Government Affairs 2013 Wrap Up - Final Decisions!

[CondorConor]

Previous Schools: UCLA

Previous Degrees and GPAs: B.A. in International Development Studies - Environmental Systems Minor (3.37 overall, 3.78 major)

 

GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing):165 / 159 / 5.0

Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): ~2 years in separate AmeriCorps (VISTA and National/State) positions (internships scattered thru college and work)

 

Math/Econ Background: Statistics, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, International Development Economics courses, Environmental Economics

Foreign Language Background (if applicable to your program): Intermediate Spanish

Intended Field of Study in Grad School: MPA/MPP

Long Term Professional Goals: International Development / Food Policy / Disaster Response (Federal, NGO, Private, whatever position best fits)

Schools Applied to & Results: Syracuse Maxwell (Accepted, $$$), GWU Trachtenberg (Accepted), American SPA (Accepted, $$), Georgetown GPPI (Accepted, $), Maryland SPP (Accepted), NYU Wagner (Accepted, $), Princeton (Rejected)

Ultimate Decision & Why: The Maxwell School at Syracuse University. Top ranked program for MPA (even if rankings are dubious), best financial aid package (with an admin/research position for another resume boost), intensive year-long program, faculty has professional experience best suited to my interests. Essentially I'm getting a master's degree from low tier-1, or high tier-2 (depending on your view of Maxwell) for free in a year's time, seems like the best ROI. All interactions with the faculty and administration have been wonderful so far. I already have the UCLA brand attached to myself, so although Georgetown or NYU would have been great (my runners-up), I didn't feel the need to take out a bunch more debt just for the (perhaps) better prestige. Also, I've been a SoCal public school kid my whole life so I'm interested to see whether the eastern private school experience is markedly different.

 

Advice for Future Applicants: Start early; I knew in the last few months of my second AmeriCorps stint I needed more training if I wanted to get into the career tracks I was aiming for. This allowed me to plan to take some time off to boost my academic resume with some economics classes at the local community college, and gave my recommenders plenty of time to write my letters without feeling pressured. Also, external funding has some very early due dates as well, most fellowships are due right alongside the actual applications. Don't wait until after you've been accepted and have received an aid offer to start looking for more funding. You don't want to get accepted to your "dream" school, only to find out that you can't afford it. Don't feel intimidated by the student bios at the schools your looking at, or even any of those on this website (especially not me! I'm certainly humbled by the offered made from the schools I was accepted to).

[MTJ]

Previous Degrees and GPAs: Economics, 4.0

GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 170V, 166Q, 6AW
Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 0 full-time professional, but 2 internships (government agency and think tank) and extensive volunteer national leadership experience
Math/Econ Background: Econ major; coursework included Public Finance, Development Economics, and other policy-related electives
Intended Field of Study in Grad School: MPP
Long Term Professional Goals: researcher at a think tank, advocacy organization, or similar NGO
Schools Applied to & Results: GPPI (accepted, $20K/year), GW Trachtenberg (accepted, 80% tuition + $16K stipend for first year), American SPA (accepted, $17K/year), CMU Heinz Pittsburgh track (accepted, $28K/year)
Ultimate Decision & Why: CMU Heinz. This was a very, very tough decision, but at the end of the day, the decision came down to curriculum. In terms of the hard skills that it teaches, Heinz really is in a category of its own among policy schools. Consequently, it seems reasonable to assume that it will offer me the greatest versatility in terms of employment opportunities, particularly if I decide that the NGO sector isn't for me. Since I'm coming right out of undergrad, a skill-based program was most important to me, and that's Heinz's niche. I do wish that I'd applied to the DC track; I spent my undergrad in DC and, as I've been making my decision, the prospect of leaving the city and all of its associated opportunities is a lot more difficult than I anticipated when I was applying. So, I'll be applying to switch to the DC track, but even if that doesn't work out, the quality of the MSPPM program is worth being away from DC for two years.
Advice for Future Applicants: 

1) Study for the GRE, particularly the quant. Buy the big ETS book and work through as many practice tests as you can find (preferably online, to replicate the computer-based experience). The quant is fairly easy to learn - I didn't remember much if it when I started studying, since I hadn't touched that type of math since high school - and the essays are worth practicing for since you only have 30 minutes for each. 

 

2) In each SOP, be as specific as possible about how that particular program will help you achieve your professional goals. By "specific," I mean identifying skills you want to develop and matching them to courses associated with the program.

 

3) This has been said before, but just to reiterate: don't assume that you can't get into top programs straight out of undergrad. If you have above-average stats and know exactly what you want out of grad school and can communicate that in an SOP, it's worth applying.

[zparo]

Previous Schools: Large public / state university, Midwest

Previous Degrees and GPAs: Journalism, 3.7

GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 160, 162, 5.5

Previous Work Experience: <1 Year (international baseball, sport & fitness policy), but plenty of extracurricular involvement and leadership relevant to my career goals. 

Math/Econ Background: basic Micro/Macro Econ, basic Stats, Calc 1

Foreign Language Background: N/A

 

Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Master in Public Administration; domestic poverty alleviation and youth homelessness

Long Term Professional Goals: Policy work within state/federal anti-homelessness organization (USICH, etc.)

Schools Applied to & Results: Syracuse Maxwell ($$), Duke Sanford ($$), GWU Trachtenberg ($$$), Wisconsin La Follette ($Tuition), Michigan Ford ($), Cal-Berkeley Goldman (Rejected)

Ultimate Decision & Why: GWU Trachtenberg. The flexibility that the school offers in terms of curriculum and part-time / full-time status was a huge draw for me, as this means that I'll be able to keep my job within DC while earning the degree at the same time. Avoiding debt is a huge plus, too. 

Advice for Future Applicants: If you know what you want to do, and you can pinpoint how a specific degree would allow you to achieve your career goals, then don't let youth or a lack of work experience dissuade you from applying and dreaming big. The math background, undergraduate degree and work experience aren't necessarily pre-reqs to getting into a good school. Be specific in your statement of purpose, connect your life experiences to your career goals, then click submit and cross your fingers for a few months. 

[lmdutra]

Previous Schools Grossmont Community College UCSD, top 10 public in US, 36 in the world, higher for poli sci department
Previous Degrees and GPAs: 3.87, grossmont & 3.55 UC (likely higher by the time I am done, possibly cum lade if I manage a 3.8 in my final quarters)  BA Political Science, American Politics with an Urban Studies and Planning minor, will be completed August of 2013
GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing):162/137/3.5... I know, it seems as though I barely know long division, but I had to pee dammit.
Previous Work Experience 20+, mostly child development and helped run our small business. I was a stay at home mom for many years. I did a legislative internship for a state senator
Math/Econ Background: Small business owner
Foreign Language Background Marginal Spanish and some Portuguese cuss words. 
Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Public Admin. 
Long Term Professional Goals:government admin.
Schools Applied to & Results: SDSU,  accepted, no word on funding yet. 
Ultimate Decision & Why:I am going. I am married, we have a business that is regionally based so SDSU was my only option. The networking a local MPA program provides also played into my choice to only attend a program close to home, where I ultimately wish to spend my career. 
Advice for Future Applicants Do this crap while you are young, don't put it off. I'm so damn tired. 

