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

[macropolo]

On 4/18/2016 at 4:54 AM, SDtoMPP said:

1. Start looking at some public schools too- Michigan, Berkeley. They are significantly cheaper usually, even if you're out of state. I would also look at Duke Sanford because they are known for giving out hefty fellowships and assistantships to nearly everyone they admit. My experience with Chicago was that they give out almost no funding so that one might be tough too. 

2. I would try to reach out to some of your old professors even though you don't still stay in touch. They are likely used to that sort of situation. Most places will want at least 1 academic, although this is likely less important in MPP/MPAs than in MAs since it's professional vs academic programs.

3.  They probably won't care about a few bad classes here and there especially if they aren't related to the field of study. I had a C in a psych class on my transcript and was fine. 

4. Depends on if you are interested in IR or not really. It's nice to have some low proficiency in another language no matter what (you could definitely take online classes to fulfill this), but IR focused applicants typically are at least somewhat proficient in a language relevant to the area they want to work in.

Your advice is very much appreciated! Can I ask what sort of funding (if any) you were offered by Sanford, Goldman & McCourt? And did they mention if there are opportunities to be a TA/RA? Thanks again.

[SDtoMPP]

5 hours ago, macropolo said:

Your advice is very much appreciated! Can I ask what sort of funding (if any) you were offered by Sanford, Goldman & McCourt? And did they mention if there are opportunities to be a TA/RA? Thanks again.

Sure! Goldman I wasn't offered anything, but I'm in-state and they have a really awesome TA/RA job system so that apparently anyone who really wants one will get a position. Plus TA/RA has partial fee remission and wages so that's great.

Duke offered me $18K fellowship for the first year with the likelihood of it being renewed and a $4K assistantship.

McCourt offered me $10K per semester for both years.

 

[SeanORaff33]

Greetings! I am posting basically for the same reason everyone else is, I am worried I wont get into my top choice school.

Undergraduate: Double major in National Secuirty/Intelligence and Political Science at a small D2 school in West Virginia. Graduated early with a 3.9 GPA. Was a research fellow with the State Legislature, was student body president, did a few short terms trips abroad with the school, wrote for the school paper, tutored for ESL, and some other stuff that not that remarkable

Work Experience: I am currently a Teach for America corps member based in rural North Carolina. I teach Special Education. I will apply to graduate school with two years teaching experience.

I plan on taking the GRE in July or August then immediately applying.

My top choices are UNC Chapel Hill MPA, and Johns Hopkins MPP. Also considering some programs in the DC area.

My question is how high on the GRE do I need to score to get into UNC MPA? How high would I need to score to get a TA/RA slot? What about JHU MPP?

 

I would really appreciate some feedback here, thank you so much!

Edited April 29, 2016 by SeanORaff33

[SeanORaff33]

On 2/7/2016 at 1:40 PM, Talbs said:

You know honestly, UNC-CH is essentially a "dream school" to me, but I had convinced myself there was no chance in hell at getting accepted, so there was no need to waste my cash. On the off chance I was accepted, I didn't know if 55k for the program there would be worth the premium, compared to an MPA from somewhere like Clemson that would cost half as much. I will give these schools some thought.

If I enter an MPA program, I will do a specialization/concentration in either Town/City/County Management, or Public Finance. All of my work experience has been with departments within county government. I just didn't know if I should completely sell out and only apply to schools that are begging for applicants, or if maybe schools within the Top 100 should be on my list.

The online MPA@UNC would be a pretty good bet for admittance, but you will get charged the out of state rate. NC State also offers an MPA program, so there are options other than unaccredited schools. I think you could definitely get into some top 100 programs. You know your numbers aren't great, but you have a high AWA and 4 years of relevant experience. You will not be the worst applicant in any MPA program you apply to.

 

hope this helps

[candrew14]

On 4/29/2016 at 8:31 AM, SeanORaff33 said:

Greetings! I am posting basically for the same reason everyone else is, I am worried I wont get into my top choice school.

Undergraduate: Double major in National Secuirty/Intelligence and Political Science at a small D2 school in West Virginia. Graduated early with a 3.9 GPA. Was a research fellow with the State Legislature, was student body president, did a few short terms trips abroad with the school, wrote for the school paper, tutored for ESL, and some other stuff that not that remarkable

Work Experience: I am currently a Teach for America corps member based in rural North Carolina. I teach Special Education. I will apply to graduate school with two years teaching experience.

I plan on taking the GRE in July or August then immediately applying.

My top choices are UNC Chapel Hill MPA, and Johns Hopkins MPP. Also considering some programs in the DC area.

My question is how high on the GRE do I need to score to get into UNC MPA? How high would I need to score to get a TA/RA slot? What about JHU MPP?

 

I would really appreciate some feedback here, thank you so much!

