor at Princeton during undergrad. Was Editor in Chief of the weekly student newpasper at Davidson.

 

Coursework: Intro Calc, Econ 101, Int'l Econ, Stats for Poli Sci.

 

Language skills: English, Intermediate French

 

Overseas experience (work, study and teaching): Study abroad in France

Statement of Purpose: Working on it. 

 

Extra Essays:

 

Letters of Recommendation:

 

1) Undergrad Poli Sci professor with whom I took several courses

2) Above-mentioned Princeton prof for whom I did research work

3) Attorney supervisor from previous law firm

 

Concerns: GPA, whether work experience will be considered relevant at all

 

My uncle and grandfather went to Davidson. Go Wildcats!

 

Anyway, depends on your GRE scores to some extent, but you are competitive for most of those schools. Since you're a few years out of undergrad and have some decent work experience, a low-3.00s GPA won't hurt that much. Your work experience is definitely relevant and will help if you can tie it in with your personal statements. You may want to broaden your target schools a bit (unless you want to stick to the East Coast), but your background definitely will be competitive for all of those schools.

[pavlik]

Hi Pavlik

 

Thanks for your brutally honest feedback. I am in the process of retaking the GRE. Is there anything else that I can do? I've been told by several schools that the fact that I have 13 years of work experience by the age of 30, and half of it working overseas in international development in managerial positions is a huge plus. Do you think that may offset my GPA and quant problems?

 

Thanks for your help.

That work experience definitely does help, but just keep in mind you're going against people with your exact work background (or similar), plus 4.0 GPAs and 160s on the GRE. I would just broaden your search a bit and work on boosting the parts of your application you can--GREs.

[aronofsky]

Hi all, 

 

I want to get a feel for what you think my chances are of getting into some of the "top" IR programs. Candid feedback/comments are encouraged and greatly appreciated. Thank you! 

 

Schools: Georgetown SFS, Johns Hopkins SAIS, Princeton WWS, HKS, Tufts Fletcher, Yale Jackson, GW Elliott 

 

Career goals: State Department in foreign policy related role. 

 

Institution: Large public university. 

 

Major: Major in Spanish (Interpretation, Translation), minors in Portuguese, Italian 

GPA: 3.45 (major upward trajectory, was below 2.0 after sophomore year)

GRE score: 168 Verbal 160 Quant, 5.0 writing. 

Work experience: Fulbright ETA/policy internships in EU country, two years for northeastern consultancy, one year working with energy tech ngo in Eurasian country. 

 

Coursework: Micro Economics, Macro Economics, Intro to Stats (all A)

 

Language skills: Near-native Spanish and Portuguese, fluent in Russian, proficient in Persian (Dari) and Italian. 

 

OTHER: Miscellaneous internships during undergraduate, including with (D) rep from my state. A few undergraduate awards for top senior in my area of studies. 

 

Overseas experience (work, study and teaching): One year in Chile, one summer in Honduras at US embassy, another in Mexico. Year working in Central Asia. 

Statement of Purpose: My background has been unusual, so I believe this area will be strong once tied all together and explained. 

 

Extra Essays: Policy memos for Harvard and Princeton that I'm not thrilled to write, and I believe one for Columbia as well. 

 

Letters of Recommendation: These will be very strong. 

 

Concerns: Undergraduate GPA + multiple geographic areas of focus on one hand, potential lack of "service" requirements for WWS, which is my number one choice. 

 

Thanks again!

[all_ofthe_things]

Any critical feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

Program: MPP

 

Schools being considered: Harvard Kennedy School, University of Michigan, UCal Berkeley, Minnesota, Texas A&M

 

Career goals: Interested mostly in economic policy issues. For the sake of being arbitrary and specific, let's go with policy analyst at the CBO.

 

Undergrad Institution: Urban public university. So obscure, it's not ranked by US News.

 

Major: Economics/Mathematics minor

GPA: 3.72

GRE score: 168 verbal, 167 quantitative, 4.5 analytical writing

 

Years since undergrad: 1

Work experience:  Managed the $14.5 million budget process for the student fee as a student leader at undergrad. Student Body Vice President. Briefly worked as a fund accountant before I realized I hated it.

 

Coursework: (among others) Econometrics, Statistics, Calculus, Advanced Calculus, DiffEq, Advanced Microeconomics, Advanced Macroeconomics

 

Language skills: English, Basic Spanish

 

Statement of Purpose: Working on it. 

 

Letters of Recommendation:

 

1) Undergrad Econ Teacher

2) Econ Professor for grad courses

3) Dean of Student Life - advisor for my budget work

 

Concerns: Twofold. 1) my undergrad is super meh - think generic state school. 2) Work experience. I did cool stuff as a student leader, but not sure I can compete with relevant professional experience.

