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

[noblelandmermaid]

Hey @PHL City Planner! Your profile is similar to mine, though I'll be applying at least one year behind you. I have a graduate degree in an urban planning/architecture-related discipline and currently work at the city level, so I'll be following your 2019 application journey!

I'm also interested in domestic/urban policy, so HKS and WWS are my tops, too. Harris is also on my list because of their Place Lab and the fact that they seem to funnel a lot of their students into internships/jobs with the City of Chicago. (I am also from the Midwest and love Chicago.) However, the lack of certificate or true focus in urban policy is a bit of a deterrent. It may be worth adding to your list, though!

[policyapplicant]

1 hour ago, noblelandmermaid said:

Hey @PHL City Planner! Your profile is similar to mine, though I'll be applying at least one year behind you. I have a graduate degree in an urban planning/architecture-related discipline and currently work at the city level, so I'll be following your 2019 application journey!

I'm also interested in domestic/urban policy, so HKS and WWS are my tops, too. Harris is also on my list because of their Place Lab and the fact that they seem to funnel a lot of their students into internships/jobs with the City of Chicago. (I am also from the Midwest and love Chicago.) However, the lack of certificate or true focus in urban policy is a bit of a deterrent. It may be worth adding to your list, though!

Harris does have a great certificate in municipal finance though! 

[PHL City Planner]

On 5/2/2018 at 2:57 PM, UrbanPolicy&Development said:

Harris does have a great certificate in municipal finance though! 

 

On 5/2/2018 at 1:52 PM, noblelandmermaid said:

Hey @PHL City Planner! Your profile is similar to mine, though I'll be applying at least one year behind you. I have a graduate degree in an urban planning/architecture-related discipline and currently work at the city level, so I'll be following your 2019 application journey!

I'm also interested in domestic/urban policy, so HKS and WWS are my tops, too. Harris is also on my list because of their Place Lab and the fact that they seem to funnel a lot of their students into internships/jobs with the City of Chicago. (I am also from the Midwest and love Chicago.) However, the lack of certificate or true focus in urban policy is a bit of a deterrent. It may be worth adding to your list, though!

Thanks both! Have either of you thought about an MBA instead? I've been talking to some coworkers and friends and they've floated the idea of an MBA because of its versatility, and you can often take policy courses at other schools within the university/sister institutions. One good friend of mine was in the same policy/business debate and opted for her MBA.

If so, I imagine there are specific MBA programs that are "softer" on business, and have policy or public finance concentrations. Interested in your thoughts.

[YoungZulu]

Program: MA/MPP

Schools applying to: Georgetown (MSFS,MPP), Columbia SIPA, JHU SAIS, HKS(MPP), GW Trach

Interests: foreign policy related to immigration and trade in Africa

Undergraduate institution: Small liberal arts private school, top public school (transferred to after 2 years at private school) 

Undergraduate GPA: 3.2 (cumulative)

Undergraduate major: Economics

GMAT:650 (strong reading and writing, slightly above average quantitative)

Quantitative Courses: Cal 1(C), Calc 2 (B), Calc 3 (C). Econometrics(B+), Economic Statistics (A). Macro (A), Micro(B). 

Years of Work Experience: 2

Work Experience: Interned for two months at a recognized foreign affairs publication in Paris. 3 months as research consultant at World Bank's Development Research Group. 2 years as analyst at top international investment bank in their Sales & Trading division.

Languages: English (native), French

Volunteer Experience: 1 year working with Department of State funded non-profit. Helped educate foreign exchange students and families about living in U.S. 6 months working as pro-Bono consultant for a non-profit that placed refugees into paying work in the U.S.

Age: 23

LORs: 1 professor, 1 supervisor at DOS funded non-profit volunteer organization (Field Director of East Coast) , 1 Executive Director at Investment Bank. I 

Concerns:  I’m not sure about the range of schools I should be applying to due to my low GPA offsetting my strong work and volunteer experiences.
I have strong international experience as I’ve lived and interned abroad through-out my life and have demonstrated strong interest in international affairs through volunteering. But I’ve only been out of school for 2 years and my GPA is low due to me transferring from a small, intimate private school to one of the biggest public universities in the country halfway through college.
 

