Application Portfolio and Standards for Acceptance

The applicant is responsible for having the following materials to the Admissions Office of Augusta State University by the established deadline:

1. 1. Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended by the applicant. The applicant must have completed requirements for the bachelor's degree in a regionally accredited college or university. Applicants who graduated from ASU may ask to use the official copy filed with the registrar IF they have graduated within the past seven years. Admission to the program requires a minimum cumulative grade average equivalent to 2.75 on a 4.0 scale.
2. 2. Official scores on the Graduate Record Examination. The GRE scores must be recent (applicant having taken the Graduate Record Examination within the last five years).
3. 3. Three letters of recommendation. The letters of recommendation should come from persons familiar with the applicant's academic and/or employment experience. Letters of recommendation should address the capacity in which the recommender knows the applicant, the applicant's work ethic, ability to communicate orally or in writing, and moral character. Recommenders who are academics should address ability to do graduate-level work. If the student has been out of school for less than two years, at least one letter must come from an academic.
4. 4. A current resume.
5. 5. A 500-1,000 word typed personal statement of where they are in their life and career at the present time, where they want to be in five years, and how the MPA program will help them get there.
6. 6. Verification of lawful presence in the United States

When the portfolio is completed with each of the items listed above, the applicant's record will be reviewed by the Director of the MPA Program. The MPA Program Director will evaluate the portfolio using the following criteria:

• Undergraduate cumulative grade point average of 2.75 or higher
• GRE Verbal Reasoning score at the 48 percentile or higher
• GRE Quantitative Reasoning score at the 49 percentile or higher
• GRE Analytical Writing score at the 48 percentile or higher

If an applicant meets all these requirements, the MPA Program Director may admit the applicant as a regular student in the program. If an applicant does not meet any of these requirements, the MPA Program Director forwards the application and supporting documents to the MPA Admissions Committee that will evaluate the application and make a decision. The Admissions Committee may elect to admit a student as a probationary student. The Admissions Committee may impose conditions on students admitted in a probationary status. These conditions may include, but are not limited to, provisions that the student maintain at least a 'B' average on the first three courses taken in the MPA Program, or that the student take an undergraduate course in quantitative methods as a pre-requisite in order to remedy a deficiency in his or her performance on the quantitative subtest of the Graduate Record Examination. The Admissions Committee makes its decision and conveys it in writing to the MPA Program Director, who then contacts the applicant by letter to inform him or her of the decision. The MPA Program Director supervises the conditions of the probationary acceptance and monitors the student's progress. When each of the conditions has been satisfactorily addressed, the director notifies the student in writing of his or her change in status from probationary to regular acceptance.