Thanks kindly for any feedback!

[policysecond]

Program: MPP

 

Schools being considered: U of M Ford (dual degree REES applicant), Carnegie Mellon Heinz, Berkeley Goldman, Chicago Harris

 

Undergrad Institution: top 10 school in California

 

Major: Art History

Graduate School: got a Master's in Art History (2012)

GPA: 3.5

GRE score: 155V, 158Q, projecting 6.0 AW

 

Years since undergrad: 6 (graduated 2009)

Work experience:  2 years spent on first MA degree, followed by 1.5 years as administrator at a university, 1 year AmeriCorps VISTA in Detroit, followed by 6 months of working with same non-profit in Detroit

 

Coursework: Calc 1 & 2 in college (retook calc 1 a year ago to refresh memory), micro econ in college, statistics

 

Language skills: fluent in Russian, fluent in Arabic (immigrated to US at 15; lived in Russia & Middle East before that), intermediate French (took French all through high school and 2 years in college; studied in France for a semester), intermediate German (Middlebury Language School, 2011)

 

Statement of Purpose: Not worried about it

 

Letters of Recommendation: former graduate school advisor, current supervisor, former boss

 

Concerns: GREs (standardized testing is not my forté), GPA, random-ish career change. Would like to avoid loans (have none right now), so concerned with chances/likelihood of receiving scholarships. Applying for FLAS, obv. Thoughts??

[sunrise2020]

Schools being considered: SAIS, SFS, HKS, SIPA, ..?

 

Undergrad Institution: Top 3-4 public university in the US

 

Major: Intl. Politics (Distinguished Program; wrote a thesis on IR) and a Minor in a foreign language

 

GPA: Overall GPA: 3.7; Major GPA is about the same

 

GRE: 161, 161, 4.5 AW… English is my 3^rd language, so I am hoping this will make up for the verbal and AW sections….

 

Years since undergrad: 1.5

 

Work experience/Internships before graduation: foreign affairs ministry intern in a foreign country, internship with the UN embassy of the same country; legal assistant; internship with a current affairs show on a major US network

Work experience/Internships after graduation: won a competitive fellowship to work at a EU-member government for several months

 

Coursework: Micro- and Macroeconomics, Calculus – all in the B-range; a VERY upward trend the last 2 years in college

 

Language skills: I think this is my strong suit.  I am fluent in 6 languages spoken in Europe (not dialects); Basic to conversational skills in 2 more

 

SOP: I think I should be fine here - I am specific about my career goals as well as why the program is a great fit and what I want to get out of it

 

LORs: I think these should be great mostly

 

Concerns:  definitely lack of work experience after graduation besides the fellowship; not a lot of quantitative classes in college, weak GRE??

 

I’d be very grateful for any words of advice and thoughts, both positive and negative!

[aj2015]

Hi Everyone,

 

 

I am very apprehensive regarding my competitiveness, the funding and the program that best suits my requirements/objective.

 

I would really appreciate if you people can help me out.

 

 Introduction/Profile,

 

 I have graduated from IIT (Indian Institute of Technology)  in 2010 . IITs are considered to be the best engineering institute in India.

 

I have 4 years of work experience  in 3 different organizations 1st with a renewable energy consulting firm (14 months) the with an leading Insurance company (1 year)  the 3rd one is my current employer which i a political consulting firm dealing with political leaders to strategies their campaign. Here I got a good exposure to manage field surveys and public interaction from various sections of society and  in all the three organizations I have an extensive exposure of data analysis and MS excel tools.

 

 

GRE score VA-155, QA-168, AW-3.0

 

 

CGPA 6.35/10 (didn't get a reliable scale to convert it from Indian CGPA out of 10 t US GPA)

 

 

I feel that my strengths are- IIT degree (a globally recognized brand), Good GRE 323, and  work ex. (3 different kind of roles and the last one in political consulting firms gives a relevant policy exposure..please correct me at this point if I assume something wrong...??)

 

 

I feel tat my weaknesses are- a pathetic AW in GRE 3.0, a below average GPA

 

 

 My queries?

 

1. My ultimate objective to earn an MPP is influencing policy design and implementation scenario in India for major public welfare schemes.

 

Now a very frank question- is MPP a suitable match for moving towards my goal, or there are other better suited degrees?

 

 

2. Now keeping in mind all my strengths and weaknesses, and also my strong willingness to get a debt free MPP degree, Please suggest the best possible schools in US or anywhere in the globe...provided they have good reputation, good funding and serves my purpose

 

 

 

3. this query is basically a sub-part of query no. 2, as i already mentioned my aim ultimately entails me to come back to India ultimately, so what should be a right path- to stay in US and try to work with some recognized bodies like UN,WB, IMF and then return to India or there is some better choice I may have?