I got into the UNC-CH MPA program with very similar credentials.  Teach for America in New Orleans (however, I'm finishing up my 3rd year here), was heavily involved with student government in college, tutored ESL, etc.

My GRE was V: 160, Q: 154, and Writing: 5.0.

They have an interview, and their cohort is only about 25 people, but I don't think that many people apply to it. It's definitely a quieter MPA program compared to all the other big ones on here.

Eventually, I declined, because they only gave me $5,000 against $60,000, and I figured I would do an Ivy for that cost. Good luck to you, however!

Edited April 30, 2016 by candrew14

[SeanORaff33]

21 hours ago, candrew14 said:

I got into the UNC-CH MPA program with very similar credentials.  Teach for America in New Orleans (however, I'm finishing up my 3rd year here), was heavily involved with student government in college, tutored ESL, etc.

My GRE was V: 160, Q: 154, and Writing: 5.0.

They have an interview, and their cohort is only about 25 people, but I don't think that many people apply to it. It's definitely a quieter MPA program compared to all the other big ones on here.

Eventually, I declined, because they only gave me $5,000 against $60,000, and I figured I would do an Ivy for that cost. Good luck to you, however!

Thanks so much @candrew14 And this was for the full-time on campus MPA?

I've also heard that there is a significant in-state bias, any truth to that?

 I'm just beginning my grad school app process so I don't know much, but 25 seems like a REALLY small cohort. 

 

Good luck with the rest of your third year!

[candrew14]

On 5/1/2016 at 9:12 AM, SeanORaff33 said:

Thanks so much @candrew14 And this was for the full-time on campus MPA?

I've also heard that there is a significant in-state bias, any truth to that?

 I'm just beginning my grad school app process so I don't know much, but 25 seems like a REALLY small cohort. 

 

Good luck with the rest of your third year!

I'm not sure about the in-state bias.  But yeah, it's a tiny program.  And yes, my app was for the on-campus.  During my interview, I actually drilled them on why they seemed to focus so much of their marketing and energy on the online program and not the campus program.  They said it was because they were just kicking it off.

Thank you...I'm making my way through it.  Excited to be apart of the Fels (Penn) cohort in the Fall...equally small, at around 25 folks.

Edited May 3, 2016 by candrew14

[indianIRguy]

I know how this sounds....but I'm a MECHANICAL ENGINEER dreaming about a career in IR. On top of that, I'm from India. Please go through my post and any advice is super appreciated. I have been waiting to write to this post for a long time:

Program: MPP/MA-IR

Schools Applying To:  Open to suggestions, but most likely SAIS MA,Columbia SIPA MIA, Ford MPP. Batten MPP, LBJ MGPS (appears pocket friendly)

Undergrad: Mechanical Engineering (not from IITs, but in the next tier) graduated in 2014. Okay in Engineering Mathematics (which included Statistics). I think I'm at ease with some calculus. Did great in Managerial Economics (only economics module available). Overall performance - 68.5% (70%-Distinction) not sure of GPA (3.5?)

Enrolled in an MA economics (Distance-mode). Already finished diplomas in International Humanitarian Law, Environmental law. Plan on taking DELF A1 French in June and A2 in December.

GRE: 161 Q 162 V 5 AWA

TOEFL: 117/120

Work Experience: Not 'relevant', but working as Asst. Manager in a public sector insurance corporation for a year in a very poor rural district that is declared as drought-struck. Before that, I spent a year reading everything from Indian History to World Geography. I was preparing for the public sector exams and read extensively about politics, iR, sociology etc.

Volunteering: online volunteer for UNDP, and a few others, taught English for four years during college.

Not much International experience except for a high profile conference. Presented a paper at an ILO conference on unemployability among engineering graduates. Published  a few eclectic pieces in a few national dailies and an insurance journal.  

How do I weigh for the programs I mentioned above? It'd be great to know if I should go for an MA-IR or MPP with IR concentration. Also any other suggestions about good programs will be great too. How can I improve my profile to appear appealing to the admssions committee?

Apologies for being too detailed....

 

 

Edited May 7, 2016 by indianIRguy
syntax

[NoMorePartiesInLA]

On 5/7/2016 at 9:35 AM, indianIRguy said:

I know how this sounds....but I'm a MECHANICAL ENGINEER dreaming about a career in IR. On top of that, I'm from India. Please go through my post and any advice is super appreciated. I have been waiting to write to this post for a long time:

Program: MPP/MA-IR

Schools Applying To:  Open to suggestions, but most likely SAIS MA,Columbia SIPA MIA, Ford MPP. Batten MPP, LBJ MGPS (appears pocket friendly)

Undergrad: Mechanical Engineering (not from IITs, but in the next tier) graduated in 2014. Okay in Engineering Mathematics (which included Statistics). I think I'm at ease with some calculus. Did great in Managerial Economics (only economics module available). Overall performance - 68.5% (70%-Distinction) not sure of GPA (3.5?)

