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

[THenri]

 

Hi everyone! I am from Brazil, and this whole process is quite unfamiliar for me.  Any feedback is appreciated! I am applying to PHD in communication / media studies programs.

Schools Applying To: Upenn, University of Florida, University of Oregon, Syracuse University, University of Massachusetts - Amherst, USC, University of Maine, UC Davis, UC San Diego, Rutgers, Florid State, Cornell, University of illinois at urbana-champaign, Northwestern University

Undergraduate institution: UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) - Best communication departament of my country - acceptance rate: 1.69%

Undergraduate GPA: 9.1/10 (magna cum laude)

Undergraduate Majors: Communication Studies

Master's institution: UERJ (Rio de Janeiro State University) - Communication Studies - concentration: technology and culture

Master's GPA: 9.7/10 (cumulative gpa)

Master's institution: IBMEC - MBA in Marketing

Master's GPA: 9.3/10 

GRE: X

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 6

Years of Work Experience: 4/5 years

 

Studying Abroad Experience: 

- Studied english in Los angeles -  4 months

- Acting for film course at New York film academy - 1 month

- Certificate program in Business Strategy at the University of la Verne - CA - 1 month

- English for business in Los Angeles - 1 month

Describe Relevant Work Experience: 

- Content and programming analyst at Globo -- largest media and communication conglomerate in Latin America. I worked specifically at Gloob - a children's TV channel (almost 5 years)  

- Trainee (internal marketing) at a food company (6 months)

- teaching assistant - undergrad course (6 months)

- 3 volunteer works (teaching for India, translator in my church, and volunteer at Sonhar acordado (work with children)

Quant: just some courses I did during my mba

Strength of SOP: I think it's compelling and strong. The problem is: it has 6 pages. So I am working on it!

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): master's thesis adviser and professor, undergrad thesis advisor and professor, master's professor and director (I wrote papers with all of them)

Languages: English (TOEFL 107), Portuguese (fluent), Spanish (advanced), french (basic)

 

 

 

Edited October 20, 2021 by Thayane Henriques

[GradSchoolGrad]

16 hours ago, Thayane Henriques said:

 

Hi everyone! I am from Brazil, and this whole process is quite unfamiliar for me.  Any feedback is appreciated! I am applying to PHD in communication / media studies programs.

Schools Applying To: Upenn, University of Florida, University of Oregon, Syracuse University, University of Massachusetts - Amherst, USC, University of Maine, UC Davis, UC San Diego, Rutgers, Florid State, Cornell, University of illinois at urbana-champaign, Northwestern University

Undergraduate institution: UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) - Best communication departament of my country - acceptance rate: 1.69%

Undergraduate GPA: 9.1/10 (magna cum laude)

Undergraduate Majors: Communication Studies

Master's institution: UERJ (Rio de Janeiro State University) - Communication Studies - concentration: technology and culture

Master's GPA: 9.7/10 (cumulative gpa)

Master's institution: IBMEC - MBA in Marketing

Master's GPA: 9.3/10 

GRE: X

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 6

Years of Work Experience: 4/5 years

 

Studying Abroad Experience: 

- Studied english in Los angeles -  4 months

- Acting for film course at New York film academy - 1 month

- Certificate program in Business Strategy at the University of la Verne - CA - 1 month

- English for business in Los Angeles - 1 month

Describe Relevant Work Experience: 

- Content and programming analyst at Globo -- largest media and communication conglomerate in Latin America. I worked specifically at Gloob - a children's TV channel (almost 5 years)  

- Trainee (internal marketing) at a food company (6 months)

- teaching assistant - undergrad course (6 months)

- 3 volunteer works (teaching for India, translator in my church, and volunteer at Sonhar acordado (work with children)

Quant: just some courses I did during my mba

Strength of SOP: I think it's compelling and strong. The problem is: it has 6 pages. So I am working on it!

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): master's thesis adviser and professor, undergrad thesis advisor and professor, master's professor and director (I wrote papers with all of them)

Languages: English (TOEFL 107), Portuguese (fluent), Spanish (advanced), french (basic)

 

 

 

This thread is for public policy and international relations programs. I don't think your area of interest is relevant for this thread.

[radastra]

Hi everyone. I am a US citizen, but I've been living in Japan for the past 5+ years and hope to apply for fall 2023. I'm not 100% certain what I would like to do after graduate school or which program would be best for me so I would really appreciate some input. I've done a lot of research, but I'm from a fairly working class background (was a Pell Grant student, one parent from an immigrant background but went to college, other is from Appalachian background and went to college while I was in high school) so I'm the first person in my immediate family to go to graduate school and I feel a bit unsure. I speak Japanese, work in private PR/corporate comms consulting now (working with major NPOs, government orgs, businesses, banks, etc., details below), but used to work in the public sector and have a fair bit of volunteer experience. In general I'm interested in Japan's relationship to the US, its role in humanitarian work in Asia, gender/racial/economic equality and indigenous issues in Japan and Asia, and post-colonialism. In an ideal world I'd like to end up working for a Japan-related think tank or a UN organization in Japan or doing some kind of government consulting. Basically any type of job where I can advise on policy issues and bridge the gap between the US/western world and Japan. I don't have a lot of professional experience with quantitative analysis so I would like to improve that, but I don't really want that to be my focus.

 

Considering applying to: 
Princeton SPIA MPA, Harvard Kennedy MPP, SIPA MIA (particularly interested in joint program with University of Tokyo), SAIS MAIR, Georgetown MASIA, Berkeley Goldman MPP, University of Tokyo GraSPP MPP, possibly Heinz (they offer an automatic scholarship for JET Program participants like myself)

Undergrad Institution: Big midwestern state school, ranked 100-125 but R1 research institution

Undergrad Major: East Asian Languages and Cultures (Japanese), history minor, pre-law

Years out of undergrad: Will be 9 years at time of application

GPA: 3.85/4.0 (with distinction, honors program graduate, phi kappa phi)

GRE: V: 165, Q: 153 (Took over 5 years ago on a whim, so I have to take it again and will be making a strong effort to raise quant score, can definitely get verbal score up)

Quant Background: Calculus I (A), quantitative methods for public administration (A) microeconomics (A), macroeconomics (A), logic and reasoning (probability, etc.: A). 
 

