MPP--Education Emphasis, chances at admission

[hummus]

I am considering applying for a MPP degree in the near future and wanted to get some feedback from people who have already gone through the admissions process.

Stats:

Undergrad GPA: 3.85 from a Top-5 Liberal Arts college (B.A. in Classics); Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude

Graduate GPA 3.95 (MA in Classics)

GRE (several years old): Quant: 590; Verbal: 720; Writing 5.0

Work Experience (at time of intended application) 4 yrs. high school teacher--public schools.

Plan to take a course on economics and statistics before applying.

I am hoping to get involved in education policy/work with a education non-profit. I hope to volunteer (or possibly work for a year) at a non-profit involved in these issues.

I live in Massachusetts and am looking to stay in the surrounding area. Obviously HKS is the top option. I was also looking at Brown, UMass-Boston. My soon-to-be wife is from the upper-midwest so University of Wisconsin, University of Minnesota or University of Chicago would also be options.

What would I need to do, other than write a compelling PS, to make me competitive?

[steiner-5]

When you say your GRE scores are several years old, what are we talking here? Most programs will not accept scores over five years old.

In any event, what does stick out to me is your quantitative GRE score and your lack of quant coursework. Top tier MPP programs these days appear to be emphasizing quant as a skill one should be very comfortable with. In addition to Econ & Stat, I'd take a semester or two of Calc. I would also consider taking the GRE again to raise that quant score if you are applying to a program like HKS's MPP, which has a Econ/Quant bent. However, you should be ok with the other schools you mentioned. Just my two cents, good luck!

[dagger]

Did you happen to do TFA?

[Politicalgeek]

I finished at HKS (it'll always be KSG to me!) in 07. My advice is going to sound self-contradictory, but bear with me: I would try to get your Q GRE score up, but don't worry too much about taking the stats/econ course unless your school requires it.

My story: I double-majored in two humanities fields as an undergrad. In fact, I hated math so much, I changed my major to humanities so I wouldn't have to take stats! Five years after graduation, and I find myself wanting to study public policy. Oops. But it worked out ok, and I somehow managed to get into HKS, UMN (Humphrey) and a few other schools. Anyway, I got in and started freaking out about my lack of quant background. I asked the chair of the core curriculum at HKS if I should take a stats or econ class over the summer and she said not to worry about it, unless it would make me personally feel more comfortable.

I decided to spend the summer having fun instead, and I'm glad I did, because, at least at HKS, they do everything they can to make sure that you pass those quant courses. Each section has a TA and several course assistants, all who lead review sessions and study groups. Further, pretty much everyone does their problem sets in groups, which helps a lot. Also, the classes are designed to help you understand econ and stats, not to be an economist or statistician. This is an important distinction. To my surprise, I discovered that I really loved econometrics, and am now thinking about doing a poli sci degree.

Not all policy schools are like this, though, so it's good to know what you're getting into before you settle on a program. UMN, for instance, does require you to have taken econ before you matriculate.

Anyway, sorry for the long response, but you look fairly solid. HKS loves teachers - there were many in my class. And the classics background may actually help you, especially since you went to a good school for UG. Smart people with interesting stories are HKS gold.

Oh, and I know you didn't ask about this, but think carefully about your career goals and how much debt you're able to take on before you apply for schools. I work in non-profits, and I love it, and I also loved my time at HKS, but I'm going to paying these loans off for a long time. Most public policy schools don't offer much in the way of non-loan aid.

[wooldogg]

PoliticalGeek,

Did any of your classmates receive financial aid while at KSG?

I'm trying to decide whether to apply or not. It seems like no one really gets help and there's no way I'm going 100K in debt for policy school. Thanks

[Politicalgeek]

wooldogg: Most people with aid had outside aid - ie, Pickering Fellowships, or fellowships sponsored by their home countries (all the damn Germans got to go for free). There were very few Harvard-sponsored fellowships and there are probably even fewer now, what with Harvard's endowment woes. I got a very small scholarship but it was mostly loans. HKS does have a loan forgiveness program but it's quite limited and there are a lot of hoops to jump through to qualify.