Enrolled in an MA economics (Distance-mode). Already finished diplomas in International Humanitarian Law, Environmental law. Plan on taking DELF A1 French in June and A2 in December.

GRE: 161 Q 162 V 5 AWA

TOEFL: 117/120

Work Experience: Not 'relevant', but working as Asst. Manager in a public sector insurance corporation for a year in a very poor rural district that is declared as drought-struck. Before that, I spent a year reading everything from Indian History to World Geography. I was preparing for the public sector exams and read extensively about politics, iR, sociology etc.

Volunteering: online volunteer for UNDP, and a few others, taught English for four years during college.

Not much International experience except for a high profile conference. Presented a paper at an ILO conference on unemployability among engineering graduates. Published  a few eclectic pieces in a few national dailies and an insurance journal.  

How do I weigh for the programs I mentioned above? It'd be great to know if I should go for an MA-IR or MPP with IR concentration. Also any other suggestions about good programs will be great too. How can I improve my profile to appear appealing to the admssions committee?

Apologies for being too detailed....

 

 

You don't necessarily have to work in an NGO in order to have relevant work experience for an MPP/MA-IR. You actually have some distinct advantages that you might not even realize!

1. You worked abroad, and that to in a developing country. Big plus!

2. Your work involved engaging in a poor, rural area. People sign-up for the Peace Corps and other volunteering orgs to attain this type of experience.

3. Your work experience was in the public sector.

Nothing is for certain, but you should be a strong applicant for most if not all of the programs you have listed. Best of luck!

Edited May 21, 2016 by NoMorePartiesInLA

[fgds]

Hello,

I am an international student as well! Thanks for your help

Program: MPP/MPA/MA

Schools Applying To:  SIPA, HKS, LSE

Undergrad Institution: University of Florida

Undergraduate GPA: 3.8 (Cum Laude)

Undergraduate Major:  Econ and Poli Sci.

GRE: 162 verbal / 161 math / 4 W 

Years of Work Experience: 3 years

Languages: Spanish and English (Basic Portuguese)

Work Experience:   Worked 2 years in Deloitte Venezuela as Senior Financial Adviser (M&A, valuation, etc). I quit that job and currently work at the Venezuelan National Assembly (since January) in a National Deputy's office, I also work at my political party as a public policy researcher / memo writer

Questions/Concerns: 

1. I am worried about my writing score :/.
2. Lack of public policy experience as such
3. Some A- in my econ classes.
4. Should I apply to more schools?

Edited May 24, 2016 by fgds

[jic8989]

Undergrad  - U.S. Coast Guard Academy

GPA/Major - 2.69/Public Policy

Quant Experience - Calculus I, Calculus II, Statistics, Macroeconomics, Statics and Engineering Design, Intro to Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ships and Maritime Systems (Naval Architecture intro class), Physics I,  and Physics II

GRE - 158Q/162V

Foreign Language - Native Korean speaker

Interested in - HKS, SIPA, and Yale's Jackson Institute.

Work Experience 

- Four and a half years as a Coast Guard Officer doing the following jobs:

 - Responsible to the Commanding Officer for the safe navigation and operation of the cutter; supervised a 7 person watch. Conned ship for 180 days of deployment at sea (Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and the Bering Sea)

- Intelligence Officer onboard U.S. Coast Guard Cutter: Supervised all deployment evolutions from the cutter's operations center, 11 subordinates, and responsible for the maintenance and accountability of 100+ U.S. classified materials and documents. Managed $10,000+ budget.

- Marine Inspector: Conducts safety, environmental, engineering, and security inspections on U.S. & Foreign Flag vessels (Chinese, Russian, Panama, Greek, Filipino, Korean, and many more) in U.S. waters.  Determines Compliance with U.S. and international laws, regulations, and policies. Inspects structural strength, engineering, resistance to flooding, navigation, lifesaving & firefighting systems. Extensive study and expertise in international and domestic safety and security regulations, laws, and policies. 

- Korean language translator: Translated for high seas fisheries inspections at sea, enforced international fisheries regulations and laws, gathered valuable foreign fisheries practices.

- Executive Assistant - Responsible and coordinated Commanding Officer’s and Executive Officer’s schedule, plan of the day, & administration tasks. Managed daily schedule for the entire ship served as a bridge between the command and the rest of ship. Audited and managed $2000 budget.

- Public Affairs Officer - Responsible for drafting press releases, photography, and overall media relations for the Coast Guard unit and the local and national media. 

Volunteer - Active participant in Big Brothers and Big Sisters Program, Partnership in Education

I'm well aware of my poor GPA. I have 3 years of full funding through the GI Bill and I have enough money saved up. So I will attend any of these schools with no scholarships or funding.