Relevant Work Experience:  Over 8 years:

• 3 years at time of application working for a private PR consulting firm in Tokyo: I cannot give exact details in a public forum, but I have experience doing research and advising on government and media trends, political environment surrounding topics like renewable energy, ESGs/investor relations, COVID situation, human rights re: supply chain, gender parity--clients include major international NPOs, major international governmental organizations, major pharmaceutical companies, some of the world's largest financial institutions, major global insurance companies, etc. Some experience doing qualitative policy research for a major pharmaceutical company (related to reproductive rights), invited to speak on panel at University of Tokyo about this project.
  • On a pro bono basis and as a volunteer I have been a part of the leadership for a joint professional/student-run NPO aimed at providing COVID-related humanitarian support to rural India from Japan. NPO was recently selected by the UN OHCRH to coordinate ongoing humanitarian support in India.
• 3 years as an assistant language teacher in rural Japan (JET Program); my paid role was to teach students, but as a volunteer I worked closely with the US Embassy in Tokyo and an organization they sponsor to create/implement programs to increase number of Japanese students studying in the US, chosen to speak on a Junior Chamber International panel about issues facing foreign workers in Japan (random, but this was together with a really famous comedy duo here in Japan)
• 3 years working for a public research university (technically an employee of the state) in the admissions department doing outreach to underserved populations/recruitment and communications; concurrently volunteered with an education policy research consortium composed of several local universities for 2 years and helped evaluate college readiness programs (assisted with published research, but as a volunteer so was unfortunately not listed as an author); in my actual paid position I worked primarily with underserved populations, analyzing population/admissions trends utilizing SPSS in order to yield more students and increase diversity, created a report analyzing past admissions trends and forecasting profit for university and used it to successfully lobby dean of admissions to create new position based in an urban area to better recruit local students from underserved populations
• Lots of volunteering running cultural exchange programs, teacher training programs, and translating for rural non-profit orgs/city governments in Japan, awarded a grant from the US Embassy for a cultural exchange program I started, published article about LGBT issues in rural Japan in JET Program Magazine (not prestigious or academic), chosen as CORO program alternate in Kansas City, volunteered for political campaigns in local elections/state gubernatorial elections

Languages: English (native), Japanese (fluent), Spanish (conversational)

International experience: 7+ years working in Japan at time of application, semester study abroad in Tokyo with FLAS/Gillman support

Extracurriculars: College was a while ago for me so I don't know if it matters, but I wrote an honors thesis about 16th Japanese literature and presented at a symposium at my university, was a student senator, held a leadership role in the Japanese student association, was the vice president of a cooperative housing org on campus and retooled the co-op group's constitution, won a student award for housing administration, in various honors societies  

Strength of LOR: Expecting strong recommendations from a former professor who was my thesis advisor and mentor (Columbia grad, but in Japanese literature/history), the CEO for the PR firm I work for who I've worked closely with on several projects, and the director of admissions at the university I worked for (who oversaw my outreach to underrepresented students). I'm also considering asking the president of an NPO we are working with on the UN-related project mentioned above, but I haven't worked with her much yet so I'm not sure.

[GradSchoolGrad]

8 hours ago, radastra said:

Hi everyone. I am a US citizen, but I've been living in Japan for the past 5+ years and hope to apply for fall 2023. I'm not 100% certain what I would like to do after graduate school or which program would be best for me so I would really appreciate some input. I've done a lot of research, but I'm from a fairly working class background (was a Pell Grant student, one parent from an immigrant background but went to college, other is from Appalachian background and went to college while I was in high school) so I'm the first person in my immediate family to go to graduate school and I feel a bit unsure. I speak Japanese, work in private PR/corporate comms consulting now (working with major NPOs, government orgs, businesses, banks, etc., details below), but used to work in the public sector and have a fair bit of volunteer experience. In general I'm interested in Japan's relationship to the US, its role in humanitarian work in Asia, gender/racial/economic equality and indigenous issues in Japan and Asia, and post-colonialism. In an ideal world I'd like to end up working for a Japan-related think tank or a UN organization in Japan or doing some kind of government consulting. Basically any type of job where I can advise on policy issues and bridge the gap between the US/western world and Japan. I don't have a lot of professional experience with quantitative analysis so I would like to improve that, but I don't really want that to be my focus.

 

Considering applying to: 
Princeton SPIA MPA, Harvard Kennedy MPP, SIPA MIA (particularly interested in joint program with University of Tokyo), SAIS MAIR, Georgetown MASIA, Berkeley Goldman MPP, University of Tokyo GraSPP MPP, possibly Heinz (they offer an automatic scholarship for JET Program participants like myself)

Undergrad Institution: Big midwestern state school, ranked 100-125 but R1 research institution

Undergrad Major: East Asian Languages and Cultures (Japanese), history minor, pre-law

Years out of undergrad: Will be 9 years at time of application

GPA: 3.85/4.0 (with distinction, honors program graduate, phi kappa phi)

GRE: V: 165, Q: 153 (Took over 5 years ago on a whim, so I have to take it again and will be making a strong effort to raise quant score, can definitely get verbal score up)

Quant Background: Calculus I (A), quantitative methods for public administration (A) microeconomics (A), macroeconomics (A), logic and reasoning (probability, etc.: A). 
 

Relevant Work Experience:  Over 8 years:

• 3 years at time of application working for a private PR consulting firm in Tokyo: I cannot give exact details in a public forum, but I have experience doing research and advising on government and media trends, political environment surrounding topics like renewable energy, ESGs/investor relations, COVID situation, human rights re: supply chain, gender parity--clients include major international NPOs, major international governmental organizations, major pharmaceutical companies, some of the world's largest financial institutions, major global insurance companies, etc. Some experience doing qualitative policy research for a major pharmaceutical company (related to reproductive rights), invited to speak on panel at University of Tokyo about this project.
  • On a pro bono basis and as a volunteer I have been a part of the leadership for a joint professional/student-run NPO aimed at providing COVID-related humanitarian support to rural India from Japan. NPO was recently selected by the UN OHCRH to coordinate ongoing humanitarian support in India.
• 3 years as an assistant language teacher in rural Japan (JET Program); my paid role was to teach students, but as a volunteer I worked closely with the US Embassy in Tokyo and an organization they sponsor to create/implement programs to increase number of Japanese students studying in the US, chosen to speak on a Junior Chamber International panel about issues facing foreign workers in Japan (random, but this was together with a really famous comedy duo here in Japan)
• 3 years working for a public research university (technically an employee of the state) in the admissions department doing outreach to underserved populations/recruitment and communications; concurrently volunteered with an education policy research consortium composed of several local universities for 2 years and helped evaluate college readiness programs (assisted with published research, but as a volunteer so was unfortunately not listed as an author); in my actual paid position I worked primarily with underserved populations, analyzing population/admissions trends utilizing SPSS in order to yield more students and increase diversity, created a report analyzing past admissions trends and forecasting profit for university and used it to successfully lobby dean of admissions to create new position based in an urban area to better recruit local students from underserved populations
• Lots of volunteering running cultural exchange programs, teacher training programs, and translating for rural non-profit orgs/city governments in Japan, awarded a grant from the US Embassy for a cultural exchange program I started, published article about LGBT issues in rural Japan in JET Program Magazine (not prestigious or academic), chosen as CORO program alternate in Kansas City, volunteered for political campaigns in local elections/state gubernatorial elections

