2017 Results Thread

[ginger_root]

11 minutes ago, Dankj said:

Yes, but what about previous work experience?

I think it's really hard for someone to totally falsify their work experience. In one way or another, their experience, thoughts, and work engagement, etc. will show through their essays and reference. Some schools do have background check before enrollment as well. 

[brittanyandrea]

On 2/24/2017 at 7:01 PM, brittanyandrea said:

Program Applied To: (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.)  MPA
Schools Applied To:  UConn, Syracuse, Brandeis, Northeastern, Brown, Suffolk
Schools Admitted To:  Syracuse(waiting on funding), Brandeis(45% tuition funding), Northeastern(33% tuition funding), Brown($3000 scholarship)
Schools Rejected From:  
Still Waiting:  Suffolk, UConn
Undergraduate institution:  Local state college
Undergraduate GPA:  3.72, Community college 3.54 gpa
Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable):  3.72 (I transferred from a CC, all I have is 60 hours from my undergrad.)
Undergraduate Major: Dual Major: Public Administration, Political Science
GRE Quantitative Score:  150
GRE Verbal Score:  155
GRE AW Score:  4.0
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  n/a
Years of Work Experience: Formerly worked in banking, left to pursue education. 
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  Internships in city planning, with a Congressman and with an unemployment insurance office. 
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  I went through numerous edits with the help of many people including professors.  I took about 2 months of going back and forth editing it. 
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  3 professors, 1 is the chair of the department, the others are very well respected in their fields and are frequently published. 
Other:

 

Update: got into UConn (waiting on funding) and Suffolk ($20,000 fellowship) 
Northeastern upped my funding to 50%
Brown upped to $10,000

Still haven't heard from Syracuse on funding 

[dollybird]

Schools and Programs Applied To: Michigan Ford (MPP), LBJ (MPAff), Duke (MPP), UCLA (MPP), Chicago Harris (MPP), CMU Heinz (MSPPM)
Schools Admitted To: All -- for easy comparison, formatting funding as "Annual Award/Remaining Annual Tuition" (because I need help deciding!)

LBJ (21K/0), Heinz (42/7), Sanford (25/22), Michigan (15/26), Harris (12.5/38), Luskin (0/41)

Undergraduate institution:  Big 10 (less prestigious end)
Undergraduate GPA:  3.5, with an F and some Cs
Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable):  3.3
Undergraduate Major:  Business (marketing)
GRE Quantitative Score:  158 (in hindsight, I should have taken it again to increase this)
GRE Verbal Score:  169 
GRE AW Score:  5
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  7
Years of Work Experience:  7
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  fundraising (progressive responsibility) and some project/program mgmt in non-profit human services/education
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  strong but with a lot of variance
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  strong -- supervisor, supervisor's supervisor (a "name" to some), former TA/PhD candidate
Other: Experience on 2 junior boards and volunteering consistently throughout life, some career-related awards/fellowships

This board helped motivate me to apply to programs like this, so I want to pass it on! I never in a million years would have thought to apply to Unis of this caliber.

Now I need help deciding! My lifelong dream is to become Executive Director of a large human services non-profit. I think working in state or city government will help, and I want to study anti-poverty policy in-depth. From experience, I know that hard technical skills can give me an edge in my space, and so would having a greater understanding of information technology. Heinz seems amazing for these aspects, but I'm concerned about learning enough about social policy efforts (historical context and current day landscape). I wanted to take a social work class or two. I'm also worried about too many tech-focused people at Heinz -- I think I have more of a creative/artistic sensibility, and I've never studied science/tech/math exclusively before. Nothing close to the extent I would at Heinz. My concern with LBJ is that the UT-Austin name is not as prestigious as CMU or Duke, and that the courses might not be rigorous enough. Michigan seems like the perfect curricular fit, but the $$$$.

So -- what do you think? Where am I right/wrong? What questions should I be asking? (P.S. I already have a good amount of undergrad debt)

Edited March 14, 2017 by dollybird
add context

[fallmpp2017]

19 minutes ago, dollybird said:

Schools and Programs Applied To: Michigan Ford (MPP), LBJ (MPAff), Duke (MPP), UCLA (MPP), Chicago Harris (MPP), CMU Heinz (MSPPM)
Schools Admitted To: All -- for easy comparison, formatting funding as "Annual Award/Remaining Annual Tuition" (because I need help deciding!)

LBJ (21K/0), Heinz (42/7), Sanford (25/22), Michigan (15/26), Harris (12.5/38), Luskin (0/41)

Undergraduate institution:  Big 10 (less prestigious end)
Undergraduate GPA:  3.5, with an F and some Cs
Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable):  3.3
Undergraduate Major:  Business (marketing)
GRE Quantitative Score:  158 (in hindsight, I should have taken it again to increase this)
GRE Verbal Score:  169 
GRE AW Score:  5
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  7
Years of Work Experience:  7
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  fundraising (progressive responsibility) and some project/program mgmt in non-profit human services/education
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  strong but with a lot of variance
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  strong -- supervisor, supervisor's supervisor (a "name" to some), former TA/PhD candidate
Other: Experience on 2 junior boards and volunteering consistently throughout life, some career-related awards/fellowships

This board helped motivate me to apply to programs like this, so I want to pass it on! I never in a million years would have thought to apply to Unis of this caliber.

