I’m interested in applying to Princeton’s WWS graduate MPA program, and I was wondering if I could at all be competitive for it. I don’t want to waste time, effort, and money applying to a program I have no chance of getting into, (Princeton apparently noted that “As an individual applicant, your chance of admission is either 0 percent or 100 percent,” so they’re denying the role of luck) so I’m looking to get some feedback on my profile.
Undergraduate institution: Public university—ranked 150ish according to US News and World Report (top 100 public universities)
Undergraduate GPA: 3.77
Undergraduate Majors: Biomedical sciences
GRE: 165 quantitative/164 verbal, written pending
Age: 20 (completing undergrad in 2 years; will have completed just 1.5 years of undergrad by time of application)
Work Experience: various internships, around 2 years. Research on Boko Haram received strongly positive responses from US Central Command, SOCOM, State Dept., etc. Did some at #1 think tank in Bolivia (INESAD). Biophysics at university research. My best work experience however comes from writing—I’ve written for the Huffington Post and many other outlets, where my articles have led to fact-based public retractions for original sources used by outlets like the Washington Post. They’ve engaged scholars at Harvard, the Brookings Institution, American Immigration Lawyers Association, and more. Some other “work” done via on-campus fundraising/awareness campaigns via the Borgen Project and ONE campaign campus presidencies.
Publications: numerous. Associated with research and writing. Everywhere from The Hill to the Georgetown Public Policy Review and Cornell International Affairs Review (peer reviewed).
Languages: NA
International Experience: NA
Quantitative Experience: Top AP scores in macro, microeconomics, Calculus AB/BC, statistics
Statement of Purpose: Pending, though I’ve written SOPs that have gotten me interviews with a US-UK Fulbright Summer Institute
LOR: 3 professor recs (1 supervisor for Boko Haram research; 1 philosophy professor, likely very strong and personal; 1 chemistry professor, likely fairly strong; I haven’t read any of them however)
Awards: Nothing national unfortunately. Various school awards (e.g. one for extraordinary leadership–50 selected from class of 3,000). Applying to programs like Schwarzman, Fulbright, Gates-Cambridge, but no idea if I’ll be a semifinalist. Might have a chance at Schwarzman.