 

 

4. I can get LoR from some really influential people like Member of Parliament (MPs), Member of state Legislative Assembly (MLAs)  but I have heard  that it is better to get a LoR from someone who have worked with more closely and for a long duration while I have not worked with any of  these people for more than 6 months. Also my terms with my former employer and ex employer are very good and I can expect a good LoR from them but obviously their stature is not like the MPs or MPs. SO what is suggested in such a case?

 

I know that my queries are very comprehensive and demand a lot of efforts and great deal of time for some one w to answer completely but I would be really grateful if someone can do that for me.

 

 

Thanks a lot in advance.

 

 

Cheers.

 

 

 

PS- I would be glad to provide my personal email if someone want to have discussion in greater lengths, please do let me know in such a case.

[Franopan]

Hi Everyone.

 

I'm applying for Public Policy programs in Georgetown, GWU and American but I'm a little worried about my lack of relevant experience in this field. I'm an Irish student so political internships aren't quite as popular as they are in the US.

 

My GPA equates to about a 3.7 for my degree, and a 3.45 cumulative. I majored in Philosophy and Economics, minored in Political Science in a well esteemed University. 

 

My GRE is 168 Verbal and 160 Q, AWA pending. 

 

LoR: 2 strong references from Professors, and possibly one from my current work supervisor if 3 are required. 

 

I've spend the last 2 years as an English teacher and "cultural ambassador" in Japan (JET program). I do have quite a lot of student political experience but no real life policy experience so i'm just a little worried. Do people think it could be a burden for me? Also, it seems Georgetown's program in particular is quite quantitive, will a 160 Q score be ok?

[triciatedoco]

Hi everyone,

I already applied to a couple of schools but I am still unsure if I am aiming too high. Please let me know what you think.

 

Program: MPPs / MPAs

 

Schools being considered: Applied to: Princeton Wilson MPA, Harvard Kennedy MPP. Will apply to: Georgetown Mc Court School Masters in International Development, NYU Wagner, Columbia SIPA MPA, Tufts Fletcher MALD.

 

Undergrad Institution: University in a developing country. Studied abroad in small but well ranked liberal arts college in Michigan. 

 

Major: International Relations. Minors: Political Science, International Human Rights Law

GPA: 3.75. (4.0 for the last four semesters)

GRE score: 162V, 154Q,  4.0 AW

TOEFL: 116

 

Years since undergrad: 2 (graduated 2012)

Work experience: World Bank in Washington DC for 2 years (3 years by enrollment) working directly with development issues related to my interests, 4 month internship at the OAS also on the same issues. Volunteering at Model UN organizations for 10+ years with leadership positions, co-founded a Model UN organization in my home country. Teaching assistant positions for 2 years and taught Model UN classes at a high school for 4 years.

 

Career Goals: Return to the World Bank, or in other development bank or the UN. 

 

Quant Coursework: Principles of economics (grade. A), Microeconomics (grade:B ), Macroeconomics (grade: C), International Political Economy (grade: A), Accounting (grade: A). Pre-calculus (grade: A), Calculus (grade: C)

 

Language skills: Fluent in Spanish, very basic German

 

Statement of Purpose: Oriented to a particular development issue directly related to my experience. Lots of specific stories/examples

 

Letters of Recommendation: Former program director at my university, my World Bank supervisor, and a World Bank Director. I worked closely with all three, so they will be able to give me strong letters. 

Publications: A few publications on international affairs/development issues for a non-profit. An article in a semi-academic magazine in my home country on Web 2.0 and the Arab Spring. 

 

Concerns: GRE quant score. Cs in calculus and macroeconomics and no statistics background. Undergraduate institution from a developing country and not recognized internationally. 

Edited December 10, 2014 by triciatedoco

[cszchung]

Program: MSCAPP

 

Schools being considered: UChicago Harris, Masters of Science in Computational Analysis and Public Policy

 

Undergrad Institution: Decently Ranked Large State School

 

Major: Social Thought and Political Economy 

GPA: 3.12 - Was trying to work and deal with family issues at the same time. Grades are mostly A's or Incompletes.

GRE score: 166V, 160Q,  4.0 AW

 

Years since undergrad: 2

Work experience: Spent 8 months after graduation in China on Fulbright-Hays scholarship, studying Chinese language and culture. Was enrolled in a local Chinese university. Spent last 2 months in China as a business development intern at a Chinese automation start-up. Spent last year working as an international project coordinator for international NGO in education sector (largely funded by USAID). Prior to that, spent 8 months interning at well-known domestic environment NGO campaigning to pass climate change legislation. During college, also worked for 1.5 years at a small international advocacy NGO working on human rights and environment issues. 

