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

[MoynihanBreakerBurkina]

On 3/18/2019 at 5:20 PM, CoolRadOh said:

I haven't heard anything yet.  No update on application portal either.  

Heard anything yet from IPED? I was waitlisted so passing it up. Was hoping for a fellowship so that I'd have an excuse to stay in NY. Looks like I'm headed to the west again.

[CoolRadOh]

5 hours ago, MoynihanBreakerBurkina said:

Heard anything yet from IPED? I was waitlisted so passing it up. Was hoping for a fellowship so that I'd have an excuse to stay in NY. Looks like I'm headed to the west again.

You heard today? I still haven’t got anything either way.  I guess I assumed I was waitlisted, because no rejection or anything.  

Congrats on all your acceptances! 

[MoynihanBreakerBurkina]

16 hours ago, CoolRadOh said:

You heard today? I still haven’t got anything either way.  I guess I assumed I was waitlisted, because no rejection or anything.  

Congrats on all your acceptances! 

Thank you! Still, I really wanted to be in at Fordham, was betting on that fellowship. They must be much more competitive than I thought (I guess it makes sense since they only accept 25 people/year) but I kind of thought of all the programs I pursued, I'd get this one... obviously I was wrong.


But yeah, I heard back finally after waiting forever, and they said waitlist. So it might possibly be a good thing that you didn't hear back yet? hmmm 

Let me know if you hear back! I hope you get the fellowship!!!!



 

[DevMeg]

Hello!  I'm hoping to apply this coming application cycle, but I'm also looking for recommendations to improve my profile.  If I need to, I'm willing to postpone grad school another year or two for more work experience if it means I might be able to increase my chances of getting funding.

Applying to: HKS, WWS, Tufts, Georgetown (probably GHD), maybe JHU, probably American and Korbel for safety (I mostly want feedback if I even stand a chance at the WWS level)

Interests: international development - specifically community development and its relationship to improving international security

Undergrad Institution: University of Denver

 Undergrad GPA: 3.62 (not the strongest, of course)

 Undergrad Major: International Studies and Journalism Studies, minors in History and Hebrew

 GRE: 168V / 160Q/ 5.5 AWA

Quantitative Courses: Calculus I (received a C my freshman year of college); added to my quant background with the following courses from a local community college: statistics, principles of microeconomics, principles of macroeconomics - received As in all of them, I hope I can use this to point to my commitment to doing quantitative work and how serious I am about reentering the academic world.  The university in my town didn't have a lot of continuing ed offerings, but I also read on here that many of the programs don't think negatively about taking community college courses to bolster a weak quantitative resume.

 Work Experience: During college: Journalism internship in Israel, including a magazine feature piece about Syrian refugees treated in Israeli hospitals; 6-month marketing internship/volunteer opportunity (volunteered to stay past actual internship date) at small, internationally focused nonprofit in Denver

Post-college: 3-month temporary position at one of the largest nonprofits in the US in programs/events, turned down the chance for a permanent position to serve in the Peace Corps; 1.5 years in the Peace Corps in Mongolia working in English education and youth development, left because my mom was diagnosed with cancer and facing life-threatening surgery, granted Interrupted Service which is a designation that means I left for reasons out of my control; 2 years in a leadership position at a small nonprofit that is considered an industry leader in sustainable development programs in Africa and Central America, one of 5 US employees, which means I manage a large portion of the nonprofit.

In college work experience: probably totals nearly a year with another experience I didn't list here.  Post-college work experience (which probably matters more): 3.5 not counting the temp position, nearly 4 if you count it.

 Language: Hebrew (high proficiency with 6 years of study), Mongolian (intermediate proficiency), Turkish (basic proficiency)

LORs: I hope these are pretty good.  One from the Executive Director where I work, one from a professor who can account for my research skills and critical thinking ability, one mostly like from Peace Corps (just deciding who is the best PC person to write this LOR)

SOP: Haven't really gotten into this yet.  I'll probably start these over the summer.  I'll probably talk about my interest in sustainable community development as a tool in international security, why I need an MPA to enter the field I want to enter - something like that.  Seriously, I've been mostly getting my quantitative background in order.