Languages: English (native), Japanese (fluent), Spanish (conversational)

International experience: 7+ years working in Japan at time of application, semester study abroad in Tokyo with FLAS/Gillman support

Extracurriculars: College was a while ago for me so I don't know if it matters, but I wrote an honors thesis about 16th Japanese literature and presented at a symposium at my university, was a student senator, held a leadership role in the Japanese student association, was the vice president of a cooperative housing org on campus and retooled the co-op group's constitution, won a student award for housing administration, in various honors societies  

Strength of LOR: Expecting strong recommendations from a former professor who was my thesis advisor and mentor (Columbia grad, but in Japanese literature/history), the CEO for the PR firm I work for who I've worked closely with on several projects, and the director of admissions at the university I worked for (who oversaw my outreach to underrepresented students). I'm also considering asking the president of an NPO we are working with on the UN-related project mentioned above, but I haven't worked with her much yet so I'm not sure.

Unless your essays suck and you can’t raise your scores a bit, you should be easy for HKS. Your diversity is rare plus you have all the quant background.

[radastra]

Thank you very much for your encouraging post. I appreciate you taking the time to respond!

I feel relatively confident about the GRE. I've been out of school for a while, but I've had to keep up consistent study habits and take standardized proficiency tests as an adult for my second language. I feel good about essays too and plan to get input from colleagues/friends who work in academia/editing/PR. Fingers crossed!

From my research so far it seems SIPA, SAIS and Georgetown's MASIA program offer a lot of educational opportunities re: Asia as a whole and Japan specifically. I've heard from past students that Fletcher, for example, doesn't have strong Japan expertise. Do you happen to know if there are any other schools that have strength in their area concentrations (particularly Japan)? I've heard great things from an alum of my alma mater who is now in the MASIA program (which is to be expected) and I'm checking in with another alum who just graduated from the Kennedy School to get some more insight, but if you have time I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thank you again!

[radastra]

On 10/22/2021 at 8:27 AM, GradSchoolGrad said:

Unless your essays suck and you can’t raise your scores a bit, you should be easy for HKS. Your diversity is rare plus you have all the quant background.

Apologies--posting again because I didn't include the quote somehow.

Thank you very much for your encouraging post. I appreciate you taking the time to respond!

I feel relatively confident about the GRE. I've been out of school for a while, but I've had to keep up consistent study habits and take standardized proficiency tests as an adult for my second language. I feel good about essays too and plan to get input from colleagues/friends who work in academia/editing/PR. Fingers crossed!

From my research so far it seems SIPA, SAIS and Georgetown's MASIA program offer a lot of educational opportunities re: Asia as a whole and Japan specifically. I've heard from past students that Fletcher, for example, doesn't have strong Japan expertise. Do you happen to know if there are any other schools that have strength in their area concentrations (particularly Japan)? I've heard great things from an alum of my alma mater who is now in the MASIA program (which is to be expected) and I'm checking in with another alum who just graduated from the Kennedy School to get some more insight, but if you have time I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thank you again!

[GradSchoolGrad]

2 hours ago, radastra said:

Apologies--posting again because I didn't include the quote somehow.

Thank you very much for your encouraging post. I appreciate you taking the time to respond!

I feel relatively confident about the GRE. I've been out of school for a while, but I've had to keep up consistent study habits and take standardized proficiency tests as an adult for my second language. I feel good about essays too and plan to get input from colleagues/friends who work in academia/editing/PR. Fingers crossed!

From my research so far it seems SIPA, SAIS and Georgetown's MASIA program offer a lot of educational opportunities re: Asia as a whole and Japan specifically. I've heard from past students that Fletcher, for example, doesn't have strong Japan expertise. Do you happen to know if there are any other schools that have strength in their area concentrations (particularly Japan)? I've heard great things from an alum of my alma mater who is now in the MASIA program (which is to be expected) and I'm checking in with another alum who just graduated from the Kennedy School to get some more insight, but if you have time I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thank you again!

You are asking a really good question. And my recommendation is this. Unless you really really really need to be guided by someone and struggle to independently come up with your own course of research/study, it makes sense to go to a program for its functional capabilities over the specialization that offers AS LONG as the specialization isn't nothing (or next to nothing).

The reason is because in IR - region, absolutely matters... BUT I will argue that for career purposes, its better to be grounded on functional area first (e.g., Trade, Security, Development, and etc.) and then region second.

So what that translates into is that in my opinion is this:

Don't Recommend:

- MASIA - I recommend against because its a super small program and you are narrowing yourself. You would be better off Going to Georgetown MSFS program - where you would have much more exposure to a broader range of functional experts

Think Very Carefully

- SIPA - yes SIPA is rather strong on all things Asia, but be very careful with SIPA because they have an arguably less than welcoming community culture (lots of NYC distractions) and have lots of functional areas they are not strong on. 

- Fletcher is interesting because they have a lot of strong functional areas, but you don't have academic resource access diversity (in comparison to Harvard or Georgetown - granted Fletcher tries really hard). I know people who do China stuff there, but not so much Japan stuff.

Recommend you Think About It

- HKS - yes they won't have as much Japan/Asia focused stuff in their core curriculum, but it will be relatively easy for you to get involved. Even if there were 0 other Japan/Asia resources, the functional excellence of HKS along gives you a strong place to support any research you want.

- Georgetown MSFS - They got a fair amount of Asia/Japan and a broad scope of functional excellence as well (not as broad as HKS)

- SAIS - same as Georgetown MSFS, but somewhat different portfolio of strengths (and much more quant oriented program). 