Now I need help deciding! My lifelong dream is to become Executive Director of a large human services non-profit. I think working in state or city government will help, and I want to study anti-poverty policy in-depth. From experience, I know that hard technical skills can give me an edge in my space, and so would having a greater understanding of information technology. Heinz seems amazing for these aspects, but I'm concerned about learning enough about social policy efforts (historical context and current day landscape). I wanted to take a social work class or two. I'm also worried about too many tech-focused people at Heinz -- I think I have more of a creative/artistic sensibility, and I've never studied science/tech/math exclusively before. Nothing close to the extent I would at Heinz. My concern with LBJ is that the UT-Austin name is not as prestigious as CMU or Duke, and that the courses might not be rigorous enough. Michigan seems like the perfect curricular fit, but the $$$$.

So -- what do you think? Where am I right/wrong? What questions should I be asking? (P.S. I already have a good amount of undergrad debt)

Where do you want to work post-grad? LBJ is a great school, but it probably carries more weight in the south / midwest. If you want to be in DC or similar coastal hubs, Heinz would probably be better bang for your buck. But then again, Austin probably totally beats Pittsburgh in terms of culture / city life, so if that is important to you for the next two years, it is definitely an important consideration. 

Plus, I know you said you are afraid of it's quantitative focus at Heinz (and I am too as a person from a social sciences background) but it probably will do you good in terms of becoming a competitive candidate for nonprofit / gov't jobs. 

My gut reaction says Heinz with the great offer that you have, but LBJ sounds like a fantastic option too. Good luck! 

[sturdyelm]

I’ve heard back from all my programs so figured I would share. Once I make I decision, I’ll repost this with my decision-making process and advice for future applicants that seemed to be missing from last years results thread, as I am finding those the most helpful right now!

Program/Schools Applied To: MPP - Brandeis Heller, Duke Sanford, Georgetown McCourt, UMichigan Ford, UMass Amherst SPP (MPPA), Northeastern SPPUA

Schools Admitted:  All! (I can’t believe it!) Heller (60% $), Sanford (~50% $), McCourt (20% $), Ford, UMass ($ TBD), Northeastern (25% $)

Undergraduate: Top 15 Liberal Arts College, 3.43 GPA, 3.61 last two years, Government Major

GRE: 161 Verbal/157 Quant/4.5 Analytical

Math/Econ Background: Intro MicroEcon, Intermediate Econ, Intro Statistics & Probability, Quantitative Methods

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  will be 2 by start

Years of Work Experience:  soon to be 2 years at legal education non-profit. 6 months’ contract position in my last semester of undergrad (too lengthy to explain). 2 internships in undergrad: one related to policy, one general nonprofit work. Paid customer service work in undergrad.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc: This was probably the strength of my entire application. I wrote and re-wrote my base (which I then modified for each school) many many times over 10 weeks. I had a few family members and close friends (who attended grad school) review throughout the process. I crafted a strong essay to show my path towards pursuing the MPP with a focus on child & family policy. 2/3 covered my personal background, why child & family policy, undergrad academics and extracurricular activities, and my current position. I didn’t go into a lot of it in detail (as they are all on my resume/cv) but instead focused on the intangibles that weren’t visible on my CV. 1/3 covered why an MPP, and why specifically this schools’ program.

Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Very strong LORs. 1 professional – my current supervisor at the non-profit; 2 professors – one of them was my informal mentor and knows me very well, the other I didn’t know as long but I took on a leadership role in her class and brought together a panel to address a gap in the syllabus (which has thus been corrected for each class afterwards!).

Other: I believe another key factor for my admissions was my extracurricular/volunteer work. I had ALOT of relevant extracurricular work relating to my passion of child and family policy, as well as to low-income and diversity. It made up for my slightly lower undergrad GPA because I showed that I have not only the academic interests, but actual interests visible through a variety of consistent work with student organizations and non-profits, both while in undergrad and post.

I probably could have gotten more funding if my GRE was a tad bit higher. Concerned about being able to afford this anyways and still hoping for some later funding for Michigan but definitely can’t afford it out of state without any aid. I’ve already declined Georgetown and Northeastern, and it looks like my decision at the moment is between Heller and Sanford. Heller isn’t talked about much in terms of the MPP, but does anyone have thoughts between the two? My focus is on Child & Family Policy. 

[sturdyelm]

1 hour ago, dollybird said:

Schools Admitted To: All -- for easy comparison, formatting funding as "Annual Award/Remaining Annual Tuition" (because I need help deciding!)

