anyone applying to the Bush School (A&M) this year? (Fall 2013)

[cptdelorean]

topic

[cptdelorean]

notifications for the interview weekend should be soon (early Feb)

[ocd_status_checker]

I received an email Thursday that they were beginning to review applications for interview invites this week.  So it is going to be a really short turn around from invites to interviews.

[went_away]

There's a chance I'll be doing one of the online grad certs this summer.

[cptdelorean]

I received an email Thursday that they were beginning to review applications for interview invites this week.  So it is going to be a really short turn around from invites to interviews.

 

Ohh, I didn't get that email. How are they just reviewing them now?

[ocd_status_checker]

The email didnt go out to everyone. I was emailed about a rec letter that they thought they hadn't received but was really there and the guy said they were beginning reviews for invitations this week, so they needed it ASAP. I'm assuming they prefer to review closer to interviews so its fresh. It was the same case for another school I applied to during my last grad program.

[cptdelorean]

Oh. Odd that they do that when the deadline is Jan. 11th. Thanks for the info, though. Worried when I hadn't heard from them.

[cptdelorean]

I wonder if they just go through and reject a bunch quickly based off of scores/gpa/quick glance at experience.

[cptdelorean]

Just got the invitation in my e-mail. (I'm doing MPSA, if that matters at all since that conference is a week earlier than the other.)

[Sollos]

Bush School applicant here as well - MPIA program. Also received an email detailing the conference and interviews today.

[cptdelorean]

I need to register for the conference.

[OrlandoM93]

Hi everyone.  I applied and received an invitation to interview conference for the MPIA.program.  I am from Florida but lucky enough to have a friend who goes to A&M and lives in the area.  Best of luck to everyone here.

[SkyStrike]

Got my invite too, can't wait.

 

Anyone know what the interview questions will be on? Info seems rather vague.

[cptdelorean]

Got my invite too, can't wait.

 

Anyone know what the interview questions will be on? Info seems rather vague.

 

Which program are you doing?

[SkyStrike]

Hello,

 

I am an MPIA applicant.

 

To the last poster; Thank you for sharing your experiences, but, could you elaborate why were you underwhelmed and they pessimistic?

[SkyStrike]

Interesting. I don't know your situation but I can't imagine why an international student would be warned off when it came to job opportunities. Usually what matters most for public admin field is professional skills, communication, presentation, critical thinking, etc....It actually sounds bizarre, I wonder what the logic was behind it unless of course they meant working for the US government where there may be some preferences or concerns about citizenship.

 

I do think school age though was a reasonable explanation. I don't think there are many schools that have exactly rocketed to the top in a 15 year period.

 

Thank you for sharing your experiences, they have been very helpful to people on this thread. Not much info out there on this school.

[Dawwr]

You're welcome. Good luck at the interview conference. Please share your experience once you're done with that.

[SkyStrike]

Absolutely, thank you.

[cptdelorean]

I applied to the MPSA program at the Bush School and got the invitation for the interview conference earlier last week. I'm in New York so I opted for the online interview. I had my interview earlier today. For anybody curious, here is the sequence of the questions:

 

1) They began the interview by asking me why I applied to the Bush School?

2) They asked me what were my future goals, and how will Bush School help me achieve those goals?

3) After that, they asked me what public service meant to me and what was my outlook on it. 

4) They then asked me about my reason/motivation for pursuing the MPSA degree? 

5) They also asked me which track I intended on pursuing (public policy analysis vs public management/administration) and why.

6) Lastly, they asked me if I had any questions for them.

 

Once they were done with the questions, they told me they would communicate admission decisions in 3 weeks time. To be honest, I came out of the interview pretty underwhelmed about the program. Also, as an international student, their responses on my possibility of obtaining work experience in the US seemed very pessimistic. I'm really beginning to reconsider my decision of going there if I get accepted. 

 

I'm not really sure if your ability to get work experience as an international student is a reflection on the school or not. I think it has more to do with the fact that you are not a citizen and are an international student applying to a program that is geared towards domestic jobs.

[cptdelorean]

I think the problem is kind of what Sky said, in that your language made you put Bush is a far more negative light than you (may) have meant to.

 

If we look at this logically, we can really conclude many of the same things you were told:

- International students are going to have a harder time finding jobs/internships (for many reasons)

- Bush is younger than most schools

- [uSNews] Rankings are - for the most part - based on things that don't really matter

- Bush, currently, is much better for people who want to be in the that region (though if you look at the grad. stats there are people in DC, etc)

- MPSA is different than MPIA, as well as what will happen with career placements

 

It doesn't really seem like the people were criticizing their own program. It seems like they were more expressing facts and stating reasons as to why it may not be high on the rankings compared to more established programs, or why whatever. Obviously a school in Texas is going to have a harder time placing students in DC than a school in DC. That is just a fact. That goes for LBJ as well.

 

A lot of peope place a lot of emphasis on "names" on this site. Reputation is obviously important, but you really need to know what you want to do after you graduate. If your goal is to be in DC, maybe you may not want to go to Bush. If you want to work at a small nonprofit, do you really think you need to take out loans to cover the cost of 50k a year for HKS? I don't think that would be too wise. Debt is a huge factor in this field and if you ignore it for reputation, it could really cost you.

[cptdelorean]

In short, I was underwhelmed because it felt to me that a graduate degree from the Bush School is not a very prestigious one, and this particularly does not bode well for international students who already face a tremendous amount of odds when it comes to finding work experience in the US.

 

I think this is the key point, really, and kind of what I said in my earlier post. Schools are not perfect fits for everyone (in your case, being an international student is a huge thing), but depending on what you are looking for, they can be great (or not great) for people.

 

Everything is relative, and throwing things around like "not prestigious" and that you were "underwhelmed" ignores some very important things. I'm not trying to say you were purposely doing this since you said you weren't, but just that it makes things confusing.

[Dawwr]

So, do we have any updates from candidates who attended the interview conference?

[Sollos]

Guess I'll see you guys there tomorrow.

[Dawwr]

What do you mean? Are they still conducting interviews? Because I thought the interview conference was supposed to be held during 21-23rd Feb. 

[cptdelorean]

What do you mean? Are they still conducting interviews? Because I thought the interview conference was supposed to be held during 21-23rd Feb. 

 

MPSA was last weekend, MPIA is this weekend.

Edited February 28, 2013 by cptdelorean