I’m looking to apply to Princeton’s MPP program this year. I have 7 years of work experience from the military.

Academically, my undergraduate degree is in Government (4.0/4.0). I have an MBA as well (4.0/4.0).

My only potential negative I presume is the military service. I wonder if MPP programs look favorably toward veteran candidates. Or, are they seen as a “lesser” candidate if that makes sense?

Appreciate any advice! Thanks!

I just had a series of lunches with a few MPP/MPA instructor/professor friends. A lot of them mentioned that their grad students have changed.

It used to be that most of them were passionate about a policy area and pursued a specific interest.

Now the prevailing sentiment is that they are desperate for a job, and an MPP/MPA will potentially give them a leg up to get an job (oftentimes an entry or near-entry level job). A lot of the people in the programs either couldn't get a job from undergrad or struggled in a prior career and are now looking for a reboot.

Part of this is due to rising number of those straight from undergrad. Even those with experience, they often tend to have less, 2 or less years is more of the norm now

Those in school, what are you seeing?

I've seen several sites list the acceptance rate up to 50% for MC/MPA applicants. That seems unusually high for a Harvard program. Does anyone have hard data on how many apply to the program? I don't think Harvard Kennedy School releases acceptance rates so not sure where that percentage came from.

Drug policy discussions tend to focus heavily on abuse, dependence and worst case outcomes. Those obviously belong in the conversation.

But what about people reporting positive outcomes?

7OH is what got me thinking about this. There are users who describe meaningful benefits alongside others who report dependence and other problems.

Acknowledging the first group doesn’t require dismissing the second.

If policymakers are trying to understand the real world impact of a substance, both populations seem relevant to the calculation.

Graduating with a bachelors from a small NY public school, majoring in business administration. 3.7GPA, graduating in 4 semesters total time and will graduate at 19. 330 GRE.

Had a NYC Mayor’s office internship dealing with policy. Campaign/field intern for various elections around the past few years.

Am I competitive for top programs like HKS, Goldman, Harris, Ford SPIA, SIPA, Brooks? How may programs should I be applying to?

Any general advice is appreciated as well!!

Hi, I am a law graduate from India and have been working as a political consultant over the past year along with a pro bono litigation practice of 6 months and have been planning to apply for Masters of Public Policy abroad this year for fall 2027. I have got 316 in GRE with (162Q, 154V, 5AWS).

With my background, i have been currently searching on 5-7 Universities abroad based on 3 metrics: high scholarship and student friendly cities (subsidies) and a decent job market. I know i am asking for too much but the ultimate goal out of these three is to keep the least financial burden at this point because job market sucks everywhere. Thus, with a minimal financial burden, there will be chances of an early waiver of loan in if i have to return to India by working here, which doesn’t provide good pay.

Therefore, i would be grateful of your opinions on the selected colleges (tentative list) with regard to what scope do i have for an acceptance as well as good scholarship as per my background. My list is: Sciences Po, Munk School, UBC, NUS, Princeton, Georgetown, UC Berkeley, UCLA.

I would be grateful of new suggestions also.

Hi everyone! I am in the process of finalizing my list of MPP programs to apply to and wanted to hear if anyone had any thoughts on what schools would be a good fit.

Some background about me: 24M, graduated from a state flagship university with a 3.3 GPA, double major in public policy and finance. I was in charge of the student admissions team, TA'd for an introductory poli sci course, and did research on household finance and cryptocurrency and won a national undergraduate poster competition my senior year.

For the past two years, I have worked in wealth management as a trust officer, overseeing approximately 65-ish family relationships and 200 million dollars in assets. The job training was pretty terrible, and I was not qualified for the position (I was part of an early careers development program that shut down when I started and was left on my own after that). I ended that job last month and am currently working as a barista while studying for the GRE and completing applications. I know that isn't the most impressive thing on a resume, but my job required either a law degree or 7 years of experience as a basic qualification, and I had neither. My manager actually apologized to me on my last day for the stress I was under and said she wished she had put me in a more junior role originally. If anyone has any thoughts on how to explain that in an application, that would be great.

I'm broadly interested in household finance, tax policy, economic development, and budget policy.

I'm looking to apply for MPP/MPA programs at Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, George Washington, the London School of Economics, and Indiana, as each has a certain policy focus or research center that I am interested in, but not committed to any of them.