[muro0901]

Previous Schools: St. Cloud State University, MN
Undergraduate GPA: 3.9
Undergraduate Major: Double major in Sociology and Planning & Community Development

GRE Quantitative Score: 152
GRE Verbal Score: 158
GRE AW Score: 4.0

Previous Work Experience: Spent 3 years during my undergraduate career working closely with a non-profit organization that raised funds for children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Kenya. I was president of a student organization (that I helped create) that was their main fundraising arm. After I graduated I worked at a regional foundation that serves 14 counties in north central Minnesota as a Community Development Associate for 10 months.  

Math/Econ Background: Tested out of two college econ classes. Seemed great at the times but it means I haven't done any economics for ages.

 

Foreign Language Background: N/A

 

Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Master in Public Administration; Non-profit management

Long Term Professional Goals: Work at a large non-profit or a foundation

Schools Applied to & Results: USC Price, University of Washington Evans, University of Oregon, Portland State (Accepted at them all)

Ultimate Decision & Why: USC Price. This was my dream school going in. They have a very strong non-profit management track and are located in a city that has a very strong non-profit sector. Additionally they offered me a 1/2 tuition scholarship. The funding made this a very easy decision since none of the other schools offered me anything.

Advice for Future Applicants: Nothing profound. Start early and do thorough research into the schools that you are considering. Just make sure you have all of your ducks in a row and don't push off everything until the last minute. That said, if I could do it all over again I would have held off on submitting my applications until closer to the deadline. I was a bit too antsy and submitted all of my applications a good month before the deadlines. I don't think this hurt my applications at all since I had started so much earlier that all of my statements had been through many many many many drafts, but it made the agonizing wait for acceptances even longer. Even though I wouldn't have ended up changing much during that last month it still would have helped keep my stress levels lower if I could have tinkered a bit to make it feel like I still had control in the process. Once you hit submit your lives are in the committees’ hands and that can be difficult to deal with. It was a rough couple months of constant email checking. Do what you can to take your mind off things. Running got me through.

[holycow]

Hi all - first-time poster here, but like others I learned a lot from this board while researching schools so hopefully this is helpful to others:

 

Previous Schools: Big state school with less-than-stellar academics

Previous Degrees and GPAs: B.A. in public health, minor in leadership (3.9 overall); 

 

GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing):630/760/5.0

Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): Total of 5 years (~3 years full-time, ~2 years part-time) in health policy research, extracurricular global health work in college + some random community service activities, studied abroad for a semester

 

Math/Econ Background: AP Calc in high school, but not a single math class since then with the exception of intro to statistics for sociology majors. I took micro and macroeconomics at a community college last summer but no other economics classes.

Foreign Language Background (if applicable to your program): Intermediate Spanish

Intended Field of Study in Grad School: MPA/MPP, focused on health/domestic policy

Long Term Professional Goals: My background is in health policy research, and I'm thinking of switching over to the advocacy side of things. Not entirely sure what that looks like yet (foundations? non-profits? state/federal government?).

Schools Applied to & Results: Georgetown MPP (Accepted, $20k), GWU Trachtenberg MPP (Accepted, no funding), NYU Wagner MPA in Health Policy/Management (Accepted, full tuition), Princeton WWS MPA (Accepted, full tuition + stipend), Harvard Kennedy MPP (Accepted, no funding), and Harvard School of Public Health SM2 in Health Policy/Management (Accepted, half tuition). 

Ultimate Decision & Why: Princeton WWS. My decision pretty quickly became a choice between HKS and WWS and after visiting both the choice became very clear. I think HKS has an incredible program, and folks with very specific interests are probably better served by such a large university with more faculty, classes, alumni, etc. in that area. The downside, of course, is that it's easier to get lost in a sea of hundreds of students - HKS's new admit day felt oddly formal and impersonal to me. Resources are a big difference between the two, though in a lot of ways, the resources available at WWS (summer funding, travel grants, etc.) are available at HKS too - you just have to compete for them. Perhaps as a result of the financial aid situation, more HKS students are bound for the private sector (a current student told me that 75 first-year MPP students were applying for a summer internship at McKinsey) which felt odd for a school with a tagline of "ask what you can do..." 

 

In the end, though, I'd choose WWS over HKS even if the money were even. The curriculum is exactly what I want to learn in grad school. The faculty and staff at new admit day genuinely seemed to care about the success of their students. Career services is phenomenal, and current students looking for jobs told stories of alumni "falling over themselves" to help with informational interviews, networking, jobs, etc. Above all of that, I think the most surprising part of the visit was the community at WWS. The current students are accomplished yet extraordinarily humble, friendly and just plain happy to be there. Many of them travel together over winter/spring break. Princeton certainly isn't Cambridge, but the train to NYC is quick and not prohibitively expensive. 

 

Advice for Future Applicants: 

 

1. Don't underestimate yourself. I was very close to not applying to HKS because I didn't think I had a shot. Admissions is a crap shoot, and if you can find a way to swing the application fees it's worth going after a few "reaches."

 

2. In my opinion, the question isn't if you can go to grad school right after college, but if you should. I thought originally about applying straight out of undergrad, and am so happy that I didn't. I have a much clearer understanding of what I want out of the program, will contribute more to class discussions, and probably got into much better schools than I would have right after college. It's a tough job market for sure, but even somewhat-related work experience is better than nothing.

 

3. I had a fairly significant typo on the second paragraph of my personal statement, but it apparently didn't sink my application. This isn't to say you shouldn't proofread, but if you have a team of people that read your essays a gazillion times and somehow one typo slips through in an otherwise flawless application, try not to spend the next four months beating yourself up about it. (Like I did.)

 

4. Once I was in decision-making mode, I tried to talk to as many current/former students as possible. (And not just the ones that called me because the admissions office asked them to.) Asking questions like "what's your favorite part of (school)?" or "what do students complain about the most?" or "what would you change about the program if you could?" were more informative than any glossy brochure or website. And if you're trying to discern fit, there's no substitute for talking with current/former students, even if it has to be over the phone/Skype. Use your networks - I was surprised by the number of friends/colleagues with connections to students at schools where I applied.

