Future of PP/PA/IR School Admissions

[Dreams]

I have been reading a lot of recently about the number of graduates pursuing opportunities like Peace Corps, Americorps, and Teach for America. In fact, Teach for America is experiencing a record number of applications this year.

How do you think this will affect the types of experiences top schools will be expecting applicants to have. For instance, I have noticed over the past four years that WWS accepted a number of returned Peace Corps volunteers. Several schools have tracks for returned PCV as well.

Will these schools look more favorably on those who have experience from organizations such as TfA, PC. and Americorps over those who simply have other non profit experience?

[stigMPA]

These degrees will become even more competitive in the next few years. They seem to be among the more 'fashionable' fields at the moment - in particular, it seems like every other person I talk to wants to work in int'l development. As long as the economy stinks, I expect that applicant pools will swell with those multitudes (mistakenly) attracted to public service as a refuge from the horrors of the private sector. I have a feeling that these programs will eventually be a lot like law school - dauntingly competitive but also subject to the widespread speculative "shotgun blasts" of half-serious applicants.

Generally speaking, elite schools prefer experienced applicants. It's not impossible to get in with limited (or even no) experience, but only the most promising prospects will likely be able to take that path.

To those considering their options, I say go into the Peace Corps or Teach for America if you feel it is a calling, but I think it would be misguided for applicants to look too closely at the "competition" and try to keep up with the proverbial Joneses. Schools like to see a diversity of of experience and there's a glut of those with experience in organizations like the ones you mention. You will be more likely to catch an admission committee's eye with something unconventional rather than the identikit "yet another Peace Corps" resume.

[Cornell07]

Gah. There are so damn many peace corp alums who all want to study idev & Africa! Now, I don't deny that this is an important series of issues but can't we have a little bit more diversity? At my meet and greet at one school, I swear, out of a group of 15 people, 8 were focusing on the aforementioned topic group.

Just take a look at this poll: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=15142

Hello? Diplomacy? Security studies? *Echo*?

Doesn't anyone else get a kick out of making sure states don't blow each other up?

[limyanko]

Current TFA corps-member here. Of the corps-members I know, a lot are interested in public policy and international development. And I think that grad schools will be flooded with TFA applications in the coming years. But a lot of this is self-selection: the type of person interested in working 100+ hour weeks for little pay while suffering emotional abuse at the hands of children is probably also willing to incur thousands of dollars in debt for the privilege of working for low-paying public/non-profit jobs in areas that lack reliable access to electricity or water. Or, to put it another way: I'm interested in international educational development, but not because of TFA, and if I were not in TFA, I would still want to apply to graduate development programs.

As to whether or not TFA/PC/AmeriCorps/etc. will be looked upon more favorably than those who have other non-profit experiences---I don't know. On the one hand, TFA works very hard to secure partnerships with graduate schools in all fields, and it's one of the program's big selling points. ("Hey, we know you want to be a lawyer someday, but teach for a while and we'll help you get there.") You can check out the public policy partnerships here. On the other hand, schools desire intellectual diversity, and I would imagine do not want too large a percent of their entering class to be RPCV, TFA, AmeriCorps alumni, etc.

And yes, for the love of god, don't do TFA (or PC, AmeriCorps, etc.) for the sake of a perceived admissions boost. It wouldn't be fair to the kids, or yourself. TFA, at least, is frequently excruciating, and has given me some of the worst (but also some of the best) times of my life. There's no way I would have made it through the year if I were not genuinely interested in education and the achievement gap.

[Nerdling]

I'm one of the aforementioned Peace Corps volunteers in Africa, but I find myself more and more interested in security-related issues. Lately I've been trying to figure out how to (or if I even need to) transition my apparent focus in that direction. I love what I'm doing now (export-focused business development) but it's definitely a shorter-term thing for me. I'm not alone, either. A couple of my good friends here are considering the same field. But, to be fair, there are a lot of volunteers considering careers in international development, too.

I want to echo what others have said here. Don't -- don't -- join the Peace Corps/AmeriCorps/Teach for America just for the perceived resume boost. You'll most likely be miserable, and will cheat a community out of someone who really wants to be there, and really wants to contribute.

Like anyone else in these organizations, I certainly hope my experience will be looked favorably upon when I apply to grad school. However, I could easily see Peace Corps experience (specifically referencing international development programs) becoming the go-to post-grad experience to get before grad school as I-DEV continues to gain popularity, especially if the economy continues to suck. If that were the case, the relative (and decreasing) novelty of PC service would weigh much less in an admission committee's decision.

The leg-up in the admissions process that alumni from these programs may get, though, is that all three are specifically short-term, non-career jobs. In that sense, it's a good example of the "demonstrated commitment to service/leadership" (whatever that means) that so many grad programs say they look for.

That being said, spending a couple of years in the Peace Corps/AmeriCorps/Teach for America is a fantastic experience and a huge opportunity for personal growth, if nothing else. I'd like to think (perhaps naively) that counts for something, right?

[younglions]

It's impossible to generalize about the Peace Corps. Even within my country of service, the job descriptions of the various positions varied wildly. You sign up for the Peace Corps, but really, you're signing up to work for a municipality, local NGO, international NGO, business incubator, education system, etc. in an unknown country, in an unknown sector for two years. On my resume, I don't even list Peace Corps Volunteer as my primary job title, but as a subheading. After three months initial language/cultural training, you are basically on your own. The only real contact I had with the Peace Corps was when I filled out my bi-yearly reports and when I led technical trainings for new volunteers. The Peace Corps is merely the entry way. After that you're working for, and primarily responsible to, a development-related organization in a developing/transitioning country. To give an example, my best friend was a PCV in an African country and worked for a prominent microfinance/HIV organization. A little more than a year and a half into service, the organization offered him a full-time position which prompted him to leave the Peace Corps and take it. He is now literally doing the same exact work as before, but has a "Country Program Director" title and earns a real salary. This is just one example, but I know of many others that are similar.

If adcoms experience a great increase in applications from PCVs, I'm sure they'll just continue what they're already doing--judge applicants based on the content of their experiences, not on job titles.

[lbjane]

These degrees will become even more competitive in the next few years. They seem to be among the more 'fashionable' fields at the moment - in particular, it seems like every other person I talk to wants to work in int'l development. As long as the economy stinks, I expect that applicant pools will swell with those multitudes (mistakenly) attracted to public service as a refuge from the horrors of the private sector. I have a feeling that these programs will eventually be a lot like law school - dauntingly competitive but also subject to the widespread speculative "shotgun blasts" of half-serious applicants.

I think that this has already happened to a certain extent. Applications at LBJ were up 35% this year, but the incoming class is actually *smaller* than the past couple of years because the adcom didn't feel like as many of the candidates were qualified as have been in previous years and admitted fewer students than they have in quite some time. I suspect that many of the applicants were people who couldn't find a job or had lost their job and decided a public policy degree would be their ticket to employment, even if they had no business applying to a public policy program.