 

Career Goals: Design ICT strategies for international development projects

 

Quant Coursework: Micro and Macro Econ (during undergrad), Stats I and II (through Harvard Extension School)

 

Language skills: Intermediate/Upper Intermediate Mandarin Chinese

 

Statement of Purpose: Hopefully strong. Trying to tie together my different interests (primarily the environment and international development) with my work experience (in international development, but in the education sector). Want to weave in this narrative: In my current position, I've seen the need for skilled data analysts. I see myself filling that gap, given my interest in programming and quantitative aptitude.

 

Letters of Recommendation: One from my current supervisor who is the VP of a well known international NGO in the education sector (strong), one from the director of the Fulbright Hays program who directs the China Institute at a large public university (decent to strong), one from either a stats professor (weak to OK, didn't interact much with her, but did well in the class) OR undergraduate seminar professor (OK-strong, it's been a few years since I've been in contact with her)

 

Concerns: Low GPA. Kind of an unconventional applicant. Dropped out of highly ranked university once, was on academic probation. Was dealing with personal issues at the time. Took two years off, got an associates degree in Renewable Energy/Energy Efficiency. Went back to undergrad at a large state school and graduated at the age of 24. Still ended up with a low GPA as I was juggling working at the same time, but don't have a great excuse for it. There's only one program that I am interested in applying to this year, which is the new Computational Analysis and Public Policy program at UChicago Harris. I'm really looking for a program where I can learn hard technical skills within a policy context. The MSCAPP seems to be it. However, if it doesn't work out, I am wondering what my chances would be at other MPP programs if I were to apply next year?

Edited December 15, 2014 by cszchung

[ZebraFinch]

Program: International Affairs 
 

Schools being considered: Georgetown, GWU, Penn State, may consider others

 

Undergrad Institution: US territory school with strong reputation there but people in the US don't know well
 

Major: Political science and only one class short of econ

GPA: 3.69

GRE score: 159V, 139Q, 4 AW

 

Years since undergrad: Less than 1

Work experience: Internship at FSI is the most relevant, otherwise I've volunteered locally

 

Career Goals: Foreign Service as Consular Officer. 

 

Quant Coursework: intro to macro and micro econ, intermediate macro and micro econ (highest level my school offers at undergrad), year of statistics, course that was called "math for economics" but combines a lot of stats and calculus work. Research methods courses that used stats stuff as well. A's and B's in all of these

 

Language skills: Fluent Spanish, working professional Russian

 

Statement of Purpose: Strong, but I have to explain my medical issues that affected me during undergrad. Can't figure out how to write about them without it sounding like an excuse.

 

Letters of Recommendation: Honors Program director, career FSO who I worked with during my internship at FSI, and from top Econ prof in my undergrad

 

Concerns: Horrible, embarrassing GRE. I don't know if I should even apply this year. I have tons of experience abroad so I hope that helps. My undergrad is also a bit of a rollercoaster as I had three surgeries one after the other during my undergrad so I go from all A's one semester to A's and B's the next. I'm willing to hear and consider any advice.

Edited December 15, 2014 by ZebraFinch

[pettecal]

Hi everyone! Hope the holiday season is treating you all well! I was wondering if any of you could give me any feedback/thoughts on my candidacy for the 2 programs to which I have applied. My dream school is Georgetown (went there for undergrad and loved it). I was originally interested in medicine, but after a lot of self-reflection and conversations with mentors and peers, I'm hoping to go the policy route instead. 

 

Please let me know what you think!

 

Program: MPP or MPH with health policy focus

 

Schools being considered: Georgetown McCourt (MPP), GWU Milken Institute (MPH)

 

Career goals: Health/education/immigration policy issues as they relate to minority/immigrant communities. Want to develop a quantitative background that will make me competitive in the private sector as well. 

 

Undergrad Institution: Georgetown University

 

Major: Neurobiology & Studio Art double-major

 

GPA: 3.69

 

GRE score: 165 V/ 159 Q/5.5 W 

 

Years since undergrad: 1

 

Work experience:  Current research fellow at the National Institutes of Health, current policy blogger for national org, internships at health policy think tank & immigration reform orgs during college, co-president of health policy journal in college, HIV/AIDS clinic volunteer  

 

Coursework: Calculus II, Probability & Statistics

 

Language skills: English, Spanish, Cantonese

 

Overseas experience (work, study and teaching): Received grants to conduct independent research abroad in Berlin, Germany; interviewed local curators, museum directors, and artists on the role of gentrification in the art community in Berlin

 

Statement of Purpose: Strong, connected my discovery that my mother spent two years as an undocumented immigrant to my subsequent explorations and interest in health, immigration, and education policy 

 

Letters of Recommendation:

1) Undergrad Bio professor & advisor 

2) Diversity staff coordinator @ Georgetown who has mentored me the past few years 

3) Supervisor @ previous health policy internship 

 

Concerns:

Not sure if my double-major will make me stand out in a good or bad way. Lack of econ experience, but hoping that my Neuro major reflects that I do have the quant/analytical abilities needed. Trying to gauge the competitive-ness of my GPA/GRE. Hoping that my SoP is memorable and strong enough.

