<p>Hey guys, I'm a current Peace Corps Volunteer who will be looking to attend an MPP program when I return to the states. My top picks for schools include:</p>
<p>-The Ford School (U Michigan-Ann Arbor)
-The Sanford School (Duke)
-The Josef Korbel School (U Denver)</p>
<p>And here are the stats:</p>
<p>Major: Political Science
Undergrad GPA: 3.08 (At a top school with no grade inflation. Average graduating GPA was 3.1)
In-major GPA: 3.4
Senior Thesis: Modeling the Spread of Insurgency in Iraq</p>
<p>GRE (old version):
Verbal: 730, i.e. 98th percentile
Math: 730, i.e. 69th percentile
Writing: 5.5, i.e. 97th percentile</p>
<p>Relevant Work Experience:
AmeriCorps VISTA--1 year with a Portland, OR non-profit
Peace Corps Volunteer--2 years Youth Development in Morocco</p>
<p>Languages:
Spanish--Fluent
Moroccan Arabic--Professional working proficiency
French--Conversational</p>
<p>I was also awarded a research fellowship (Corbett and Goldhammer) to study torture in Iraq (stateside) during my junior year of college.</p>
<p>What I'm mostly worried about is my relatively weak quantitative background, both in terms of GRE scores and in undergraduate classes taken. Also, my GPA looks low, but is average for the school that I attended. My references are good, and my resume doesn't lack for real-world experience. What are my chances to get into a top MPP program? What about a second tier program? Thanks in advance for the help.</p>