u/Fun-Conversation-917 — reddlx

Hi everyone,

I’m an international student planning to apply at the end of this year to HKS, Columbia SIPA, Princeton SPIA, Oxford MPP and LSE.

Background

Master’s degree in economics
Around 5 years of work experience (2 in the private sector + 3 at a globally well-known policy organization)
Founded an NGO in my hometown, which has been active for 9 years
Recommendation letters, including a Nobel laureate in economics I have worked closely + former minister from my country

Main weaknesses

Mediocre undergraduate grades
Mixed performance in my master’s transcript. I had some strong grades, but also a couple of Cs. In my country, master’s stipends are funded by the government, and at the time they were so low that I could barely cover rent while living in another region. Because of that, I compressed my coursework to return to the job market sooner. At the time, I was not planning to pursue academia and did not fully realize how much the transcript could matter later.
I completed the dissertation while working, and it ended up being nominated by the department for a national dissertation award. It also developed into a working paper coauthored with two professors from one of the top universities in my country.

Question

How would you evaluate my chances for these programs? I am especially worried that my grades could become a factor that screens me out early in the process.
My concern is that if I am not able to reach a strong GRE score it might be better not to submit it and apply with a GRE waiver instead. However, I’m not sure whether I would still have a realistic chance without a strong GRE score, given that my transcript includes some weak grades. Do you think a GRE waiver would make sense in this situation, or would submitting a less-than-ideal GRE score still be better than applying without one?

I’d really appreciate honest feedback. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I’m just starting my GRE prep and took a mock test to get a baseline. I scored 151Q / 151V.

I’m an international student planning to apply to top MPA/MPP programs, so I’d really like to get my Quant score to 160+. Although I don’t think I’m terrible at math (I have a master’s in economics) I’ve never really seen myself as a math person.

My current plan is:

Study around 2 hours per day, 5–6 days per week (I work full time)
Spend the first few weeks rebuilding Quant foundations: arithmetic, algebra, ratios, percentages, exponents, geometry, and word problems
Use the Official GRE Guide and Gregmat
Take prep tests every 3–4 weeks to track progress

Do you think it’s realistic to go from 151Q to 160+Q in about 3 months with this plan?

If I don’t hit my target on the first attempt, I would still have around two extra months before my application deadlines, since I could take the test again by September.

I’d appreciate any honest feedback.

Thanks!