[MPPgal]

Previous Schools Union College (top 40 LAC in NY)
Previous Degrees and GPAs: Economics and anthropology major (3.4 GPA) 3.8 GPA in my senior year
GRE Scores: Verbal - 160, Quant - 165, Analytical - 4.5
Previous Work Experience: 2.5 yrs in important public policy think tank in Latin America, 3 internships in NGOs in DC, New York and Mexico city (each one semester long).
Math/Econ Background: Economics major, econometrics (worst grade of my transcript), and 3 calculus courses
Foreign Language Background Spanish native speaker, English bilingual, intermidiate French, took 1 yr of Russian in college
Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Public policy, environmental
Long Term Professional Goals: Environmental international NGO 

Schools Applied to & Results: Accepted: Indiana University SPEA MPA, Georgetown GPPI MPP(17.5 K per year), Erasmus Mundus MAPP, U Chicago Harris MPP, U Texas Austin LBJ School MPAff (Johnson Fellow, Full ride+ 14k per year and opportunity of RA job 20 hrs a week with professor on environmental policy issues Mexico-USA), SAIS Bologna MA.

Denied: LSE MPA, HKS MPP and WWS MPA

 

Ultimate Decision & Why: LBJ school:

Financial: full ride, living expenses plus extra income with a job (can basically save money)

Reputation: Great school and very well known in Mexico (my home country) due to famous alumn in the policy sector.

Focus: although quite domestic it has a very strong Latin American focus which is where i want to focus so for me it just makes sense. Also it´s status as a "generalist school" allows for a lot of couses 

Curriculum: only 3 core courses the rest are flexible core allows to focus on what you are interested (environmental policy in my case)

Faculty: The fact that a  professor offered me an RA job even after they had offered me all that money really showed how they cared.

V.S. other schools: After all considerations of what I want out of a graduate program, it became a choice of going to LBJ for free or going to Georgetown for a total of $50k per year... Even though Georgetown has the prestige of being awesome and I really did like the school and how personal the open house was I think the fact that GPPI is not a school yet has some issues (money for one), no Phd and some comments of lack of core faculty (many current students complained about terrible practitioner professors). 

 

Advice for Future Applicants:

For international students (and obviously domestic ones) you really should try and visit all the schools you are accepted into (or are considering), it puts all things in perspective (for me it became super clear SAIS was not the place for me) while allowing you to meet your professors who might offer, also save money while you work (I did it and it meant I could attend most schools while only taking little debt).

Also super study for the GREs (do not pay for classes but dedicate an hour a day for a few months using the math bible and manhattan and you will be all set), I took them two times (the second time improving my verbal and writing a lot and my quant a bit even though I had to take it in another location due to ETS canceling my exam one day before but I feel improving them made the difference when it came to really good scholarship offers).

 

Do feel free to contact me.

[leon32]

Previous Schools Appalachian State University, UNC Wilmington, 2 grad classes with American Public University System
Previous Degrees and GPAs: B.S. Political Science 3.11
GRE Scores: Verbal - 166, Quant - 156 , Analytical - 6
Previous Work Experience: 6 months working as a leadership facilitator in Singapore, 6 months as an intern for Organizing for America, 2 years teaching English in Korea and currently about a year and a half as a system administrator for an education portal in Australia where I work with people and companies in India, Nepal, Singapore, China, etc. on a daily basis.
Math/Econ Background: Intro to Macro, research methods
Foreign Language Background (if applicable to your program): Advanced Korean, Intermediate Spanish
Intended Field of Study in Grad School: International Affairs, Security
Long Term Professional Goals: Think tank or consulting
Schools Applied to & Results: Korbel (10,000) accepted, Seton Hall, Fletcher (5,000), SIS, GWU, USCD MPIA all accepted, UGA rejected 

 

 

Ultimate Decision & Why:Fletcher, best program and reputation of the schools I got into, and seems like it is where I would enjoy spending two years the most

Advice for Future Applicants:

If you have a low undergraduate degree, you can still get in to good schools, but perhaps not great funding.

[AHerm]

I wish I had known about this site while I was applying! Hopefully I can help someone out in the future!

 

Undergraduate Institution: University of Michigan

Undergraduate GPA: 3.90
Undergraduate Major: Double major in History and Sociology

GRE Quantitative Score: 154
GRE Verbal Score: 167
GRE AW Score: 5.0

Previous Work Experience: Worked for one year out of college at a local nonprofit social services organization, primarily as a grant writer (though performed other critical functions, including some community development stuff which particularly helped me in my application). Also worked as a journalist for our student newspaper for two years, interned for one summer in Canada's Parliament, and joined/led a number of other student groups.

 

Math/Econ Background: AP Calculus in high school, two introductory statistics courses in college, and zero experience with econ.

 

Foreign Language Background: Intermediate Spanish.

 

Intended Field of Study in Grad School: MPP/MUP

Long Term Professional Goals: Work in a nonprofit community development office, for a land bank, or in municipal government.

Schools Applied to & Results: Michigan (Ford), Michigan (Taubman - Urban Planning), Columbia (SIPA MPA, no funding), Georgetown (GPPI) -- accepted; HKS MPP -- rejected.

Ultimate Decision & Why: I will pursue a dual MPP-MUP at the University of Michigan. In the end, it's much more affordable and relevant to my interest working in the City of Detroit. The primary appeal of the other two schools was location. I love DC and NYC, but Ann Arbor is great for its own reasons.

Advice for Future Applicants: Consider the cost of graduate school early. And don't apply too early! I applied one to two months early on several apps and had a number of things change for me at work afterward. I doubt these additions would have changed any outcomes but it's certainly possible I could have been considered for additional funding!

[Hilldog2016]

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Liberal arts college
Previous Degrees and GPAs: BA Economics, 3.14
GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 170/163/4.5
Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 1 year in Teach for America, 2 years as an econ RA at a think tank
Math/Econ Background: Econ major, Calc I and II, Linear Algebra, Stats
Foreign Language Background (if applicable to your program):
Intended Field of Study in Grad School: MPP
Long Term Professional Goals: Professional Committee Staffer, craft labor policy
Schools Applied to & Results:
Ultimate Decision & Why: GPPI MPP, many professors with great labor policy connections, in DC, they gave me the most funding, and it's a name that opens doors. I had applied to a few MBA programs too but decided it wasn't worth the investment since I want to work in policy.
Advice for Future Applicants:

• Ask people who are in similar programs to yours for advice on the personal statement, they will likely email you there's which was a huge help for me to see how to structure it.
• Go to open houses before you apply, identify the program's values, highlight in your personal statement how your experiences and interest area demonstrate those values.
• Go to admitted student day and try to make a decent impression.
• Ask for an increase in funding.
• Ask for an extension on your decision if they don't increase your funding.
• Ask for an increase in funding again.

Edited April 16, 2013 by Hilldog2016

[Tupacalypse]

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): UNC-Chapel Hill (Top 10 Public School)

Previous Degrees and GPAs: Global Studies/Political Science Major, African Studies Minor...GPA - 3.7 Honors

GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 164 Verbal, 160 Quant, 5.0 Writing

Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 0.5.  Worked as a research assistant for part of last year working with a professor on Arab Spring research.  Also this past summer I interned at a human rights Commission in Nairobi.

Math/Econ Background: Calc in high school.  Introduction to micro/macro Econ.  Poli Sci Quantitative Methods Class.