LBJ (21K/0), Heinz (42/7), Sanford (25/22), Michigan (15/26), Harris (12.5/38), Luskin (0/41)

Now I need help deciding! My lifelong dream is to become Executive Director of a large human services non-profit. I think working in state or city government will help, and I want to study anti-poverty policy in-depth. From experience, I know that hard technical skills can give me an edge in my space, and so would having a greater understanding of information technology. Heinz seems amazing for these aspects, but I'm concerned about learning enough about social policy efforts (historical context and current day landscape). I wanted to take a social work class or two. I'm also worried about too many tech-focused people at Heinz -- I think I have more of a creative/artistic sensibility, and I've never studied science/tech/math exclusively before. Nothing close to the extent I would at Heinz. My concern with LBJ is that the UT-Austin name is not as prestigious as CMU or Duke, and that the courses might not be rigorous enough. Michigan seems like the perfect curricular fit, but the $$$$.

So -- what do you think? Where am I right/wrong? What questions should I be asking? (P.S. I already have a good amount of undergrad debt)

Debt is definitely a major factor, especially if you want to be an ED of a non-profit and have a decent amount of undergrad debt. So, in agreement with @fallmpp2017I think if you limit it to that, your decision is between LBJ and Heinz. I think one of the major questions you should be asking of each school is about the feasibility to take courses outside the program (including other schools in the area) and/or customize your program to your needs and interests.

Fit is also a really important factor for graduate school so I can see why this is such a hard decision (and one I am struggling with myself when trying to compare to funding!). If you believe Michigan is the perfect curricular fit, consider why Michigan seems like the perfect curricular fit for you and see if it's possible to make that happen at the other schools that have offered lower debt funding options. Also if you're worried about the course level at Heinz, they wouldn't have admitted you if they didn't think you could handle it! Sorry I don't offer much help - but I think just continue to ask questions and definitely visit the schools if you can, as you get a perspective shift when you do.

[brittanyandrea]

2 hours ago, sturdyelm said:

I’ve heard back from all my programs so figured I would share. Once I make I decision, I’ll repost this with my decision-making process and advice for future applicants that seemed to be missing from last years results thread, as I am finding those the most helpful right now!

 

Program/Schools Applied To: MPP - Brandeis Heller, Duke Sanford, Georgetown McCourt, UMichigan Ford, UMass Amherst SPP (MPPA), Northeastern SPPUA

 

Schools Admitted:  All! (I can’t believe it!) Heller (60% $), Sanford (~50% $), McCourt (20% $), Ford, UMass ($ TBD), Northeastern (25% $)

 

Undergraduate: Top 15 Liberal Arts College, 3.43 GPA, 3.61 last two years, Government Major

 

GRE: 161 Verbal/157 Quant/4.5 Analytical

 

Math/Econ Background: Intro MicroEcon, Intermediate Econ, Intro Statistics & Probability, Quantitative Methods

 

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  will be 2 by start

 

Years of Work Experience:  soon to be 2 years at legal education non-profit. 6 months’ contract position in my last semester of undergrad (too lengthy to explain). 2 internships in undergrad: one related to policy, one general nonprofit work. Paid customer service work in undergrad.

 

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc: This was probably the strength of my entire application. I wrote and re-wrote my base (which I then modified for each school) many many times over 10 weeks. I had a few family members and close friends (who attended grad school) review throughout the process. I crafted a strong essay to show my path towards pursuing the MPP with a focus on child & family policy. 2/3 covered my personal background, why child & family policy, undergrad academics and extracurricular activities, and my current position. I didn’t go into a lot of it in detail (as they are all on my resume/cv) but instead focused on the intangibles that weren’t visible on my CV. 1/3 covered why an MPP, and why specifically this schools’ program.

 

Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Very strong LORs. 1 professional – my current supervisor at the non-profit; 2 professors – one of them was my informal mentor and knows me very well, the other I didn’t know as long but I took on a leadership role in her class and brought together a panel to address a gap in the syllabus (which has thus been corrected for each class afterwards!).

 

Other: I believe another key factor for my admissions was my extracurricular/volunteer work. I had ALOT of relevant extracurricular work relating to my passion of child and family policy, as well as to low-income and diversity. It made up for my slightly lower undergrad GPA because I showed that I have not only the academic interests, but actual interests visible through a variety of consistent work with student organizations and non-profits, both while in undergrad and post.

 

I probably could have gotten more funding if my GRE was a tad bit higher. Concerned about being able to afford this anyways and still hoping for some later funding for Michigan but definitely can’t afford it out of state without any aid. I’ve already declined Georgetown and Northeastern, and it looks like my decision at the moment is between Heller and Sanford. Heller isn’t talked about much in terms of the MPP, but does anyone have thoughts between the two? My focus is on Child & Family Policy. 

 

You were accepted into UMass? I didn't finish my app because they said they didn't even look at apps until April 15th? If thats the case I may finish my app.  

I've heard for child and family policy that Heller is amazing, I want to do something similar...I was also accepted into Heller, Northeastern, Suffolk, UConn, Syracuse and Brown.  I've narrowed it down to UConn, Syracuse, and Brown.  

[xhtea]

Has anyone heard from Humphrey yet regarding funding?

[brittanyandrea]

To add to my confusion, I got a call from UConn today offering me a GA that covers my entire scholarship and provides an $11000/year living stipend.  

I'm having such a hard time weighing all of the debt I'll put myself into going to Brown and a free ride at UConn

[Essjo]

I accepted AU today and declined GWU. The latter didn't give me any $. Plus, I don't have time to take microeconomics.