Do you think my work and personal experience offset my low GPA well enough to apply to top programs?

 

  

Edited May 15, 2018 by YoungZulu

[kayemeh]

17 minutes ago, YoungZulu said:

 

Do you think my work and personal experience offset my low GPA well enough to apply to top programs?

 

  

I think you'd be a good fit for GU MSFS & SAIS. Grad school admissions is far less a numbers game than undergrad. I had a lower GPA (albeit more work experience) but still got into good programs. 

If you're applying for Fall 2019, start talking to admissions at your choice schools and get an idea of what their Fall 2018 cohorts look like so you have numerical data to compare yourself to. 

[YoungZulu]

Thanks Kayemeh, that’s encouraging!

Checked your profile out of curiosity, sincerely wish you hear back soon! Crossing fingers.

[invincible49]

Program: MPP/MPA/International Development 

Schools Applying To: HKS, Princeton MPA, Stanford IPS, JHU SAIS, Lee Kuan Yew, Berkley, Berkeley MDP (Maybe a couple more ?)

Interests: Mostly interested in grassroots development work, social policy and welfare

Undergrad Institution: Local university in India

Undergraduate GPA: 6.38/10 

Years since Undergrad: 7

Undergraduate Major: Mechanical Engineering

GRE:  V 157 / Q 166 / AW 4.0

Quantitative Courses: Many Math courses in the undergraduate level (which I did very bad at). Took extension classes this year at UCLA: Stats (A+), Micro, Macro (both A)

Age: 29

Languages: English and some Indian languages

Work Experience:  ~5 years of relevant work experience including about 3.5 years of paid work

1. 2.5 years a public policy researcher at a think tank. I researched government programmes and schemes and saw how they were implemented on the ground. 
2. I left my job and have since begun a fellowship where I work on the ground with a Member of Parliament in a rural district. I try to implement schemes and programmes together with the district administration. The fellowship ends in December.
3. Also have a good amount of volunteer experience when I was younger

LORs: 2 previous bosses and my MP (maybe)

SOPs: Not started yet but I want to focus on my journey of how I went from research to implementation. During my research I saw and recommended many changes to the way things were being done and I chose to pursue my fellowship to see if I could implement the changes I had recommended in the first place. I want to write about that as my motivation and the problems I faced in doing so.

Concerns: Terrible GPA. Even though I graduated in 2011, I did have a two Fs in my transcript but overall its a crappy looking grade card. I tried to make up for it and have done well in my GRE and the extension courses. My hope is the adcom will at that positively.

Would appreciate any advice/help on whether I'm competitive for the current range of school currently! 

Thank you!

[invincible49]

@chocolatecheesecake, @went_away, @ExponentialDecay - I would really appreciate any insights. 

If there are others in the know please do help as well.

Thanks!

Edited May 26, 2018 by invincible49

[chocolatecheesecake]

On 5/25/2018 at 8:32 PM, invincible49 said:

Program: MPP/MPA/International Development 

Schools Applying To: HKS, Princeton MPA, Stanford IPS, JHU SAIS, Lee Kuan Yew, Berkley, Berkeley MDP (Maybe a couple more ?)

Interests: Mostly interested in grassroots development work, social policy and welfare

Undergrad Institution: Local university in India

Undergraduate GPA: 6.38/10 

Years since Undergrad: 7

Undergraduate Major: Mechanical Engineering

GRE:  V 157 / Q 166 / AW 4.0

Quantitative Courses: Many Math courses in the undergraduate level (which I did very bad at). Took extension classes this year at UCLA: Stats (A+), Micro, Macro (both A)

Age: 29

Languages: English and some Indian languages

Work Experience:  ~5 years of relevant work experience including about 3.5 years of paid work

1. 2.5 years a public policy researcher at a think tank. I researched government programmes and schemes and saw how they were implemented on the ground. 
2. I left my job and have since begun a fellowship where I work on the ground with a Member of Parliament in a rural district. I try to implement schemes and programmes together with the district administration. The fellowship ends in December.
3. Also have a good amount of volunteer experience when I was younger

LORs: 2 previous bosses and my MP (maybe)

SOPs: Not started yet but I want to focus on my journey of how I went from research to implementation. During my research I saw and recommended many changes to the way things were being done and I chose to pursue my fellowship to see if I could implement the changes I had recommended in the first place. I want to write about that as my motivation and the problems I faced in doing so.