Thoughts: I'm worried about my weaker GPA.  There was also a period of 9-months where I worked in retail and restaurant service because I had trouble finding a job, and then another period of 9-months where I worked in retail and restaurant service because I was waiting to go to the Peace Corps (and felt like accepting a permanent position somewhere would be dishonest).  I don't reflect negatively on those experiences, and I did what I had to do to pay the bills.  I'm just not sure how some of the really competitive programs are going to feel about that.  A lot of the student bios listed on the WWS website are people who have been working incredible policy and/or nonprofit jobs since they graduated college.  Going to grad school is a huge priority, but I know that I'm going to be in nonprofit/public service work for the rest of my life.  I'm trying to do what I can to avoid more debt.  I'm willing to work another year or two (although I need to change jobs because now I do mostly fundraising and I don't like it - it's just an important skill to have no matter where you end up in nonprofit work) if it means that I'll be the strongest candidate I can possibly be.  I'm interested in WWS for so many reasons, some related to funding and some related to the strength of the program, size of cohort, emphasis on enter public service/nonprofits after graduation, etc.  I know it's a total crapshoot, but if someone has a recommendation for me to make it less of a crapshoot or fill in a hole I have, I'm all ears.

[MoynihanBreakerBurkina]

9 hours ago, DevMeg said:

Hello!  I'm hoping to apply this coming application cycle, but I'm also looking for recommendations to improve my profile.  If I need to, I'm willing to postpone grad school another year or two for more work experience if it means I might be able to increase my chances of getting funding.

Applying to: HKS, WWS, Tufts, Georgetown (probably GHD), maybe JHU, probably American and Korbel for safety (I mostly want feedback if I even stand a chance at the WWS level)

Interests: international development - specifically community development and its relationship to improving international security

Undergrad Institution: University of Denver

 Undergrad GPA: 3.62 (not the strongest, of course)

 Undergrad Major: International Studies and Journalism Studies, minors in History and Hebrew

 GRE: 168V / 160Q/ 5.5 AWA

Quantitative Courses: Calculus I (received a C my freshman year of college); added to my quant background with the following courses from a local community college: statistics, principles of microeconomics, principles of macroeconomics - received As in all of them, I hope I can use this to point to my commitment to doing quantitative work and how serious I am about reentering the academic world.  The university in my town didn't have a lot of continuing ed offerings, but I also read on here that many of the programs don't think negatively about taking community college courses to bolster a weak quantitative resume.

 Work Experience: During college: Journalism internship in Israel, including a magazine feature piece about Syrian refugees treated in Israeli hospitals; 6-month marketing internship/volunteer opportunity (volunteered to stay past actual internship date) at small, internationally focused nonprofit in Denver

Post-college: 3-month temporary position at one of the largest nonprofits in the US in programs/events, turned down the chance for a permanent position to serve in the Peace Corps; 1.5 years in the Peace Corps in Mongolia working in English education and youth development, left because my mom was diagnosed with cancer and facing life-threatening surgery, granted Interrupted Service which is a designation that means I left for reasons out of my control; 2 years in a leadership position at a small nonprofit that is considered an industry leader in sustainable development programs in Africa and Central America, one of 5 US employees, which means I manage a large portion of the nonprofit.

In college work experience: probably totals nearly a year with another experience I didn't list here.  Post-college work experience (which probably matters more): 3.5 not counting the temp position, nearly 4 if you count it.

 Language: Hebrew (high proficiency with 6 years of study), Mongolian (intermediate proficiency), Turkish (basic proficiency)

LORs: I hope these are pretty good.  One from the Executive Director where I work, one from a professor who can account for my research skills and critical thinking ability, one mostly like from Peace Corps (just deciding who is the best PC person to write this LOR)

SOP: Haven't really gotten into this yet.  I'll probably start these over the summer.  I'll probably talk about my interest in sustainable community development as a tool in international security, why I need an MPA to enter the field I want to enter - something like that.  Seriously, I've been mostly getting my quantitative background in order.

Thoughts: I'm worried about my weaker GPA.  There was also a period of 9-months where I worked in retail and restaurant service because I had trouble finding a job, and then another period of 9-months where I worked in retail and restaurant service because I was waiting to go to the Peace Corps (and felt like accepting a permanent position somewhere would be dishonest).  I don't reflect negatively on those experiences, and I did what I had to do to pay the bills.  I'm just not sure how some of the really competitive programs are going to feel about that.  A lot of the student bios listed on the WWS website are people who have been working incredible policy and/or nonprofit jobs since they graduated college.  Going to grad school is a huge priority, but I know that I'm going to be in nonprofit/public service work for the rest of my life.  I'm trying to do what I can to avoid more debt.  I'm willing to work another year or two (although I need to change jobs because now I do mostly fundraising and I don't like it - it's just an important skill to have no matter where you end up in nonprofit work) if it means that I'll be the strongest candidate I can possibly be.  I'm interested in WWS for so many reasons, some related to funding and some related to the strength of the program, size of cohort, emphasis on enter public service/nonprofits after graduation, etc.  I know it's a total crapshoot, but if someone has a recommendation for me to make it less of a crapshoot or fill in a hole I have, I'm all ears.