[YunaCamel]

Program/Schools Applied To: Johns Hopkins SAIS, Georgetown MASIA, Columbia SIPA, Tufts Fletcher

Schools Admitted:  All! (I can’t believe it!) Johns Hopkins SAIS (29k/1st year), Georgetown MASIA (0 but will apply to FLAS fellowship which will give me 33k/1st year), Columbia SIPA (0), Tufts Fletcher (20k/both years)

Undergraduate: Top 30 private university on the east coast, 3.62 CGPA, International Studies Major/Asian Studies & Economics Minor

GRE: 161 Ver / 161 Q / 4.5 AW

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  4 years

Years of Work Experience: 3.5~4 years. Undergraduate internships in Consulate-General of Korea in Seattle, Korea Importers Association, U.S. Embassy Seoul, East Asia Institute; Samsung SDS (Business Development position, full-time) for 3 years with a focus on overseas business expansion. Currently a Research Assistant at the Sejong Institute (a leading IR/diplomacy think tank). Also 3 years of English tutoring experience and freelancing Korean-English Translator/Interpreter as a side-job... quite well-known on the Korean internet. 

Strength of SOP: Very strong. Had 25+ people including friends as well as current students & alumni of the schools I applied read/review/edit/comment/feedback my essays for me to revise and polish them. 

Strength of LOR's: Strong? 1 professional - the Vice President (my current supervisor) of the Sejong Institute whose connection is very well-established with the US-Korea Institute at SAIS; 2 academic -  one from a PoliSci professor whom I've known for 6+ years and took 4 classes and received several LORs in the past and another from an Asian Studies professor who taught a course I enjoyed the most. Not sure what exactly they wrote.

Others: Native Korean speaker, fluent Japanese, intermediate Chinese, several Japanese speech/essay contest awards, study abroad scholarships from the US government institutions, one-year exchange student to Japan during my junior year, violinist in university orchestra, and other random extracurricular activities.

I believe the key factors for my admissions were my work experience and the essays because my GPA is very low (it's above a 3.6 but I have so many poor grades in fact) and my GRE is average. I probably could have gotten more funding if my GPA/GRE were higher... Career goal is to pursue a policy-oriented or intelligence-based career focusing on the Korean peninsula and East Asia in the US federal government. Will apply to the FLAS fellowship through Georgetown and see if I can get that 33k/year funding but will most likely attend SAIS since it's been my dream school! Either way, I'm so excited to be in DC starting this fall

@Connie @ TheArtofApplying Thank you so much for your feedback and encouragement back in November!

Edited March 17, 2017 by YunaCamel

[gradblues]

On 3/15/2017 at 8:31 PM, xhtea said:

Has anyone heard from Humphrey yet regarding funding?

Yes! I just heard back today.

[gradblues]

Program/Schools Applied To: MPP (advanced policy analysis focus) - UCSD, UMichigan, UMinnesota, UWashington, American, MA in Applied Econ- Stockholm School of Economics and University of Illinois 

Schools Admitted:  All! Full-tuition fellowships from UMinnesota and University of Illinois. UWashington (15k stipend), American (50k in tuition), UMich, UCSD, and Stockholm $0 merit aid 

Undergraduate: UCSC 3.40 GPA, BA in Economics 

GRE: 157 Verbal/163 Quant/4.0 Analytical

Math/Econ Background: Int Micro and Macro, Economic Analysis, Calculus I & II, several other econ electives 

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  will be 3 by start

Years of Work Experience:  6 month UN agency internship in institutional research. 3-month field experience in agricultural development in rural Tanzania. One year fellowship in Ghana working for an education NGO. Currently in a UN contracted position as a communications consultant. 

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc: I thought it was pretty strong. I used my background in international development as the basis for most of my letters and my family background coming from an immigrated Latino family as I think these two are not as well reflected in my transcripts or CV. I am also a community college student. The rest focused on my intentions fro pursuing the degree and my goals moving forward.   

Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  I had one LOR from a development economist who has worked with several high-profile economists in the field. I was a research assistant for his project in Tanzania. I was a little nervous to ask him as he was never the kindest person to me, but it seems like he did a good job.  I had another from the Country Director of the fellowship I did in Ghana, he and I are very close. Another one from a professor, which I was top in his class. 

Other: My background is international development. Since graduating, I have spent two of my three years working outside of the US. While applying, I had the intention of doing development research, but my time in Ghana kind of switched my intentions. I am very passionate about data analysis, but I think I now want to take a policy approach in improving governance and aid delivery which could involve data analytics and improve M&E systems. 

Concerns: Michigan was my top school but I cannot afford the 41k of yearly tuition. The schools in the mid-west have fantastic curriculums, but I am worried about the connections that I would be able to make out there especially in international development.  I just started my current contracted job which will go until July with possible extension, but I don't know if that is enough time to establish myself as a possible hire for when I graduate in 2019. Other concerns are with the economy; I don't know what the jobs prospects will be like 2019 since the economy is expected to slow down in the next year or so and Trump's budget proposals are very worrying for me especially if I want to pursue a career in international development. 

