What should I have done differently, to get in!??

[sacdude]

I have a question for you folks who have been admitted.

I gave my heart out and applied to 4 schools/programs, and results are not the greatest.

Profile

• 3 years of professional experience in Inventory Optimization, Resource Allocation, Procurement and Indicators Development - Management based Operations Research Analyst at top tech firm in silicon valley
  
• Ample volunteering and event management experiences with Non-Profit / International Development Organizations- Includes institutions like the IRC and AID (association for India's development).- 100+ hours of volunteering--> Tutoring, fundraising etc.
  
• Interests: Public-Private Partnerships, Multiple Stakeholder Management, Mathematical Modeling, Indicators development
  
• Strong data analyses, analytical reasoning and communication skills; Proficient in optimization and statistical software packages
  
• GMAT : 710
  

Education

Clemson University, Clemson, SC

Master of Science in Industrial Management (Specializing in Operations and Supply Chain Management) GPA: 3.6/4.0

Anna University, Madras, India

Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical & Electronics Engineering

Letters of Recommendation:

- Prof under whom I did econ dev. and market research at a center for intl. trade during my first masters - he was also a ex-division chief at world bank.

-President of AID chapter at Clemson, whose reco probably illustrated how i applied business and management skills in fundraising events for the NGO

- From my manager at work, who should have focused on my decision-making and analytical reasoning/ management skils

SOPs-

Decently written. May not be the greatest. Talked about how i have applied mathematical modeling at my workplace, to solve multiple stakeholder scenarios. Also, talked about how i would use the same concepts in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)- which is where I want to shift my career to, because I now know how Private sectors can induce development (even my volunteering hours with the IRC get matched by my company- i mention that as an eye opener)

So I thought I had a decent profile! I am also taking online courses from UC Berkeley in micro and macro economics- to ensure formal education in that field.

Results-

Harvard MPA/ID- Reject

Columbia SIPA MPA- Reject

Fletcher MALD- Waitlisted!

Georgetown MSFS- Waiting... considering it is the most selective of all programs, I have no hope there.

I would love to hear feedback from folks who have been admitted to these programs- What do you think is missing?? More economics and intl affairs? - How can I get those going, if I am not give the opportunity to change careers? In fact, its not exactly changing careers in my case- it is more about expanding my horizons in the field of management.

Applying cost-savings concepts in for-profit situation and taking it to multiple-stakeholder scenarios in the PPP world.

Any valuable feedback would be appreciated. I am mostly planning to take a break from this crazy ass corporate life, and travel , and probably work for a NGO in a developing country- that is my Plan B. That sounds juicy- but does it sound good, if I were to apply again next year!

[sietval]

wait, so you've heard back from SIPA Development Practice?

[sietval]

I feel your pain, btw. You should email the lady at MPA/ID and ask for her feedback. That's what I did!

[sacdude]

it was not SIPA dev practice that I had applied to ...it was the MPA program...

and whom did you email at MPA/ID? Do you have a name?

[sietval]

the person that sent out the results...

[charlotte_asia]

Sorry to hear of your admissions results. I'll try to take a stab at some thoughts, but hearing from a variety of perspectives would be useful...

If I understand correctly you want to switch careers completely (from electrical engineering --> supply chain management ---> public/private development partnerships). What it looks like from my perspective is that you want to use grad school to get in to development and then pursue a career in development (specifically public-private partnerships).

I would imagine graduate schools would be hesitant to admit someone who wants to switch to a new career without having worked in that career (and who has substantial experience in a virtually unrelated, highly-technical field, including a master's in that field). I imagine they would have wanted to see that you have gained some experience in public-private development work and are committed to pursuing that career... that you have made the switch successfully, and that you need a master's to advance in that career path.

Also, you may have addressed this in your SOP but what development work do you want to do? Public-private partnerships exist in all sectors, from health care to water management to environmental work to education to banking/microfinance to infrastructure.... and I didn't see in your post where you want to advance such partnerships. There are highly specialized organizations, companies, etc who do this work- it's a huge field. You need to stand out. If you don't have a very sharp vision of the kind of public-private partnerships you want to work in, that could have made your argument for admission a bit less convincing.

I know you said you do a lot of volunteering, but almost everyone (at least in the US) volunteers. I don't think that is going to send the same professional message to grad schools as working in the sector.

Bottom line, graduate schools may be hesitant to invest in someone who has a general vision for his career path but hasn't yet moved into it yet and who doesn't have much experience in it yet. You don't need a master's degree to switch into development work.. especially if you have your highly skilled management, business, and engineering expertise. There are few barriers of entry for someone with your expertise to move into the NGO world and gain experience. Your plan to work in a developing country for a bit with the work you want to pursue is a good one. Show graduate schools that you have a demonstrated record of success in this new carer and that you need graduate school to continue growing and contributing to your field.