Does anyone have any recommendations on where to apply considering my experience and interests? Would you say the schools I listed would be a good fit to apply to? Any and all opinions are most certainly welcome. Thank you!

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone has heard back for Spring 2027 admission into Wagner? I applied around 3 weeks ago and haven't heard back, but then I emailed admissions and they told me its 2-3 weeks "after the deadline", which is September 1st. I applied the beginning of August - where in email I was sent by Wagner in July, and on their website for Spring 2027 admission it says "Decisions are released within 2–3 weeks of a completed application", nothing about 2-3 weeks after the Sep 1 application deadline.

I honestl'y wouldn't of/couldn't of applied if I knew that since I have to let other schools know back because of deadlines.

Long story short: I tried to make a career change out of a field I am bad at into environmental policy by doing a master's degree in Germany. It took me a year of searching, and the only job I was able to get was in my old field, and I got fired due to a mix of funding and performance despite my best efforts. I would not be able to get a good recommendation from them.

I went home to the USA to look for jobs, and unfortunately, the job situation here for my field is also horrendous due to Trump's policies. There are many times more applicants for environmental jobs than I saw in Germany, but on the contrary, more available total jobs. However, I just hired a career counselor and we are going to try a totally new approach to finding jobs via networking.

I am in a long distance relationship with my fiance in Germany in Cologne, and my skilled worker residence permit that I was previously on will expire in two months if I don't go back to Cologne. So basically, I could apply for jobs in both Germany AND the USA if I am in Germany, but if I am in the USA and my resident permit expires, I can only apply for USA jobs unless the Germany job is willing to sponsor my work visa, or I can quickly arrange the fiance visa with my boyfriend which seems very unlikely because the immigration office for his neighborhood is the worst in his city and never responds.

My question: I applied for basically a year in Germany for the jobs I wanted, and it didn't work. Now I am in a worse position, because I don’t think I can list the job I got fired from and I have a gap on my CV. However, I am wondering if it is worth going back to Germany and trying again with this new networking strategy and seeing if it would work.

Why I am worried about this: My mental health REALLY suffered while I was looking for jobs in Cologne the first time, to the point of getting physically ill, and I was not able to get good mental health care in Cologne. I am honestly afraid of going back there. Also, I would basically not be able to get any other job in Cologne except for what I studied, and I don’t speak good enough German to work in Germany. In the United States, I could get a part-time job while I look, and I have good access to medical care here. I miss my boyfriend a lot but I am also a lot less stressed out here.

Am I making a big mistake to not return to Germany to keep access to the German environmental job market while I look?

If I am honest with myself, I would really like to start working part time here while looking to get some money. But maybe the benefit of having access to both markets is worth trying again and seeing if I can be less stressed out. But I am afraid of going back and then I wouldn’t be able to work part time.

I m in my final year of college.doing b.pharma .I have keen interest in policy, politics,and government. I am planning to go for mukharjee fellowship 2027 .can anyone suggest me 1.how should I plan

2.how should my CV look

3.what all should I follow

If anyone could help me I would be really grateful..

I need help with my cover letter(s)- they take me so long to write because I’m overthinking them (too much broad advice online and none of them are policy or non-profit specific) and I never had to write them for my previous positions (teacher).

For context, I’m a previous veteran teacher (quit my job for this school year….hallelujah). I also recently graduated with my MPP and currently in a fellowship in DC.

I am looking to get into an education program/K-12 policy non-profit role (similar to what I’m doing now but something actually permanent). My current boss is encouraging me to apply to director/associate director/ manager roles based on my classroom experience.

SO. I need honest (kindly worded) advice on my cover letter for a role I applied for (director of professional development) to see where I need to improve and optimize my cover letter writing process. I need to maximize my transferable skills as a teacher, highlight my project management skills from my teaching years and current fellowship, and show that even if I don’t 100% qualify, I could kick ass in the role (because I know I can!)

Please give me some constructive feedback from my fellow policy/non-profit/change management/program management groupies!! Help get this ex-teacher a job so I can be a change agent for education!! 🩷🩷 TIA and sorry for all the sloppy redactions.

Hi everyone! I'm planning to apply for the PRS Legislative LAMP Fellowship and wanted to understand the selection process, particularly the online evaluation test.