I think you'll easily get into American and Korbel, and probably Georgetown. If you want HKS, I'd say you should get a little bit more related work experience. I think you also have a good chance at Fletcher. Princetown will be a little tough (could benefit from more experience here as well). Pretty well-rounded profile.

[interstu5]

Program Applied To: American SIS MAIAPA, Elliott School MA IDEV

Undergraduate institution: regional public university.

Undergraduate GPA: 3.95

Undergraduate Majors: International Affairs, Minors in Economics and Spanish

Study Abroad: Christ University in India, doing research on women’s rights 

GRE: not taken as it is not required by either school

Years of Work Experience: 1-2 years full-time, 5 years cumulative

Describe Relevant Work Experience: 

-         Completed project for UNDP on political and electoral rights

-         Was a national fellow for a well-known NGO and helped lobby at the UN Commission on the Status of Women

-         Worked as a research/communications assistant on campus for a research institute focused on economic and policy analysis

-         Worked as an international student peer advisor on campus

-         Economic Development Committee member for a local nonprofit doing development work in Kenya

-         Did gender-based violence research as a member of President’s Women’s Commission

-         Changed university policy on emergency contraceptives access on campus

-         Completed internship for a human rights educational center locally

-         Conducted policy evaluation for local municipal county courthouse on racial inequity policies

-         Was a budget and finance chair for a local political action committee

-         Lobbied federal government on global women’s rights issues

-         Held community organizing positions for a variety of issues such as environmental policy, women’s rights, etc.

-         Volunteered for refugee arts organization and a human rights organization creating databases.

-         Politics journalist for campus newspaper

-         Worked full-time for a year as a research analyst for a sales/marketing company after high school.

All before turning 21. It's really varied/wide but there's not a ton of depth in any 1 specific field except women's rights.

Languages: Intermediate-Advanced Spanish, beginning Hindi. 

Quant: Calculus AB from high school (4), 4.0 in all economics classes including micro and macro, will take econometrics and more classes in econ next year, 4.0 in stats, significant work experience with statistics. 

Strength of SOP: probably fine. 

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): One from a professor who has personally paid for me to go to academic research conferences with her (long story) and has been my mentor from day 1, one from a professor who was the director of my program and appointed me as the leader for a UN simulation in a class on international organizations, and one from a supervisor (either from the director of the international student services dept at my school where I worked for a little under a year or from the director of a public policy & economics research institute on campus that I currently work for, haven’t decided yet).
 

Others: I’m also a first-generation student, nontraditional (married!), and low-income. I’m most concerned that my undergraduate institution will reflect poorly on the rest of my application, since my school is not that good, although it is fully accredited and not 100% acceptance (came here due to financial concerns etc). Not really considering applying to Georgetown or Johns Hopkins because a. don't think I'd get in and b. It would cost a lot more since I'd have to take GREs and they don't have fee waivers for first gen students.

[TalkPoliticsToMe]

4 hours ago, interstu5 said:

Others: I’m also a first-generation student, nontraditional (married!), and low-income. I’m most concerned that my undergraduate institution will reflect poorly on the rest of my application, since my school is not that good, although it is fully accredited and not 100% acceptance (came here due to financial concerns etc). Not really considering applying to Georgetown or Johns Hopkins because a. don't think I'd get in and b. It would cost a lot more since I'd have to take GREs and they don't have fee waivers for first gen students.

I wouldn’t get hung up on the prestige of your undergraduate institution as you performed extremely well while there. Not all of us can attend Ivies and schools know that—especially for first generation students / low income households. If anything, your undergad institution can be mitigated through your essays. You can expand / reflect on how your undergrad experience and personal background influenced you to pursue graduate study etc etc 

[2021mpp]

Program Applying To: MPP, MPA, MSCAPP

Schools Applied To:   HKS, WWS, UChicago (MSCAPP), Heinz, Goldman, Ford, Sanford
Undergraduate institution: Top 20 School
Undergraduate GPA: 3.75
Undergraduate Major: Political Economy and Portuguese
GRE Quantitative Score: 170
GRE Verbal Score: 163
GRE AW Score: 5.0 
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2
Years of Work Experience: 2
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Interned on the hill, global health nonprofit, two RA internships at Harvard, Fulbright in Brazil, currently working as a Project Coordinator at a medical school
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Planning to start relatively early
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): Planning on asking my thesis advisor, a professor I worked closely with during my Fulbright, and my work supervisor
Other: I'm still not sure if this upcoming cycle is the right time to apply. Since affordability is a priority, I feel like I might be better off applying when I have more experience under my belt. Any advice would be appreciated!!