Here are my concerns and questions.

1. Is it worth it for me to even apply due to my GPA?

2. Should I retake the GRE? I'm not satisfied with my quant score and I lack the quant experience because my grades in the classes I mentioned above are not that great.

3. How can I improve my chances besides re taking the GRE?

4. Should I take a Microeconomics class?

Thank you all so much for your help.

 

[snowandmountains]

Program: MPP/MA-IR - education and/or environmental policy

School Applying to: Not sure, a public US university or somewhere abroad

Undergrad: BA Economics big top 40 US university

Undergrad GPA: 2.9 (3.2 last 73 credit hours)

GRE: Haven't taken yet

Languages: Beginning Spanish (took 2016, got an A), on transcript: Intermediate Japanese 1, but that was 14 years ago (I'm 31) 

Quant Experience: 
The Good:
Calc3 B+, 2016
Discrete Math B, 2016
Intermediate Micro Theory B-
Intermediate Macro Theory B
Intro Econ Stats B
Natural Resource Econ B
Environmental Econ B-

The Bad:
Trig F (online class I let slip in 2008)
Intro to Abstract D- (2005)
Calc3 D+ (retook this spring, got a B+)

Other related courses:
UD Mountain Geography B+, 2015
UD Education with classroom experience, 2 courses, both A's

Work Experience: 
Since finishing undergrad I have had some career progression through outdoor education as well as international work experience:

-2 months musician merchandise manager in Europe, 9 countries, 32 cities
-4 months New Zealand, ski instructor
-5 winters ski instructor in the USA (numerous awards and certifications), 6 summers swim coach
-2 winters manager/trainer of ski school of 45 instructors (in-house promotion)
-3 summers ground crew/ramphand at a small airport
-Nationally certified EMT (2015)
-Maybe 100 hours tutoring/classroom teaching experience

LORs: This will be my weakest. My direct supervisor at my ski school management position knows me well and will be a strong letter. But my other 2 LORs will come from professors that really don't know me.

Notes:

• I am considering teaching abroad (likely China) before applying. This would put me at Fall 2018 admissions, I'd be 33 years old. Too old to make this career switch from outdoor educator to IR policy? I would like to work internationally eventually, though I've never been to a third world country (closest are Slovenia and Croatia). 
• Currently enrolled in an upper division Poli Sci course: Current Events in IR
• I'm continuing to learn Spanish on my own. It's one of the bigger priorities in my life right now.

Edited May 28, 2016 by snowandmountains

[Ben414]

On 5/26/2016 at 9:00 PM, jic8989 said:

Undergrad  - U.S. Coast Guard Academy

GPA/Major - 2.69/Public Policy

Quant Experience - Calculus I, Calculus II, Statistics, Macroeconomics, Statics and Engineering Design, Intro to Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ships and Maritime Systems (Naval Architecture intro class), Physics I,  and Physics II

GRE - 158Q/162V

Foreign Language - Native Korean speaker

Interested in - HKS, SIPA, and Yale's Jackson Institute.

Work Experience 

- Four and a half years as a Coast Guard Officer doing the following jobs:

 - Responsible to the Commanding Officer for the safe navigation and operation of the cutter; supervised a 7 person watch. Conned ship for 180 days of deployment at sea (Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and the Bering Sea)

- Intelligence Officer onboard U.S. Coast Guard Cutter: Supervised all deployment evolutions from the cutter's operations center, 11 subordinates, and responsible for the maintenance and accountability of 100+ U.S. classified materials and documents. Managed $10,000+ budget.

- Marine Inspector: Conducts safety, environmental, engineering, and security inspections on U.S. & Foreign Flag vessels (Chinese, Russian, Panama, Greek, Filipino, Korean, and many more) in U.S. waters.  Determines Compliance with U.S. and international laws, regulations, and policies. Inspects structural strength, engineering, resistance to flooding, navigation, lifesaving & firefighting systems. Extensive study and expertise in international and domestic safety and security regulations, laws, and policies. 

- Korean language translator: Translated for high seas fisheries inspections at sea, enforced international fisheries regulations and laws, gathered valuable foreign fisheries practices.

- Executive Assistant - Responsible and coordinated Commanding Officer’s and Executive Officer’s schedule, plan of the day, & administration tasks. Managed daily schedule for the entire ship served as a bridge between the command and the rest of ship. Audited and managed $2000 budget.

- Public Affairs Officer - Responsible for drafting press releases, photography, and overall media relations for the Coast Guard unit and the local and national media. 

Volunteer - Active participant in Big Brothers and Big Sisters Program, Partnership in Education

I'm well aware of my poor GPA. I have 3 years of full funding through the GI Bill and I have enough money saved up. So I will attend any of these schools with no scholarships or funding.

Here are my concerns and questions.