My options are:

1. Take on the debt and go to Michigan for the first year and hope for funding in the second (at least 50k in debt). But I don't think this is worth the money 
2. Go to either UIUC or UMinnesota basically debt free, but I am worried about what jobs I will get out of it. Most people from the UIUC masters enter their PhD, something I am not interested in, and the rest get very agricultural research focused positions.  But I think an Applied Econ degree is more versatile than an MPP. The alumni network at both schools doesn't seem to be very strong in my field. 
3. Continue working for another year and possibly defer/ reapply and hope to get more funding at either UCSD, Michigan, or other more prestigious institutions. I will be able to save a lot more money as well. I would be able to establish myself as a professional at the agency I will be working for (if my contract is renewed) and hopefully gain a larger network. My concern is though I don't want to keep bothering my recommenders for more LORs and I would probably have to take the GRE again, and I am worried that under the new presidency I won't get the same funding as I am getting now. Also worried that the longer I wait to do this, the less likely I will go back to school. 

Any thoughts you guys? Too many options, and it's getting overwhelming.  

Edited March 20, 2017 by gradblues

[Ori]

On 3/11/2017 at 3:16 PM, brittanyandrea said:

Update: got into UConn (waiting on funding) and Suffolk ($20,000 fellowship) 
Northeastern upped my funding to 50%
Brown upped to $10,000

Still haven't heard from Syracuse on funding 

Hey, @brittanyandrea --

How did you go about requesting more money from NE and Brown? 

[brittanyandrea]

2 minutes ago, Ori said:

Hey, @brittanyandrea --

How did you go about requesting more money from NE and Brown? 

 

I got more from Northeastern, but I declined their offer.  Still working with Brown but it isn't looking good

[Ori]

14 minutes ago, brittanyandrea said:

I got more from Northeastern, but I declined their offer.  Still working with Brown but it isn't looking good

Did you call or email? Did you show them your other offers?  Thanks!

[brittanyandrea]

14 minutes ago, Ori said:

Did you call or email? Did you show them your other offers?  Thanks!

I emailed, Northeastern didn't ask for other offers, Brown did.

I didn't go into it stating I had received other offers, I stated I was weighing my options and trying to be as fiscally responsible as possible and that I was trying to figure out how to get through grad school with as little debt as possible.  

[skateboardgirl]

Hey y’all, I would really appreciate some advice on my decisions. Background: I’m an international student, and was not 100% sure pursuing an MPP/MPA is right for me at this time, but from talking to current students at various programs, I got really excited and applied to a few schools. I applied really late, only took the GREs in Dec so I only applied to schools with January deadlines. I live in Seattle, but don’t really like it here. I love California and probably should have applied to Berkeley (but missed the deadline). My question is: should I wait til next year and risk it to apply to Berkeley, Harvard, Gtown, UChicago or should I choose one of the schools I’m admitted to now? I also barely received any funding (hard when international) but I am in the middle of a green card application, so I’ll probably have my green card when I apply next year. Does that make it easier to get in at all? Does it make it easier to get funding? I know I shouldn’t but I do care about ‘prestige’ a bit, and my parents definitely do. I would like to go to Michigan, but if I have a chance at Berkeley, that’s the dream. HKS would be great too but I doubt I’ll be able to get in with my lack of experience. GTown and Chicago I would hope I could get in, and I would prefer those than any of the schools I’m In now. What would be your advice? Also could I reject Michigan, and reapply next year? Thanks so much.

Program/Schools Applied To: MPP – Michigan Ford, GWU Trachtenberg, UCLA Luskin. MPA – U Washington Evans, U Wisconsin-Madison LaFollette

Schools Admitted:  All, no funding except GWU (50%)

Undergraduate: Top 15 Liberal Arts College, 3.70 GPA, 3.84 last two years (I got a lot of B+s and Bs freshman year but after freshman year only As and A-s, not including my semester abroad)

GRE: 161 Verbal/161 Quant/4.5 Analytical Writing

Math/Econ Background: Single variable calc, intro micro econ, intro macro econ, 5 computer science classes

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  1 (graduated 2016)

Years of Work Experience:  no really relevant paid work experience (hard to get a job with my international visa in the nonprofit/public field). Currently interning at the ACLU (but in communications dept), had various internships at environmental nonprofits. Also currently doing outreach for a renewable energy program (but this involves more talking to people and less policy/analytics). Had a customer service job too.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc: Honestly, I wrote this a week before the deadline, and had a few friends edit it. I think it was pretty good though, talked about growing up in Southeast Asia, moving to America for school, my previous environmental internships, interest in my sociology classes, and how this all ties into my interest in public policy.

Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Didn’t read them but I think they were quite good. From 3 professors  (1 was my advisor, 1 was my favorite prof, 1 was my geography professor who is Spanish and his English isn’t the best) - I did very well on all their classes.

Other: I didn’t have much extracurricular activities besides being a general member of the environmental club at school and also the varsity women’s rugby team..

