Help needed getting a realistic idea of what to do

[larsbarreto]

Problem:

Thought I wanted to get an Economics Masters to pursue my goal of working in Economic Policy field and helping further econ development issues, poverty, Basic Income ideas etc. 

Current Situation:

• BA in Communications in 2014 from University of South Florida (OK school)
• 3.2 GPA ---with B+ in Macro and Micro and A+ in Intro to Stats but NO math experience otherwise.
• Haven't taken GRE yet but I know my quant will be about 160 at most. Verbal will be ~165
• Worked for 3 years on political campaigns fundraising and managing large amounts of data, but essentially no math or writing required, just working with candidates and being on a campaign, so I "get" politics
• Currently, in a graduate econ course that's apparently not very hard or indicative of what econ really is, but has been pretty hard for me
• Only other positive would be that I am a Hispanic, low-income immigrant and female

I wanted to apply to Econ Master's but am now considering Public Policy as well. I'm scared of the various classes (Calc, Price Theory, probably pre-calc so I don't fail) and would pay out of pocket for these classes, hopefully, pass and maybe get into an Econ Master's where everyone would have had more econ experience than me. The Public Policy direction might allow me to get into a better school (I think in the long run I would rather get into a "top tier school") Not sure what my chances would even be of really getting accepted into a program like that. I don't know where to start or what to pursue for my future. Econ seemed right bc of the job opportunities and pay afterwards but now I'm not so sure..... help please!!! Many thanks.

 

Edited April 25, 2017 by larsbarreto
forgot something

[sturdyelm]

From reading this, it sounds like you are only wanting the economics degree because it would boost your economics background. Public Policy incorporates a lot of various areas including economics, statistics, sociology etc. Which if you want to work in poverty alleviation, it will be much more beneficial to have a range of background information, rather than solely econ. 

Looking at your profile, you are a good candidate for top public policy programs. Those who pursue MPPs have diverse backgrounds. Your work experience is sufficient for a professional program, and would bring alot to the table even if you feel that you didn't do much math or writing. The key to the MPP admission (in addition to everything else) to a top school will be your SOP and decent recommendations. You do not have to have a strong background in math to get into most public policy programs (but some have pre-reqs of intro MicroEcon and Stats which you already have). You will learn how to use the quant skills, learn how to write specifically for policy, and then learn about all of the other elements of policy. Additionally, a lot of public policy programs do focus on economics/finances (or you could easily make that your focus) and how to use budgeting (and those with an MPP do get jobs in budgeting/economic agencies). If you want to get an idea of which schools put more focus on the quantitative skills, this is a really helpful resource. You can't solely rely on this as it is a sampling of programs, and most programs (potentially not listed) have quant requirements with some flexibility on electives so that you could dig deep into the quant.

You might also find some useful comparisons by others on the econ vs. MPP in the Government Affairs forum, I believe this has been talked about recently but don't remember where exactly. Just my two cents and input.

[chipper35]

I dont have an answer for you, but I just love how honest and how much self awareness you have  

[rising_star]

There are many ways to work on economic policy without a degree in economics. Is there a particular reason why you want to study economics rather than policy itself?