 

[XIII_Gemina]

Hey everyone, just joined and would greatly appreciate your feedback and advice on my profile! I've applied to, or have applied to a number of programs for Fall 2022, mostly in the security studies field. My primary career goal is working the DoD Office of Net Assessment or somewhere similar in the US security field.

Schools Applying To: Georgetown Walsh Security Studies Program (Top Choice); JHU SAIS MAIR (Security, Strategy, Statecraft Concentration); GWU ESIA Security Policy Studies; AU SIS MA Int Affairs (US FP and Nat Sec Concentration); U Chicago MAIR; Tufts Fletcher MGA; Columbia SIPA MIA; UT Austin GPS

Undergraduate Institution:  Indiana University

Undergraduate GPA: 3.77, planning on graduating with academic honors, as well as honors undergraduate thesis. Dean's list last 5 semesters of current institution. 
My only concern here is I am a nontraditional student (27 and about to graduate) and have a very poor semester and a half back in 2012-2013 dragging me down (think bad, really bad, I stopped showing up to classes and didn't withdraw) although I think I've overcome this through recent coursework and my personal statement.

Undergraduate Major: International Studies, Political Science Minor

GRE/GMAT: Did not take

Languages: English, Chinese (fluent), German (fluent), French (some)

Years out of Undergrad: 0, planning on graduating in May 22
Quant Background: Research Design course (A); Political Quant Analysis (A-); Microeconomics (Currently in, expected B+); Macroeconomics (Planned Spring 22)

Years of Work Experience: 7-8 counting time between first go at undergrad in 2012 and now including my internship experiences

Relevant Work/Internship Experience: 

- 2 Years in the mid 2010s living and working in Hong Kong as a corporate sales rep for a major Australian-based hospitality firm

-Political Internship during 2020 presidential campaign cycle

-Campaign organizing position for congressional candidate during 2018 campaign cycle

-Internship for local political party (approx 1 year)
-Political Internship during 2016 presidential campaign  cycle

Leadership/Extracurriculars:

-Leadership role in university's model UN team, have received distinction awards at last 6 conferences over past 2 years and highest distinction award at 1.

-Leadership role in my department's honor society

Letter of Recs:

3.

-One extremely strong from my undergrad thesis advisor, tenured professor and dept chair, and have taken 3 coures with them previously.

-One strong from tenured professor I have taken 2 courses with  and is a non-resident fellow at Brookings

-One strong but probably less personalized lor from professor and former representative of Iraq at the UN.

SOP: 
I'm not sure about the strength of it as I'm having second doubts but it's been reviewed by my thesis advisor professor as well as several colleagues who have expressed enthusiasm with it. I write about my experiences living in NYC during 9/11 as a child as well as my experiences overseas coming together to influence my interest and personal commitment to service to the US and why I'm pursuing security studies particularly. Also briefly discussed my first attempt at udnergrad in 2012 and how it has shaped my career and academic goals to be much more particular and specific.

600 word policy papers for GWU, SAIS, and Gtown are broadly the same covering strategic realignment in the Indo-Pacific and arguing that the US must further entrench itself via deep engagement to project US power against a rising China and prevent a Thucydides Trap.



Overall I guess I'd just like some feedback on the strength of my application. I have pretty severe anxiety and self-doubt over how my horrid performance at my first try at undergrad will be seen by application committee and am worried about my lack of quant although my transcript does reflect I'm trying to reflect that.

Thanks for your time all.

[ShowBellsandWhistles]

Appreciate this thread, especially the ed. policy perspective. 

Intro: After eight years of working FT in some education-related capacity, I'm applying to MPP/MPA and MS/Ed.M programs this fall to start next year (‘22).

My dream job would be a program officer at a large foundation with considerable investments in educational initiatives (e.g., Gates, Carnegie Corporation, Wallace, etc.) OR doing education program evaluation/policy analysis at a nonpartisan think tank (e.g., RAND, Brookings, etc.). Side note: I have experience with the latter and know the limitations of a master’s degree insofar as career advancement is concerned. 

Applying to: HGSE Ed.M–EPA; Duke Sanford–MPP (Social Policy Concentration); McCourt MPM, UM-Ford School; Johns Hopkins SOE–MS-Education (Education Policy Concentration); Penn GSE––MS.Ed (Education Policy Concentration), Vanderbilt Peabody–MPP (Dept. of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations)

Considering: UChicago–Harris (MPP or MACRM)

Undergrad Institution: Large midwestern state school (Big 10)

Undergrad Major: Sociology, with minors in Arabic, Psychology, and Social Welfare Advocacy (Social Work)

Years out of undergrad: 8 years 

GPA: 3.68/4.0 (with distinction, completed honors thesis); major GPA: 3.9

GRE: X

Quant Background: I've only taken one quant.-specific course (Statistics for Sociology) and received an A, but I regularly engage in data manipulation, modeling, and visualization as a part of my past and present work; have proficiency with R, SQL, STATA, and SPSS

Relevant Work Experience: 8 years post-UG; 9 years including an RA-ship in UG

• 3.5 years in a director-level role at a DC-based affiliate of a national network of out-of-school time program providers
  • I lead the ongoing design, implementation, and refinement of the organization’s programmatic strategy and oversee three high-functioning leadership teams that manage all aspects of front-line program delivery.
    • Highlights:
      • Developed and implemented a broad-reaching evaluation framework and created a culture of continuous quality improvement and data-driven planning that has served as a model for other affiliates within our national network
      • Built and cultivated strategic partnerships with peer organizations to increase robust enrichment opportunities for students served
      • Improved summer teacher retention from 30% to 75% and increased average teaching experience from 5.3 to 11.2 years by overhauling recruitment and compensation models and promoting more significant equity and internal capacity building in the hiring and on-boarding processes
      • In 2021, designed and implemented a complex hybrid program model that led to the highest average student attendance rate among all affiliates within our national network that year: 90% in-person and 85.6% when including virtual participation
• 4.5 years of FT education research experience (1 year as an education policy RA at a nonpartisan think tank; 1 year of ed research coordination at an R1 public university; and 2 years of ed research lab management at an R1 private university)
• 1.5 years of RA experience in a learning sciences lab at my UG institution; co-authored a paper with two other team members
• 2 internships (one focused on security/IR studies and one in education research)

Languages: English (native), Spanish (conversational proficiency), Modern Standard Arabic (basic working ability)

Presentations/Posters: Two invited talks on education program design and one on continuous quality improvement in education-focused NPOs; poster presentation for a social-work related issue; and one paper presentation on promoting peer participation in online courses.

