u/hearts_minds

I'm asking as someone who has an MPP, works in government as a data analyst, and is considering back for a JD in 2028 to work in impact litigation, administrative law, or direct services. I'm struggling with how to frame how the MPP would make me a stronger attorney in my application, so it would be helpful to hear any concrete stories about a time the skills/knowledge from the master's have served your work.

I've been drafting an email to a professor over the course of the past week. For context, I had the prof in grad school in (master of public policy, graduated in 2023) and also worked for her as a research assistant during grad school. I feel like I have an obligation to explain in my request why I'm making this career change and why I want to go back to school again instead of just using the degree I already have, and the answer is that I want to do work that has more of a concrete outcome than policy recommendations or data analyses, but I'm twisting myself in a knot trying to figure out the right way to phrase it in a way that doesn't make me sound conceited or like I can't figure out how to use my MPP in a way that's satisfying (even though the latter is in fact accurate).

tldr how did y'all explain the career change aspect in your requests? did it even come up?

I am working with licensed medical professionals to figure out ways to sleep better, and I am doing all of the obvious things (exercising every morning, very strict consistent sleep schedule, no caffeine after 10am, short walk and no screens an hour before bed, blackout curtains, etc.) - which is all to say I am NOT seeking suggestions for managing/dealing with my insomnia.

I am looking for tips from other folks who deal with insomnia on how to handle the symptoms while taking the test - i.e. the mind-wandering, the impaired judgement, the difficult retaining information. Also, if you have insomnia and just had to retake and hope for better sleep next time, that's also honestly probably helpful to hear. Or if you got accommodations? Also would be helpful to hear!

Thanks!