[arevasaurus]

Hello!

 

I've read a lot of posts and advice in this thread but as my situation is a little different than others I would really appreciate some input from someone more knowledgeable. I'm applying to much less competitive schools than most people on here, but also with a slightly less competitive profile... I am not from the US (grew up in Sweden, lived past 5 years in the UK) so I am very unfamiliar with what it takes to get in to different schools etc - even though I have tried to read up on it a lot!

 

My main worries are my GRE scores, how my transcript/GPA will translate and my SoP. PSU states GRE minimum requirement of 299 in total V+Q and 4.5AW, which I meet, but they also mention specifically minimum 150V and 149Q where I fall a little below par on the quant...

 

Schools and programmes applying to: Portland State University - MPA with specialisation in Global Leadership and Management, University of Oregon - MPA.

 

Undergrad institution: School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London)

 

Degree: Development Studies and Geography (joint majors)

 

Undergrad GPA: Currently 70% (1st class) when not counting first year grades which you don't in the UK system. Depending on final term results I will graduate with a 1st or 2.1 (equivalent to about 3.6-3.9 GPA). However, looking at my transcript which includes first year grades my average is only 63% which translates to 3.29 GPA...

 

GRE: 161V, 147Q, 4.5AW

 

Work experience: 3 months paid internship (more like a short-term employment contract) as Research Assistant with the UK Department for Education. 3 years as Supervisor in a bar/café run by a nonprofit (not directly related but still leadership, management, and nonprofit experience). 2 months volunteering in Tanzania with a local NGO. 3 years as project and administration volunteer with London Cycling Campaign. Lots of fundraising and volunteering for local charities and involvement with Oxfam events.

 

Language skills: Bilingual proficiency English and Swedish, conversational Swahili and Spanish.

 

SoP: Not really sure about it; found it very hard to know exactly what to include and to fit everything I wanted within the 500 word limit. But it's definitely straightforward, honest and well-written. People who've read it have given generally very positive responses, but none of them have applied to an American grad school or know anything about it!

 

LoR: 

1. Supervisor at Department for Education

2. UG Professor who supervised my project on a fieldwork trip to Kerala, India last year.

3. UG Swahili teacher - wrote very nice things about me but unfortunately in slightly substandard English

[Xperto]

Hello everyone!

First of all Happy New Year! Hope all your plans for this 2015 are achieved.

 

I would like to ask for the honest and most sincere opinion regarding my profile. As I Imagine most of people here are in the process of applying for this coming fall or are successful students in some nice schools. Given the fact that I am an international student I am deeply interested in your opinion about my possibilities about getting into a MPP/MPA program.

 

Program and schools applied to:Princeton (WWS) MPA, Harvard (HKS) MPA2, Columbia (SIPA) MPA-DP, Johns Hopkins (SAIS) MIEF

 

Final objective: Work in Multilateral Institution, either as econ analyst or program officer (World Bank type of inst.)

 

GPA: Major Finance: 90/100 (top 20 university in South America, Magna Cum Laude);  4.00 Master in Econ (Asian top 15 University)

 

GRE: 160Q, 160V, 5.5 AWA

 

TOEFL: 117

 

Work Experience: 3.5 years in developing country in South America in Financial Development ; 2 years in Asia (private consultant on development and finance issues); 3 months paid internship at InterAmerican Development Bank (Washington DC).

 

Language Skills: Spanish (native), Portuguese (high), Chinese (intermediate), Japanese (intermediate), Native language from my country (intermediate)

 

Coursework: Calc I ( B ) Calc II ( B ), Calc III ( A), Intro to Real Analysis (A), Graduate Micro (A), Graduate Macro (A), Graduate Econometrics (A) 

 

Overseas experience: I come from a developing country in SA, have been working/studying for the past 5 years in Asia, graduated High school in the US, worked for short period of time in the US, did volunteer work in Germany

 

SoP: Strong, I have a long story to tell, tried to link my previous work experience with development finance with my goals of working in Multilateral.