[MPPKollege]

22 hours ago, yy308 said:

Program Applying To: MPP, MPA, MSCAPP

Schools Applied To:   HKS, WWS, UChicago (MSCAPP), Heinz, Goldman, Ford, Sanford
Undergraduate institution: Top 20 School
Undergraduate GPA: 3.75
Undergraduate Major: Political Economy and Portuguese
GRE Quantitative Score: 170
GRE Verbal Score: 163
GRE AW Score: 5.0 
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2
Years of Work Experience: 2
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Interned on the hill, global health nonprofit, two RA internships at Harvard, Fulbright in Brazil, currently working as a Project Coordinator at a medical school
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Planning to start relatively early
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): Planning on asking my thesis advisor, a professor I worked closely with during my Fulbright, and my work supervisor
Other: I'm still not sure if this upcoming cycle is the right time to apply. Since affordability is a priority, I feel like I might be better off applying when I have more experience under my belt. Any advice would be appreciated!!

Of your two years of work experience, has this been full-time work or internships? 

Your GRE quant and verbal scores are fantastic so I would not worry about those at all. 

[2021mpp]

Full-time work. I interned during my undergrad.

Thank you! Magoosh helped a lot

[MPP19]

Hi all, is there anyone who has been admitted to SIPA's MPA EPM and declined the offer or is planning to do so? I am on wait-list and cant wait to get in. Thanks!

[twenty-seven]

On 4/11/2019 at 11:10 AM, yy308 said:

Program Applying To: MPP, MPA, MSCAPP

Schools Applied To:   HKS, WWS, UChicago (MSCAPP), Heinz, Goldman, Ford, Sanford
Undergraduate institution: Top 20 School
Undergraduate GPA: 3.75
Undergraduate Major: Political Economy and Portuguese
GRE Quantitative Score: 170
GRE Verbal Score: 163
GRE AW Score: 5.0 
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2
Years of Work Experience: 2
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Interned on the hill, global health nonprofit, two RA internships at Harvard, Fulbright in Brazil, currently working as a Project Coordinator at a medical school
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Planning to start relatively early
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): Planning on asking my thesis advisor, a professor I worked closely with during my Fulbright, and my work supervisor
Other: I'm still not sure if this upcoming cycle is the right time to apply. Since affordability is a priority, I feel like I might be better off applying when I have more experience under my belt. Any advice would be appreciated!!

Your profile sounds great! I think you would be ok to apply in this application cycle. I applied with three years of experience and got into every program I applied to with much worse test scores than yours. 

[kenton]

I will be doing a bit of a shift from my educational background trying to get into environmental management or policy programs ideally with an international spin. I am also looking at many schools in Europe and one in Japan. My goal is to narrow it down to about 5 schools and these are probably the most prestigious (difficult to get into) on my list. I know it is a long shot for Yale and WWS but I think I have a good chance at the others. 

Schools Applying To: Yale MEM (Environmental Management), WWS MPA,  Maxwell MPA, Notre Dame Keough MGA, Science Po MEP (Environmental Policy), Lund University IIIEE (MEP)

Undergraduate institution: Top 3 school in state 

Undergraduate GPA: 3.25

Undergraduate Major: Intentional Relations and Japanese Language

GRE Quantitative Score: 156

GRE Verbal Score: 163

GRE AW Score: 4.0 

Languages: I am fluent in French and conversational in Japanese

Quant: This is not my strong suit but I did take intro to Macro & Micro getting an B and A- I also took stats and calculus where I think I got a B and a C. 

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2

Years of Work Experience: 2

Describe Relevant Work Experience: I would not say this is particularly relevant but I have been teaching English in Japan as a JET for the past 2 years. I have been able to take on a lot of responsibilities and even introduced new programs to the English curriculum. Starting in September will be interning at an international energy policy think tank in Tokyo that will run until June of 2020. 

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I have not started writing them yet but I believe that I have a clear path in my mind that involves going to graduate school to achieve my goals.  I grew up living on sail boats and have seen coral bleaching and fish diversity decreasing first hand and picked a fair amount of trash out of the ocean. A lot of my interest in environmental issues stems from my experiences with that life.  

Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I have one professor who has written multiple LORs for me in the past and who I got along with well in undergrad. Two others might be a bit more difficult. I plan on asking the intern director at the think tank to write me one. Potentially my Japanese professor could be a third but her field is obviously pretty removed from environmental studies. 

Other: I was a CLS recipient for Japanese. I took two Graduate courses in undergrad and got As in both.  One was on Modern China the other on Religions in Japan.