Honors/Awards: Received leadership award by field’s professional association (akin to a ‘30 under 30’) in 2021, multiple awards in college, including one for my disability advocacy efforts. 

Extracurriculars or Community Involvement: Had many ECs in college, including extended volunteer engagements with Headstart and Big Brother Big Sisters, but I am only focusing on my post-UG work. 

I'm currently a member of two working groups, one of which is organized by the city government and focuses on cross-sector partnerships among out-of-schooltime partners. 

I'm also one of 12 individuals within my org’s national affiliate network asked to rewrite our parent org’s governing policies to promote more significant equity and inclusion. I will eventually provide TA re: policy implementation to affiliates within our org network 

Strength of SOP: I think it could be strong, but I’m struggling to tighten things up. I begin by connecting the nationally recognized programming I’ve designed and implemented in my current role and the strong foundation I have in research methods and theory before getting to the why me part. I argue that in a post-pandemic future, policymakers have the opportunity––and indeed the obligation––to establish sustainable data practices that can support improvement in teaching and learning and promote equitable outcomes for all students. Doing so requires the need to triangulate assessment data with other Opportunity to Learn data points, something that I have demonstrated I can do in measurably impactful ways at a micro level. I need grad school to be able to broaden my efforts, etc.   

Strength of LORs: The letter from my current executive director will be the strongest, followed by a professor from UG whose graduate seminar in educational research I took when I was a junior (he was profoundly influential in guiding my career path, and we’ve kept in touch since I graduated). I’ve also got letters from two former colleagues (both of whom were then-PhD candidates in the research lab I managed) and another letter from a former supervisor who has her PhD in education. I trust that the latter three will be strong. I plan on switching out the letters/recommenders based on program focus and alignment with their respective backgrounds.  

Concerns: 

1. My professional background is very education-heavy. While I am drawn to the flexibility of an MPA/MPP degree, I have concerns that my lacking quant or direct policy background will be too much to overcome, especially without GRE scores. 
2. Am I being too narrow in my program search? I know I’m a bit late to the game to be considering other schools, but I’m getting spooked about not getting in anywhere. 
3. Is my SOP framing compelling enough for the programs to which I’m applying?

Thanks heaps! 

Edited October 26, 2021 by ShowBellsandWhistles

[GradSchoolGrad]

On 10/26/2021 at 4:10 PM, ShowBellsandWhistles said:

Appreciate this thread, especially the ed. policy perspective. 

Intro: After eight years of working FT in some education-related capacity, I'm applying to MPP/MPA and MS/Ed.M programs this fall to start next year (‘22).

My dream job would be a program officer at a large foundation with considerable investments in educational initiatives (e.g., Gates, Carnegie Corporation, Wallace, etc.) OR doing education program evaluation/policy analysis at a nonpartisan think tank (e.g., RAND, Brookings, etc.). Side note: I have experience with the latter and know the limitations of a master’s degree insofar as career advancement is concerned. 

Applying to: HGSE Ed.M–EPA; Duke Sanford–MPP (Social Policy Concentration); McCourt MPM, UM-Ford School; Johns Hopkins SOE–MS-Education (Education Policy Concentration); Penn GSE––MS.Ed (Education Policy Concentration), Vanderbilt Peabody–MPP (Dept. of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations)

Considering: UChicago–Harris (MPP or MACRM)

Undergrad Institution: Large midwestern state school (Big 10)

Undergrad Major: Sociology, with minors in Arabic, Psychology, and Social Welfare Advocacy (Social Work)

Years out of undergrad: 8 years 

GPA: 3.68/4.0 (with distinction, completed honors thesis); major GPA: 3.9

GRE: X

Quant Background: I've only taken one quant.-specific course (Statistics for Sociology) and received an A, but I regularly engage in data manipulation, modeling, and visualization as a part of my past and present work; have proficiency with R, SQL, STATA, and SPSS

Relevant Work Experience: 8 years post-UG; 9 years including an RA-ship in UG

• 3.5 years in a director-level role at a DC-based affiliate of a national network of out-of-school time program providers
  • I lead the ongoing design, implementation, and refinement of the organization’s programmatic strategy and oversee three high-functioning leadership teams that manage all aspects of front-line program delivery.
    • Highlights:
      • Developed and implemented a broad-reaching evaluation framework and created a culture of continuous quality improvement and data-driven planning that has served as a model for other affiliates within our national network
      • Built and cultivated strategic partnerships with peer organizations to increase robust enrichment opportunities for students served
      • Improved summer teacher retention from 30% to 75% and increased average teaching experience from 5.3 to 11.2 years by overhauling recruitment and compensation models and promoting more significant equity and internal capacity building in the hiring and on-boarding processes
      • In 2021, designed and implemented a complex hybrid program model that led to the highest average student attendance rate among all affiliates within our national network that year: 90% in-person and 85.6% when including virtual participation
• 4.5 years of FT education research experience (1 year as an education policy RA at a nonpartisan think tank; 1 year of ed research coordination at an R1 public university; and 2 years of ed research lab management at an R1 private university)
• 1.5 years of RA experience in a learning sciences lab at my UG institution; co-authored a paper with two other team members
• 2 internships (one focused on security/IR studies and one in education research)

Languages: English (native), Spanish (conversational proficiency), Modern Standard Arabic (basic working ability)

Presentations/Posters: Two invited talks on education program design and one on continuous quality improvement in education-focused NPOs; poster presentation for a social-work related issue; and one paper presentation on promoting peer participation in online courses.

Honors/Awards: Received leadership award by field’s professional association (akin to a ‘30 under 30’) in 2021, multiple awards in college, including one for my disability advocacy efforts. 

Extracurriculars or Community Involvement: Had many ECs in college, including extended volunteer engagements with Headstart and Big Brother Big Sisters, but I am only focusing on my post-UG work. 

I'm currently a member of two working groups, one of which is organized by the city government and focuses on cross-sector partnerships among out-of-schooltime partners. 