Concerns: Terrible GPA. Even though I graduated in 2011, I did have a two Fs in my transcript but overall its a crappy looking grade card. I tried to make up for it and have done well in my GRE and the extension courses. My hope is the adcom will at that positively.

Would appreciate any advice/help on whether I'm competitive for the current range of school currently! 

Thank you!

The good news is that I think you're doing all the right things. Undergrad GPA matters less and less with more and more years of work experience. Three to four years of policy-related work is great. Next, you've taken the UCLA extension courses and gotten As, which proves you've moved past your undergrad GPA. Next, make sure you've got a recommendation from your current or previous employe. If you have a good relationship with any of those extension course professors, consider that too - they can further speak to how serious you are about your schoolwork now. One last piece of advice: if there were extenuating circumstances in undergrad that affected your performance, you should absolutely say so in your application - for example, a serious illness, family issues, economic circumstances, etc. The schools care about that. 

What I would like to see is now more of a pronounced focus on what you want to study in graduate school. What are your areas of focus? What kind of change are you trying to create, either in government or in the the broader society in India? You have very high aims for your graduate schools, and those schools will pay a lot of attention to what kind of goals you have. Don't just talk about how much you learned over the last few years - talk about what you want to do now that you know much more about implementation than you did as a researcher. Make sure you write very good, focused SOPs that are backed up by your recommenders (they should know what your aspirations are). 

I also suggest looking more critically at your list of schools, which are all reputable schools. As programs and focuses, they seem kind of all over the place. When you tighten up on your focus, you can better figure out what type of program is going to offer you what you're looking for. Maybe you've had your fill of research, and you actually want to do more group-work and client work to try out more implementation. Or maybe you'll have a job waiting for you back in India, and you really want to spend grad school doing research and high-level statistics and econometrics with excellent professors. You should narrow down the list of schools that can offer you what you want; I recommend applying to six or seven schools as a max. Good luck!

[invincible49]

1 hour ago, chocolatecheesecake said:

One last piece of advice: if there were extenuating circumstances in undergrad that affected your performance, you should absolutely say so in your application - for example, a serious illness, family issues, economic circumstances, etc. The schools care about that. 

Thank you so much @chocolatecheesecake. Unfortunately I created these bad grades for myself and theres pretty much nothing I can do about it. I am still trying to figure our if I should write the optional essays and try to say that I was immature then and I am trying my best to make for it now. I never realised how ones stupidity in the past (almost 10 years ago) could come back to bite them! Getting a bad GPA is really one of my regrets so far. 

[MPP19]

Program: MPA

Schools Applying To: Columbia SIPA, Cornell CIPA

Interests: Energy

Undergrad Institution: Top college outside US

Undergraduate Major: Finance

Undergraduate GPA: 3.45

Graduate Institution: Top 40 in U.S.

Graduate Major: Economics 

Graduate GPA: 2.7 (I know, it is bad)

Years since Undergrad: 5

Year since Grad: 3

GRE:  Will take the test in September, and working hard to secure 160+ in the two sections to offset my graduate GPA

Quantitative Courses: Calculus I (A), Calculus II (A), Linear Algebra-Graduate (B-), Discrete Mathematics (A), Economics (A), Managerial Economics (B-), International Trade (B), Macro Economics Policy (B-), Statistics I (A), Statistics II (A), Econometrics (A)... few others

Age: 30

Languages: English, Persian, Pashto, Arabic

Work Experience:  3 years relevant work experience, total 7 years work experience

1. 1 year as Economist for the President of my Country
2. 2 years in developmental areas/public policy
3. Also have a good amount of volunteer experience when I was younger

LORs: 2 Previous bosses from the Office of the President

SOPs: Haven't started yet, but I will focus more on how the second master's degree help me achieve my goals in the energy sector. 