Foreign Language Background (if applicable to your program): Advanced Kiswahili, intermediate French, beginner Spanish

Intended Field of Study in Grad School: International Relations with an African regional focus

Long Term Professional Goals: Working on democracy and governance research either through the United Nations or another similar international institution

Schools Applied to & Results: Denver Korbel (accepted $12k a year), American SIS (accepted no funding), Seton Hall Whitehead (Accepted half tuition + RA), Columbia SIPA (rejected)

Ultimate Decision & Why: Whitehead - Obviously, the financial assistance plays a huge role.  But other than that, they were the school that reached out to me the most during this whole process.  I had phone calls with the Dean of Admissions and the Dean of the school, professors, and the Chair all emailed me directly to assist me throughout the process.  I don't even feel that welcomed at my own undergraduate institution which I've been at for 4 years, and I love it here.  The hospitality and willingness to answer any of my questions ultimately was the main reason I chose Whitehead.  Additionally, I have a chance to be a big fish in a small pond there, which is very difficult to do as somebody in my position of being younger than most and lacking work experience.  Plus, if I do want to work for the UN one day, arguably there is no better school than Whitehead which has a direct affiliation with the UN and serves internships there.  Also, I talked with the internship director who told me that they would be able to get me an internship in Africa.  Essentially, this school serves every purpose I was looking for in a Master's program, and will provide me a great way to get more work experience while still being enrolled in school and undertaking minimal debt.

Advice for Future Applicants:  This applies mainly to those applying straight out of undergrad - Don't be lazy about applications!!!  Don't be lazy about any aspect of this process actually.  I, unfortunately was.  I missed about 4 or 5 deadlines for schools which I may have looked at (SAIS comes to mind), and thus was unable to apply to them.  Granted, most people in my situation would (logically) reapply next year, but for me I don't have the mentality that I would be able to just exit the working world and go to an educational setting again.  I was lucky in that Whitehead worked out, but be sure you know if you want to go to Grad School or not BEFORE your senior year in college.  Also, don't be so hard on yourself.  I wasn't expecting to get in to any of these places, but when I found out I got in to Denver (about 3 weeks before the other decisions) I began to have hope and be more confident.  If I had this confidence when actually doing my applications, who knows what results could have happened.

 

TLDR; don't be lazy, decide whether or not you want to do an MA next year early on, be confident in your abilities, or at least fake confidence

[biscuits]

Previous Schools University of Chicago
Previous Degrees and GPAs: Anthropology major, 3.94 GPA
GRE Scores: V 167, Q 159, 5.0 Writing
Previous Work Experience: chronological: interned at Mayor's Office, affordable housing non-profit, and resource-access non-profit in Chicago; AmeriCorps year in Boston through a program with a focus on social entrepreneurship; ensuing 3 years at a Boston non-profit doing lots of quality assurance, program development, and grant-writing. 
Math/Econ Background: Three quarters of Chicago-required calculus (turns out it's good to have your medicine forced down your throat), one quarter of general statistics, and then intro to micro and macro-econ through the Harvard Extension School. 
Foreign Language Background: Native English speaker; fluent in German
Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Public policy with a focus on social policy; specifically, poverty alleviation
Long Term Professional Goals: Improving state or federal poverty policy with a focus on improving access to benefits and efficiency of delivery/success. Don't much care about the state/federal question so long as the projects are fascinating and creating an impact.

Schools Applied to & Results: GPPI (accepted with $20K/year), Ford (accepted with $10K/year), Duke (accepted with full ride), Heller (accepted with full ride), HKS (waitlisted), LBJ (accepted with fellowship that covers tuition plus a hefty stipend)

Ultimate Decision & Why: LBJ School (MPAff). LBJ has a great curriculum in terms of what I want to do, with an ability to specialize in the core sequences. LBJ also has a very strong focus on applied learning, which is very appealing, and relatively easy access to research assistantships. The atmosphere is very collaborative and perhaps the friendliest of the schools I encountered, which I appreciate - I loathe environments where folks are constantly jockeying for position. They also gave me piles of money. I'm a bit of a money-hoarder, so the opportunity to avoid debt entirely was hard to turn down. Lastly, my fiance was applying to economics PhD programs at the same time, and Austin turned out to be the best match for both of us.

 

Advice for Future Applicants:

• Study for the GRE! Chances are you can stand to improve either your math or verbal scores. Verbal is relatively easy - sit yourself down with some flashcards - but math is harder. I literally spent the summer and fall of 2012 re-teaching myself high school math, partially because I had a crappy basic math background to begin with. Spend an hour a day working through problems. I recommend the Manhattan Prep books for anyone who has to re-learn concepts (as opposed to learning test taking tips). For those of you who are good at math, you'll still want to practice the type of problems that are on the GRE. A lot of them are stupid mind tricks, and if you get too far into trying to actually do proper math to calculate the answer, you won't have enough time to finish. If you ever feel the need to write out a proof or do calculus, you've put too much though into it. 
• Check application deadlines early on. Now is a good time. LBJ technically has a rolling application, but HKS is also way out in front with that end of November deadline. You don't want to rush yourself or your recommendation writers.
• Speaking of which: ask for recommendations early on. Late summer/early fall is a good time - you don't want to start too far out lest they forget. Good recommenders will want examples of past work (if academic) or will want you to walk them through your resume. It's also a good idea to send them drafts of your SOP. In a perfect world, your recommenders will speak to things that you highlight in your SOP, and will burnish areas that you don't have time to delve into in great detail. It's also great if they can rate how wonderful you are. E.g., "Bobby is one of the top two employees I have ever supervised." You want everything to read as one nice, interconnected package. 
• Start drafts of your SOP early on and keep working on it. Make other people read it. Accept their criticisms with grace. Stick to the word limit. Make an effort to truly customize each SOP to each school. You don't have to go crazy - you don't need to re-write the whole thing - but at least have a paragraph where you focus on what makes each school great. Make sure to include specific details rather than generic attributes. Also, make sure your SOP focuses particularly on what you want to do and why - it shouldn't be a re-statement of your resume.
• Resume. Ugh. Make sure it isn't hideous. I personally hate statements of goals or focus, but I think that's an individual thing. If possible, try to quantify your accomplishments as much as possible. Did you write an 800+ page RFP that secured $20M in funding for your organization? Great! Don't sabotage yourself by saying that you "create and respond to funding proposals".

TLDR; Make sure that your entire application is a logical argument for why you are awesome and should be admitted. Do not give them any opportunities to focus on any real or potential weakness. Yes, you want to acknowledge any obvious problems (perhaps you failed statistics), but immediately re-direct to the strength (you re-took the class, or you re-taught yourself statistics in this job that you are awesome at). Think of yourself/your application as a sleight of hand performance. You always want to be in control of what the audience is thinking, to be able to anticipate any troublesome distractions, and to be able to re-orient them back on your chosen course.

