No Work Experience Admits

[callumabernathy]

I just wanna get a feel for how many people are being admitted without work experience. Please only contribute if you have 0 work experience. I'm sure many people are going to be applying straight out of undergrad, so this thread might be very informative to them. Thanks everyone.

Year of Application:

Previous Degrees:

Previous GPAs:

GRE Scores:

MATH/ECON Background:

International or Local:

School and Program Applied to:

School and Program Accepted:

Reason (You Think) the Schools Accepted You:

[pubpol101]

Year of Application: 2016

Previous Degrees: BS Biomedical Sciences (completed in 2 years, due to AP credits); large public university

Previous GPAs: 3.76 / 4.0

GRE Scores: 165 quantitative, 164 verbal, 5.5/6.0 writing

MATH/ECON Background: AP calculus BC & AB, AP statistics, IB mathematics SL, AP macroeconomics, AP microeconomics; intermediate price theory (upper level microeconomics course). All AP scores are 5 out of 5; IB SL scored 6 out of 7.

International or Local: US

School and Program Rejections: Columbia SIPA MPA, Harvard Kennedy MPP, Princeton WWS MPA, Chicago Harris MPP, Yale Jackson MA

School and Program Acceptances: Duke Sanford (50% scholarship) MPP, Johns Hopkins SAIS (no funding) MA, Carnegie Mellon Heinz (75% scholarship, increased from 50% due to my finalist status for Pickering fellowship) MSPPM, Graduate Institute in Geneva (no funding), USC Price MPP (50% scholarship), UT Austin LBJ (100% tuition)

Reason (You Think) the Schools Accepted You: For students applying straight out of undergrad, I believe that high GPAs and GREs should be assumed for your application. The most important factor differentiating you should be your "work experience"--internships, volunteering, publications, etcetera. I had extensive writing experience, having written for the Huffington Post, The Hill, and other major outlets multiple times. At those outlets, I'd been cited by others many times and achieved other relevant results. I also had research experience at multiple think tanks, one of which sent its research to State, CENTCOM, and other partners. Essays and references are also critically important: all were very personal and specific for my fit for graduate IR/policy programs.

Had I taken three years for my undergrad instead of two, I could've perhaps been a finalist for the undergraduate Pickering Fellowship, which selects students in their second-to-last year. Instead, because I received a finalist status for the graduate Pickering fellowship after the application season, schools had no idea that I was tied to the program.  I would've likely had more luck with the title as Pickering finalists/fellows are typically shoo-ins for most schools. But that didn't happen because of my acceleration.

When people constantly say how much work experience is needed for the process, they aren't kidding. Unless you have a major fellowship known to these schools down (Pickering, Rangel, or Payne), it's very difficult to demonstrate your fit to SIPA, HKS, WWS, and other similar schools without full time work experience.

I believe I had no choice but to go for a grad program because my BS degree is irrelevant to the field and because I'm hoping to explore a second field before the traditional timeline for medical school. However, if your undergrad degree can get you a job, I suggest you work for 1-2 years so that you'll be competitive for schools like HKS and WWS or scholarships at places like CMU Heinz.

Edited July 29, 2016 by AAAAAAAA

[Poli92]

Year of Application: 2015

Previous Degrees: BA Economics, Political Science; Small LAC

Previous GPAs: 3.9+

GRE Scores: 163/162/4.5

MATH/ECON Background: All the econ, two stats courses, math for economists (linear algebra, bits of calc 1 & 3)

International or Local: US

School and Program Applied to: JHU SAIS MA-IDEV, Yale Jackson MA, GWU Elliott MIA, American SIS MA IPCR

School and Program Accepted: JHU SAIS MA-IDEV, GWU Elliott MIA, American SIS MA IPCR (no money anywhere ) 

Reason (You Think) the Schools Accepted You: I had done a boatload of relevant independent and cooperative research, published my research in an academic journal, presented at multiple conferences, participated in relevant study abroad programs in two countries, had relevant language experience, cogent SOP that effectively expressed my interests and qualifications, worked as an RA for two years, and I was involved in leadership positions in relevant extracurriculars.

I mostly agree with AAAAAAAA. "Work experience" of the soft, collegiate variety is absolutely necessary. Extracurriculars beyond shared-interest clubs, fraternities/sororities, or sports can help make up for the lack of real work experience.   

Given that I received no funding offers, and had not had the foresight to apply for external fellowships (I very much rushed MA applications - don't do that), I opted to pass on my offers and get some work experience. Fortunately, I got a relevant job with the federal government, which has really helped refined my interests while giving me a chance to hone my technical skills. 

I have definitely gotten on the work experience bandwagon, and I would recommend people planning on applying right out of school to take a few years to work if they don't get phenomenal offers right away. You get money, experience, and networking opportunities. Particularly if you can get a job in DC, you can get great opportunities to network and check out local programs in depth. 

[kb6]

Here's the thing with applying right away - if you have a good academic record you can get in. But unless you are exceptional (and a few 22-year-olds definitely are), you are going to have more trouble than your older peers finding a good job after graduation. You could very easily find yourself doing an internship for a bit after graduating, or applying for months only to get a 40k/yr "program assistant" position that could easily go to someone with just an undergraduate degree and 2 years experience.