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Also, if you're looking for stats on WWS MPA students, the grad viewbook on the WWS site is a good place to start: http://wws.princeton.edu/gradviewbook/index.html#/16 (I'm also a current student.)

This will be the second year of the Fulbright Public Policy fellowship; program details here: http://fulbright.state.gov/grants/fulbright-public-policy-fellowship Eligible countries will be announced sometime in October, and the application starts Nov 1. Bios of the 2012-2013 class here: http://fulbright.state.gov/grants/fulbright-public-policy-fellowship/2012-public-policy-fellows I may apply, depending on which countries are available -- is anyone else planning to apply? Any experiences from those who applied last year?

Karaya -- I stuck with the field I applied for, but many don't. Ie, WWS MPA students are free to switch fields, and maybe 10-15% of each class switches at least once, while a lot more consider it. It's not held against you, and getting approval is not a problem. Apply for the field you think will maximize your chances of admission, and worry about the field switches later.

Hey - I'm a Truman Scholar and a student at WWS. As for how competitive the Truman is, it depends in part on what state you're from. They try to select at least one from each state (though if no one's up to a certain standard they'll skip a state for a year) so being from / applying from a small state can help. (In my year they picked one from my (small) state - me - and 3 or 4 from California, which has 14x as many people!) Truman is very competitive, but they're looking for a certain mix of attributes: fairly strong academics, leadership, and a clearly demonstrated interest in public service. So some people who can get into top grad programs won't get to the finalist stage for Truman because they aren't that right mix (and vice versa). Even in the smallest state, you have to be one of the very best people who applies, and the numbers of applicants they list on the Truman site are deceptively low because the top schools have on-campus competitions to choose which students get to apply since each school can only have four applicants. It's hard to separate out just how much Truman helps you getting into top schools, as you have to be pretty competitive for grad school admissions to get the Truman in the first place. I know folks in my Truman class who are in top law schools, med schools, and IR programs like SAIS and HKS -- but I think most of them would have been competitive for those programs without the Truman too. For some programs it likely helps, especially if a lot of Trumans have gone to your target school (as with WWS), whereas in some fields folks don't know what it is. But even if it doesn't help you get in, the funding is very helpful. (And the network of fellow scholars is even more valuable.) You can't win if you don't apply, so apply apply apply! It's an awesome program. Also, I found the process of applying for the Truman Scholarship really helped when I applied to grad school. The WWS application even features a policy memo that is similar to the policy proposal required when you apply for the Truman. Good luck!

Just got an email (at noon EST) -> wait list.

Program Applied To: MPA Schools Applied To: WWS for Field IV (seriously, I was going to apply to more, but I'm already a grad student and these things take a lot of effort. also, it's really only worthwhile to go in my situation - when i'm already working on another degree - if I can get solid funding, and I haven't heard glowing things about SAIS and HKS funding, so I prioritized WWS). Schools Admitted To: -- Schools Rejected From: -- Still Waiting: WWS Undergraduate institution: unknown liberal arts school Undergraduate GPA: 3.76 Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.9ish? Undergraduate Major: Biochem & Polisci GRE Quantitative Score: 770 GRE Verbal Score: 740 GRE AW Score: can't remember Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): graduated May '08 Years of Work Experience: 2 full-time in DC, plus lots of volunteer / internship type experiences domestically and abroad Describe Relevant Work Experience: consulting firm with nonprofit clients - not super applicable, but still solid professional experience. i think the volunteer stuff has been more applicable. Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): adapted from others I've written which have always seemed to do well, not a whole lot of new material in it. Policy memo (WWS): thought it was kind of fun, got to do research on something I was interested in! Had two friends review this (more than my SOP) Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): one from undergrad professor/mentor, one from work supervisor, one from current professor/work supervisor. likely strong overall, but I haven't had letters from two of these before so it's hard to say. Other: current masters student in epidemiology/global health at a top school of public health. no econ background in undergrad, and relatively little math, but my current program has a strong stats/quantitative component. applying to complete both programs as a joint degree - I think they'd compliment each other nicely.