[Reasonablyterrified]

Previous Schools Tulane BSM
Previous Work Experience 8 Mostly in finance/banking
Math/Econ Background: Calculus, Micro, Macro, Finance
Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Economic Theory
Long Term Professional Goals: Development bank or international organization
Schools Applied to & Results: Harvard (rejected), Georgetown (waitlist), Berkeley (rejected), Chicago (accepted), Carnegie Mellon (accepted), Texas (rejected), George Washington (accepted), UPenn (rejected), Yale (rejected).
Ultimate Decision & Why: Chicago. Great school and school ranking, great city to live in, hoping the strong economic focus of the program helps get me towards my final goals.
 

[Reasonablyterrified]

Previous Schools Tulane BSM
Previous Work Experience 8 Mostly in finance/banking
Math/Econ Background: Calculus, Micro, Macro, Finance
Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Economic Theory
Long Term Professional Goals: Development bank or international organization
Schools Applied to & Results: Harvard (rejected), Georgetown (waitlist), Berkeley (rejected), Chicago (accepted), Carnegie Mellon (accepted), Texas (rejected), George Washington (accepted), UPenn (rejected), Yale (rejected).
Ultimate Decision & Why: Chicago. Great school and school ranking, great city to live in, hoping the strong economic focus of the program helps get me towards my final goals.
 

[flyingjellyfish]

Advice for Future Applicants:

• Study for the GRE! Chances are you can stand to improve either your math or verbal scores. Verbal is relatively easy - sit yourself down with some flashcards - but math is harder. I literally spent the summer and fall of 2012 re-teaching myself high school math, partially because I had a crappy basic math background to begin with. Spend an hour a day working through problems. I recommend the Manhattan Prep books for anyone who has to re-learn concepts (as opposed to learning test taking tips). For those of you who are good at math, you'll still want to practice the type of problems that are on the GRE. A lot of them are stupid mind tricks, and if you get too far into trying to actually do proper math to calculate the answer, you won't have enough time to finish. If you ever feel the need to write out a proof or do calculus, you've put too much though into it. 

 

Great post!  Ok, this is going to sound like a bit of an ad, but I also thoroughly recommend Manhattan.  I used their series of books and practice tests to study on my own when I retook the GRE last year.  I previously found that most prep materials teach how to take the test rather than teaching the concepts, which is what I needed help with.  Manhattan's basic principle was more that you won't need to resort to tricks if you KNOW the concepts to begin with.  This approach really helped me, and I know my score improved because of it.  Plus I found that their practice tests were harder than the actual test, which gave me more time and confidence on test day.  

 

Another GRE tip that I didn't do the first time round but found helped on my retake- write down a lot of notes as you tackle problems both verbal and quant.  It helps keep your brain focused, prevents panic from setting in, and keeps you on track.  Oh and the new GRE that was imnplemented in 2011 was easier for me than the old one because I could move around and skip questions as needed.  Make use of that!

[MPPgal]

Great post!  Ok, this is going to sound like a bit of an ad, but I also thoroughly recommend Manhattan.  I used their series of books and practice tests to study on my own when I retook the GRE last year.  I previously found that most prep materials teach how to take the test rather than teaching the concepts, which is what I needed help with.  Manhattan's basic principle was more that you won't need to resort to tricks if you KNOW the concepts to begin with.  This approach really helped me, and I know my score improved because of it.  Plus I found that their practice tests were harder than the actual test, which gave me more time and confidence on test day.  

 

Another GRE tip that I didn't do the first time round but found helped on my retake- write down a lot of notes as you tackle problems both verbal and quant.  It helps keep your brain focused, prevents panic from setting in, and keeps you on track.  Oh and the new GRE that was imnplemented in 2011 was easier for me than the old one because I could move around and skip questions as needed.  Make use of that!

Agreed, and I do not mean the expensive courses but the books and online tests are the best, well those and math bible!

[ThePope]

Previous Schools: A small, liberal arts college in Maryland.
Previous Degrees and GPAs: BA in Political Science and History, 3.8 GPA
GRE Scores: 165 Verbal, 145 Quantitative, 4.5 Writing
Previous Work Experience: 2 years on Capitol Hill, 1 campaign cycle as a Field Director, 1 year interning at a political consulting agency.
Math/Econ Background: NONE! HAAAAAAA, I suck.
Foreign Language Background: Um, I'm pretty good at one of Tolkien's Elvish dialects.
Intended Field of Study in Grad School: MPP in Program Analysis with a concentration in Environmental/Energy Policy.
Long Term Professional Goals: Legislative Aide.
Schools Applied to & Results: George Washington (accepted), University of Maryland (accepted), and American University (accepted).
Ultimate Decision & Why: GW. Because it's the highest-ranked school of them all, with the highest-ranked program, but moreover, simply because it felt like a truer fit. They take a very pragmatic, career-oriented angle to their curriculum, not all Ivory Tower academia, which I tend to appreciate at this point in my life.
Advice for Future Applicants:

 

Okay, listen guys. Everyone else has give some great practical advice, so here's something less useful but equally important: DON'T FREAK OUT.

 

Go back up and look at my quantitative score. GO LOOK AT IT. Yeah, you flinched, didn't you? That uncomfortable feeling in your gut is called pity. I pitied myself too, once I saw it. But guess what. That sad, pathetic demonstration of math delinquency didn't stop me, and neither will one bad aspect of your application stop you. Whatever your stats, do not let yourself get hung up on them. They're what you have, so stop stressing over them, and focus on the parts of your application you can currently control, such as your Statement of Purpose. Put your heart and soul into that statement, and it will make up for a great many things. It certainly did for me.

 

It's very easy, amidst all the expectation and the pressure, to second-guess yourself. It's very easy to start questioning whether you're really a competitive candidate, or whether you're just faking it extraordinarily well, which very easily spirals into an existential crisis of "what the hell am I doing?" and "what the hell am I doing if this doesn't work out?" Every single one of us has been there. But don't let those thoughts eat at you and erode your conviction. Your intuition has led you this far, so trust it. You know what you're doing. You will be okay. Chances are, you will get in somewhere, and if all else fails, trying again the following year is becoming more and more commonplace. And it demonstrates to the admissions committee that you're serious, which increases your chances. My friend applied to Georgetown 3 years in a row before he was finally accepted, and his program coordinator told him his tenacity is what gave him the edge. I know waiting another year and trying again is approximately no one's idea of an ideal scenario-- but it isn't a death sentence for your career, either. You have that option, along with a slew of others, even if it's hard to see that through the fog of stress this process induces.

 

So don't freak out. Assuming you've applied to multiple places, the odds of acceptance to one of them are in your favor, and even if the unfortunate comes to pass, you'll be okay anyway. You really, truly will.

 

And remember: you don't want a place that doesn't want you. If they reject you, they obviously weren't a great fit, so you probably would not have been happy there anyway. Give them the finger, move on, do amazing somewhere else, then send them your resume a few years later so they can see the kind of alumni they missed out on having.