 

[nuktheory]

Hey all, I posted in the political science thread a week or so ago but recognized this would be a better spot, as I'm trying to get a policy-oriented Ph.D. I wanted to get some advice on getting into a Ph.D. program focused on International Relations, specifically studying nuclear deterrence. I’d like to build a research-oriented career in nuclear deterrence and strategy. However, my path leading up to this point has been rather untraditional, so I’m trying to get some advice on what I should do over the next few years to set myself up for success when I start applying to programs to try and be somewhat competitive.

 

Currently, I have a BS in Music Production from Full Sail University (3.19 GPA) and an MA in International Relations from Webster University (3.78 GPA). I did my schooling online as I was in the military for most of it; I spent 6 years enlisted in the USAF working with nuclear security. Recently, I started working as an analyst contracting for DTRA, evaluating nuclear weapons security and exercise protocol. I haven’t taken the GRE yet, though I understand that those scores will be critical to getting into a decent program.

 

Since I did my school online and through schools that don’t have name-brand appeal by any means, I’m a little worried about getting into a decent program. I don’t need to get into Harvard or anything but would like to make myself as competitive as possible to get into a decent program. I still have a bit of my GI bill benefits left and was playing with the idea of doing some more school first. I’ve been considering a graduate certificate focusing on nuclear policy through George Washington, or perhaps a second Masters in security studies or something similar at a school here in DC. I don’t mind doing more school before putting in for a Ph.D. but I don’t want to waste my time either. I’d like to make sure that if I do more graduate school it will be conducive to my application. Also, I’m unsure if I’d even be able to do a second Masters since I already completed one in the field. 

 

Any advice on what I should be doing would be greatly appreciated! My fairly nontraditional background makes it hard for me to judge my competitiveness and what I should do to improve that, it would be great to get some advice from those who may know a little more than myself. Thanks in advance!

[justaname]

Sorry! Duplicated post 

Edited July 27, 2019 by justaname
Duplicated post

[justaname]

Hi folks! Have been reading some of the posts - they are very helpful. I’m starting my second year post graduate and hoping to apply for MPP/MPA this fall. Coming from a humanities background, I hope to eventually work in cultural policy (and cultural economies). I would love to hear your opinion on my chances of getting into any of the programs listed. I’m a bit worried about my background not being political science/international relations/global affairs/economics etc. Oh and, I’m an international student, if that matters.

 

Program Applying To: MPP, MPA

Schools Applied To: HKS, WWS, Jackson, Harris, Goldman, Sanford, and maybe Blavatnik (Oxford) (am I aiming too high?)

Undergraduate institution: NYU

Undergraduate GPA: 3.81

Undergraduate Major: Art History

GRE Quantitative Score: 165

GRE Verbal Score: 166

GRE AW Score: pending (haven’t received my report)

Languages: Mandarin (native), English (full professional), French and Italian (very basic level)

Quant: haven’t taken too many quant classes, but I did take microecon (A-), macroecon (B+), cal (B+), stats (A). I hope my GRE quant could make up a bit for my lack of quant background. 

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 1-2 (will be 2 years at the time of enrollment)

Years of Work Experience: 1-2 (2 if counting all internship experience)

Describe Relevant Work Experience: a writer internship for NGO on foreign policy; a museum internship; an UN internship; full-time writing fellowship at a university doing research while providing writing consultation (about to start my second year of the fellowship)

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): feel pretty good about this. Personal story+academic and professional experience can demonstrate why I want to work with cultural policy

Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): one art history professor, one law/environmental studies professor, and maybe one of my supervisors at the UN

Other: Besides my humanities background, I’m also worried about my professional experience. None of them is directly related to policy research/analysis. I guess the writer internship for NGO on foreign policy could be a bit more relevant than others. The UN internship is mainly about strategic communications and advocacuy, so I feel it doesn’t mean that much other than the big name. The only I could improve between now and the admission deadline is to make my research during my second year fellowship relevant to policy. Would this help?

 

Would love to hear your opinion on my strengths/weakness and also chances of getting into any of the schools. Any advice appreciated!! Many thanks!