Concerns: Terrible GPA. Even though I graduated in 2016, I had 2 Ds but repeated them and got B- in graduate school. Have 2 C+ in graduate school. Since I took Linear Algebra after long time I graduate from college, I received D, then B- after I repeated it. 

Would appreciate any advice/help on whether I'm competitive for the current range of school currently! 

Thank you!

 

[krush]

Hello all, I am a new member here and this is my first post.

Program Applied To: MPP/MPA
Schools Applied To:  N/A, definitely planning to apply to Rutgers-Newark SPAA, Hertie School of Governance
Schools Admitted To: N/A
Undergraduate institution: Top 5 in Indonesia, also attended the best public university in South Korea (Top 10 nationwide) for an exchange program
Undergraduate GPA:  3.71/4.00 in Indonesia. 4.30/4.30 in South Korea. Showed an upward trend, except a slight dip during my 4th semester, but average ~3.70 in the last two final years and always above 3.50.
Undergraduate Major:  International Relations, with focus on International Politics and Security/Peace Studies. Area studies: US Politics, East Asian Politics
GRE: N/A (planning to take it next year)
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  0
Years of Work Experience:  ~1.5
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Worked as a teaching assistant for 2 semesters (4 classes, related to my area studies/specialization), now working part-time at a research center in my university focusing on digital government (the impact of technology to our society). I also had international internship experiences though they were in the business sector and not related at all to PubPol/PubAdm.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  My biggest strength probably would be my work experience at the research center which led me to my clear goal to eventually work for the government related to e-govt/digital government, my research/thesis plan (specific area I want to study, which also serves as my motivation for 'Why MPP/MPA?'), and my motivation to serve my country through policy advocacy and research. This would be an advantage for my application to Rutgers-Newark because they offer a specialization in e-government which really fits my interests.
Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): 2 from two professors whom I helped as a teaching assistant, a research assistant, and also my undergrad thesis advisor. Another from the managing director of the research center I'm working at.
Language Skills: Korean (beginner-intermediate), German (beginner, plan to learn it more seriously), and English (obviously)

Concerns: My biggest concern is my lack of quant skills/experience. During undergrad, my department didn't offer courses to develop quant skills (most papers/essays/assignments I wrote used qualitative method),  it was almost impossible to take courses from another major/faculty (like Statistics, Econ, etc) and tbh I am not really interested in Econ, though I took an IPE course which was mandatory for all students. Most MPP/MPA schools required strong quant skills and I am very worried that I am not competitive for grad school (for now) because of my lack of quant experience/skills and considering to wait a couple years before applying.

I also would like to know if you guys can give me any recommendation for MA/MSc programs that might be best for my interest of study and offer professional/internship opportunity. I looked up some of the best MPP/MPA programs (HKS, WWS, SIPA, etc) but I am not really interested as they put so much focus on quant skills and I think I won't get what I want through the courses they offered. I am also considering to take MA in PolSci though I don't think that degree would get me a job nor skills in the field I would like to work in.

Thank you!

[Andromeda3921]

Program: PhD in Sociology

Schools Applying To: Columbia University, University of Chicago, Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania, National University of Singapore, University of California - Berkeley, London School of Economics, Sciences Po

Long-listed Schools: Harvard University, University of California - Los Angeles, Yale University, Princeton University, University of Wisconsin - Madison, University of Amsterdam, New York University, Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of North Carolina, University of Texas -Austin, Brown University, Duke University, Boston University, John's Hopkins University, Northwestern University, University of California - Irvine, University of California - San Diego, University of Maryland

Interests: Urban sociology - Qualitative Transportation, Identities, Spatiality, Heritage ; Comparative Sociology; Applied Sociology;  International Development; South Asia; Public Policy

Expectations from Programmes: 

Program: Interdisciplinary, Allowing students to choose courses across departments, emphasis/known for applied approach

Resources: Ongoing projects with vibrant research space, Access to funding, Encouraging collaborations, Good enough brand to ensure employment on completion of programme, preferably located in an urban area to aid fieldwork. 

