What do you think my chances are? Suggestions?
Program (MPA(affairs)/MPP)
Schools Applying To: Princeton WWS, Harvard HKS, and UC-Berkeley Goldman
Undergraduate institution: The New School
Undergraduate GPA: 3.8 (includes average 3.8 on 5 graduate courses taken during undergrad, which include ‘International Human Rights Law’, ‘Critical Security Studies’, ‘Social Entrepreneurship’, ‘Displacement, Asylum, and Migration, and Human Rights Research and Advocacy Methods’)
Undergraduate Majors: Global Studies (Rights, Justice, Governance) with minor in Journalism + Design
GRE: I am taking it soon. Currently scoring around 155-158 quant and 158-162 verbal on practice tests.
Age: 22 when entering
Years of Work Experience: None, but ‘prestigious’ internships
Published Work: Hurwitz, Storm. “From Churches to Mosques: We Need to Include Every Faith Community in the Fight Against HIV.” Poz Magazine, 2015.
Describe Relevant Work Experience:
-Global Strategy Intern, DoSomething.org (part-time internship where I managed a strategic partnership with a not-for-profit in Ghana, designed and created a Global Youth Advisory Board, surveyed 100,000+ members on global systemic issues and presented a DoSomething.org action plan, and created all global response campaigns)
-Host Country Affairs Intern, United States Mission to the United Nations (full-time internship where I archived 4,000 pages of documents and created a memorandum that is serving as guidance for US Ambassadors regarding Travel Restrictions placed on DPRK, Cuba, Syria, Iran, Russia, and PRC)
-Assistant Producer of University Showcases, Telsey + Company Casting (part-time job for over 2 years)
-Crisis Counselor, Crisis Text Line (certified Crisis Counselor with over 30 hours of training. Serve as a Crisis Counselor weekly)
-Public Policy & Affairs Intern, Gay Men’s Health Crisis (wrote public comments on the NY Medical Marijuana Bill)
-Paralegal Intern, Children’s Rights
-Legal Intern under Judge Felicia A. Mennin, A.J.S.C., New York City Criminal Court
-Policy Intern, Midtown Community Court
Languages: French (intermediate)
Quant: Micro, Macro, Stats with SPSS, Quant. Methods
Strengths of SOP: I plan to focus my SOP on my experience on insight gained from co-facilitating cognitive behavioral group therapy with ex-convict and non-custodial fathers and interviews conducted with GMHC clients, who were HIV positive. My SOP is focused on my desire to move into Domestic Policy (Urban/Health/LGBTQ-focused).
Strengths of LOR:
LOR 1: The Chief of the Counterterrorism & Sanctions Unit @ US Mission to the UN, a WWS alum, who negotiated the Iran Nuclear Deal with Kerry (known for over 1 year will use for all applications)
LOR 2: The Chief of the Research Unit @ US Mission to the UN, a UC-Berk a PhD alum (for UC-Berk app)
LOR 3: Director of Public Policy & Affairs @ Gay Men’s Health Crisis, an MPA alum (will write LOR for HKS/WWS)
LOR 4: Professor of Legal Studies @ The New School, wife of the President of TNS and past-director of Int’l Human Rights Law Clinic at Northwestern Law School (Will write academic LOR for WWS/UC-Berk)
LOR 5: Professor of Religious Studies @ The New School, Harvard Divinity Alum (will write academic LOR for HKS)
Concerns: Lack of full-time work experience. GRE scores being below the median.
Other: Semi-finalist for Point Foundation (re-applying this year), Co-Chair of University Government, member of University Security Advisory Committee, University-wide Student Leader of the Year Award, and member of the University Disciplinary Review Panel