Unable to assess my MPP/MPA application -- help!

[FrightenedProspectiveMPP]

I have a pretty weak application. If I'm rejected everywhere, I'll happily go off and work for a few years. But if I can get in now, I'd love to start graduate school. I'm getting old

Here's the deets:

Undergraduate institution: Large, non-flagship research university.

Degree: Major in economics, minor in political science. Pretty standard stuff.

GPA: Below a 3.0. Not by much, and with a considerable upward trajectory. But I know this could be the end of me.

GRE: 650-700Q, 700-750V. I wish I could flip them around. Oh, and 5.0 AWA.

Experience: Applying straight out of undergrad. I have one (quantitative) research assistantship in political science, another (qualitative) RA job in public policy. One of these was in the exact area I want to go into. Maybe that will help me sell my limited experience?

I have also taken time off from school for financial reasons and worked in sales. Neither term was for longer than 4-5 months, and sales experience is obviously not valuable in and of itself. That said, I was hoping some full-time work experience, however meager, might show I'm not quite as green as the average kid applying out of undergrad.

In addition to this, I've more or less run my family business for the last 4 years

Recommendations: One professor for whom I've done research and built a close personal relationship. Has a very high opinion of me and says openly that he cares very much about me getting into a good graduate school. Besides this (strong) letter, I can pick one out of a few professors with whom I've maintained good relationships, a couple of whom have offered to write for me before.

Leadership: Another spot in which I'm lacking. I've never won any fancy awards or led an on-campus group. I am the editor of a modest website that gets a couple hundred hits a day, but I don't think that means anything. Overall, I'm relying on my letters to point out any "exceptional" characteristics I might possess, some of which might be related to leadership potential.

Additional: Bilingual, and working on a third language in my spare time. Have done work in most of the major statistical software packages.

My dream school is NYU Wagner. There are a ton of faculty there that I'd give more than one limb to work with. I would also love to attend any of these schools: CMU Heinz, UMD, UM Ford, UCLA Luskin, University of Washington (Evans), Georgia State, American University, GWU, Wisconsin, Syracuse Maxwell, Indiana, or UGA.

Please let me know if I have a chance at any of these places. Also, do feel free to suggest schools that are better matches for my profile than these.

Thanks!

[emmm]

Doesn't running a business for four years show leadership?

[FrightenedProspectiveMPP]

Thanks for your reply emmm. I like to think it does, but because this is a family business, I figured it would be discounted somewhat.

[FrightenedProspectiveMPP]

Could someone let me know if I should have posted this in a different board?

[Dee Dee]

I have a pretty weak application. If I'm rejected everywhere, I'll happily go off and work for a few years. But if I can get in now, I'd love to start graduate school. I'm getting old

[omitted...]

My dream school is NYU Wagner. There are a ton of faculty there that I'd give more than one limb to work with. I would also love to attend any of these schools: CMU Heinz, UMD, UM Ford, UCLA Luskin, University of Washington (Evans), Georgia State, American University, GWU, Wisconsin, Syracuse Maxwell, Indiana, or UGA.

Please let me know if I have a chance at any of these places. Also, do feel free to suggest schools that are better matches for my profile than these.

Thanks!

Hi OP:

I can only speak for the bolded, Georgia State. I graduated from there with my BA in African American Studies and was recently (read: found out yesterday) admitted to the MPP program here at GSU (as a new graduate, though I've held corporate jobs all through college). I had a profile similar to yours (GPA, GRE). What's important to note about GSU is that they STRONGLY consider your last 60 hours UGPA so if you're showing an upward trend that puts you in the 3.0 range (like I did) then your chances are more solid. Your leadership in running a business will be a very strong note (regardless to it being a family business).

Of all the recommendations that you get, please be sure absolutely sure to get one from a professor who you've done research under. I cannot begin to tell you how incredibly helpful that will be. A strong statement of purpose that spotlights you as an individual will also take you a long way. Apply as early as you can.

As for funding, you may not get it directly through the department but there are many opportunities around GSU's sprawling campus to get GRA funding. I hope this helps. Good luck!

[maeisenb]

The main question, aside from "being old" (which is subjective I would argue), is why do you so strongly want to go back now? As others have noted, the family business certainly gives you great experience, but sometimes getting more experience in what you want to work on in grad school can really offset a lower GPA. This can be especially true of a masters that is more professional (like an MPP/MPA is). Working for a few years can also help clarify what you want to work on in grad school too.