 

LoRs: All from academic advisers: one from home country (he is also a former Chairman from the National Dev Bank in my country), one from grad school in Asia (dean of school), one from UK professor (I have been his research adviser, he is my mentor)

 

Extracurricular activities: Sports, Boy Scouts

 

Publications: 1 in local Journal, 2 in international Journals (not top ranked though) 

 

Academic Awards: Full ride scholarships for undergrad and grad, Magna Cum Laude undergrad degree

 

Concerns: 1. I would have liked to have a better Quant GRE score, 2. took GRE 3 times (do schools care about how many times you have re-taken the standardized test?) 3. Am I aiming to high with the schools and given my fairly low GREs? 4. I already have a Masters in Econ but would like to obtain a MPA/MPP wondering if I am not that "attractive" to schools if I already have grad school experience (did my best to explain that indeed I need/want the degree to achieve my future career goals in my SoP)

 

Thanks in advance for your input, any and all comments / observations are more than welcome! Sorry to bother you in this busy season for applicants and students

 

Cheers!!!

Edited January 13, 2015 by Xperto

[stressedundergrad]

Hello everyone, 

 

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated I am stressing so much right now and I just want to get some honest opinions I am very worried about my standing I just want to know what you all think my chances are so here it gos, and please any response will be MUCH APPRECIATED: 

 

 

Program: MPP and MPA 

 

Schools being considered: Georgetown, GW, U Mich, UCLA, USC, U Penn, Cornell, Northwestern, UVA, Duke, UNC, Brown, Syracuse, and American (maybe) Fall 2015 for All 

 

Career goals: Work in public service either elected office or political consulting and think tank policy analysis.  

 

Undergrad Institution: University of California, Irvine

 

Major: Political Science and Sociology 

 

GPA: 3.31

 

GRE score: 157 V/ 147 Q/ 5 W 

 

Years since undergrad: Straight out of Undergrad

 

Work experience:  Lots of internal campus experience main highlight is that I am the President of my university.   

 

Coursework: Probability & Statistics

 

Language skills: English, Farsi (persian)

 

Overseas experience (work, study and teaching): Just Travel, none formally. 

 

Statement of Purpose: Strong, connected specifically focused on my desire to shape education policy and how I have worked to shape education policy in my state through the virtue of my position, specifically in higher education. 

 

Letters of Recommendation:

1) Chancellor of my university

2) Chair of Sociology Department

3) Professor of Sociology

 

Concerns:

Obviously my GRE quant. My GPA I think is Ok, I don't think its terrible however I thin they can work with it but my quant is the 21st percentile which scares me I have a 74th percentile for Verbal and a 93rd for Writing. I am very concerned, obviously my biggest fear is I get rejected from every single school. Lack of experience is another item, but I really feel being President of my student body has given me the in touch experience and can be legitimate work experience, especially with the budget I manage and how many people I represent. I think my letters are solid, but again my numbers scare me. 

 

Please any feedback will help I am beyond worried. 

[chocolatecheesecake]

 

Hello everyone, 

 

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated I am stressing so much right now and I just want to get some honest opinions I am very worried about my standing I just want to know what you all think my chances are so here it gos, and please any response will be MUCH APPRECIATED: 

 

 

Program: MPP and MPA 

 

Schools being considered: Georgetown, GW, U Mich, UCLA, USC, U Penn, Cornell, Northwestern, UVA, Duke, UNC, Brown, Syracuse, and American (maybe) Fall 2015 for All 

 

Career goals: Work in public service either elected office or political consulting and think tank policy analysis.  

 

Undergrad Institution: University of California, Irvine

 

Major: Political Science and Sociology 

 

GPA: 3.31

 

GRE score: 157 V/ 147 Q/ 5 W 

 

Years since undergrad: Straight out of Undergrad

 

Work experience:  Lots of internal campus experience main highlight is that I am the President of my university.   

 

Coursework: Probability & Statistics

 

Language skills: English, Farsi (persian)

 

Overseas experience (work, study and teaching): Just Travel, none formally. 

 

Statement of Purpose: Strong, connected specifically focused on my desire to shape education policy and how I have worked to shape education policy in my state through the virtue of my position, specifically in higher education. 

 

Letters of Recommendation:

1) Chancellor of my university

2) Chair of Sociology Department

3) Professor of Sociology

 

Concerns:

Obviously my GRE quant. My GPA I think is Ok, I don't think its terrible however I thin they can work with it but my quant is the 21st percentile which scares me I have a 74th percentile for Verbal and a 93rd for Writing. I am very concerned, obviously my biggest fear is I get rejected from every single school. Lack of experience is another item, but I really feel being President of my student body has given me the in touch experience and can be legitimate work experience, especially with the budget I manage and how many people I represent. I think my letters are solid, but again my numbers scare me. 

 

Please any feedback will help I am beyond worried. 

