Princeton WWS Strengths/Weaknesses

[spottedtoad]

I think the 1-year-MPP bios win the Bobby prize; I told my wife I was waitlisted and she said-- "of course you didn't get in-- you're not a Navy Seal OR the head of Doctors without Borders."

Incidentally, the office got back to me and told me that they aren't letting in anyone off the MPP waitlist, either. So maybe next year I'll see how I stack up against the next crop of Bobbies (MPA, this time, most likely.)

[linden]

i'm really really really late, but two quick things:

linden: awwww man! enjoy georgetown!

on the question of bobby and the bios on the admissions page: I told a couple of curent students i met when i visited wws that they sounded just like one of those intense bios i read online..of course, that's because it was their bio. very smooth. so i repeated this semi-joking story to the one of the admissions directors the next day and he earnestly asked how i really felt about it. i was very honest and said i enjoyed and was inspired by them, but was almost intimidated out of applying by them. which is true. he said that was feedback they need to hear. then i proceeded to tell him about linden's invented "bobby." he liked that too.

I think Bobby put the kabosh on my application and got me wait-listed. Good luck at Princeton, sisepuede.

[younglions]

Looks like WWS is losing Marc Melitz to Harvard. There was a good chance that I would have taken a course with him, so that's too bad. Here is the Greg Mankiw blog on the news: http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2009/05/melitz-to-harvard.html

[tato]

I know my message comes maybe late but I've began researching this week. I've read all your posts and I got a bit enthutiastic about WWS. I'll try to tell a little of my backgorud so you may be able to throw some help, if you can.

I'm a peruvian lawyer from one of the most pretigious law school in Lima (Catholic University). I've been workin for almost 4 years at one ofe the biggest law firms in Peru. I'm also a Good Governance professor at San MArcos Law School (one of the best and the oldest and with excellente international recognition). However, I've been thinkin of a direcytion switch on my carreer sice I've always wanted to work on something that will help me contribute to my country's development. In a way, I may suit for those idealist people you were talking about, but I think I'm one of them. I'd want my carreer to be aimed at public service and look for a posuition on policy maker or decision maker. It could be a public organization, an NGO or an international organization, but the point is that I want to stop being a corporate lawyer because I don't think in the long run It'll help achiving my personal and professional goals. I don't have public service experience, but a couploe of years ago my dad and some friends created a development institute (sort of like an NGO) and I work with them. I wasn't a huge things, but we sure did some stuff.

Before this carreer epiphany, I was thinkin of doing an LLM at HLS, NYU or Columbia, since that's what is expected from me in a postion like the one I hold now and I agree with that. But since I no longer want to do the same I think my masters is the perfect opportunity to star this carreer switch and begin with what I really wanna do in the long term.

That being said, I started researching on MPP and MPA programs, and I found Princeton to be a good sopurce for what I need. I first thought of the MPA but there's an extended MPP for lawyers that might suit me better, since I dont't have extensive studies on analysis, calculus and economics, but maybe I'm wrong.

Also, the economic part is always an issue, and it's be more easy opf course to fund a 1 year MPP that the 2 years MPA. But the fact that Princeton says they give financial aid to around 90% of the students (and that apparently is so) ecourages me more.

So I know this is ageneral question, but since you all applied here for WWS MPP or MPA, giving my backgorund, do you think it is a good choice for me? Should I just take the MPP or try the MPA? For the others internationals, is it taht hard to get in? Is my lacking of public service experience would be a hard downside on my application?

Thanks all in advance for your help.

[can9can]

Here, let's ratchet the anxiety up a little bit more. For some fun (and nerve-racking) reading material, check out the WWS student bios, if you have not yet.

http://wws.princeton...on/studentbios/

They're all along the lines of "Bobby speaks 17 languages, including three dead ones, fluently. He finished a translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls at the age of eight and then created a Broadway musical out of his experience. He spent three years in Mauritania teaching sign language to manta rays, which then became his assistants in early childhood education programs in Bolivia and in demining operations in Cambodia. Bobby funded his own initiatives by selling his left lung, spleen, and liver. Even though he is a man, he has breastfed hundreds of orphans to save them from starvation. He is the only student to ever score a 4.1 gpa in nuclear-astrophysical-geothermal engineering. He devotes his free time to fighting forest fires."

Actually, no, they're not that bad. They might actually reassure you that these students are mere mortals.

In general, this forum is gold as I oscillate between freaking out about the sentence structure in my SOP and freaking out about whether I even should be applying this Fall! Posts like this give me that little push to keep calm and carry on.

[karaya]

Wanted some info on how the selection of fields work in the program. I am interested in both Development Studies and IR. Since my profile is more Dev Studies focussed (I work for Technoserve in India) I think that's what I'll be applying to. However, once I get a look in at the MPA, I might change over to IR.

What I want to know is that how these change overs are managed. Is it a free-for-all or is there some sort of selection process? And if there is a selection process, how stringent is it? IS there someone here who has done something similar or knows anyone who has?

[bdkk185]

Karaya -- I stuck with the field I applied for, but many don't. Ie, WWS MPA students are free to switch fields, and maybe 10-15% of each class switches at least once, while a lot more consider it. It's not held against you, and getting approval is not a problem. Apply for the field you think will maximize your chances of admission, and worry about the field switches later.

[karaya]

Thanks, bdkk185

[fenderpete]

Karaya -- I stuck with the field I applied for, but many don't. Ie, WWS MPA students are free to switch fields, and maybe 10-15% of each class switches at least once, while a lot more consider it. It's not held against you, and getting approval is not a problem. Apply for the field you think will maximize your chances of admission, and worry about the field switches later.

Ditto. Anne-Marie Slaughter told our incoming class that there's very little functional difference between IR/Development as both fields inform each other and there's expected to be quite a lot of cross-pollination. Classmates of mine have changed in both directions, and we've also had a fair few folks switch from domestic over to development/IR. Once you're in you're in, and the school recognizes that policy areas all impact on each other and you will want to sample a bit from all over the map.

The only requirement to graduate within a given field is that you complete the required gateway classes, which you can take in second year or first year (giving you time to decide).