What are they looking for?

[Aqua]

I am planning on pursuing a graduate degree in education (M.A. in Education, M.Ed., or M.P.P) related to education policy. As a current undergrad, I am looking to start right after I graduate.

My question is what makes an applicant most competitive while applying to graduate ed. programs-- what are the admissions counselors looking for? Also, does anybody know the typical academic profiles of admitted students at the top programs and whether GRE/GPA is weighed more or less than your resume?

I still have some time before I apply, so I am curious to know what I can do to make my application is the best it can be. Thanks in advance for any information and advice you have!

Schools I am interested in include:

Columbia- Teacher's College

Vanderbilt- Peabody

Harvard- GSE

Boston College- Lynch

NYU- Steinhardt

UNC Chapel Hill

UPenn

UC Berkeley

[beautyinchaos]

Aqua!

I remember you from college confidential. I have a couple more suggestions for you:

1. Use the "results" feature on this board for all of those schools listed. It should give you an idea of the stats needed to be a strong applicant to those schools.

2. I know on CC you asked about the stats from the schools you are interested in. This info is out there (but I can't post on CC because they have this silly rule about posting links. This is what I found from the UCB site:

1. What are the average GRE scores of admitted applicants?
   For Fall 2011, the average GRE scores of admitted applicants were:
   Verbal: 599
   Quantitative: 648
   Analytical: 4.5
   Average scores vary by program, and the range of scores for admitted applicants tends to be fairly wide.
   

1. Which undergraduate GPA calculations does the GSE require?
   The only undergraduate GPA we require is the GPA for all course work after the first two years. We have an online available to assist you with this calculation.
2. What is the minimum GPA required for admission?
   Applicants are expected to have achieved at least a 3.0 grade-point average in all courses taken after the first two years as undergraduates, and in all graduate-level courses.
3. <a name="Q25">What is the average GPA of admitted applicants?
   For Fall 2011, the average undergraduate GPA of admitted applicants was 3.60. The average GPA varies by program within the Graduate School of Education.
   

So dig around some more. Again, in my response, from my own research, talking to professors in education, they want to see your commitment to the field. Why ed policy? What attracts you to that field? Admissions in education tends to be holistic, so they want to see what you have accomplished in education in conjunction with GPA, GRE, letters, etc. Little experience in ed won't hurt, but you should have good stats.

[Aqua]

Thanks for the advice!