 

 

First of all, let's confront your biggest fear: if you get rejected from every single school, you can simply look for a job like everyone else in your graduating class, get real professional work experience which can only benefit you on the application, and apply again next year. Applying to graduate school is not like undergraduate at all. You have a lot of choices in reality. There are many ways to work in political consulting or think tanks without a graduate degree. So your worst case scenario for grad school apps really isn't the worst thing in the world. Remember that when things get too rough. I was rejected from the first graduate school I ever applied to when I was in my senior year of college. I was really stunned and stumped for a while, and it turned out to be a very very good thing in retrospect, because I got to work for a few years in a different field and figured out I wanted to do public policy. 

 

That being said, your quantitative GRE is weak, and it would make up for it if you've gotten good grades in the quantitative coursework you took. I hope you got straight As on probability and statistics, and that you maybe tested out of calculus. Lack of work experience is just what it is. I wish I had a dime for every time someone on Gradcafé tried to convince me three internships added up to one full-time job, but I'll probably never change my mind, and neither will admissions committees. It's good that you've gotten a substantive experience with the budget as the student body president, but know that you're up against people who have years of full-time job experience, so you have to be competitive in other ways if you don't have that experience.

 

What are those ways? I think the holy Trinity of public policy or government affairs admissions is 1) the right skills (GRE/GPA), 2) the right experience (full time is best) and 3) the right reason (SOP and letters). So if you don't have all three, it's of course not a judgment on you, so don't take it personally. It's that having all three puts you in the best position to make the most of your two years. You sound like you want to go into it for the right reasons, so if it doesn't work out this year, go work full-time for a few years, make sure you still want to do education policy, and study hard before you take the GRE again. And then you'll be in a position to get multiple offers, better funding because of your experience, and really know that you're picking the best program for you. =)

[MJA87]

First of all, let's confront your biggest fear: if you get rejected from every single school, you can simply look for a job like everyone else in your graduating class, get real professional work experience which can only benefit you on the application, and apply again next year. Applying to graduate school is not like undergraduate at all. You have a lot of choices in reality. There are many ways to work in political consulting or think tanks without a graduate degree. So your worst case scenario for grad school apps really isn't the worst thing in the world. Remember that when things get too rough. I was rejected from the first graduate school I ever applied to when I was in my senior year of college. I was really stunned and stumped for a while, and it turned out to be a very very good thing in retrospect, because I got to work for a few years in a different field and figured out I wanted to do public policy. 

 

That being said, your quantitative GRE is weak, and it would make up for it if you've gotten good grades in the quantitative coursework you took. I hope you got straight As on probability and statistics, and that you maybe tested out of calculus. Lack of work experience is just what it is. I wish I had a dime for every time someone on Gradcafé tried to convince me three internships added up to one full-time job, but I'll probably never change my mind, and neither will admissions committees. It's good that you've gotten a substantive experience with the budget as the student body president, but know that you're up against people who have years of full-time job experience, so you have to be competitive in other ways if you don't have that experience.

 

What are those ways? I think the holy Trinity of public policy or government affairs admissions is 1) the right skills (GRE/GPA), 2) the right experience (full time is best) and 3) the right reason (SOP and letters). So if you don't have all three, it's of course not a judgment on you, so don't take it personally. It's that having all three puts you in the best position to make the most of your two years. You sound like you want to go into it for the right reasons, so if it doesn't work out this year, go work full-time for a few years, make sure you still want to do education policy, and study hard before you take the GRE again. And then you'll be in a position to get multiple offers, better funding because of your experience, and really know that you're picking the best program for you. =)

 

I agree with everything chocolatecheesecake said, especially about the internships and school extracurriculars compared to full-time work experience. It's absolutely a good thing to have those internships and extracurriculars (especially being the president of your SGA), but don't expect them to be counted as real world, full time experience.

 

I'm not saying you won't get into any schools because of your sub-par numbers and lack of experience. If you look at the results for even some of the top schools, you'll see there are outliers in every class. If I had to venture a guess, I think your results will look something like this:

 

Georgetown, GW, U Mich, UCLA less than 50% shot, USC less than 50% shot, U Penn, Cornell less than 50% shot, Northwestern no idea, possible admit?, UVA, possibly 50/50?, Duke, UNC possibly 50/50?, Brown not sure, but probably less than 50% chance, Syracuse less than 50% shot, and American less than 50% shot

 

With that said, it is my hope for you that you're able to come back to this post and not only prove me wrong, but brag about how you got into Michigan with funding or something similar. I'm just being as realistic as I can.

[tmwashere]

Hi everyone! I've just finished up applying to a few schools for Fall 2015 for a master's in the international relations field and would love some feedback on what my chances would be. 