Graduate Institution: Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India

Graduate Major/Degree: MA in Development Studies (Integrated Course, no undergraduate degree granted separately) 

Graduate GPA: 7.99/10

Undergraduate Minor: Operations Research

GRE:  V 168/ Q 156 / AW 4.5

TOEFL: 113 (iBT)

Age: 25

Languages: English & Tamil - Fluent ;  German - A2 completed, B1 in progress ; Hindi - Working Knowledge

Work Experience: (2 years research experience currently, 3 year professional experience by Fall 2019)

> 1.4 years at Indian Center of International policy think-tank : Spearheaded research project on on-going urban policy scheme in India

> Currently freelancing as urban research consultant for local organization apart from volunteering with organizations dealing in gender and mental health advocacy

> Multiple research internships as student

> Policy report & newspaper OpEds published

> Presented in multiple International conferences since undergraduate days

SoP: Not begun yet, but will focus on specific research I hope to do (along lines of a proposal) 

LORs: 1 from Masters supervisor (senior Indian Urbanist and extremely well known internationally for seminal work on Urban informality) ; 1 from Professor during Masters degree (rising Anthropologist in India, knows me well personally) 

Can obtain 1 from previous boss (Head of Research at International policy think-tank, Member of PM's Economic Advisory Council in India) - however, would be one year since I quit the job. 

Concerns: 

1. Low Graduate GPA

2. No academic/journal publications yet

3. Applied to Northwestern, NYU, U.Penn & U.Minnesota for Sociology PhD for Fall 2018 and got rejected by 3. U.Minn placed me on the Waitlist, but did not get converted to an admit

Would really love feedback if I am competitive for the range of schools I plan to apply to. I am posting early only to gain an understanding of what I can fix for the next round of applications. 

Edited June 4, 2018 by Andromeda3921
Forgot points earlier

[chocolatecheesecake]

On 6/4/2018 at 6:01 PM, Andromeda3921 said:

Program: PhD in Sociology

@Andromeda3921, I suggest you repost in the Sociology forum: https://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/46-sociology/

The public policy/ public administration/ government affairs degrees are very different, especially because they're terminal professional degrees, not academic ones. We hardly even get PhDs in Public Policy coming to this forum because it's just not as relevant for what they're applying to. I'm sure you can get some good feedback on those forums too. Good luck!

Edited June 6, 2018 by chocolatecheesecake
Adding OP name.

[Andromeda3921]

9 hours ago, chocolatecheesecake said:

@Andromeda3921, I suggest you repost in the Sociology forum: https://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/46-sociology/

The public policy/ public administration/ government affairs degrees are very different, especially because they're terminal professional degrees, not academic ones. We hardly even get PhDs in Public Policy coming to this forum because it's just not as relevant for what they're applying to. I'm sure you can get some good feedback on those forums too. Good luck!

Thanks for the advice @chocolatecheesecake! Will post on the Sociology forum! 

[development&policy]

Hello everyone! This is my first post, and I signed up for the grad cafe just because of this amazing sub-forum, so thanks a lot for the amazing work you have been doing

A brief summary of my past:

GMAT: 730 (50q, 40v)

GRE: to be taken (but expecting 168+ from quant, and probably ~320 in total)

Undergraduate: Double major in International Economics and Finance at the #1 university for economics in Italy, probably top 20 worldwide. Received a full scholarship, will graduate in July 2019

Undergraduate 2: LLB (Bachelor of Laws) from a solid online programme prepared by a consortium of British universities. Great first-year GPA, will graduate in 2020.