1. Is it worth it for me to even apply due to my GPA?

2. Should I retake the GRE? I'm not satisfied with my quant score and I lack the quant experience because my grades in the classes I mentioned above are not that great.

3. How can I improve my chances besides re taking the GRE?

4. Should I take a Microeconomics class?

Thank you all so much for your help.

 

1. Yes. MPP/MPA/MA IR programs relatively aren't that stringent on test scores and GPA, and IMO the rest of your profile still gives you a legitimate chance.

2. Maybe. How sure are you that you can improve it, and how high do you think you can get? If you can pass calculus and calculus-based physics courses, then you have the quant knowledge necessary to get a high score on the quant section. Quant knowledge is not sufficient obviously, but I would think a higher quant score is definitely within reach if you are decent enough at standardized tests and are willing to properly train yourself for the test.

Your test scores seem fine for SIPA, and a bit low for HKS and Yale.Your military experience and GI scholarship will help you with admission, but your GPA will likely hurt you a bit. If you think there's a good chance you can increase your quant score 4+ points, then I'd say go for it.

3. You could consider taking micro. UT, UCLA, and BYU seem to have good options available for that. The big thing I would recommend is to work hard on your essays. Maybe other users can give you ideas on what else you could do.

4. Maybe. It's definitely not necessary, but it might help your profile a small amount.

[Knivez]

Program: MA in security studies

Schools Applying To:  Georgetown, George Washington, GSPIA, John Hopkins, and American University

Undergrad Institution: A small liberal arts college in the south.

Undergraduate GPA: 3.97 (I graduated summa cum laude for what its worth.)

Undergraduate Major:  Psychology

GRE: I haven't taken it yet, but I was projected to get ~305

Years of Work Experience: ~6 years

Languages: English.

Work Experience:  4 years in the Marine Corps overseas working with SOFA status and international police offices. I gathered information and helped with some investigations. I am currently in the National Guard as a counter intelligence agent.

Questions/Concerns:

What steps do I need to do in order to make my application stronger?

Do I legitimately have a chance right now with any of the schools listed above?

Who would be the best people in my life to choose LOR from?

Is there a way I can get someone to look at my SOP and see if it is strong?

 

 

[Sam992]

Hey all - would appreciate a quick estimate of chances. 

Undergrad: BA Economics / Political Science from a good non-Ivy US school (Duke/UChicago/Northwestern/etc)

Work-ex: 2 years at one of the elite management consultancies (McKinsey/Bain/BCG) and six months at an IFI (World Bank, IADB, etc)

Nationality: American

GMAT: 760 [will take the GRE as well]

Shooting for:

KSG
WWS
SIPA

Basic "story" is that I'm passionate about bringing private sector efficiency to inefficient public sector institutions. Will likely apply to MBA/MPP and MBA/MPA programs, but only at the top ~3-5 public policy schools. 

Appreciate your help!

[belocali]

On 3/30/2016 at 0:35 PM, SDtoMPP said:

Hello! I'm also interested in social/education policy and am headed to an MPP program in the fall. Overall you sound like a competitive applicant, but obviously not quite ready to apply yet. I think there are some big missing pieces to the puzzle right now. First would be the GRE, obviously. It's not the entirety of the application, but it does help place what schools you would be competitive at. For example, right now I would say you are very competitive at both UCLA and Evans, but if you're scoring low 140s on the GRE then that may not be the case. Have you taken any practice tests? I would suggest aiming for a high 150s or 160+ score on both sections to really put you at the top of the game for these schools. The second thing really is work experience. I graduated in 2014 and spent the 2 years since as a teacher for Teach for America, which really tied together the narrative for my education policy focused application. If I were you I would be looking at public service corps (Justice Corps and Americorps are both good options, even if what you do isn't directly relevant to education!), or salaried jobs with NGOs, nonprofits, etc. They are going to want to see full time work experience, probably not more post-grad internships! This of course isn't a rule, but will likely be helpful. If you don't get a job directly related to education, I'd suggest picking up some education related volunteering-- most libraries have volunteer tutoring and many non-profits do, as well. Doesn't have to be a lot- maybe 3-6 hours a month! You are definitely on your way to being competitive (at schools like HKS, Berkeley, Ford too!), but just need to round it all out in the next year or two! 

Thank you so much for your feedback! I have not begun studying for the GRE at all just yet, but I will be starting this summer. Also, I appreciate the advice about seeking out work experience versus more internships - I was really shooting for the intern experience! Thanks again & best of luck in the fall!