(Also, just a quick side note, do you actually need a degree in IR to do what you want to do? A lot of people with masters and lots of tehcnical skills move into development and advance... IR degrees are not a requirement for the field. Just a thought.)

Edited to add: you have a lot of great private sector experience which I think could be hugely beneficial for the development sector. Don't let this discourage you from doing what you want to do and contributing your passion and skills where they are needed. Good luck!

Edited March 15, 2012 by charlotte_asia

[sacdude]

@Charlotte,

Great input! Appreciate it.

My response-

1) What I am trying to say is I have gained great management and analytic skills throughout my masters and work- I see similar scenarios, especially in PPPs, where math could be applied to make decisions in multiple stakeholder scenarios- this applies for execution of PPPs in any sector. My focus would be on the decision-making process (say resource allocation) itself, rather than any industry or sector.

Do I need an IR masters for doing this?? until I got my results, I always thought I did- just to gain knowledge in economics, international affairs, and to have access to the great networks of these top schools.

If there are other ways to get my dreams going, like, w/o going to school, let me know- I would like to analyze.

I will pm you, if you are willing to share ur 2 cents.

2) You do make good points about experience in PPPs and about volunteering in the US being mundane. I just mention in my essays that they did use a similar modeling system called GAMS for resource allocation in the world bank, but in my real life I have not done this for developmental work...

[manmadegod]

My few cents...have have applied and got into the same schools...was rejected last year...and from India..i think you definetely have the academic skills required for the course...so i dont think you need to worry about that...you might want to think of why you want to apply there and have some relevant experience. Your experience in management is excellent..but my sense is that its is not completely relevent...what is needed is you apply the PPP model to approach a development model...and then say that you have the benefits and now want to scale it up...i used exactly same content for my SOP...used a ppp model for an agri dev program and showed success and then i spoke about how i intend to scale it up in my and how the school will be useful to me in my pursuit in my SOP...hope it is some of some help to you. All the best.

[sacdude]

good stuff @manmadegod... i need to know more about ur profile... can u paste it here? or i will just pm you...

[charlotte_asia]

Thanks for clarifying your profile- I think I understand what you're going for a bit more. A few comments--

What I think you could express more clearly is what value added you will bring to PPP. There is so much PPP going on right now and so many people with actual experience in it that you need to explain how your unique skills would contribute to this sector. Do you see faults/gaps in how it is being applied? Do you see a very specific need where you could render your niche specialty (supply chain management?)? Just being interested in PPP at this point is probably not enough to distinguish you as an applicant (specifically, one is looking to make a major career change to a sector he/she hasn't yet worked in).

Regarding whether you even need a masters in IR or not.... if I were you I would make the transition to development work for the next year or two before you try to answer that question. You definitely don't need one in order to enter the development field In fact, your experience outside of the development and IR sector is probably a boon to your professional profile right now. You can bring to companies or organizations a highly technical skill set and experience in the private sector... which distinguishes you from the typical development applicant and which many development outfits crave. Whether or not you need an IR degree to advance or go where you want to go, I don't know. That's a question you'd be better able to answer after a few years in the sector.

[IRToni]

I'm currently working with the German Association for International Cooperation. The branch I'm working in is mainly doing technical cooperation and although most of what we do is not public-private partnership, I believe I might be able to help you a bit.

Of the people working here, some have a degree in regional studies (esp. at the junior level). At the senior level, most people actually have a degree in something technical. E.g. I'm working on an agricultural project, the head of the office studied Agricultural Management (both BA and MA) and has never received any formal training in IR, Public Policy etc. I'm not saying that a M.A. couldn't be beneficial to you, I'm just saying that there are other ways to get to where you want to do. In addition, I think you might be quite successful in looking for a related job. You might use this as a starting point and then determine if a M.A. is worth the time and financial commitment.

In addition, you might look at some lower-ranked schools, because the schools you applied to are all top notch. You're definitely not a weak candidate, but compared to someone with relevant work experience, you might just not make the cut.

Last but not least: If you haven't heard from Georgetown yet: Don't loose hope, admissions really are a crapshoot. It all depends on fit. In addition, there's still hope with Fletcher, I'm sure they admit people off the waitlist...

[sacdude]

Great feedback guys, thanks, this helps... I think "Charlotte_asia" hit the nail here-

"Do you see faults/gaps in how it is being applied? Do you see a very specific need where you could render your niche specialty (supply chain management?)? Just being interested in PPP at this point is probably not enough to distinguish you as an applicant (specifically, one is looking to make a major career change to a sector he/she hasn't yet worked in)."

This will help in the changes I might want to make in an essay to fletcher (For the waitlist)... basically explaining the fact that i want to aid the decision-making processes in the PPPs overall (applying analytics) rather than focus on specific sectors- is that a good idea?