 

 

[Ingo93]

Program/Schools Applied To: Texas A&M Bush (MPSA), LBJ (MPA), Pittsburgh (MPIA), Penn State (SIA), Kentucky (Patterson), and Florida State (MIA)
Schools Admitted To: Texas A&M ($7k), Pittsburgh (unknown/likely $0), Penn State ($15k), Kentucky ($0), and Florida State (unknown/likely $0)
Schools Rejected From: None
Still Waiting: Texas LBJ 
Undergraduate institution: Lower ranked Pac-12 school  
Undergraduate GPA: 2.9  
Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.1  
Undergraduate Major: BS in Economic Policy (major in Political Science)  
GRE Quantitative Score: 157 
GRE Verbal Score: 163  
GRE AW Score: 5.5  
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2  
Years of Work Experience: 2  
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Currently work for the Social Security Administration, spent a large portion of my undergrad/first year out of college working for/volunteering for a political party.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I think my SOP was pretty strong. I wrote about what I felt defines good leadership, the ease at which we may fall into group think patterns, the value of constantly challenging our ideals, and how my experience working for Social Security and speaking with people at campaign events shaped my desire to get into public service. My actual process consisted of me drinking a lot of whiskey, reading what I wrote the morning after, and then submitting it immediately because I didn't want to overthink it.   
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I got the LORs from my mentor from work, my academic adviser, and one of my former professors. I can't say I was particularly close with any of them and I have no idea what they wrote, but whatever it is did the trick.  
Other: Aside from mock trial, pre-law society, economics club, and a few bs positions in student government I really didn't do much at all in undergrad.

I wish I could say that the decision for where I might go was hard, but as things currently stand I don't see myself getting a much better offer than I presently have from Texas A&M, especially since they waive out-of-state tuition. Given the uncertainty at the federal level, I especially feel that it's important to go for something that offers a greater degree of flexibility so in that sense an MPA almost seems more attractive than IR.

I also had expected to be rejected somewhere, it makes me wish I had shot for higher ranked schools just to see what my ceiling was.

Edited March 28, 2017 by Ingo93

[Surfbordt]

I've read this forum constantly over the last few months so I thought that I'd participate for future grad students. 

Program/Schools Applied To: Yale Jackson, Columbia SIPA, Johns Hopkins SAIS, Georgetown MSFS, Tufts Fletcher
Schools Admitted To: Columbia SIPA ($0), Johns Hopkins SAIS ($0), Tufts Fletcher ($40k)
Schools Rejected From: Yale Jackson, Georgetown MSFS (someone reached out and recommended that I reapply w/ more work exp and better scores)
Still Waiting: None
Undergraduate institution: Big State School in the Midwest 
Undergraduate GPA: 3.3
Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.75 
Undergraduate Major: BA in Political Science and Middle East Studies  
GRE Quantitative Score: 152
GRE Verbal Score: 159  
GRE AW Score: 4.5

Math/Econ Background: Macro in undergrad (C-), retook Macro and Micro this past fall and got an A in both. 

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2  
Years of Work Experience: 2  
Describe Relevant Work Experience: 1 year in total at two different think tanks (one internationally focused, one domestic), and will be 1 year at a software company by Fall 2017.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I think that this was the best part of my application, since my GPA and test scores weren't so great I dedicated a lot of time and effort into these. I had my page edited by a "team" of friends that consisted of two Ph.D students, a law school grad, and my friends father who is an english professor at an Ivy league school. I think that I worked on it for 3 months on and off. 
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): My boss from undergrad (my biggest cheerleader and I love her) who I'm sure wrote a glowing recommendation, the hardest professor that I had in undergrad but managed to get an A in (U.S. Foreign Policy), and another professor who I did an independent study with. I made them folders with my SoP, Resume, schools that I wanted to apply for etc, and asked them ~3 months in advance. 
Other: I help various positions in a service-oriented fraternity, full time internship experience at the DNC, fundraising fellowship at my state political party, Virtual Intern with the Virtual Student Foreign Service, and studied Farsi for 3 years culminating with participating in the Critical Language Scholarship. 

So clearly I should have retaken the GRE but I took it way too late (12/27) to retake it before application deadlines. I didn't study verbal at all and only worked on math, which I clearly didn't work on enough. I wish I could say that I was prepared for it, but my "studying" mostly consisted of doing a few problems and then watching an episode or 2 of Archer in between each. I decided to apply even with my low test scores because I had put so much work into my SoP's and I'm also bored to death at my job and need a change. I'm sure that my scores are why I didn't get any funding from SIPA or SAIS, and I assume Fletcher is offering my need-based aid, not merit haha. I come from a low-income background and I am a first-gen college graduate. 

While I am lucky to get accepted anywhere at all, looking at the price tag for these schools gives me second thoughts. I've always dreamed of working in the IR field but now that I am close to making the next step I am having doubts - to put it bluntly, I think that I want a little more autonomy in my career (i.e. being my own boss), and also financial stability (which I've literally never had). I am in the running for this great fellowship that would position me nicely for business school and if I get it I will accept that over going to grad school this cycle. I'm seriously considering getting an joint MBA/MA and if I wait to apply (and get better scores, etc), I will get more funding for grad school, and become a more competitive applicant for business school. If I don't get the fellowship, I will probably go to Tufts. 