[FrightenedProspectiveMPP]

Hi OP:

I can only speak for the bolded, Georgia State. I graduated from there with my BA in African American Studies and was recently (read: found out yesterday) admitted to the MPP program here at GSU (as a new graduate, though I've held corporate jobs all through college). I had a profile similar to yours (GPA, GRE). What's important to note about GSU is that they STRONGLY consider your last 60 hours UGPA so if you're showing an upward trend that puts you in the 3.0 range (like I did) then your chances are more solid. Your leadership in running a business will be a very strong note (regardless to it being a family business).

Of all the recommendations that you get, please be sure absolutely sure to get one from a professor who you've done research under. I cannot begin to tell you how incredibly helpful that will be. A strong statement of purpose that spotlights you as an individual will also take you a long way. Apply as early as you can.

As for funding, you may not get it directly through the department but there are many opportunities around GSU's sprawling campus to get GRA funding. I hope this helps. Good luck!

Thanks for your reply Dee Dee. Congrats on your admission to Georgia State! It looks like a very good program.

My last 60 hours paint a much better picture than my overall GPA, so it's nice to hear they'll take that into account.

The political scientist I worked under is actually looking forward to writing letters/making calls for me. I'm very lucky to have someone like him around; so many professors I meet are completely aloof and uncaring.

Thanks again for your reply!

[FrightenedProspectiveMPP]

The main question, aside from "being old" (which is subjective I would argue), is why do you so strongly want to go back now? As others have noted, the family business certainly gives you great experience, but sometimes getting more experience in what you want to work on in grad school can really offset a lower GPA. This can be especially true of a masters that is more professional (like an MPP/MPA is). Working for a few years can also help clarify what you want to work on in grad school too.

Thanks for your reply maeisenb. I was actually being semi-facetious about being old. I am only 23, which is young enough, though a little on the old side to still be in undergrad. The reason I want to start grad school immediately is because I don't qualify for jobs in my field yet -- or less everyone has a masters at least. The best I could do is probably to work without pay for a while, which I'd like to avoid because, well, I'm not rich.

Like I said, if I can't get into grad school, I'll bite the bullet and work somewhere -- anywhere -- until I can improve my profile somehow.

As for deciding what I want to work on, I've been interested in economic development since I decided on my major 5 years ago, so I don't anticipate that changing.

Thanks again for your help. I really do appreciate it.

[Lulu47]

I know that this is a little old but I am also applying for MPP/MPA It's nice to run into someone else! You're lucky to have known what you were doing from the get go. I am also interested in development but I did a double major in International Business and Religion. I don't regret it, but I really wish I had majored in econ or finance, or at least taken a lot more quant classes.

questions that will help me give you an opinion:

You are also lucky to have research experience. How many years did you work?

what language are you bilingual in?

what were your grades for your quant-type of classes? (stats, econ, financial analysis, etc.)

what type of research did you do? did it get published?

Just a heads up, NYU sucks at funding, so if that's something you're searching for or depending on, don't get your hopes up with Wagner.

I also suggest you look into University of Minnesota as an excellent back up. It's a great customizable program. You could do MPP with a concentration in economic development or applied economics.

[FrightenedProspectiveMPP]

Hi Lulu, sorry I'm just now seeing your post. I see you just too the GRE! How was it?

Answers to your questions:

I've done research part time for about a year and a half.

I speak Urdu. I'm working on French through Rosetta Stone, which is an awesome program. Hoping to have that up to a semi-conversational level by the summer.

My quant grades are all over the place, as are all of my grades. Between econ, stats, and other quantitatively oriented classes, it looks to be just above a 3.0 average :/

I'm actually assisting with research, rather than writing my own stuff. Without being too specific, the research is on elections in sub-Saharan Africa. It's really good stuff; I expect it'll be published in a great journal. Not something I can use for my CV, but it'll be nice to be mentioned as a research assistant in a footnote

Thanks for the tip about Minnesota! I'll read up on their program, but a concentration in economic development sounds fantastic. And I know they have a great econ department there. I'd love to get funding somewhere, but I like NYU enough that I'd take on some loans to go there.