Edited July 27, 2019 by justaname

[CellucciK]

Program Applying To: MPP, MPA, 

Schools Applied To:   HKS, WWS, UChicago (MSCAPP), Stanford Dorsey Ford, LES, Yale Jackson/FES, McCourt, SAIS
Undergraduate institution: Cornell
Undergraduate GPA: 3.95
Undergraduate Major: Applied Economics and Management 
GRE Quantitative Score: 169
GRE Verbal Score: 160
GRE AW Score: Not sure yet just took it
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2
Years of Work Experience: 2
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Worked as a research analyst at a financial firm with one year in public infrastructure and one years researching macro-economic trends in Latin America and working with MDBs (World Bank EBRD, IADB, etc). Also worked for a Wind Energy firm in college and started my own non-profit that put solar panels on the roofs of charities.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Not yet written but I think that I have a good story that will make sense for those reading it. I have a background in renewable energy and international work and I want to combine the two to do sustainable development. Probably a focus on the policy making side as I do not have an engineering background. 
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): Very strong, my advisor and professor who helped me start the solar non-profit, my international political economy professor who I regularly keep in touch with still and my boss who went to WWS and my boss who went to Yale for those two schools.
Other: Professional level in Spanish and beginner Portuguese as well. I really like the idea of doing the Yale dual degree with Jackson and FES so I think that is my top choice right now. 

[BuckytheBadger]

Hi all, starting my senior year undergrad and am starting the grad school app/search process - any feedback would be helpful. 

Program Applying To: MPP and MPA

Schools Applying To: Temple, UT-Austin, Northwestern, UW-Madison, Georgetown, Ohio State, Maryland, U Chicago, Michigan - open to others/suggestions
Undergraduate institution: UW-Madison
Undergraduate GPA: 3.52
Undergraduate Major: Political Science - minors in Russian Affairs and Environmental Studies
GRE Quantitative Score: 155
GRE Verbal Score: 163
GRE AW Score: 4.5
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 0
Years of Work Experience: 0
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Interned for State Rep in WI, interned for Sierra Club, interned for US Senator, write for political journal at university. 
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Planning to start relatively early - writing is one of my strengths. 
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): Going to ask my advisor, US Senator, and chair of Polisci dept at my previous university(PhD from UNC, MA from U Chicago) they all know me fairly well and I have taken classes with my advisor and meet regularly. 
Other: I'm still not sure if this upcoming cycle is the right time to apply. Since affordability is a priority, I feel like I might be better off applying when I have more experience under my belt. Any advice would be appreciated!! I also was selected to attend a few conferences as an undergrad as well. I am trying to do some research with a professor as well. Im (slowly) learning Russian and Sign Language and have a basic proficiency in Spanish. Let me know if any other schools I haven't listed are matches/good fits. 

[woolscarves]

On 8/23/2019 at 1:42 PM, BuckytheBadger said:

Hi all, starting my senior year undergrad and am starting the grad school app/search process - any feedback would be helpful. 

Program Applying To: MPP and MPA

Schools Applying To: Temple, UT-Austin, Northwestern, UW-Madison, Georgetown, Ohio State, Maryland, U Chicago, Michigan - open to others/suggestions
Undergraduate institution: UW-Madison
Undergraduate GPA: 3.52
Undergraduate Major: Political Science - minors in Russian Affairs and Environmental Studies
GRE Quantitative Score: 155
GRE Verbal Score: 163
GRE AW Score: 4.5
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 0
Years of Work Experience: 0
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Interned for State Rep in WI, interned for Sierra Club, interned for US Senator, write for political journal at university. 
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Planning to start relatively early - writing is one of my strengths. 
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): Going to ask my advisor, US Senator, and chair of Polisci dept at my previous university(PhD from UNC, MA from U Chicago) they all know me fairly well and I have taken classes with my advisor and meet regularly. 
Other: I'm still not sure if this upcoming cycle is the right time to apply. Since affordability is a priority, I feel like I might be better off applying when I have more experience under my belt. Any advice would be appreciated!! I also was selected to attend a few conferences as an undergrad as well. I am trying to do some research with a professor as well. Im (slowly) learning Russian and Sign Language and have a basic proficiency in Spanish. Let me know if any other schools I haven't listed are matches/good fits. 

Wait and get at least 1-2 years experience. You'll get significantly more funding and will know for sure whether grad school is the path to what you want to do. Right now you'll get in to a lot of these places (only potentially difficult ones would be Harris and Ford), but will get minimal aid relative to what you could get later on. LBJ at Texas and UW-Madison generally give out pretty good aid and have good reputations, so if you end up being really set on going this year, you can apply to them and see what aid you end up with. But again, you're going to get more aid, have a better experience, and be more competitive for good jobs post-graduation if you get a couple years of work first (plus you can save a bit of cash).

[BuckytheBadger]

1 hour ago, woolscarves said:

Wait and get at least 1-2 years experience. You'll get significantly more funding and will know for sure whether grad school is the path to what you want to do. Right now you'll get in to a lot of these places (only potentially difficult ones would be Harris and Ford), but will get minimal aid relative to what you could get later on. LBJ at Texas and UW-Madison generally give out pretty good aid and have good reputations, so if you end up being really set on going this year, you can apply to them and see what aid you end up with. But again, you're going to get more aid, have a better experience, and be more competitive for good jobs post-graduation if you get a couple years of work first (plus you can save a bit of cash).