I'm also one of 12 individuals within my org’s national affiliate network asked to rewrite our parent org’s governing policies to promote more significant equity and inclusion. I will eventually provide TA re: policy implementation to affiliates within our org network 

Strength of SOP: I think it could be strong, but I’m struggling to tighten things up. I begin by connecting the nationally recognized programming I’ve designed and implemented in my current role and the strong foundation I have in research methods and theory before getting to the why me part. I argue that in a post-pandemic future, policymakers have the opportunity––and indeed the obligation––to establish sustainable data practices that can support improvement in teaching and learning and promote equitable outcomes for all students. Doing so requires the need to triangulate assessment data with other Opportunity to Learn data points, something that I have demonstrated I can do in measurably impactful ways at a micro level. I need grad school to be able to broaden my efforts, etc.   

Strength of LORs: The letter from my current executive director will be the strongest, followed by a professor from UG whose graduate seminar in educational research I took when I was a junior (he was profoundly influential in guiding my career path, and we’ve kept in touch since I graduated). I’ve also got letters from two former colleagues (both of whom were then-PhD candidates in the research lab I managed) and another letter from a former supervisor who has her PhD in education. I trust that the latter three will be strong. I plan on switching out the letters/recommenders based on program focus and alignment with their respective backgrounds.  

Concerns: 

1. My professional background is very education-heavy. While I am drawn to the flexibility of an MPA/MPP degree, I have concerns that my lacking quant or direct policy background will be too much to overcome, especially without GRE scores. 
2. Am I being too narrow in my program search? I know I’m a bit late to the game to be considering other schools, but I’m getting spooked about not getting in anywhere. 
3. Is my SOP framing compelling enough for the programs to which I’m applying?

Thanks heaps! 

I think you would be better off going to an MBA program and focusing on social impact / non-profit. Yale School of Management actually does a lot of Ed non-profit stuff.

[ShowBellsandWhistles]

3 hours ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

I think you would be better off going to an MBA program and focusing on social impact / non-profit. Yale School of Management actually does a lot of Ed non-profit stuff.

Thanks for the response! That's certainly not an option I had previously considered...

With my lack of quant experience, I'm not sure I'm a competitive candidate for an MBA program. Thoughts?

[GradSchoolGrad]

25 minutes ago, ShowBellsandWhistles said:

Thanks for the response! That's certainly not an option I had previously considered...

With my lack of quant experience, I'm not sure I'm a competitive candidate for an MBA program. Thoughts?

Yes, there will be one quant oriented class that will be challenging for you (probably the Strategy class or marketing class - depending on program where you at least have to conceptually understand derivatives). However, in terms of getting in, you know stats, and that is far better than many applicants. Your biggest weakness is that you haven't taken a standardized test yet. GRE or GMAT (for MBA, I do recommend GMAT because if you score well, you can get scholarship). 

[XIII_Gemina]

On 10/26/2021 at 1:08 AM, XIII_Gemina said:

Hey everyone, just joined and would greatly appreciate your feedback and advice on my profile! I've applied to, or have applied to a number of programs for Fall 2022, mostly in the security studies field. My primary career goal is working the DoD Office of Net Assessment or somewhere similar in the US security field.

Schools Applying To: Georgetown Walsh Security Studies Program (Top Choice); JHU SAIS MAIR (Security, Strategy, Statecraft Concentration); GWU ESIA Security Policy Studies; AU SIS MA Int Affairs (US FP and Nat Sec Concentration); U Chicago MAIR; Tufts Fletcher MGA; Columbia SIPA MIA; UT Austin GPS

Undergraduate Institution:  Indiana University

Undergraduate GPA: 3.77, planning on graduating with academic honors, as well as honors undergraduate thesis. Dean's list last 5 semesters of current institution. 
My only concern here is I am a nontraditional student (27 and about to graduate) and have a very poor semester and a half back in 2012-2013 dragging me down (think bad, really bad, I stopped showing up to classes and didn't withdraw) although I think I've overcome this through recent coursework and my personal statement.

Undergraduate Major: International Studies, Political Science Minor

GRE/GMAT: Did not take

Languages: English, Chinese (fluent), German (fluent), French (some)

Years out of Undergrad: 0, planning on graduating in May 22
Quant Background: Research Design course (A); Political Quant Analysis (A-); Microeconomics (Currently in, expected B+); Macroeconomics (Planned Spring 22)

Years of Work Experience: 7-8 counting time between first go at undergrad in 2012 and now including my internship experiences

Relevant Work/Internship Experience: 

- 2 Years in the mid 2010s living and working in Hong Kong as a corporate sales rep for a major Australian-based hospitality firm

-Political Internship during 2020 presidential campaign cycle

-Campaign organizing position for congressional candidate during 2018 campaign cycle

-Internship for local political party (approx 1 year)
-Political Internship during 2016 presidential campaign  cycle

Leadership/Extracurriculars:

-Leadership role in university's model UN team, have received distinction awards at last 6 conferences over past 2 years and highest distinction award at 1.

-Leadership role in my department's honor society

Letter of Recs:

3.

-One extremely strong from my undergrad thesis advisor, tenured professor and dept chair, and have taken 3 coures with them previously.

-One strong from tenured professor I have taken 2 courses with  and is a non-resident fellow at Brookings

-One strong but probably less personalized lor from professor and former representative of Iraq at the UN.

SOP: 
I'm not sure about the strength of it as I'm having second doubts but it's been reviewed by my thesis advisor professor as well as several colleagues who have expressed enthusiasm with it. I write about my experiences living in NYC during 9/11 as a child as well as my experiences overseas coming together to influence my interest and personal commitment to service to the US and why I'm pursuing security studies particularly. Also briefly discussed my first attempt at udnergrad in 2012 and how it has shaped my career and academic goals to be much more particular and specific.

600 word policy papers for GWU, SAIS, and Gtown are broadly the same covering strategic realignment in the Indo-Pacific and arguing that the US must further entrench itself via deep engagement to project US power against a rising China and prevent a Thucydides Trap.



Overall I guess I'd just like some feedback on the strength of my application. I have pretty severe anxiety and self-doubt over how my horrid performance at my first try at undergrad will be seen by application committee and am worried about my lack of quant although my transcript does reflect I'm trying to reflect that.

Thanks for your time all.

Anyone?

[GradSchoolGrad]

On 10/26/2021 at 1:08 AM, XIII_Gemina said:

Hey everyone, just joined and would greatly appreciate your feedback and advice on my profile! I've applied to, or have applied to a number of programs for Fall 2022, mostly in the security studies field. My primary career goal is working the DoD Office of Net Assessment or somewhere similar in the US security field.