 

Lastly, when it comes to making a final decision, block out all the noise. You will have a profusion of opinions with which to contend, and you should heed exactly none of them. Hearing them out is fair, but then sit yourself down and forget every word. You will be the only one who has to live with your decision. You will be the only one there, putting in the work, and paying down the loans. Not your mother, not your cousin, not your sister or your friend or your undergrad adviser. You. Just you. This is a party of one. Kick everyone else out.

 

And good luck.

[nickel]

Previous Schools: Michigan State University
Previous Degrees and GPAs: BA in Marketing, 3.35 GPA
GRE Scores: 165 Verbal / 158 Quant / 4.5 Writing
Previous Work Experience: 5 years in Advertising/Digital Marketing/Branding (all in the US)
Math/Econ Background: Micro/Macro Econ, International Econ, Finance, Statistics, Accounting
Foreign Language Background: Not much, one semester of French at a community college and Rosetta Stone/ThinkFrench/etc.
Intended Field of Study in Grad School: International Development Studies

Long Term Professional Goals: Work with entrepreneurs in developing areas to help them grow their businesses strategically and responsibly.  Leaning toward private sector solutions but not totally sure.
Schools Applied to & Results: GWU Elliott (accepted), Korbel (accepted), American SIS (accepted), Tufts Fletcher (accepted), Columbia SIPA (rejected).

Ultimate Decision & Why:  GWU Elliott for a number of reasons.  I really like the curriculum and ability to tailor it specifically to my objectives and needs.   The location is also a strong draw, even for someone not totally interested in the public sector or non-profits because I still think a great internship at one of the many institutions in DC would help build my experience and understanding of the field.  Funding was also a big factor for obvious reasons but it wasn't the best offer I received; from an ROI standpoint, Elliott made the most sense to me.  And, finally, the personal attention and communications I received from the school impressed me more than others (that's the marketer in me).  I believe that attention to detail and personalization is important and definitely helped make my decision.

Advice for Future Applicants: It's been said before but I'll say it again: Don't feel intimidated by some of the posters in this or other forums.  Some people knew exactly what they wanted in high school but it took some of us a few years in an unrelated industry to realize what we wanted out of our career.  I, for example, thought my career would be all ad agencies.  So I had to bust my ass to pull together a relevant application for a field I had no professional experience in (but I did have some relevant preparation because of my business background).  That shouldn't dissuade you from applying to programs that interest you.  Make sure you think long and hard about what you want to do in your future, and then think about it some more.  Write it down.  Get the wording perfect so it communicates exactly what you want to say in one sentence.  Talk to friends about it and let them poke holes in it until you have a refined, focused objective.  Make sure you know exactly what you want in a career because then you can articulate that to a school and tell them why their program is right for you and why you are right for their program.  It'll help you focus as you gather your application materials and write your essays.  It will also motivate you to keep going when you feel burnt out.

[JFactor]

Previous Schools: A university in DC (top 10 IR school)
Previous Degrees and GPAs: BA in International Studies and Economics, 3.90 GPA
GRE Scores: 169V, 154Q, 5.0W
Previous Work Experience: Military leadership experience from my home country (in Europe); four internships in DC (two of them from the field I'm interested in - int'l trade); last internship turned into a research assistant job at a well-known research organization in DC and there 0.5. years of work experience after graduation
Math/Econ Background: BA in Econ but without econometrics, no serious math background (no calc classes etc.)
Foreign Language Background: Four semesters of Spanish, fluent in a European language, intermediate skills in Swedish and German
Intended Field of Study in Grad School: International economic policy (especially international trade) & International Political Economy
Long Term Professional Goals: Working for one of the multilateral organizations, preferably something that allows me to do policy analysis
Schools Applied to & Results: Josef Korbel (full tuition + RA), SIS (full tuition + RA: $12k), Elliott ($15k), SAIS Bologna/DC ($20k), Fletcher ($5k), Georgetown/MSFS ($0k), SIPA (waitlisted), HKS (rejected)
Ultimate Decision & Why: SAIS. The curriculum is excellent for my interests, the school's reputation and alumni network are great, and it allows me to study a year in Italy (which for someone like me with European interests is a solid bonus). They also gave me a nice scholarship package. The decision came down to choosing between AU (full ride) and SAIS, so it was basically money vs. everything else. In the end I felt SAIS is definitely worth the extra cost.
Advice for Future Applicants: Sadly I feel like I've forgot most of the useful tips/details I had in mind a few months ago when everything was happening, and others in this thread have said many of the things I wanted to say as well. Especially the "do not freak out" advice is golden. I freaked out after I got my GRE score because of my "low" quant score. It is not the best by any means but I let it completely depress me, because I felt it disqualified me from the top programs and definitely meant I wouldn't get any money. I couldn't have been more wrong. Don't get me wrong, take the GRE very seriously (like I did, maybe a little too much), but it's only a small piece of the puzzle and even though I had read that on forums like this, in my heart I didn't believe it. So don't lose hope.

 

Same goes with work experience - I was sure I wouldn't get into the top programs (such as SAIS, Fletcher, and Gtown) because I did not have a lot of full time work experience. In my circumstances getting an MA is a must (very hard to get a visa sponsor in the US as a foreigner, in Europe just a BA is worthless and everyone completes an MA right after their BA) but I felt I was somehow doomed to fail because of my lack of full time work experience. Again, I was wrong. The application truly seems to be evaluated holistically so if you lack in some areas, you can improve in others and make up for it. If I was a 22-year old American, I would definitely try to work for a few years, but everyone's situation is different and you have to keep that in mind when applying. It's all about coming across as someone who knows what they want out of grad school and as someone who is competent and qualified. So obviously the personal essay and letters of recommendation are extremely important in that regard. You might not have "a perfect" application and stats (only a few truly do, no matter how depressing it can sometimes be reading people's stats online and thinking everyone is a genius) but if you are a competent candidate, you have many ways to show that in your application.

 

So I guess what I'm trying to say is this: try not to despair. I know it can be difficult - my experience is that things can get blown out of proportion in your head quite easily, especially when it comes to something as important as graduate school. But all you can do is try to get the right people to write your LORs, to really nail the personal essay, to go take a few classes (econ, math) if you feel that would make your application is stronger etc. Much of it is still in your own hands and even if the GRE doesn't go perfectly or you feel some other aspect of your application is not the best it could be, you probably still have a better chance of getting into the schools you want than you realize.

 

Forums like GradCafe are excellent resources but they can also cause a lot of anxiety especially when completing your applications and comparing yourself to others. At that point just keep your head down and do the best you can. I felt that after the decisions started rolling in, I was able to get much more out of the forums because I was dealing with facts instead of just speculating what MIGHT happen.

 

Thanks all for the great advice and discussions in the last few months. Congrats to everyone once again, I'm sure there's a good chance we will meet one day professionally (although I'm sure we have no idea we were on this forum at the same time). I doubt that I will be coming here much more now that everything is pretty much settled and the forum is dying down so I just wanted to thank all you guys and I hope you have a great two years at whichever school you chose!
 