Work experience: Spring internship in a Big 4 Auditing firm; Spring internship in a fund management firm; Summer internship in a top local bank; 5-month full-time traineeship in a big 3 consulting firm; Summer internship in the National Treasury; 2-month full-time internship in an embassy within the Office of the Commercial Counsellor

Extracurriculars: Founded a student association to conduct academic research on development related issues (currently the Vice-President) and will issue an academic  journal next year; co-managing an investment fund in which a part of the revenue is being donated to various charities all around the world; Vice-President of a pro-bono consulting association that helps NGOs and small businesses; Secretary-General in an association for international students; attended various leadership conferences; android app development (no idea how this can help as it is not a major success, but received a scholarship from Google, so I might as well add); created an online legal advisory database for people who are facing with sexual, physical, or verbal harassment to guide them to get appropriate help they need

Nationality: Turkish

Languages spoken: Turkish, English, Italian, German

Gender: Female (I don't even know if this is still a factor that is being considered, but yeah)

Dream Schools: Kennedy School, Woodrow Wilson SPIA, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, John Hopkins SAIS, Georgetown School of Foreign Service, Yale Jackson M.A., Yale IDE, Bush School of Government and the ultimate goal: Stanford Ford Dorsey MA/IPP as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar (they are all very very long shots, I know hahaha)

And strongly considering Yale SoM MMS: Global Business & Society, but that's for another day.

What can destroy my applications: 1)My terrible undergrad GPA. Started off very bad (around 24/30), but there is a clear upward trend (26.5/30 in the second year). I am still hopeful because I do have extenuating circumstances and 1 more year to ameliorate it (aiming for a 28/30 in my third and last year).

2)Need for funding. In case schools are willing to provide loans for an international student, that is also more than welcomed.

I would be more than happy if you guys could check my profile out and let me know if you think there is even a small chance for me to get accepted to one of those programs. It would also be amazing if you could recommend some other schools as well.

Really sorry for the long post, have a nice day

Edited July 4, 2018 by development&policy
rewording

[ExponentialDecay]

2 hours ago, development&policy said:

 

You have a great profile, but in the US students don't go to professional programs directly out of undergrad, so programs want 2-3 years of full time post-college experience. You'll still get into all of these schools, but your lack of work experience will adversely affect your ability to get (non-negligible) funding. The potential exception to that is Stanford, as it's not a typical policy program. I don't recommend taking out 6 figure loans for a policy degree as an international student with no policy work experience.

[development&policy]

26 minutes ago, ExponentialDecay said:

You have a great profile, but in the US students don't go to professional programs directly out of undergrad, so programs want 2-3 years of full time post-college experience. You'll still get into all of these schools, but your lack of work experience will adversely affect your ability to get (non-negligible) funding. The potential exception to that is Stanford, as it's not a typical policy program. I don't recommend taking out 6 figure loans for a policy degree as an international student with no policy work experience.

Thank you very much @ExponentialDecay for replying so fast and helping me out with a detailed explanation

I was scared that my lack of work experience would prove to be a problem as well, and the points that you mentioned will be food for thought for me. Thank you very much once again!

[Thirteen]

Hi everyone, I've lurked for awhile but after taking the GRE today, felt like I could get some great feedback from you all! I appreciate it

Program: MPP/MPA/MIA

Schools Applying To: HKS, Princeton MPA, SIPA, Fletcher, UCSD, GWU, Duke Sanford, Possibly Georgetown MSFS?

Interests: China's foreign policy and/or environmental policy

Undergrad Institution: Respected but not amazing private school

Undergraduate GPA: 3.7 

Years since Undergrad: Right now 1 year, have another year left of Peace Corps service

Undergraduate Major: Political Science 

GRE:  V 159 / Q 153 / AW TBD (took it today)

Quantitative Courses: intro to micro (A-), intro to macro (A). Not sure if a GIS class and 2 “quantitative reasoning” classes are relevant

Age: Soon to be 24

Languages: English and intermediate Mandarin 

Work Experience:  

1. Currently a Peace Corps Volunteer just eclipsed the halfway mark. 
2. 2 Internships with the State Department  (1 in DC, 1 at an embassy)
3. Internship with a member of the European Parliament in Brussels

LORs: Most likely 2 professors who I had taken a few times and received As.  A former internship boss. Possibly someone from the Peace Corps?

