Want to get an MPA/MPP

[mpamppquestions]

Background on myself: I went to a decent small Liberal Arts school and received my undergrad in English. I interned at an environmental non-profit and spent my first summer doing a conservation internship for Americorps, and have been working full time at another environmental advocacy non-profit for close to two years since graduating. While my GPA is competitive enough for good schools (3.6), I'm worried that my job experience isn't sufficient to be a good candidate for the programs I'm currently eyeing. the bulk of my work has been in social media/some light IT stuff, but due to the size of the organization I do have a kind of familiarity with the political process (from the non-profit side) as it pertains to environmental legislation in the conservation and energy sectors. My top two programs are currently Syracuse University (MPA) and Carnegie Mellon (MPP). I would take the environmental policy concentration at either school if accepted.

I am thinking about taking an intro to stats course to bolster my resume since I lack the quantitative background. I am also planning on retaking the GRE to improve my quant score about 5. My GRE scores were 150 Q (ugh), 161 V and 4 W. I could definitely get the writing score up, but most of the programs I've looked at don't seem to care about this score.

Are the "top" programs a pipe dream for me? Outside of my quantitative score, my GRE and GPA scores are decent among accepted students, but I'm worried that my academic background and lack of truly (rather than tangentially) related work experience will hurt me.

[pubpol101]

6 hours ago, mpamppquestions said:

I interned at an environmental non-profit and spent my first summer doing a conservation internship for Americorps, and have been working full time at another environmental advocacy non-profit for close to two years since graduating.

That experience seems to be fine. I'm enrolling at CMU Heinz's MSPPM program this Fall on a large scholarship with no work experience (I've done internships, research, and a lot of publications) and I believe your work experience won't be by any means lacking for the admissions process. What's going to be really important is for you to demonstrate that 1) you got something out of the work that you did/you have something to bring to the program and 2) you know what you want to get out of the program.

Some stats: at CMU, around 70% have relevant work experience and 25-30% enroll straight out of undergrad. Average age is 25-26.

6 hours ago, mpamppquestions said:

I am also planning on retaking the GRE to improve my quant score about 5.

That's definitely a good thing to do. While your V is good, the Q score, as you probably know right now, is below the 25th percentile at CMU. There's no reason to dampen your admissions chances because of a single test.

Edited August 10, 2016 by AAAAAAAA

[mpamppquestions]

Thanks so much for the response! CMU is absolutely the number one program I want to go to, and I think you're right when you say that selling the school on what I've taken from my experience will be key. I've started studying for the GRE again (kill me, please!) to improve that quantitative score. According to their admitted students statistics from the last three years, even if I could get it up to 153 from 150 it would at least put me in the mix of average scores among accepted students. My career goals (broadly) are to get into environmental policy analysis for the government. Fingers crossed! Outside of the program being amazing, being able to live in Pittsburgh would also be an ideal scenario for a myriad of reasons. I am applying to Pitt's MPA program too. 

[runjackrun]

Hey there @mpamppquestions! I'm a fellow enviro on here who is also working in environmental policy, I would say your work experience looks pretty good to me. I opted to do a degree other than an MPA/MPP, but I think work experience in most any, quasi-relevant capacity is viewed positively. Policy in general isn't an easy field to simply jump into with an undergrad degree and no experience, so most folks naturally start on the communications/administrative side before transitioning to more substantive policy work. I truly believe that's standard in the field, and also the reason many choose to go back for the graduate degree. 

I also echo what was said about improving your quant score if possible. I feel as though many MPA/MPP programs place more weight on quant than most realize, and I've always been told having verbal and quant scores that are closer to each other shows the admissions committee that you are a "well-rounded candidate." I agree, it's unfortunate that the GRE carries as much weight as it does, but it's definitely a test for which you can study. If you do better on Q, your application will only be stronger. If you don't, you have other redeeming qualities on your resume. 

Best of luck on applications!

[mpamppquestions]

8 minutes ago, runjackrun said:

Hey there @mpamppquestions! I'm a fellow enviro on here who is also working in environmental policy, I would say your work experience looks pretty good to me. I opted to do a degree other than an MPA/MPP, but I think work experience in most any, quasi-relevant capacity is viewed positively. Policy in general isn't an easy field to simply jump into with an undergrad degree and no experience, so most folks naturally start on the communications/administrative side before transitioning to more substantive policy work. I truly believe that's standard in the field, and also the reason many choose to go back for the graduate degree. 