I hope my low scores/successful-ish application cycle gives others hope! 

[Ingo93]

On 3/27/2017 at 11:29 PM, Ingo93 said:

Program/Schools Applied To: Texas A&M Bush (MPSA), LBJ (MPA), Pittsburgh (MPIA), Penn State (SIA), Kentucky (Patterson), and Florida State (MIA)
Schools Admitted To: Texas A&M ($7k), Pittsburgh (unknown/likely $0), Penn State ($15k), Kentucky ($0), and Florida State (unknown/likely $0)
Schools Rejected From: None
Still Waiting: Texas LBJ 
Undergraduate institution: Lower ranked Pac-12 school  
Undergraduate GPA: 2.9  
Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.1  
Undergraduate Major: BS in Economic Policy (major in Political Science)  
GRE Quantitative Score: 157 
GRE Verbal Score: 163  
GRE AW Score: 5.5  
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2  
Years of Work Experience: 2  
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Currently work for the Social Security Administration, spent a large portion of my undergrad/first year out of college working for/volunteering for a political party.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I think my SOP was pretty strong. I wrote about what I felt defines good leadership, the ease at which we may fall into group think patterns, the value of constantly challenging our ideals, and how my experience working for Social Security and speaking with people at campaign events shaped my desire to get into public service. My actual process consisted of me drinking a lot of whiskey, reading what I wrote the morning after, and then submitting it immediately because I didn't want to overthink it.   
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I got the LORs from my mentor from work, my academic adviser, and one of my former professors. I can't say I was particularly close with any of them and I have no idea what they wrote, but whatever it is did the trick.  
Other: Aside from mock trial, pre-law society, economics club, and a few bs positions in student government I really didn't do much at all in undergrad.

I wish I could say that the decision for where I might go was hard, but as things currently stand I don't see myself getting a much better offer than I presently have from Texas A&M, especially since they waive out-of-state tuition. Given the uncertainty at the federal level, I especially feel that it's important to go for something that offers a greater degree of flexibility so in that sense an MPA almost seems more attractive than IR.

I also had expected to be rejected somewhere, it makes me wish I had shot for higher ranked schools just to see what my ceiling was.

Quick update, I also got an acceptance email from University of Texas today which makes me six for six. Still likely to attend A&M Bush barring substantial financial aid from UT or Pitt that at least brings me to in-state to at least make things comparable. With that being said, I'd just like to thank President Trump for giving me the confidence to apply for grad school since I figure if he can become president despite his lack of credentials I can get into a strong grad school despite a low GPA and meh work experience.

[Nozistin]

Program Applied To: (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.)  MPP, MPA, PhD (Poli Sci)
Schools Applied To:  Berkeley GSPP (MPP), HKS (MPP), Princeton WWS (MPA), UCSD (Poli Sci PhD), Columbia (Poli Sci PhD)
Schools Admitted To:  Berkeley GSPP (MPP) (No funding), HKS (MPP) (???), Princeton WWS (MPA) ($$$), UCSD (Poli Sci PhD) ($$$)
Schools Rejected From:  NA
Waitlisted:  Columbia (Poli Sci PhD)
Undergraduate institution:  Top Public
Undergraduate GPA:  3.76
Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable):  3.75
Undergraduate Major:  Political Science, Minor in Public Policy
GRE Quantitative Score:  157
GRE Verbal Score:  165
GRE AW Score:  4.5
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  ~2
Years of Work Experience:  Full time ~2, part-time relevant ~3
 

Describe Relevant Work Experience:  Lot of undergrad student government at my campus and at state level, a year as a part-time consultant for a small non-profit, a little over a year at a private foundation, a few months as a legal assistant, a summer policy fellowship, and more campus-based organizing while in undergrad
 

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  I would say very solid. I worked on it for about a month at about 10 hours a week. Wrote it, scrapped it, wrote it again, scrapped it again, got something decent, passed it to my friend who is a technical writer, basically rewrote it after her suggestions, had sit down to carefully go over new draft with her, and finally got something pretty tailored. A piece of advice would be to be very upfront early on. My first sentence was along the lines of:" I want to get an MPP and XXX school to gain the policy analysis, public management, and leaderships skills to do XXX." I went through every sentence and asked 1) Does this need to be said? 2) Is this the best way to say it? 3) Is this the best place to say it? Happy to talk more about this in a PM.
 

Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): Solid, nothing crazy. 2 from professors that knew me pretty well and 2 from the CEO of the orgs I worked the most time in. Both CEO's know me well and I still get lunch with one of them every now and then. Don't ask folks that can't speak to your specific talents with enthusiasm. Try to find someone with an MPP/MPA to write you a letter. Two of the folks who did for me had one. They can speak out of experience to your ability to succeed in the type of program. 