Schools Applying To: Georgetown Walsh Security Studies Program (Top Choice); JHU SAIS MAIR (Security, Strategy, Statecraft Concentration); GWU ESIA Security Policy Studies; AU SIS MA Int Affairs (US FP and Nat Sec Concentration); U Chicago MAIR; Tufts Fletcher MGA; Columbia SIPA MIA; UT Austin GPS

Undergraduate Institution:  Indiana University

Undergraduate GPA: 3.77, planning on graduating with academic honors, as well as honors undergraduate thesis. Dean's list last 5 semesters of current institution. 
My only concern here is I am a nontraditional student (27 and about to graduate) and have a very poor semester and a half back in 2012-2013 dragging me down (think bad, really bad, I stopped showing up to classes and didn't withdraw) although I think I've overcome this through recent coursework and my personal statement.

Undergraduate Major: International Studies, Political Science Minor

GRE/GMAT: Did not take

Languages: English, Chinese (fluent), German (fluent), French (some)

Years out of Undergrad: 0, planning on graduating in May 22
Quant Background: Research Design course (A); Political Quant Analysis (A-); Microeconomics (Currently in, expected B+); Macroeconomics (Planned Spring 22)

Years of Work Experience: 7-8 counting time between first go at undergrad in 2012 and now including my internship experiences

Relevant Work/Internship Experience: 

- 2 Years in the mid 2010s living and working in Hong Kong as a corporate sales rep for a major Australian-based hospitality firm

-Political Internship during 2020 presidential campaign cycle

-Campaign organizing position for congressional candidate during 2018 campaign cycle

-Internship for local political party (approx 1 year)
-Political Internship during 2016 presidential campaign  cycle

Leadership/Extracurriculars:

-Leadership role in university's model UN team, have received distinction awards at last 6 conferences over past 2 years and highest distinction award at 1.

-Leadership role in my department's honor society

Letter of Recs:

3.

-One extremely strong from my undergrad thesis advisor, tenured professor and dept chair, and have taken 3 coures with them previously.

-One strong from tenured professor I have taken 2 courses with  and is a non-resident fellow at Brookings

-One strong but probably less personalized lor from professor and former representative of Iraq at the UN.

SOP: 
I'm not sure about the strength of it as I'm having second doubts but it's been reviewed by my thesis advisor professor as well as several colleagues who have expressed enthusiasm with it. I write about my experiences living in NYC during 9/11 as a child as well as my experiences overseas coming together to influence my interest and personal commitment to service to the US and why I'm pursuing security studies particularly. Also briefly discussed my first attempt at udnergrad in 2012 and how it has shaped my career and academic goals to be much more particular and specific.

600 word policy papers for GWU, SAIS, and Gtown are broadly the same covering strategic realignment in the Indo-Pacific and arguing that the US must further entrench itself via deep engagement to project US power against a rising China and prevent a Thucydides Trap.



Overall I guess I'd just like some feedback on the strength of my application. I have pretty severe anxiety and self-doubt over how my horrid performance at my first try at undergrad will be seen by application committee and am worried about my lack of quant although my transcript does reflect I'm trying to reflect that.

Thanks for your time all.

Georgetown Security Studies is essential the top Security Studies program in the country, and GWU's is probably #1. Security Programs are super fickle. The reality is that they are essentially money makers for Universities. It is really hard to predict the chances of anyone getting in.

As for going to a traditional IR program (like SAIS MAIR and SIPA MIA) - yes it can be a pathway to security, but that school's bread and butter isn't security. I'm not sure how much you'll really enjoy it. Also it makes no sense to go to New York only to try to shoot for a jobs in DC (where most Security jobs are).

In terms of jobs. There is a huge demand for security jobs. I would look up the biographies of the McCain Fellows. They are the benchmark of the top notch grads. 

An interesting issue for you is that you already have spent time working on a political campaign. I'm not sure how that will be viewed. It might be seen as a handicap in some circles. Its more like I am raising an open question and don't now the answer to it. Career wise, it can be an issue depending on administration. 

[AzM99]

On 10/13/2021 at 7:10 PM, AzM99 said:

Hi everyone,

 

I am an international student from Bulgaria and Syria who is to looking to apply to mostly MPP/MPA programs and one Master of International Policy (but plan to apply to a dual MPP/MIP if I get accepted to that program. I conducted my undergraduate BA in the US, so taking any English proficiency tests for admissions are waived. 

Schools Applying To : USC Price MPP, UCLA Luskin MPP, UC Berkeley Goldman MPP, UChicago Harris MPP, NYU MPA, Columbia MPA, and Stanford MIP (planning to apply dual MPP if I am accepted)

Undergraduate institution: American University (Washington DC), graduated in May 2021

Undergraduate GPA: 3.92 (Major GPA is 3.94) summa cum laude for my institution

Undergraduate Major: International Studies and minor in Economics

Relevant Research from Courses:  I written a lot of research papers and some have been related to policy including some on education policy and economic development policy. 

GRE: Not submitting

Languages: English (fluent), Bulgarian (fluent), Kurdish (spoken at home with family only), Chinese (intermediate)

Quantitative requirements: 

Macroeconomcis (A), Microeconomics (A-), Intermediate Macroeconomics (A), Intermediate Microeconomics (B+), Basic Statistics (A),  Intro to Finance (A), Applied Econometrics I (B+) 

 

Years of Work Experience: 1.5

Studying Abroad Experience: Studied abroad at Peking University in China for a semester. 

Relevant Work Experience: 

• interned at a Chinese law firm for a semester (5-6 months)
• worked at my university's academic support center as an economics tutor for 6 months
• currently working in a private comapny that involves doing compliance research and work

Strength of SOP:  I think I can make my SOP quite strong as i have a clear interest in eventually going back to Europe and working on economic development/economic impact policy relating to Bulgaria. Ideally I would like to have a career closely related to the European Comission. I also know how to tie my academic and personal experiences to the specific schools and programs I am applying to. The only slight problem might be the lack of work experience. 

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

All three of my LORs are from professors at my instituion. 2 of them are strong (one from my capstone professor), while 1 is still good but maybe not as strong as the other two recommendations . 

Thank you!

Quoting this as I did not get any response last time. Mainly wondering if my lack of work experience would make me a substantially weaker canditate for the programs I am applying to. Would appreciate any kind of response, thanks!  