[asipringmppma]

Program: Interested in MPP/MAIR for fall 2017, also interested in public health, specifically the intersection of public health, education, and public policy in developing countries, hoping to work in project management in international development

Schools Applying To: interested in Goldman, SIPA, Georgetown, American, GW, Yale, Princeton, Michigan, Korbel, open to suggestions

Undergrad Institution: A mid-sized liberal arts university in Texas 

Undergraduate GPA: 3.5 
Undergraduate Major:  Political Science 

GRE: Taking in 2 months 

Years of Work Experience: will be 2.5 years at enrollment time

Languages: English, Advanced French, Intermediate Hindi, Basic Punjabi 

Work Experience:  full time internships in U.S. House and Senate, Fulbright in India, AIF Clinton Fellowship in India, study abroad in West Africa and India, extensive advocacy volunteering experience for a health non-profit, critical language scholarship recipient, lettered NCAA athlete, extensive fundraising/development volunteering

Questions/Concerns: 

Concerns: work experience is mainly fellowship-based, lack of extensive office experience in the U.S.- wondering how this will affect my chances, only 2 Cs in College were in Statistics and Economics and did not take a microeconomics or calculus class, however got As in SPSS/ Quantitative research/ political methods classes  

Chances for schools listed above or suggestions? Chances for getting scholarships?

Does anyone have experience getting FLAS funding for MPP? Particularly for South Asian languages, and at Goldman, SIPA, or Ford?

Edited June 29, 2016 by asipringmppma

[happygomucky]

On 6/7/2016 at 2:52 AM, Knivez said:

Program: MA in security studies

Schools Applying To:  Georgetown, George Washington, GSPIA, John Hopkins, and American University

Undergrad Institution: A small liberal arts college in the south.

Undergraduate GPA: 3.97 (I graduated summa cum laude for what its worth.)

Undergraduate Major:  Psychology

GRE: I haven't taken it yet, but I was projected to get ~305

Years of Work Experience: ~6 years

Languages: English.

Work Experience:  4 years in the Marine Corps overseas working with SOFA status and international police offices. I gathered information and helped with some investigations. I am currently in the National Guard as a counter intelligence agent.

Questions/Concerns:

What steps do I need to do in order to make my application stronger?

Do I legitimately have a chance right now with any of the schools listed above?

Who would be the best people in my life to choose LOR from?

Is there a way I can get someone to look at my SOP and see if it is strong?

 

 

I think you'll be very competitive provided you craft a strong narrative in your SOP drawing on your work experience. Focus on making your essays as compelling as possible, and on getting a good quant score (though I think that GRE scores become less relevant the more work experience you have). 

Use referees who know you well, who are willing to work with you to make a great LOR, and can back up the argument you craft in your essays with their own examples. If that means prioritising work colleagues over academic referees, go for it. I can only speak from my own experience but I think you can still be a very good applicant without having academic referees if you have 5+ yrs work experience and have been out of undergrad a long time. I just used work colleagues (not even very senior ones, just people who knew me well with 'good enough' job titles) in my LORs and it didn't harm my prospects at all. Showing my SOPs to friends and colleagues helped me to tighten up the structure and narrative, but there's a forum on gradcafe that you can use as well. 

[Swingin_Sween]

Program: MPP/MPA as well as International Development/IR

Schools Applying To:   John's Hopkins, Indiana-Bloomington, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton and Univ of Washington

Undergrad Institution: 

Undergraduate GPA: 3.6

Undergraduate Major:  Environmental Conservation

GRE: Haven't taken yet.

Years of Work Experience: ~1

Languages: Basic Spanish and Albanian

Work Experience:  Spent a summer interning for the U.S federal government in American Samoa working on environmental issues. About to start a Fulbright research grant in Kosovo looking at drought management

Questions/Concerns: 

Need funding or some sort of scholarship to help with tuition. I am just curious to see how competitive I could be for some of these programs

[kgallison]

Program: Security Studies

Schools applying to: American, GW, Georgetown, Korbel, Pitt, Bush I am open to suggestions!

Undergraduate institution: Large Public School in the South

Undergraduate GPA: 3.336. I had a rough first semester but upward trend from there

Undergraduate Major: BA in Political Science and International Studies (double major)

Undergraduate Minor: French

Study Abroad: Brussels, Belgium

GRE: Taking it in the next month

Age: 22, will be 23 upon enrolling

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): will be 1

Years of Work Experience:  Currently serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA in my gap year. I interned at a US Embassy in Europe for 3 months in the Political/Econ section. By the time I enroll I will have over a years worth of experience. I worry this isn't enough.

Volunteer: I am a Red Cross Disaster Relief Volunteer. I also have extensive volunteer work in my community

Organizations: Sorority (held position), College Republicans,

Awards: Dean's list, Global Studies Award (program through my university that awards students who studied abroad and focused their studies on learning how to conduct business/relations with different nations and cultures)

Languages: French

Quant: I took Macro/Micro but they were not my finest moments.

