When searching for an online graduate program, several factors crossed my mind. Is it a “real” school; do they have a real campus with sports teams and dorms and academic buildings etc.? Do they have a real interest in academics or are they just a for profit money maker? What is the admissions process like? Will not taking the GRE or having less than a 3.0 undergraduate GPA hurt my chances? What are the classes like? And lastly, does the school see me as a person or just a number on a stat sheet?
I applied to several schools but all it took was one phone call from an admissions advisor at Anna Maria to make me realize this school was different. After spending literally an hour on the phone I realized at Anna Maria College I was viewed as a person and not just a “number”. That not taking the GRE and my less than 3.0 GPA may not hurt me because they actually got to know me, where I come from and where I’m going.
Anna Maria sees the value in students from all walks of life. You really get that sense of a small tight knit community (even as an online student living several states away) with so many people willing to help you from admissions, to financial aid, to your student services coordinator. They even handle your course registration for you as well as ordering your text books for you if you wish to use financial aid.
At Anna Maria they care about your future success and they care about making everything as easy and stress free as possible so you can focus on your classes. And yes, to answer one of my own questions from above, they are a real school, with a real athletic department, real dorms and academic buildings and they 100% care about academics and student success.
I can’t imagine myself earning my Master of Public Administration from anywhere else. Filling out an Anna Maria admissions application and answering that phone call were two of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The MPA program at Anna Maria is an in depth and challenging program that will be a great foundation for my future success. I chose the online program because of flexibility. I enjoying learning at my own pace and in my own way that helps me understand the material. The online MPA provides the flexibility to do both.
The online program consists of 8 week courses, each week having its own set of assignments due during/at the end of that week. The flexibility of the online program for me may mean completing all of my assignments in just a couple of days or if I am busy with other stuff in my life it means I can take the full week to complete them. The flexibility provided by the online program also means I can keep my current job without any interference because I don’t have to be stuck in a classroom during the week. Aside from lots of flexibility, the online MPA at Anna Maria also provides one of the best learning environments I have ever experienced in my academic career and as such I look forward to learning and growing with each class I take.