I also echo what was said about improving your quant score if possible. I feel as though many MPA/MPP programs place more weight on quant than most realize, and I've always been told having verbal and quant scores that are closer to each other shows the admissions committee that you are a "well-rounded candidate." I agree, it's unfortunate that the GRE carries as much weight as it does, but it's definitely a test for which you can study. If you do better on Q, your application will only be stronger. If you don't, you have other redeeming qualities on your resume. 

Best of luck on applications!

Thanks for responding! What degree did you go for, and what can you say about environmental policy analyst market right now? The quantitative aspect of the program is worrying me a little, but I am very motivated and know I can learn. I have read that it isn't anything too crazy for most of these programs, though. My big conundrum is whether or not to retake the GRE or take an intro to stats course, as intro to stats seems to be one of the classes that lots of programs like to see. However, I really don't think I'll be able to effectively juggle working full-time, study for the GRE and take a college course as well as do my applications before the Jan/Feb deadlines. Because Carnegie Mellon offers a quantitative crash course for incoming students without a quantitative background, improving my GRE score would definitely be the right move to strengthen my application. I don't want to put my eggs in one basket, but Carnegie Mellon is definitely my top choice among schools I'm interested, I would be over the moon if I get in. 

[runjackrun]

@mpamppquestions I am going for an environmental management degree instead of the strictly policy route. I still would like to work in policy, but I felt strongly that I needed more scientific/technical knowledge to improve my policy career prospects. As far as the policy analyst market right now, it's tough to say and you may have just as much if not more insight than I do. It depends, of course, on the scale at which you want to work: federal, state (and if so, geographic location will influence this as well), and whether you would like to be in government, nonprofit, think tanks, consulting, etc. Most "policy analysts" I know are in nonprofit and do both policy analysis/research as well as advocacy/lobbying. Many have enviro management degrees or JDs, and some have MPAs/MPPs. As for job prospects, I would say the enviro field is fairly middle of the road. My sense is that those with a strong emphasis on policy are slightly more in-demand than those with an environmental education/communications focus, but less in-demand than those with with more significant science backgrounds, as those people can cross over to policy fairly easily. 

That leads me to some advice that a mentor (for whom I have great respect) shared with me before applying to grad programs: wherever you go, try to 1) specialize and 2) bolster your scientific and/or technical knowledge on a topic. At its core, the environmental field is highly technical and rooted in science. She was clear that we don't all have to be lab researchers, but she thought the environmental field was swimming with people who know the policy talk but can't walk the science walk. Those who can do both are the most valuable. This is why I chose a slightly different degree program, but I think it's just as possible to accomplish this with an MPA. To your worrying about the quantitative aspects of the program, I would say don't shy away from those. Like you said, you're very motivated and I'm sure capable of taking on that level of coursework. Embrace the challenge, because in a society that values STEM skills as much as ours, that kind of coursework/research will only help your resume in the future. 

So, that's a little more than my two cents and I hope it didn't come across as too preachy! You sound like you have a great plan and a strong application, and I wish you the best of luck on applications this fall! 

[Kaneisha]

Hi @mpamppquestions,

In addition to the great advice you've already received, I would add that if you aren't able to bring your GRE Quant score up to be closer to CMU's scores (hopefully you will!), I recommend you take some supplemental coursework at a community college, through a university's self-paced online courses, or if absolutely necessary, via Coursera or something similar. The classes I recommend are: Calculus, Statistics, Macroeconomics, and Microeconomics. Considering you probably don't have time to take the equivalent of a semester's worth of classes, prioritize Statistics and Microeconomics (if you haven't already taken them in college). I often recommend this to my clients with low GRE scores. Best of luck!

[mpamppquestions]

16 hours ago, Kaneisha said:

Hi @mpamppquestions,

In addition to the great advice you've already received, I would add that if you aren't able to bring your GRE Quant score up to be closer to CMU's scores (hopefully you will!), I recommend you take some supplemental coursework at a community college, through a university's self-paced online courses, or if absolutely necessary, via Coursera or something similar. The classes I recommend are: Calculus, Statistics, Macroeconomics, and Microeconomics. Considering you probably don't have time to take the equivalent of a semester's worth of classes, prioritize Statistics and Microeconomics (if you haven't already taken them in college). I often recommend this to my clients with low GRE scores. Best of luck!

Hello! After exchanging emails with the admissions director at CMU, I was advised to take statistics in the fall while also trying to get my GRE score up 3-4 points... Currently scrambling to register at the local community college