I have some concerns and worries that my GPA is too low. My projected GRE scores seem strong but I wont know until i actually take it. I worry that I don't have enough experience to be a competitive candidate

[OrcaJoc]

Programs: Comparative Literature

Undergrad Institution: Duke

Undergrad GPA: 3.88

Undergrad Major:  Visual Arts

GRE: Haven't taken yet

Work Experience: Currently a senior, planning to work for 1 ~ 2 years first

Languages: English, Korean, Japanese (limited)

Questions/Concerns: My main concern is the fact that I'm a Visual Arts major applying to comparative literature programs. My top choices are interdisciplinary ones (Brown's MCM, Stanford's MTL, NYU's MCC, etc.), but I am also hoping to apply to literature based programs. I'm working with a professor next semester to work on a literature research paper, but besides him, the only other professors that could write me letters of recommendations are for visual arts and visual studies. With my academic background, would it make more sense to start with a MA than a PhD? I would prefer not to, considering the time/money investment, but also don't want to apply to a PhD if I won't be competitive enough just yet. Thanks!

[curvilineardisparity]

I've been reading the forum for quite some time, but it is my first time posting here. I'm an international student currently preparing my application for a PhD in Political Science or Public Policy in the US and would really appreciate to hear your comments on how to improve my application (questions below).

Academia:
Undergrad: Economics, 5 years, mid-level Brazilian university, GPA~2.5, thesis on public budget in Brazil.
1st Master's degree: Public Administration (courses on PolSci, Law and Economics), 2 years, mid-level Brazilian university, GPA=4.0, thesis on innovation policy & economic growth in Latin America, with full scholarship.
2nd Master's degree: Public Economics, Law and Politics, 2 years, mid-level German university, GPA (by now)~3.0, thesis on political parties in Latin America, with full scholarship, plus assistantship at a Development Economics course at the BA level.
Lecturer: Economics, Marketing and Financial Maths, 2 semesters, mid-level Brazilian university.
Others: short-term courses (i.e. summer schools) in over 10 countries.
Publications: 
One paper in a Polish journal, two papers in Brazilian journals; oral presentations at international renowned congresses as Development Studies Association (Oxford U), International Political Science Association, European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy, and a graduate conference on political theory at SciencesPo.
Work experience:
National bureau positions in a Brazilian political party's youth wing for ~7 years; treasurer and program manager at an international NGO based in the UK for ~6 years; political consultant for different politicians in Brazil, incl. a former minister for ~8 years; part-time jobs in small-sized consulting firms in Germany as finance coordinator and market researcher (energy sector) for 6 months each.
Languages: Portuguese (native), Spanish (upper-intermediate), German (intermediate), English (TOEFL: 104, 3 years ago, I guess I have to retake it).
GRE: will take it in October. Very worried about it, as I feel myself very dumb when looking at the content.

"Dream" universities: MIT, Georgia Tech or George Mason (although I believe that with not-high scores on GRE and coming from mid-level unis would not allow me to be accepted).

Well, my questions are:
1) How much does coming from mid-level (not famous) international universities harm my application?
2) If I don't score high (or even in the 50th percentile) on GRE, would I still have chances with my CV?
3) In the case of low GRE scores, would you recommend any uni in the fields of either innovation or political parties in Latin America?
4) The applications are in December/January. I'm trying to improve my CV by having more publications. Is there any other thing I can do now?
5) On which aspects should I focus my application?
6) Do you believe the three listed universities would be a feasible target? Unfortunately my budget only allow me to apply for 3 universities, so I must be pretty assertive.
7) Should I approach potential supervisors before applying? If yes, how do you suggest doing so?
8) Any other suggestions or comments? I'd really appreciate hearing from you!


Thank you very much for all of you contributing to it!  

[Ella16]

On 8/6/2016 at 3:17 PM, jvgneto said:

I've been reading the forum for quite some time, but it is my first time posting here. I'm an international student currently preparing my application for a PhD in Political Science or Public Policy in the US and would really appreciate to hear your comments on how to improve my application (questions below).

GRE: will take it in October. Very worried about it, as I feel myself very dumb when looking at the content.

2) If I don't score high (or even in the 50th percentile) on GRE, would I still have chances with my CV?
 

Hi, I don't have any advice directly on phd studies but I have some on the GRE. The GRE is an exam you can definitely study for and your score can improve a lot from that. I notice from your post you have some grammatical structure issues in your sentences. I would recommend that you brush up on your English as much as possible, maybe take some writing classes or hire a tutor. Some universities don't require the GRE if you are an international student, they will only ask for the TOEFL so check if yours do. 

Lastly I would recommend Magoosh for the verbal portion of the GRE and the Manhattan Prep study books for the math part, they are smaller books but there are 7 on different topics so can cover absolutely everything. Political Science programs will care more about the Verbal part of the GRE and Public Policy ones will care about both but will probably still lean towards verbal. However because you are in Economics they will probably expect fairly high quant scores from you. You can easily improve your quant scores with the Manhattan books and with Khan Academy (a website). Improving your verbal usually takes a long time but quant can be done in two months or so. Good luck!

