Struggling with SOP, would appreciate a little guidance

[mpamppquestions]

My background: I have been working for an environmental advocacy non-profit organization for over two years doing fundraising, social media writing plus some general IT stuff. I studied English literature during my undergrad. I am applying to MPP programs (CMU Heinz is by far my top choice and I am very anxious to get in here) to study environmental policy, and ideally would like to work for the government or a think tank doing environmental policy analysis. I am struggling with telling a compelling narrative that shows why I am a good candidate; I have been around a lot of environmental regulation/policy from an advocacy perspective, but have virtually zero experience doing any analytical work. I believe my work experience at least shows commitment to my area of interest, but I am worried that only having experience in this field at a mostly tertiary level makes me a weak applicant. Also, is coming from the non-profit sector and going to grad school to break into government jobs a common narrative among applicants? Thank you to anyone with any insight.

[Connie @ TheArtofApplying]

On 11/21/2016 at 0:26 AM, mpamppquestions said:

My background: I have been working for an environmental advocacy non-profit organization for over two years doing fundraising, social media writing plus some general IT stuff. I studied English literature during my undergrad. I am applying to MPP programs (CMU Heinz is by far my top choice and I am very anxious to get in here) to study environmental policy, and ideally would like to work for the government or a think tank doing environmental policy analysis. I am struggling with telling a compelling narrative that shows why I am a good candidate; I have been around a lot of environmental regulation/policy from an advocacy perspective, but have virtually zero experience doing any analytical work. I believe my work experience at least shows commitment to my area of interest, but I am worried that only having experience in this field at a mostly tertiary level makes me a weak applicant. Also, is coming from the non-profit sector and going to grad school to break into government jobs a common narrative among applicants? Thank you to anyone with any insight.

 

@mpamppquestions, I’ve been exactly where you are, and I’m happy to reassure you that your background is not only very common for policy school applicants but also makes complete sense for the purposes of your SOP.

Policy school applicants typically do not have a lot of experience in doing policy analysis already. When you look at the curriculum for a lot of policy schools, you find that you’ll spend those two years getting up to date on microeconomics, statistics, and writing memos. There’s room to specialize by taking subject matter classes, but usually, you go to policy school to acquire the skills you need to be a policy analyst. So don’t be afraid that your lack of analytical experience and skill will disqualify you from this degree. In fact, it is the very reason you’re applying. You’ll find that your path is very common, as I did when I started talking to current students and professors.

 

The challenge with your SOP, then, is to communicate exactly why your background and previous work experience has made you interested in learning how to analyze policy. You should be able to knock that out of the park, with all your experiences around environmental regulations and policy. Talk about what you have become curious about and why, and what you would like to do after you graduate.

 

Best,

Connie

Edited November 24, 2016 by Connie @ TheArtofApplying