751 replies to this topic

[greendiplomat]

Did anybody apply for the MPA/ID at KSG? I applied with quant GRE of 710, Master's training in applied econometrics from the U.S. 3years of working experience with the ministry of agriculture in an african country,Internship with the Jeff Sach's team at the earth institute, Columbia.

I have taken grad level classes like:
Intro to econometrics,
applied econometric analysis,
advanced applied econometrics,
intro to mathematical statistics,
mathematics for economists,
consumption economics,
production economics,
economic policy for developing countries.
Biostatistics.
I have a second class upper bachelor's degree in agricultural economics from an african university. I have SIPA admission but I deferred it cus I wanted to try the MPA/ID.
Do I stand a chance or forget about it? tell me

I'm sure you'll be just fine. The MPA/ID program class seems to comprise of a good number of students from developing countries that intend to do work to help their home countries, whether directly via their respective governments of via international organizations, and you also seem to have the necessary quantitative experience. The only concern I would have is whether you demonstrated to the admissions committee that you even need the degree, given that you already have a master's degree in economics.

You can never guarantee these things, but I'm sure you stand a good chance.

[IdealThinker]

I am not an international student but I also recieved this email as well! Does anyone know if it is an indication of anything. I see in the MYFAID Section where they assign you a Financial Aid Counselor. I would think that it my be a little bias to ask you to submit such personal information then reject you. It could be possibly argued that you may be rejected based on "factors" other than merit? What makes me more nervous is if you read the information instructions in the Financial Email and the MyFAID site it sounds as if they talk to you as if you are already a student. I cant wait!

Yeah I know it makes you think that if they didn't like your application etc, why would they bother waste their time to find out your financial situation. But that said today I received another email reminder (not sure if anyone else did - if you have let me know) and on the bottom it says the following:

"Review of your financial aid status is done independent of the review of your application for admission and therefore receipt of this email should not be construed as suggesting the likelihood of any particular admission decision."


so basically, I think it's quite doubtful that if we got these emails, it means were going to get a place. Technically it's a 50% chance, it's a yes or no. lol.

[ccortes]

Yes, I got the same email today.

Yeah I know it makes you think that if they didn't like your application etc, why would they bother waste their time to find out your financial situation. But that said today I received another email reminder (not sure if anyone else did - if you have let me know) and on the bottom it says the following:

"Review of your financial aid status is done independent of the review of your application for admission and therefore receipt of this email should not be construed as suggesting the likelihood of any particular admission decision."

so basically, I think it's quite doubtful that if we got these emails, it means were going to get a place. Technically it's a 50% chance, it's a yes or no. lol.

[IdealThinker]

Yes, I got the same email today.

I think we're all in the same boat, and i'd imagine now that receiving these emails doesn't actually mean we have already got the place! Fingers crossed though for all of us.

[IdealThinker]

I do not think the first master's degree will be a problem because last year, 29% of their admits had graduate degrees.I just have W's (Withdrawn) on my transcript for medical reasons
which I learnt they do not like.However, I explained to them what happened to me in one of my essays. I am a Phd student in Pharmacy now,but I want a development program since it will be better for my career objective as a development practitioner in Africa(My home continent) than the science PHD.I didnt have a problem with SIPA , they admitted me but I think the MPA/ID will fit me better.

Has anyone heard anything?

[IdealThinker]

Harvard Admissions?

[greendiplomat]

Harvard Admissions?

Oh I thought you meant you were waiting to hear back from Vogue Magazine because the thread title made it SO unclear.

[laureate]

Hi guys,

I am so excited about the result. I keep thinking about it all day and night. When should we expect the results to be out? Last year, the deadline of application was first week of January. This year, it was one month earlier, the beginning of December. So, I actually expect results to come out sooner than last year. Also, did you all receive an email about financial aid this morning, on 22nd February? I am wondering if that means anything. The e-mail states that it means nothing, but you know people love to have hopes....

Good luck to every one.
Hopefully we'll all get in.
Fingers crossed.
Best

[UrbanWonk]

Anyone know if the folks reviewing fellowship/aid apps have access to our full application packet? Some of my essays might seem a bit redundant but the topics required by the prompts are rather similar...

The fact that they asked for another copy of the CV makes me hope not?