Other: *Take all of this with a grain of salt as we all come from different places. I didn't apply to many schools but I did apply to very different programs so it was a lot of work. My advice would be to not apply to more than 6 schools but do it well. You can choose to make some of those safeties, I didn't. My thoughts on grad school where maybe not in the mainstream, IDK. I was only willing to go to grad school at a top program. I have a pretty decent job and the debt and time spent calculations only made sense for a top program in my case. I was surprised at my success this cycle and am still stressing a bit on my decision though I'm starting to settle on one. Happy to talk with folks in a PM if you have any questions

[3dender]

On 29/3/2017 at 2:54 AM, Ingo93 said:

Quick update, I also got an acceptance email from University of Texas today which makes me six for six. Still likely to attend A&M Bush barring substantial financial aid from UT or Pitt that at least brings me to in-state to at least make things comparable. With that being said, I'd just like to thank President Trump for giving me the confidence to apply for grad school since I figure if he can become president despite his lack of credentials I can get into a strong grad school despite a low GPA and meh work experience.

My understanding is that LBJ is already incredibly cheap: by my calculations around $36k tuition total for out-of-state students.  I hope someone corrects me if I'm wrong.

[Ingo93]

11 hours ago, 3dender said:

My understanding is that LBJ is already incredibly cheap: by my calculations around $36k tuition total for out-of-state students.  I hope someone corrects me if I'm wrong.

I took a quick look at the graduate tuition calculator and according to it, the rate is $10,575 per semester if enrolled in 12 courses. Multiplied by four (pretending there are no adjustments), that puts the tuition rate $42,300. That's not bad compared to most private schools though in my view that's still quite pricey. Then again I'm somewhat debt averse since I haven't finished paying off my undergrad loans yet.

[cbx2v]

Programs Applied To: IR masters programs, specifically MPP, MIA, MSFS, MA

Schools Admitted To:  Yale Jackson ($$$$), Korbel ($$$$), Georgetown MSFS ($$), SAIS Bologna ($$), Fletcher MALD ($$), Elliott ($$), SIPA (X)

Schools Rejected From:  Harvard HKS MPP (booo)

 

Undergraduate School: University of Virginia

GPA: 3.77 GPA, Phi Beta Kappa, Dean's List every semester, graduated with high distinction

Undergraduate Major: Double majored in Foreign Affairs and Middle Eastern Studies

GRE 1: 170 (99%) Verbal, 156 (63%) Quant, 5.5 (97%) AWA

GRE 2: 167 (97%), Verbal 158 (70%) Quant, 4.5 (82%) AWA

 

Years Out of Undergrad: 4 years

Work Experience: 3 years at highly regarded international relations magazine/think tank as a research assistant/admin person, 1-year internship in Cairo, ~3 years as an intern at the FBI (over the summer, during semesters, not consecutive) doing random admin work.

International Experience: 1 year living in Cairo, Egypt after graduation and one semester of study abroad in Scotland (I was evacuated from Cairo due to the Arab Spring and had to go from Cairo to a tiny, cute Scottish town)

Languages: 3 years of Arabic at the college level, one year living in Cairo, 3 years of studying under private tutors ~ High Intermediate. Some German from high school and a couple of college courses.

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  My Harvard SOP was pretty bad (<= understatement) since that app was due a full month before any of the others, but I worked off of that and ended up with something pretty darn solid (read: awesome ?). A friend of mine kept saying “Make it more personal! Make it more colorful!” and that really helped my essay, which had started off quite dry. I tried to craft my essay as a story—for example, describing the sights and smells with more evocative language, showing rather than telling, and basically using the same rules a creative essay requires. I personalized my SOP to each school, so that half or more of my personal statement changed with each application. For each iteration, I had four or so friends and family members look it over, including a professional copy editor friend.

I wrote the analytical essay for SIPA the night it was due and it was not great, but it also wasn’t horrible. I didn’t have anyone look it over. Oopsie. I wrote the second essay for Fletcher over two days and went through six drafts before I was happy. Several people read it before I sent it off. I think that one turned out pretty well, though I wish I had spent more time on it.

Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): All of my recommendations were solid. I had two professors from undergrad write as well as my boss of three years.

Both of my undergraduate professors had written me a letter of recommendation for my post-college internship. I’m sure this made their recommendations sound fresher because they had written the majority of the letter years ago when we were in more constant contact, rather than four years after the last time they saw me on a regular basis. In my emails to them, I slipped in a reminder that they had written for me before to ensure they hadn’t forgotten about their old letters. I also I sent them a bunch of information on my current interests and activities and ended up meeting one of them for coffee so that they could update their old letters with current info. One of the professors was my major advisor, the other was my undergraduate thesis advisor for a while (my topic changed and, alas, so did my advisor). Also they’re awesome people, so I’m sure they wrote something nice.

 Boss-Man is a big name at a fancy think tank who has a book under his belt, regularly writes for newspapers and magazines, and often appears on TV and radio. I’ve done a lot of work for him over the years and we know each other very well. He’s also an excellent writer so I’m sure his letter was great. I had been hinting for a long time that I was planning to apply to grad school so he wasn’t surprised to be asked. I was going to ask him in person, but he was traveling a lot when I needed to ask so I awkwardly ended up asking via email even though his office is right next to mine. Boss-Man is also a cool and awesome dude so I’m sure his letter was a good one.