[rz922]

Previous Schools: Public Ivy
 

Previous Degrees and GPAs: BA in Political Science and Sociology, 3.7 GPA
 

GRE Scores: 169 Verbal; 165 Quant; 5.5 Writing

 

Previous Work Experience: Most recently- 1 year as a journalist in the UN for international newswire; 2 years at start-up non-profit doing program management/ research; 1 year doing legislative research for a law firm; internship at magazine; volunteer work/ teaching abroad in Ecuador, Greece, France

 

Math/Econ Background: Not a ton- stats, math class in undergrad, research methods class, 1 econ class while applying to grad schools

Foreign Language Background: Spanish (rusty) from volunteering in Ecuador; Intermediate French-  classes in Paris/undergrad
 

Intended Field of Study in Grad School: IR/ Journalism
 

Long Term Professional Goals: Foreign Correspondent 

Schools Applied to & Results: SIPA (accepted+ $$), Columbia Journalism (accepted), Georgetown School of Foreign Service (accepted), HKS MPP (rejected), Princeton WWS (rejected)

Ultimate Decision & Why: I decided on the dual degree with SIPA and the journalism school. I had a lot of doubts of whether I needed two masters degrees, partly because of the cost, partly because of the time, but in the end, it was just the best fit. I knew I wanted to stay in journalism and after covering the UN, I wanted the IR background to better report on the field and to also widen my employment prospects if I decided to transition into a research position, etc. considering the volatility of journalism field. I was very selective with the schools I applied to because I wasn't planning on going the typical route after graduation from an MPA/IR school and wanted to be very strategic about my path and basically build a safety net. Again, your own reasons and motivations are key. Depending on your career aspirations, I could easily see going to slightly lower ranked school and taking more $$ if the alumni are doing what you want to do. I regretted not applying to at least Fletcher or another couple of schools to give me more aid options but it worked out.

 

Advice for Future Applicants:

 

-The GRE is beatable, even if you suck at math. Just keep telling yourself that. I took it twice and my score went up significantly, i think in part from having experience with taking a test on a computer. Practice answering questions on scrap paper: this sounds insignificant but it's not. Leave time in the app process to take it a second time, even if you're doing well on your practice tests. Kaplan books are a total waste but Princeton Review has the best strategies. Learn them inside and out, even if they seem to waste time. When you get familiar with them, they seriously help you beat the test. If you're disciplined, a class is unnecessary-- books and diligence will get you where you wanna go. I took vocab flashcards with me on the subway every morning all summer and it helped me totally own the verbal section.

 

-Be patient with the process of deciding how you want to tie your narrative together. My work history was all over the place as I was definitely not one of those people that knew what I wanted to do even when I graduated college, but taking this time and re-writing a lot not only helped me put together a strong application but also helped me focus my goals and see where I really wanted to be headed. I considered deferring after I got my acceptances to get more experience but then realized that grad school was really the right place for me.  Also, DO NOT try to fit everything into your SOP. Highlight a theme, chose experiences that illustrate this, but go for depth and what you've learned to show maturity rather than squeezing everything in. Every admissions officer says it, but they have your resume so dont repeat it. Yes, it's hard. I literally had 9 drafts of crap SOPs before I got to something that actually said something of value. As someone who writes for a living, I was slightly disgusted by all the shit i was churning out, but just get over it and expect it will be a process. 

 

- Don't stress about one weakness in your app. EVERYONE has at least one. None of them will kill your prospects. Try to restrain from posting a freak out about this. Seriously.

 

-A lot of people say it, but FIT is so important. I didn't get into WWS or HKS but a policy program really wasn't as good of a fit for me as an IR program and those are the ones to which I received acceptances. It was REALLY hard for me to turn down Georgetown, even though there was no journalism focus. I wanted to like it more than I did because its considered so highly ranked for IR and I was really impressed with how willing the alumni was to connect you. I also didn't want to turn Georgetown down for the wrong reasons, such as it's easier for me to stay in NYC since I live here etc. At the end of the day, I wanted stronger connections in the journalism world, not in the beltway. And though I was allured by the prospect of all the internship opportunities in DC, including publications, I decided I wanted to strengthen my roots in NY media world, and the curriculum was a better fit for me at Columbia. Several people said to me, consider WHERE you want to be. Again it depends on your situation and goals, but NY was the better place for me. 

 

-Ask for what you need! Because I'm a dual degree student, I only have one year at SIPA, and since most funding goes to second years, I appealed to the admissions committee to consider this as a factor in getting assistance. It was an email that took at most 7 minutes and my appeal was rewarded with a fellowship that will make a huge difference in loans. It's always worth it to ask, especially if you have a compelling reason.

 

-Talk to as many people as possible when you're making a decision- perhaps less so your friends and family and more so people who are doing what you want to be doing. I think I met almost the entire SFS at Georgetown when I visited for admit day and was completely impressed by everyone I spoke with. For me, the admitted students days only made me more torn in my choice. I reached out to specific people that had done the dual program I decided on at Columbia, including cold emailing journalists in the field that had no connection with admissions. I also spoke to journalists who had gone to SFS to see where they had ended up. This, along with fellowship award, led me to choose Columbia. Also thank the people that listen to you describe the nuances of every program you're accepted to during late March and April. They are being extremely kind.

 

-Finally, GET OFF GRAD CAFE, or at least take breaks from it if you can't go cold turkey. I literally put a procrastination blocker  tool on my browser at the end of February to try to restrict myself from going on when my mind wandered to thinking about grad school (re: all the time). It can be totally great during the research process and for commiserating over the seemingly endless wait. But keep in mind the people on here are submitting only a small sample of the applications that are going into the pool. Ignore the people that trash your dream school or who post freak outs about one typo they found after submitting their application. At the end of the day, grad school is a personal choice and completely dependent on your own goals and situation. Grad cafe is a great tool, but it's just that, and unfortunately it is not a Magic 8 ball to tell you if you're getting in or not. You will forget this around January and February, but it's okay. 

 

Good night and good luck!

 

[traumerei]

better late than never? 

 

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): UVa
Previous Degrees and GPAs: 3.2 GPA in Government/East Asian Studies, graduated 2011
GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 162/156/4.5
Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 

18 months in Asia, teaching English in Korea and learning Mandarin in China. Had a few internships during undergrad, mostly involving research and memorandum writing.

Math/Econ Background: A couple of economics courses, but did average in them. Tested out of math in college.

Foreign Language Background (if applicable to your program): 4 years worth of Mandarin, basic Korean

Intended Field of Study in Grad School: International Relations
Long Term Professional Goals: Was considering analyst track, but open to something more managerial/financial and related to East Asia
Schools Applied to & Results: Applied: American SIS, GW Elliott, NYU Wagner, Princeton WWS, Columbia SIPA. Rejected: Princeton. No funding whatsoever
Ultimate Decision & Why: I chose Columbia for various reasons. On a professional level, the program is so flexible that I felt I could easily mold my own curriculum. I also liked how much it emphasized marketability and practical knowledge in preparation for a career. GW Elliott was a close contender as well for the same reasons. I was very impressed at the GW open house and encourage others to attend! For my personal growth, however, Columbia won out. Living in New York is a challenge I'd love to take on and I have friends there. Also, I didn't get funding from any programs. I was happy to know that there was a good chance for second year funding at SIPA, something which Elliott, SIS or NYU does not offer.