Hey thank you so much for the reply! I think I'll take your advice and wait a year or two. There was another program that is my dream program but left off my list and its Notre Dame. I believe that have an MA program in Global Affairs and I could do a dual degree as well and get a JD - do you have any clue/insight on what my odds would be if I applied there this year? I just haven't found a ton of stats to see if id be a good fit in that program. 

[woolscarves]

58 minutes ago, BuckytheBadger said:

Hey thank you so much for the reply! I think I'll take your advice and wait a year or two. There was another program that is my dream program but left off my list and its Notre Dame. I believe that have an MA program in Global Affairs and I could do a dual degree as well and get a JD - do you have any clue/insight on what my odds would be if I applied there this year? I just haven't found a ton of stats to see if id be a good fit in that program. 

That's a good question, because I've heard positive things about ND. I know it's somewhat desirable because it's Notre Dame and I *think* there's full tuition (or close) for every student that goes there. Not confident on that, so you'd probably want to ask students that are currently there if you can find any. And the dual JD thing is a whole other question. When thinking about that, you need to consider whether you actually want to be a lawyer or not. And if do want to be a lawyer, what will the MA/MS/MPP really add to your ability to get the kind of career that you want? And then you need to consider whether that's worth the probable $100k+ in debt and lost income for the additional year+ of school.

[j2020ir]

Schools/Programs Applying To: WWS, HKS, Yale Jackson, Georgetown SSP, Fletcher, SAIS, SIPA, UT Austin

  
Undergraduate institution: Top 10 LAC 
Undergraduate GPA: 3.89
Undergraduate Major: Religion; Arab Studies minor
GRE Quantitative Score: 168
GRE Verbal Score: 170
GRE AW Score: 5.0 
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 3
Years of Work Experience: 4 (counting internships)
Describe Relevant Work Experience:                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Internship/contracting with international humanitarian/development org. (both domestic and in Mid. East). Independent, grant funded research in Mid. East during undergrad (nothing published). Short term position (3 months) in refugee resettlement. 1 year nonprofit journalism fellowship, including articles published on Mid. East politics and conflict. 2 years at national nonprofit focused on domestic policy issue. Critical language skill (low-mid intermediate) from 3 years of undergraduate study, semester abroad in Mid. East, and semester of language class post-grad 
 

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): 

Strength: I provide a cohesive story about moving from general humanitarian/international interest, to regional specialty, and then to a particular type of peacebuilding/conflict resolution work. I address particular career paths that fit well with this journey, and particular classes/professors that would prepare me to get there. Weakness: I'm having trouble tying together some significant work experiences that don't directly relate to my area/program of interest (see my questions below)
 

Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): 
Strong LOR from undergrad advisors (2). Hopefully fairly strong LOR from supervisor(s) at past 2 positions, though not in area of interest. 

Questions I have: 

While I did well on GRE Quant., I have literally no quantitative background apart from one Calculus class in undergrad (B+ I think). Is it worth getting a certificate from an EdX course or something? I'd love to avoid paying for/taking a community college class while trying to apply to all these programs, but don't know how much a single additional class would add.                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

The bulk of my post-college work experience has not been in my issue area of interest (I've been working on efforts around affordable housing). Do I need to talk in my SOP about skills gained, how it relates, etc.? I'm already pressed for space talking about the actually relevant parts of my work/internship experience, so would have to re-work some things.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Am I OK with the list of programs I have, or is it a good idea to add 1-2 more "safety" schools? I think I have a good shot at getting in most places, but worried about funding.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Edited August 28, 2019 by j2020ir
Formatting errors- sorry!

[CellucciK]

Sorry for the repost, I switched my Verbal and Quant GRE scores!

 

Program Applying To: MPP, MPA, 

Schools Applied To:   HKS, WWS, UChicago (MSCAPP), Stanford Dorsey Ford, LES, Yale Jackson/FES, McCourt, SAIS
Undergraduate institution: Cornell
Undergraduate GPA: 3.95
Undergraduate Major: Applied Economics and Management 
GRE Quantitative Score: 160
GRE Verbal Score: 169
GRE AW Score: Not sure yet just took it
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2
Years of Work Experience: 2
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Worked as a research analyst at a financial firm with one year in public infrastructure and one years researching macro-economic trends in Latin America and working with MDBs (World Bank EBRD, IADB, etc). Also worked for a Wind Energy firm in college and started my own non-profit that put solar panels on the roofs of charities.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Not yet written but I think that I have a good story that will make sense for those reading it. I have a background in renewable energy and international work and I want to combine the two to do sustainable development. Probably a focus on the policy making side as I do not have an engineering background. 
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): Very strong, my advisor and professor who helped me start the solar non-profit, my international political economy professor who I regularly keep in touch with still and my boss who went to WWS and my boss who went to Yale for those two schools.
Other: Professional level in Spanish and beginner Portuguese as well. I really like the idea of doing the Yale dual degree with Jackson and FES so I think that is my top choice right now. 