 

Schools: Georgetown SFS, Johns Hopkins SAIS  (only two schools as I decided a little late that I wanted to apply for graduate school this year)

 

Career goals: State Department (either as an FSO or some sort of foreign policy related role) 

 

Institution: Small, Midwestern liberal arts school in top 100 but not too well known outside of the region 

 

Major: Major in International Relations and Psychology

GPA: 3.65 (3.91 in IR major)

GRE score: 167 Verbal (97%) 162 Quant (83%) 5.5 writing (98%) 

Work experience: About 2-3 years; Current Peace Corps Volunteer in Eastern Europe, past internships with an international development NGO, the Department of Justice, reelection campaign for a local state senator, the political desk of an Indian TV station and an Indian non-profit focused on gender empowerment in rural areas 

 

Coursework: Intro to Macro ( B ), two statistics classes (A and A-)

 

Language skills: English, Tamil (fluent), Romanian (near-fluent), Russian, French and Spanish (Proficient)

 

Overseas experience (work, study and teaching): Went to high school and did two undergrad internships in India, Peace Corps Volunteer in eastern Europe 

Statement of Purpose: I think this is strong, my writing skills are not bad and I focused on my international experiences and the specific reasons the schools interested me academically and professionally

 

 

Letters of Recommendation: Should be strong; from my DOJ internship supervisor and my undergrad major adviser/head of department 

 

Concerns: Lack of much work experience (only about 2.5 years total if counting internships) and quant performance (my GRE quant score isn't terrible but along with a B grade in intro to macro and not a lot of other quant experience I'm wondering if this will be a big concern for econ-heavy schools like SAIS?) 

 

I would really appreciate any feedback! Thanks! 

Edited January 15, 2015 by tmwashere

[KenBesonders]

 

 

Concerns: Lack of much work experience (only about 2.5 years total if counting internships) and quant performance (my GRE quant score isn't terrible but along with a B grade in intro to macro and not a lot of other quant experience I'm wondering if this will be a big concern for econ-heavy schools like SAIS?) 

 

I would really appreciate any feedback! Thanks! 

 

 

I know some people here have five years of work experience, but honestly 2.5 years is pretty good. You also have some notable experience overseas and with the Peace Corps which is highly looked upon by admissions.

 

I would say you are very well rounded with excellent GRE scores. You would probably be competitive for funding at most well known institutions. 

[ayir]

Hi all, 

 

I have just applied to 2 policy programs and I was wondering about the odds of getting through. I would much appreciate if you can give me feedbackon my profile. (Thinking of applying to Fletcher and Ford (No scholarship))

 

 

Schools: HKS, SIPA 

 

Career goals: Education and health policy analyst 

 

Institution: Average university. 

 

Major: Engineering + MBA

GPA:

GRE score: 160 Verbal 160 Quant

Work experience: 8 + years in all -  6 years at Private (Google) + 2 years at Non-Profit (education related)

 

Coursework: Stats, Economics

 

Language skills: Hindi

 

OTHER: 

 

Overseas experience (work, study and teaching): 

Statement of Purpose: I am interested in school health policy and I am also interested in researching the interaction between education and health policy 

 

Extra Essays:

 

Letters of Recommendation: I hope they are strong :-)

 

Concerns: I am really concerned about my Quant score and I was wondering the kind of weight-age 'Google' carries from admissions perspective. Please help!   

 

Much appreciate the help!

Edited January 17, 2015 by ayir

[alv]

Hello!

For those Canadians out there, I'm wondering how competitive I might be for a masters in epidemiology. I'm currently finishing up my fourth year and have just submitted my last application. Any feedback is much appreciated.

 

Program: MSc Epidemiology

 

Schools being considered: OttawaU, McGill, Western

 

Career goals: For a long time I wanted to be a researcher-clinician, but medical school is tough to get into, so I'm focusing my efforts elsewhere - on something else that I know I will enjoy doing as a career. If i decide I want to do med in the future then this degree will still be very useful, as I definitely want research to be a part of my career as a doctor. I preferably want to work in infectious disease epidemiology and/or sexually transmitted disease epidemiology.

 

Undergrad Institution: Top 5 Canadian University

 

Major: Biology

 

GPA (2yr): 3.9 - all schools calculate admission average using only the last two years of your undergraduate degree

 

GRE score: N/A

 

Work experience:  1 year research assistant position at a hospital working directly with epidemiologists, research experience in infectious disease and psychology labs (both 2 years). Volunteer counsellor for 3 years. Government work in health policy.

 

Coursework: Calculus, Probability & Statistics, Epidemiology, Genetics, Cell biology

 

Language skills: English, some French

 

 

Statement of Purpose: Feel alright about it. I'm not the strongest writer but I did spend quite a bit of time on it.

 

Letters of Recommendation:

 

Hoping that they had some good things to say about me

 

Concerns:

My degree is not in biomedical/life sciences and I feel like this may hurt me in the application process. I am also unsure of how competitive these programs are and am wondering if anyone has any information about how competitive I might be.

Edited January 28, 2015 by alv