Advice for Future Applicants: I've heard people emphasize studying for the GRE as much as possible and I second that! My scores are by no means amazing, but I believe that if it weren't for my six months of nonstop studying, my results wouldn't nearly be as good as it was this year. Admittedly, they could be better - maybe I could have gotten funding if scores were higher - so aim high!

 

Also, don't sell yourself short. I spent the last year trawling this forum, wondering if my grades and experiences could even match up to others here. There were so many people in the "Am I Competitive Thread" who were worried that their 3.7 GPAs or 2+ years of experience in an international nonprofit bank couldn't get them into Johns Hopkins or Berkeley. It was really discouraging, because I believed my stats couldn't compare. But this whole process taught me that you really have to sell yourself. I worked hard on my personal statements and made sure it was clear I had a purpose. There has to be a real, relatable reason why you are applying to a program designed to put you in the policy career track. You can't apply "just because." I made sure I got great references and checked my applications three times at least. Basically, you don't to have to be perfect to get into a great program, just prove that you are a great fit.

 

It's not over for me though. Even with second year funding, Columbia is not cheap. Tacked on with my other student loans, I am well aware I have a tough road ahead of me. But instead of deferring, I did not want to wait another year to go to grad school. Everyone has already put terrific advice in this thread, but we all have a different story. Don't let anyone guilt you or make you feel bad for making a decision that you believe is right for you. After all, we are all anonymous people who know nothing about YOU. 

Edited May 23, 2013 by traumerei

[LeadTheTurn]

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Univ of Massachusetts

Previous Degrees and GPAs: 3.8 GPA in Pol Sci.
GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 162/159/5.0
Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 

6.5 years of experience as a military intelligence officer. Deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as tours in Korea and Germany.

Math/Econ Background: Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and Calculus were gen ed requirements for my college. Also took International Policial Economy and a course in the Resource Economics department.

Foreign Language Background (if applicable to your program): Had taken two courses of Modern Standard Arabic in college. Also had completed five years of Spanish between high school and college.

Intended Field of Study in Grad School: International Relations
Long Term Professional Goals: Pretty unsure at this point; could be state deparment, could be a think tank, could be several other organizations within the US govt.

Schools Applied to & Results: Applied: Harvard Kennedy School, Princeton WWS, Yale Jackson Institute, JHU SAIS, Tufts Fletcher, Columbia SIPA, Univ Texas LBJ School, Georgetown PPI. Rejected: HKS and WWS.
 

Ultimate Decision & Why: Yale Jackson. I was impressed by the number of seasoned practitioners the school had brought in over the last two years and felt that the director was moving the program in a good direction. Although I was a bit concerned with the small size of the program for alumni connection opportunities, I did consider the fact Yale's career services office has had a great record of putting people into important jobs within the US government for a very long time. I was also very happy with the flexibility of the program and the opportunity to pursue joint programs. The location of the school also factored in positively, since it is 90 minutes away from the town where I grew up.

Advice for Future Applicants: Knock out the GRE very early so that you'll have a chance to re-take if you are not satisfied with the results of your first attempt. Be careful about which materials you buy to prepare for the test -- check out this two star review for 1,014 GRE Practice Questions. http://www.amazon.com/Practice-Questions-Edition-Graduate-Preparation/dp/0307945383/ref=pd_sim_b_4 I can personally say that it is a well-deserved low mark, since that book posts an unacceptably high number of incorrect answers to their problems.

 

When asking for a recommendation, make sure the writer knows you pretty well and can speak intelligently to your favorable qualities. This is especially true if the writer is a graduate of the school to which you are applying; schools will not be impressed if they think you selected the writer simply because he/she is an alumni. Give the writers plenty of lead time to draft up a good letter before the respective deadlines, and do not be afraid to remind them of these dates as they approach. It is generally a good idea to inform the writers about the narrative you are trying to create throughout your application, and which aspect of your background you want that respective writer to emphasize. You do not want all three of them saying the same thing, but you do want them all to speak to a theme that shows you are a good fit for your intended school.

 

As others have mentioned, do not tie your self-worth to the results of your application cycle. Realize that schools are not necessarily picking the best 60/160/700 applicants for their program, but are instead filling 60/160/700 roles with the individuals that best fit those roles for them. If a great percentage of those roles happen to be people with overseas NGO experience and your background is in campaign politics and domestic issues, then you might be out of luck. No one can be sure how many soft factors are involved during the selection process, so do not think that a rejection is based purely on aspects that were within your control.

 

[mariiiiie]

Previous Schools: a French business school (top 5 in Europe)
Previous Degrees and GPAs: Msc in Management (average grades)
GRE Scores: Not needed for the schools I was applying to (yay!). However I got 110/120 for the TOEFL.
Previous Work Experience: 4 years in financial controlling in the industrial sector.
Math/Econ Background: Double major: econ/maths in undergrad
Foreign Language Background: Fluent in French, English and German. Intermediate in Spanish. I have a strong international background, having lived 2 years abroad while studying, and an additional 1.5 years abroad with my job.
Intended Field of Study in Grad School: International Development
Long Term Professional Goals: Somewhere along the lines of entrepreneurship development, private sector strengthening within an aid agency or an international organisation
Schools Applied to & Results: George Washington (accepted), Duke University (accepted with 25% funding), Georgetown University (accepted), American University (oriented towards a different Master).
Ultimate Decision & Why: Georgetown and Duke were my top choices, and I had a very hard time deciding. In the end, I decided to go with Duke because their program was entirely focused on development (instead of it being only a concentration inside a broader program), and for personal reasons.

Advice for Future Applicants:
Trust yourself and don't compare yourself to other applicants. The thread "Am I competitive.." is typically the thread you should avoid, because I really think that in 90% of the cases how you will present yourself will (or will not) make your application stand out.
Try to find what makes you unique, and how your experience can be relevant to the program you are applying to (i.e in my case, making the link between finance and international development, which was less than obvious!)
Everybody said it already but the main ones are: start in advance (!!), look for funding early and thoroughly, have various people reviewing your essays, make plenty of drafts
I am not American, and as the French system is very different from the American one (from the grades you are getting to the design of undergraduate/graduate system), I attached to my transcripts a little explanation of the system (officialized by the French Fulbright Office and my previous university).
One thing I didn't do, but regret, is attending the open houses. If you are struggling to make a choice, this can be really eye-opening.
You will spend the worst period of your life while applying (at least it was for me, juggling a demanding full time job during the day, and applications during the night), but don't give up, in the end it will be all worth it!!!