[GradSchoolGrad]

4 hours ago, AzM99 said:

Quoting this as I did not get any response last time. Mainly wondering if my lack of work experience would make me a substantially weaker canditate for the programs I am applying to. Would appreciate any kind of response, thanks!  

Very rarely have I seen a case where a MPP or MPA combined with an IR masters as a dual degree makes any career sense (I mean I know people who did it for Ego reasons, wanted more time in grad school, or etc.) 

In terms of checking the box of being able to graduate - I think you got that. That might get you into some of the less competitive programs like UCLA Luskin or NYU Wagner. As for the more competitive ones like Harris - you need to have a good story too. Right now I see awesome bullet points, and I'm sure the story is there, but you aren't telling it.

BTW...  Stanford MPP is a joke of a program. I would avoid it. It is like Harvard Performing Arts program - one of the worst programs in the country for its graduate studies. 

[AzM99]

14 minutes ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

Very rarely have I seen a case where a MPP or MPA combined with an IR masters as a dual degree makes any career sense (I mean I know people who did it for Ego reasons, wanted more time in grad school, or etc.) 

In terms of checking the box of being able to graduate - I think you got that. That might get you into some of the less competitive programs like UCLA Luskin or NYU Wagner. As for the more competitive ones like Harris - you need to have a good story too. Right now I see awesome bullet points, and I'm sure the story is there, but you aren't telling it.

BTW...  Stanford MPP is a joke of a program. I would avoid it. It is like Harvard Performing Arts program - one of the worst programs in the country for its graduate studies. 

Yea, I meant that I am only considering dual degree for the Stanford MPP/MIP program, however, I do appreciate your warning about the Stanford MPP program which makes me reconsider applying to it. However, I am unsure what you meant by checking the box of being able to graduate. Anyways,  thanks for the feedback!

[GradSchoolGrad]

2 minutes ago, AzM99 said:

Yea, I meant that I am only considering dual degree for the Stanford MPP/MIP program, however, I do appreciate your warning about the Stanford MPP program which makes me reconsider applying to it. However, I am unsure what you meant by checking the box of being able to graduate. Anyways,  thanks for the feedback!

So when admissions offices evaluate candidates, there are 3 mile markers.

1. Shows ability to graduate

2. Shows great potential to be asset to the school (this can be due to many different reasons, career potential, diversity, unique story and etc.) You hit this mile marker, and you'll get some scholarship

3. Rock star candidate, needs to be considered for full scholarship.

I'm saying you obviously hit mile marker 1. You have the foundations for mile marker 2, but I'm struggling to connect the dots. You ain't hitting #3. 

I think your biggest challenge is that given your lack of work experience, you aren't gonna get that much scholarship

[AzM99]

2 minutes ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

So when admissions offices evaluate candidates, there are 3 mile markers.

1. Shows ability to graduate

2. Shows great potential to be asset to the school (this can be due to many different reasons, career potential, diversity, unique story and etc.) You hit this mile marker, and you'll get some scholarship

3. Rock star candidate, needs to be considered for full scholarship.

I'm saying you obviously hit mile marker 1. You have the foundations for mile marker 2, but I'm struggling to connect the dots. You ain't hitting #3. 

I think your biggest challenge is that given your lack of work experience, you aren't gonna get that much scholarship

Ah, I see. That makes a lot of sense and I know that I would defintely not hit the third mile marker as you said. I did not expect to get a full scholarship for a lot of the competitive programs like Harris or Goldman. However, I do think my background and clear long term career goals could help me hit that second mile marker.  Once again, thanks a lot for your feedback it was really useful!  

[GradSchoolGrad]

11 hours ago, AzM99 said:

Ah, I see. That makes a lot of sense and I know that I would defintely not hit the third mile marker as you said. I did not expect to get a full scholarship for a lot of the competitive programs like Harris or Goldman. However, I do think my background and clear long term career goals could help me hit that second mile marker.  Once again, thanks a lot for your feedback it was really useful!  

Sooo, I wouldn't be completely sure that you are hitting #2 or how hard you are hitting it. 

Hitting #2 isn't competing against the entire class. It is competing against those that the admissions office equated to be of a similar diversity group as you (I am not sure how each school would designate you to be honest). That being said, 2 years of work experience by the time you start isn't that low. The issue is that unless there is something you aren't fully explaining, your work experience isn't anything too glitzy (I call it the cool stuff to publish on the alumni magazine standard). Schools will give scholarships to people they can brag about. 

[AzM99]

1 hour ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

Sooo, I wouldn't be completely sure that you are hitting #2 or how hard you are hitting it. 

Hitting #2 isn't competing against the entire class. It is competing against those that the admissions office equated to be of a similar diversity group as you (I am not sure how each school would designate you to be honest). That being said, 2 years of work experience by the time you start isn't that low. The issue is that unless there is something you aren't fully explaining, your work experience isn't anything too glitzy (I call it the cool stuff to publish on the alumni magazine standard). Schools will give scholarships to people they can brag about. 

Yea, I'm mainly hoping that the strength of my LORs, academic strength  and more or less clear career plan can help in some of the more competitive programs. I definitely acknowledge my work experience is my weakest part in my application (making it difficult to get any kind of scholarship).

[GradSchoolGrad]

2 minutes ago, AzM99 said:

Yea, I'm mainly hoping that the strength of my LORs, academic strength  and more or less clear career plan can help in some of the more competitive programs. I definitely acknowledge my work experience is my weakest part in my application (making it difficult to get any kind of scholarship).

The issue is not the lack of your work experience, but the prestige/quality of your work experience compared to the competition (at least how you describe it now).

[AzM99]

2 minutes ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

The issue is not the lack of your work experience, but the prestige/quality of your work experience compared to the competition (at least how you describe it now).

So finally I just wanted to ask, would you then guess it would be a reach to apply to programs like Harris or Goldman (even accepted without funding)? 

[GradSchoolGrad]

Just now, AzM99 said:

So finally I just wanted to ask, would you then guess it would be a reach to apply to programs like Harris or Goldman (even accepted without funding)? 

The right answer is I don't know because I don't know how they will value your diversity. If they value it a lot, they might overlook your work experience and give you some funding. If they don't, they might just give you a little. Not only are schools different, but they change regularly. 

[AzM99]

Just now, GradSchoolGrad said:

The right answer is I don't know because I don't know how they will value your diversity. If they value it a lot, they might overlook your work experience and give you some funding. If they don't, they might just give you a little. Not only are schools different, but they change regularly. 

Thank you!