MPP Programs in DC Metro Area

[ogjuju]

Hi all,

I just moved to Northern VA and have been looking at MPP programs in the area.

About me:

Studied engineering during the first 2 years of undergrad at a small private college; I had enough math courses to be a math minor.

Transferred to a top public college in VA, changed major to finance and got a BBA in 2010.

Overall GPA from both schools is 3.8ish/4.0.

No public policy-related job experience.

Planning to take the GRE, which I expect to do horrible in verbal as English is not my first language and my vocabs never go beyond the newspaper-level.

I think I will do okay on the GMAT (everyone except for GW accepts it), which I am also planning to take.

Non-US Citizen/Green Card holder, thus working on the hill or being on any kind of federal payroll is out of question. I really want to become involved in US policymaking arena though.

I found four schools of interest for Fall 2013 admissions.

1) Georgetown - GPPI: GPPI seemed okay (not that I think I can get in). The 'prestige' and super-elite alum/faculty network is what makes the school attractive. I do like their strong emphasis on quantitative skills, but not too sure if there is difference between taking GPPI classes vs. taking high-level elective quant classes at other grad programs. I think that this is the kind of school that gets international recognition. However, it was very expensive and stingy with merit based aids.

- Question: Is it worth to it do GPPI even with little or no financial assistance (I can't get FAFSA so I have to loan money from my folks... which I would hate to)

2) George Washington - Trachtenberg: I am not sure what's up with this school yet, but I will find out when I go to their open house next month. I heard that 1) their MPP is regarded pretty much at the same level as GPPI in DC area and 2) people there are extremely snotty... haha.

- Question: Could anyone let know more about the school's reputation, academics, and student body?

3) American University - SPA: The student population at my undergrad was homogeneous at best and it honestly got annoying sometimes. For grad school I really want to study with a diverse student body in terms of nationality, economic classes and race. I had a feeling that American University was not my best choice in that sense. I had a meeting with an admissions staff who was absolutely clueless about the program or student body. I can't stop thinking that at least for me, this is a mediocre choice at best.

- Question: But is it this early to dismiss? Is there any protruding strength in SPA that I should look into this school again?

4) George Mason University: I do work in VA under work visa and am eligible for in-state tuition. The total tuition needed for GMU MPP is only about $25k. Also, by looking at GMU's admissions standard I felt like I could get some merit-based scholarship. The programs here are very flexible and accommodating. Honestly, I didn't expect much from GMU until I arrived at the information session and was greeted with a number of impressive faculties and enthusiastic staff. I was completely sold by the time I left.

- Question: Would this school trump all others based on the cost? What is the advantage of going to a huge diverse school such as GMU?

And overall, what do you guys think? I have seen a lot of threads about GPPI and GW but less about American and GMU.

Thanks!

[Jess C]

I went to a grad school fair and talked to admissions reps from all of these schools. I didn't like AU for similar reasons you mentioned, but they seemed to have great networking and internship opportunities. I'll have to visit to get a better impression though. I was also impressed with GMU. They seemed really open and helpful. I don't know how you feel about the mid-west, but have you looked at University of Michigan-Ford or University of Minnesota-Humphries? Financial aid is a big factor for me, so I'd say go where you can afford to go.

[PeterP]

I didn't end up applying to any of the schools you mentioned, but I did look into the GWU and Georgetown programs and was accepted to the Elliott School at GW. Even compared to Georgetown and AU, I think the advantage of GW is its location. Hard to beat in terms of easy access to internship opportunities. Their merit-based financial aid isn't bad either (at least, it was pretty good at Elliott).

That said, I ended up in the University of Maryland's MPP program at the College Park campus, and have been happy with the program so far. It's right off the Metro green line, and the funding is pretty generous. Obviously the US News rankings are flawed, but it's ranked #16 for public policy (http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-public-affairs-schools/public-policy-analysis-rankings), just one spot behind Georgetown, and ahead of GW (#19), GMU (#24), and American (#28). Full-time faculty members include a former US Trade Representative (Susan Schwab), a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (Phillip Swagel) and a former Deputy Assistant Director of Central Intelligence (William Nolte).

Of course, the Georgetown name carries a lot of prestige, and the program is excellent. But UMD is worth consideration, at least as a backup in case GT admissions/financial aid don't turn out.

[orangesplease]