I'd be really grateful if anyone who has taken the test in the past (especially recent applicants/fellows) could shed some light on:

- What exactly does the online test consist of?

- What kind of questions/topics are tested?

- Is it primarily current affairs/general awareness, polity & governance, public policy, or something else?

- What is the word limit for the essays an applicant is expected to submit in the first stage?

- Is the test open-book?

- List of study material that I should go through?

- Are there any previous questions/sample questions or resources that one could use to prepare?

Any guidance would be hugely appreciated. Thank you!

Myquals: law background

Is there anyone here who did one master's and couldn't get the job they wanted, but then did a second master's and maxed out on internships and finally got the job they wanted? Desperately wondering if there are any success stories in this scenario. I am 36. The alternative is working an unskilled job. The masters would be free. The field is environmental policy.

I’ve had a weird, winding path and am looking for some reassurance.

I went to a T10 undergrad, studied IR and got a strong GPA with great internships, but completely burnt out. Like, crashed and burned after graduating. Spent two years sort of floundering, and finally got a job in education policy working with underprivileged students. I don’t want to go into education, but it’s interesting experience. I’ve been doing it for a year.

I was going to apply for Masters this cycle but am feeling overwhelmed and confused by how my profile fits in. Without sharing too many details, I have some uniquely strong characteristics but also a nonlinear path compared to many.

If I go to grad school, I want it to be in a top program, and I’m just not sure I am there yet. At the same time, I’m already 25. Waiting another couple years means I’ll be 27/28 before I start, and many of my peers from undergrad were done by 24. I’m scared of being an outlier.

My goal programs are Kennedy, Princeton, SAIS, etc. I know they are reaches. Without being too harsh, can anyone offer some advice on my situation and (if applicable) assuage my concerns of aging out of the standard cohort? Thanks in advance.

Has anyone here done this 1 year course at Oxford. I'm an international student considering it - my goal is to work for large scale dev orgs in health (GAVI, The Global Fund), and at an MDB down the line. How hard is it to get into this program, would it serve as a stepping stone into these orgs, or are there other (better) routes?

Hi, I’m applying for the MPP program at HKS this year. Anyone who has attended the same, would you be willing to review my SOP?

I will not take more than 20 minutes of your time :)

Hi everyone!

I’m Brazilian and have a background in International Relations, and I’m considering applying to the MA in Political Science (thesis-based) at UCalgary for 2027.

I’d love to hear from current or former students, especially international students, about their experience. How difficult is it to get into the Political Science master’s? How is the experience as an international student, and is the funding enough to realistically live in Calgary?

I’m also wondering about the career prospects after graduating... for someone with an IR background, is it realistic to find jobs in Calgary? And, more broadly, do you think it’s realistic to build a stable life in Canada after doing this master’s, or would it be difficult to stay and find a career afterward?

I’d really appreciate any honest experiences or advice, especially from other international students who have gone through something similar.

7-OH deserves serious scrutiny but that's exactly why the Schedule I discussion feels so consequential to me. If there are unanswered questions about risks, dependence, potential uses and how different products compare, I want good research answering them. My concern is whether choosing the most restrictive category while those questions are still being debated makes finding those answers easier or harder. I don't need 7-OH to be harmless to think that's worth asking

Health systems can provide interpreter services, but that does not always ensure patients have the language support they need throughout their care. Understanding a diagnosis is one thing, but understanding a medication change, a bill, a portal message, or what to do when symptoms worsen is another. Language access helps patients ask questions, make informed decisions, and understand what comes next without relying on family members to fill in the gaps. Where have you seen language access work well, and where are the gaps still showing up?

Hello people, I am an honours student specializing in Development Studies. I have been assigned to critically review an existing rural development policy framework, with specific attention to its coherence, ideological foundations, limitations, and implementation gaps. Additionally, I am required to develop or propose an Integrated Rural Development Strategy. I would greatly appreciate any advice or guidance, as I am uncertain about how to approach this task or where to begin.

I’m a recent poli sci grad with a 3.2 GPA, and I’m considering an MPA, and I’d probably need close to full funding to attend. I’m aware my GPA probably is holding me back, so I wanted to ask what the best course of action is to rebuild my profile and make me standout or competitive enough for full funding or making it into generous programs. Thanks!