SOPs: Not started yet but I want to continue to study the Sino-US relationship in some capacity. Biggest strength is my international experience (3.5 years by the end of PC) and how it has shaped my perspective on life. I have used the three internship experiences to say I’ve seen how foreign policy is conducted from the US domestic side, the US government abroad’s approach, and how another actor t(he EU) conducts their affairs before in some personal statements (albeit in a more eloquently worded manner.)

Concerns: Low GRE quant is my biggest fear. I studied for it for about 3 months but focused much of my attention on verbal since my first practice test I scored 147. Language - although I can survive doing every day things, I definitely can’t discuss international relations in Mandarin. I know Fletcher, GPS, MSFS require a high level to graduate. How strict is this? Is it plausibly to continue studying the language on top of other coursework? 

Would appreciate any feedback you have. Am I setting my sights to high? Thanks!

Edited July 5, 2018 by Thirteen

[ExponentialDecay]

On 7/4/2018 at 6:28 AM, development&policy said:

Thank you very much @ExponentialDecay for replying so fast and helping me out with a detailed explanation

I was scared that my lack of work experience would prove to be a problem as well, and the points that you mentioned will be food for thought for me. Thank you very much once again!

It should not be difficult for you to get some position that is relevant to your education when you graduate from Bocconi (if you are a non-EU citizen it will be more difficult, but still feasible). It doesn't really matter at this stage whether the position is development-related or not as long as it's professional rather than busywork. I'd suggest you do that for two or three years then apply to grad schools, or else apply to masters programs in Europe where your current profile will be more competitive.

[JWSS]

Hello! As is the case with a lot of people here I've been reading the forum religiously for the last couple of weeks and you all have provided valuable insight in this process. I hope to contribute in the future, and thank you all in advance for taking a look at my profile! I'm mostly curious if you think I'm setting my sights too high, and what, if any, schools you think I should focus on in particular.

Schools Applying To:  Columbia SIPA, Chicago Harris, Duke Sanford, Princeton WWS, HKS, Berkeley, & Michigan Ford. My top choices would be Stanford IPS or SAIS, and obviously WWS for the tuition assistance. I've also been back and forth on whether or not I should apply to any MBA programs. Both types of programs would help me in the career trajectory I want, but as of right now I think applying to MPP/MPAs is a better choice because not only is the curriculum a better "fit," but I think I could get into better MPP/MPA programs.

Interests: MPP/MPA programs, with a desire to break into development consulting after graduation.

Undergrad Institution: Top 100 private university in Chicago

Undergraduate GPA: 3.67 (unlike most, I have a downward trend. I took two semesters of 21 credits of all economics classes senior year because I added an econ major late).

Years since Undergrad: Three years by the time of application

Undergraduate Major: Econ and Int'l Studies (minors in French, Spanish, and Asian studies) 

GRE:  Taking the test in September, but my practice tests are putting me at mid to high 160s in verbal, low 160s in quant

Quantitative Courses: Intro and intermediate Micro & Macro (As and Bs), Stats (A), Calc (though I got a C- in Calc because I missed an exam). Hopefully retaking calc online (doing that now) and a high quant score will overcome that?

Age: currently 24, will be 25 when I enroll

Languages: English, working proficient Spanish, French, and Wolof, and what was once intermediate Mandarin (now not as good). I can also speak passable Serer, as my Peace Corps host family speaks it at home. Would that even be worth listing on an application?

Work Experience:  

• Currently a Peace Corps volunteer in the Economic Development sector (West Africa)
• A 6mo internship with the Quebec chamber of commerce in Chicago, mostly data research
• 6mo doing economic and policy research for the WHO in China

LORs: I am family friends with a former ambassador and SAIS graduate, I was thinking he might be a good recommender? Thoughts? In addition, my boss in Peace Corps, my old boss at the WHO, and an old economics professor who runs Stanford business school's executive education program in China all agreed to write me recs.