Hey, decided to drop by the forum on this random night to check what was going on. I applied to schools last year and ended up going with Georgetown's GPPI after encouraging them to provide me with more aid. For some reason I'm unable to enter and create separate paragraphs right now, so enjoy reading this block of text o_O Getting into GPPI wasn't too difficult (but I also say that having had solid work experience, awesome letters of rec and a decent GRE score) and I was worried about the effectiveness and the quality of the program overall. The main reasons why I chose this program was b/c by 2nd year, almost all students are interning or working while being full time students, it's alum network, and its location. While going to GW would make life easier transportation wise, Georgetown is THE university to attend in D.C. In the short time I've been here, Hillary Clinton has been on campus twice, we've had the president of Argentina, former national security advisers, current and former Asst Secretaries of State, Bono is coming to in a couple weeks. The guest list goes on and on and it's AMAZING that these officials choose to go out of their way to come to Georgetown to speak (free for students of course!). You need to decide what you want out of your degree. If you're hoping to do something amazing ASAP and land at a top federal consulting firm or get into a policy/gov agency network, this is the place for you. If you want to work at a low-paying nonprofit and need the masters for professional reasons, GPPI is not the place to go to. We have a student at GPPI who already has a M.A. in PoliSci, but returned for an MPP b/c he couldn't get a job w the M.A. Aka the program is quite relevant. Lastly, the community we have in this ~240 program is unimaginable. My class will literally show up at bars with 40-60 people and everyone is extremely grounded--that may not be the case w/ undergrads, however. Let me know if you have any further Qs about GPPI. There are plenty of international students as well and I am definitely happy I made the choice to come here.

[waltlaa9]

@orangesplease: I had just decided on the MSFS program instead of GPPI and now your post is reigniting my internal debate. Are you able to offer any opinion or insight regarding the strengths of GPPI over MSFS? After thoroughly researching both program websites, I settled on MSFS because of the courses offered in security & conflict management, as well as global institutions and transnational challenges (both within the international relations and security concentration). I would love to get job that focuses on the intersection of security and development, and particularly on conflict prevention and resolution. GPPI stands out for its strong emphasis on policy analysis, but the website doesn't offer much in the way of describing elective courses and concentrations. I want to tech up in order to open the doors to consulting or something in the big leagues, but I am eager to learn more about theory and practice in this field as well. The MPP/MSFS degree would be amazing but I doubt I could afford to be in school for 3 years. Thoughts?

[orangesplease]

Just depends. You might want to apply to both in any case because you would have access to classes in both programs (and most other programs for that matter). MSFS has a long history and boasts many notable alum. If you want to work in international affairs, MSFS is one of the top programs along w/ HKS, Woodrow Wilson, and SAIS. GPPI has a M of International Development that was founded just this year, but has had a long history of providing an international development focused MPP. However, I would say the GPPI MPP is largely focused on domestic issues while providing a good set of internationally focused coursework (political economy, political risk analysis, etc.). Booz Allen and Deloitte recruit on campus for GPPI students for their federal practice. Last month GPPI students had an opportunity to do office hours w Deloitte (informal meetings w a couple consultants) in max. 3 student setting to allow us to learn more about their work. In my ofc hr, one of the consultants was a MSFS graduate in Latin American studies (entirely unrelated to what he was now doing lol). Many career opportunities in MSFS are shared with GPPI, but GPPI has a dedicated 2-person career team that exists to help students find, apply and get internships and jobs. I believe MSFS has less of a quantitative focus then GPPI, however. We take 3 mandatory quant courses and learn STATA.

Edited November 5, 2012 by orangesplease

[waltlaa9]

Thanks for your input! I think MSFS appeals to me more based on the international focus. Hopefully I can elect to take a couple more quantitative classes than is the norm.

[terpsuz]

As someone who grew up in the DC area and attended undergrad at UMD and now in the midst of applying to MPP programs myself, I can say I agree that Georgetown is by far and by the ideal place name-wise to get a MPP, but it comes with a heavy price tag. That said, GW is definitely well respected in the DC area as well, so if you plan to stay in DC it's definitely a good option, though people across the country are less likely to be impressed if you move out of the area. UMD is another good option (particularly if you're in-state); it's not right in the city but it's on the metro line and has a shuttle straight to campus. I was able to intern full time on the Hill and still take classes during my undergrad. As a head's up though to anyone planning to work full-time and complete their degree at night, UMD does not have any form of a night program, many of their "evening" classes start at 4:15, which crossed them off my list. I have experience both on the Hill and in the private sector and what I take away from my bosses is that where you got your MPP doesn't matter all that much if you plan to go into the private industry or bureaucratic type agencies as much as it does on the Hill/higher up levels of the exec branch. Georgetown is all about the name aka connections, so if you have your heart set on climbing major political ranks, Georgetown is definitely an elite club you want to be in. Other than that, forking out the extra 20k to go there instead of GW or 45k over UMD or Mason in-state may not be worth it. Georgetown also has sort of an elite cigar club type reputation for a reason, they're the best and they know it (and act like it). Some people are really turned off by it, others not so much, it's a personal preference. GW definitely works hard to give off a more student-centered and approachable vibe. I've also heard from people who have already gone through GW and Georgetown MPP's that Georgetown leans much more heavily on statistics, economics and quantitative reasoning where as GW tends to be a little more focused on reading and analytic reasoning. Something else to keep in mind, from what I heard GW is AWFUL with funding, a friend of mine went to an ivy for undergrad got a full ride to American, a half ride to Georgetown and NOTHING from GW. Also just fyi, UMD, Georgetown GW, American and a bunch of other DC schools have an agreement where they let you take classes at other schools, which allows a little more flexibility. Ultimately I settled on Georgetown, I think the extra money up front will be worth it in the end as I want to end up on the Hill and I think it will give me a leg up. Good luck everyone!