[woolscarves]

5 hours ago, j2020ir said:

Schools/Programs Applying To: WWS, HKS, Yale Jackson, Georgetown SSP, Fletcher, SAIS, SIPA, UT Austin

  
Undergraduate institution: Top 10 LAC 
Undergraduate GPA: 3.89
Undergraduate Major: Religion; Arab Studies minor
GRE Quantitative Score: 168
GRE Verbal Score: 170
GRE AW Score: 5.0 
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 3
Years of Work Experience: 4 (counting internships)
Describe Relevant Work Experience:                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Internship/contracting with international humanitarian/development org. (both domestic and in Mid. East). Independent, grant funded research in Mid. East during undergrad (nothing published). Short term position (3 months) in refugee resettlement. 1 year nonprofit journalism fellowship, including articles published on Mid. East politics and conflict. 2 years at national nonprofit focused on domestic policy issue. Critical language skill (low-mid intermediate) from 3 years of undergraduate study, semester abroad in Mid. East, and semester of language class post-grad 
 

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): 

Strength: I provide a cohesive story about moving from general humanitarian/international interest, to regional specialty, and then to a particular type of peacebuilding/conflict resolution work. I address particular career paths that fit well with this journey, and particular classes/professors that would prepare me to get there. Weakness: I'm having trouble tying together some significant work experiences that don't directly relate to my area/program of interest (see my questions below)
 

Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): 
Strong LOR from undergrad advisors (2). Hopefully fairly strong LOR from supervisor(s) at past 2 positions, though not in area of interest. 

Questions I have: 

While I did well on GRE Quant., I have literally no quantitative background apart from one Calculus class in undergrad (B+ I think). Is it worth getting a certificate from an EdX course or something? I'd love to avoid paying for/taking a community college class while trying to apply to all these programs, but don't know how much a single additional class would add.                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

The bulk of my post-college work experience has not been in my issue area of interest (I've been working on efforts around affordable housing). Do I need to talk in my SOP about skills gained, how it relates, etc.? I'm already pressed for space talking about the actually relevant parts of my work/internship experience, so would have to re-work some things.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Am I OK with the list of programs I have, or is it a good idea to add 1-2 more "safety" schools? I think I have a good shot at getting in most places, but worried about funding.

 

Thanks!

 

 

You'll be fine. No need to take a quant course. I might add in Duke Sanford or CMU Heinz to give you another good school that you can be confident you'll get excellent funding at (the one you already have being LBJ, where you should get full tuition+), but it's not a necessity given your profile. I'm a little confused by the difference between "skills gained, how it relates" and "relevant parts of my work/internship experience" so it's hard for me to give a good answer here. You absolutely should talk about how your background and skills will enable you to succeed at grad school and in your career beyond, but you seem to know that. If you can clarify what you mean, then maybe we can provide better feedback.

 

Edited August 28, 2019 by woolscarves

[j2020ir]

15 hours ago, woolscarves said:

You'll be fine. No need to take a quant course. I might add in Duke Sanford or CMU Heinz to give you another good school that you can be confident you'll get excellent funding at (the one you already have being LBJ, where you should get full tuition+), but it's not a necessity given your profile. I'm a little confused by the difference between "skills gained, how it relates" and "relevant parts of my work/internship experience" so it's hard for me to give a good answer here. You absolutely should talk about how your background and skills will enable you to succeed at grad school and in your career beyond, but you seem to know that. If you can clarify what you mean, then maybe we can provide better feedback.

 

Thanks very much for the quick feedback, and sorry for the lack of clarity! 

My last 2 years of work experience (the majority of my time post-grad) have been working in an issue area that does not relate to my graduate school pursuits. I'm wondering the extent to which I need to integrate this particular work experience into my personal statement, given that it's been a large part of my professional career to this point. There are some transferable skills, etc. but really its main function was showing me I wanted to go a different direction with grad school, so I've left it out almost entirely. Lots of info in my resume, etc. but I'm just not sure if it will reflect poorly in my SOP to say I've been building and preparing for a graduate program and then ignore this large chunk of professional experience. Thanks!