[chocolatecheesecake]

On 8/7/2016 at 4:17 AM, jvgneto said:

I've been reading the forum for quite some time, but it is my first time posting here. I'm an international student currently preparing my application for a PhD in Political Science or Public Policy in the US and would really appreciate to hear your comments on how to improve my application (questions below).

Academia:
Undergrad: Economics, 5 years, mid-level Brazilian university, GPA~2.5, thesis on public budget in Brazil.
1st Master's degree: Public Administration (courses on PolSci, Law and Economics), 2 years, mid-level Brazilian university, GPA=4.0, thesis on innovation policy & economic growth in Latin America, with full scholarship.
2nd Master's degree: Public Economics, Law and Politics, 2 years, mid-level German university, GPA (by now)~3.0, thesis on political parties in Latin America, with full scholarship, plus assistantship at a Development Economics course at the BA level.
Lecturer: Economics, Marketing and Financial Maths, 2 semesters, mid-level Brazilian university.
Others: short-term courses (i.e. summer schools) in over 10 countries.
Publications: 
One paper in a Polish journal, two papers in Brazilian journals; oral presentations at international renowned congresses as Development Studies Association (Oxford U), International Political Science Association, European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy, and a graduate conference on political theory at SciencesPo.
Work experience:
National bureau positions in a Brazilian political party's youth wing for ~7 years; treasurer and program manager at an international NGO based in the UK for ~6 years; political consultant for different politicians in Brazil, incl. a former minister for ~8 years; part-time jobs in small-sized consulting firms in Germany as finance coordinator and market researcher (energy sector) for 6 months each.
Languages: Portuguese (native), Spanish (upper-intermediate), German (intermediate), English (TOEFL: 104, 3 years ago, I guess I have to retake it).
GRE: will take it in October. Very worried about it, as I feel myself very dumb when looking at the content.

"Dream" universities: MIT, Georgia Tech or George Mason (although I believe that with not-high scores on GRE and coming from mid-level unis would not allow me to be accepted).

Well, my questions are:
1) How much does coming from mid-level (not famous) international universities harm my application?
2) If I don't score high (or even in the 50th percentile) on GRE, would I still have chances with my CV?
3) In the case of low GRE scores, would you recommend any uni in the fields of either innovation or political parties in Latin America?
4) The applications are in December/January. I'm trying to improve my CV by having more publications. Is there any other thing I can do now?
5) On which aspects should I focus my application?
6) Do you believe the three listed universities would be a feasible target? Unfortunately my budget only allow me to apply for 3 universities, so I must be pretty assertive.
7) Should I approach potential supervisors before applying? If yes, how do you suggest doing so?
8) Any other suggestions or comments? I'd really appreciate hearing from you!


Thank you very much for all of you contributing to it!  

I suggest you look more at the Political Science forums and get advice from them for the academic track, because a PhD in public policy has more in common with other PhDs in polisci, sociology, etc.: http://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/36-political-science/ 90% of people here are pursuing a master's degree in public policy/public administration, which is usually a terminal degree, so we're hoping to be practitioners rather than academics. The application processes and criteria are very, very different. 

A side note: I've actually never heard of int'l applicants only being asked for TOEFL instead of GRE. If anything, in my experience, int'l students are usually asked for more qualifications, not less. 

[emilyf413]

Hi all,

I'm completely new to Grad Cafe and trying to figure out where I want to apply for my masters' in public policy! I want to focus on poverty issues and I'd prefer a school that looks at policy from a socially progressive lens. If any of y'all have any tips, websites, etc that can help you decide what schools you'd like to attend, I would very much appreciate it 

 

Program: MPP/MPA

Schools Applying To:  Still deciding, but so far I like Berkeley, NYU, Wisconsin

Undergrad Institution: NYU

Undergraduate GPA: a little above 3.9

Undergraduate Major: Sociology

GRE: Haven't taken yet.

Years of Work Experience: 1 year right now.

Languages: English. Speak passable Spanish, German, and Hebrew for basic conversations, but I'm truly not fluent so I wouldn't count it.

Work Experience:  Since graduating I've been working as a legal advocate for people having issues with their food stamps and public assistance. May be transitioning soon to a research assistant position at a social policy organization.

Other Things: Wrote a senior thesis that I'm pretty proud of.

Questions/Concerns: 

1. Not fluent in any other language
2. I haven't taken the GRE yet, but I'm anticipating a disappointing math score. I've taken some advanced math but it was awhile ago (in college I took two stats classes, one in sociology and one in politics).
3. Not enough work experience?
4. Lack of economics experience

 

Thanks in advance for any advice!