[SubjectNotebook]

Hi guys,

I am so excited about the result. I keep thinking about it all day and night. When should we expect the results to be out? Last year, the deadline of application was first week of January. This year, it was one month earlier, the beginning of December. So, I actually expect results to come out sooner than last year. Also, did you all receive an email about financial aid this morning, on 22nd February? I am wondering if that means anything. The e-mail states that it means nothing, but you know people love to have hopes....

Good luck to every one.
Hopefully we'll all get in.
Fingers crossed.
Best

Hey I got this e-mail this morning too.I was mighty excited, but sawthis: Review of your financial aid status is done independent of the review of your application for admission and therefore receipt of this email should not be construed as suggesting the likelihood of any particular admission decision.
I guess it is just a reminder :-)


I don't think the results will come out any earlier this year - I feel like HKS expected more applicants (or received many more than usual last year), and just set aside extra time.

[SubjectNotebook]

Hey I got this e-mail this morning too.I was mighty excited, but sawthis: Review of your financial aid status is done independent of the review of your application for admission and therefore receipt of this email should not be construed as suggesting the likelihood of any particular admission decision.
I guess it is just a reminder :-)

I don't think the results will come out any earlier this year - I feel like HKS expected more applicants (or received many more than usual last year), and just set aside extra time.

Anyone out there applying for multiple fellowships? Are your essays identical/similar?

[fso2k11]

I applied for two. My essays were very similar (and also similar with my statement of purpose, where I took a lot of the language). I spent about 2 hours total on 2 fellowship essays....maybe it showed, I have no idea. With well less than a 20% acceptance rate, it's not worth my time to pour myself into my fellowships if I don't even get in to the school. If I stressed about this, I would go crazy.

Anyone out there applying for multiple fellowships? Are your essays identical/similar?

[IdealThinker]

Hey all,
Yeah I got the same financial aid letter too. I called Harvard about three weeks ago just to make sure that they had received my financial aid statement, because that email got me slightly worried. Anyhow, the person I spoke too said that they had received everything and that the emails sent out is purely administrative - it goes out to everyone whose applied. So unfortunately, it really doesn't say anything about us receiving a place or not. As for the fellowships, my application was exactly the same to all the ones I applied too. I thought there was no point of making different ones, so I don't think its much too stress about as most of us have pretty much done the same. I assume former students did that too as it seems to make more sense. Anyhow, fingers crossed for everyone. I'd be so happy if at least one of us gets in!!! Good luck everyone. The deadline is drawing nearrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. You can actually feel it!

[greendiplomat]

Also, question about the fellowship applications.

Did people generally re-use the materials that they submitted in their original applications?

In particular, I just noticed that they ask for a resume (as opposed to a CV as they do in the admissions application). Did people reuse the same CV that they submitted, or do people think that they make the resume/CV distinction on purpose so that we submit more condensed ones for the fellowships?

Also, along similar lines, I used a relatively narrative style (at least in the beginning and end) in my statement in my admissions application, but did people retain the same general structures in their statements or did people write the shorter 1-page essays more in the style of a to-the-point no-frills cover letter?

[DCA-John]

I drew from the same base of materials but changed focus slightly, adjusted for length, etc...

I wouldn't overthink it at this point. Given the volume of applicants, I doubt they are extensively cross-referencing the applications against one another.

[smerd]

I'd also be surprised if they cross checked. I did a couple fellowship essays that were essentially the same. One of the prompts was specific and the other was broader but well-answered by the essay from the other prompt. My resume was a slightly updated version of what I sent in with my app. If I could offer one piece of solid advice to others, I'd recommend using a lot of awesome fonts like comic sans and wing dings, just to spice things up. (Not like I'm trying to weed out competition or anything...)

Edited by smerd, 24 February 2011 - 02:25 AM.

[SubjectNotebook]

My essays for fellowship apps are almost identical - like many of you I figured it wouldn't make any sense to write new things (I think it actually isn't right!). I only nuanced the ideas in the fellowship essays a bit to highlight the aspects relevant to each fellowship.


I didn't do much to my cv/resume - I updated it with some major changes and a new project I've started since Dec and removed some unnecessary elements. I saw the request for re-submission as something that comes from administrative convenience - I guessed it would be a pain for 2-3 fellowships to share the same CV copy with AdCom, and it is probably easier if separately submitted :-)

[Crumpets]

Does anyone know what time the fellowship applications are due?

[IdealThinker]

24 th feb is the deadline I think.

[fso2k11]

Did people exactly re-use their resume from the application? The MPP application required a salary history on your resume....did you include a salary history on your resume copy for fellowship applications too? I did not.