SOPs: I haven't written them yet but I have a rough idea. I come from a family of public servants and have a demonstrated international focus (both policy and development related). I was a writing tutor in college at one point, so the prose will be fine as long as I can project a coherent story. 

Concerns: My biggest worry is a less than stellar grade in Calculus (C-, I missed an exam), and a B- in intermediate microeconomics. In addition, I worry about work experience since I'll be on the low end with 2.5 years total. Additionally, though I'm scoring well on the GRE practice tests (and am studying a lot), I live in the literal desert and it's hard to know how I'll perform on the GRE when test day rolls around. 

I am extremely lucky to be a Peace Corps volunteer and have access to application fee waivers virtually everywhere. I also have a lot of time to apply, so I think pairing down a list of schools at which I have a reasonable chance of acceptance is my priority.

Thank you all in advance for any thoughts you may have! 

[Tk2356]

@JWSS With your languages, peace corps experience, econ major and high GRE, and assuming you write stellar essays, I would be surprised if you aren’t accepted everywhere..except maybe WWS (which is always a crapshoot). With this in mind, here’s what I would advise:

- you’re slightly under the average age of a few of the top programs (HKS, WWS, SIPA), so I would emphasize any leadership experience you have had. 

- think long and hard about who to ask for LORs, and work with them to align with your essays. 

- look up specific details of each program and highlight how they could help you get to where you want to be. 

- read the program admission blogs for advice and common mistakes. HKS’s in particular is a wealth of information, which when followed will automatically set you apart from a sizable percentage of applicants. 

Good luck! 

[JWSS]

@Tk2356

Thank you! That's great advice, I'll give it all some thought. In terms of applications, in your experience do you think it's better to try to pair it down to 5 or so schools, or put out as many as possible to help negotiate funding down the road? I'm looking at the list of places I could apply now and am a little daunted by the sheer volume. That said I'm not really sure how to pair it down to the schools I should be focusing on. Also, and I don't know if you'd know this since I haven't seen much about it on the forum (though I am a newbie), is it true that Yale Jackson is as competitive as WWS?

Edited July 6, 2018 by JWSS

[Tk2356]

@JWSS I think that the number of schools you apply to should depend on what you want. If you’re intent on incurring the least amount of debt, I would cast a wide net. It also depends on how much time you care to devote to the process. Many people don’t have the time (or money) to apply to ten schools, so they zero in on their top 4-5. If you are on the fence about applying to MBAs, and have the time, I would seriously consider applying to those which will give you a joint degree. All I know about Yale Jackson is that it’s a smaller program and greatly values experience. I would be surprised if they are as competitive as WWS given the funding angle. 

[JiHoo]

GPA: 4.0 (BA)

GRE: 170 V/156 Q/5.5 Writing (I think in percentiles that was 99/60/98....note the quant score)

Work Experience: 10 years in public policy/government work. Moved up gradually to leadership positions. 1.5 of the years I worked full-time while in school though, not sure if that still counts as WE although it was the exact same tasks as when I did the job after graduation.

Volunteer Experience: 10+ years in various roles, from just assisting to the head of an org. Volunteered abroad in 3 different countries, with time ranging from a month to a full year in a remote area.

Languages: English plus a basic level (not fluent) in two other languages.

Programs: I would like  an idea of my chances at programs like HKS, WWS (both MPP and MPA), Yale Jackson, SIPA, NYU, Georgetown, and any other notable ones that there are. I have thought of applying to MBA programs too, although these wouldn't be as tight a fit with my career and also I would likely do even worse on the quant part of the GMAT. I've done perfectly fine in statistics and quantitative research methods courses but just can't nail the type of quant on the GRE/GMAT.

 

I am probably a few years older than the average applicant at these programs, though I think I kind of blur between being more of a fit for the standard program or the executive ones. My quant is rather low for many of the top programs and I've been told this will make it much harder at those, though from looking at the guidebook for Princeton's MPP program I see it might not be such a major blow for that (as opposed to their MPA).

Edited July 12, 2018 by JiHoo