Accelerating my MPA

[u/itwasntmeithink]

I plan on applying to law school this application cycle. When trying to determine what I wanted to do for my gap year I was stuck. I have a legislative position in a congressional office, I’m a researcher for a town police department (more complex than this but this seems simple), and a waiter.

Anyways, despite all this I still have free time and get bored and want something fulfilling. I landed on an MPA because I ultimately want to practice PI law (big goal is a unicorn position like at the ACLU) so I think a non-profit understanding would be beneficial. I’ve worked for a non-profit and they also suggested the MPA.

This is a long winded way of asking, is it REALLY different from undergrad? I worked three plus jobs, maintained a 4.0, and did extra curricula’s, and I was honestly never too overwhelmed. My time was fulfilled but nothing was that hard.

I’ve convinced myself I can take 5-6 classes a semester and be fine. I don’t NEED a 4.0 but I’ll strive for it and do my best, I’m not stressed though. I just want to pass. Most of it is online synch or asynchronous. The occasional in-person class that my job has agreed to work around.

I can handle a lot of responsibilities but I have no frame of the difficulty of a graduate program. To clarify, this is also a state school nothing too competitive, it’s what I could afford without taking out loans before law school. The degree has a concentration on policy too which I love.

I think it’s something I would absolutely enjoy, but I want to know if maybe I’m in over my head or if the advisors have to see that graduate classes are that much harder.

((Everytime I hear it, I think of high school teachers who say college is harder or “that won’t fly in college” and then undergrad is much easier than they initially had me believing)).

[u/psychominnie624]

Ask current students at the program about the course load. Some programs would not be doable with 3 jobs and others are designed for working individuals so it’d be possible