Onthepath

@Policygrad : Thanks :-) I found this very useful post by Chris Blattman - http://chrisblattman.com/2013/10/04/what-ma-mpa-or-mia-program-is-for-you/ I read it long before I started applying but when I read it this time around(post admission results), I almost immediately felt a wave of relief. This blog post is definitely going to play a huge role in my decision process.

@Gradstudies_IA : I am deciding between SIPA and Fletcher as well! Based on the forum input, the decision between the two school has been historically difficult (posts from 2009 onward, without any decisive end!) At the end of the day I guess it boils down to individual preference. I have full tuition offer from SIPA and this is HUGE for me (I also have 50% from Fletcher and I heard I can try for more). I am leaning towards SIPA also because of the brand Columbia. But, at the same time I also want to ensure that the school will help me reach my career interest. I would be grateful if someone can help me put to rest few of my concerns regarding SIPA. 1) Large class size/ high competition - How true is this? I heard of students finding it difficult to even get internship because of heavy competition and the class size is large. If you have any info on this please share. 2) Conditional scholarship for second year, meeting a 3.4 requirement. I have been out of college for 10 years. I don't mind slogging and giving up on campus life to reach this but I want to know how difficult is it for an average to slightly above average student to receive a 3.4. I know this depends on the student but I am from India and my universities never used the bell curve to fit our grades. So i want to know how doable is achieving a 3.4. 3) Unhealthy competition among students - I don't mind competition but I definitely do not want a negative competitive environment and I am 100% sure I do not want to spend the 2 years looking over my shoulders and thinking of out-smarting my classmates. How competitive is SIPA? 4) Career Services - I heard that UN jobs at SIPA are limited from a student at SAIS but on the other hand I hear about SIPA's close relationship with UN. I want to work in the interaction between education and health policy. any stat on this - the number of people who joined UN from SIPA vs from Fletcher??. Given above are the few points I am trying to clarify. I want to go to SIPA but at the same time Fletcher's culture is super ENTICING. This is killing me, I want to accept one school and open up the other offer/fund to other students.

Thank you for doing this David! I am deciding between the two schools and getting views from someone like you definitely boosts my confidence.

Thandiwine, I am 32 and in my part of the world that is little too old to start a grad program. I have put a few life events on hold to complete this grad program so a little disappointed at not being admitted to HKS :-)

Congrats to the admitted! I had spent countless hours re-reading the HKS blog and it did help me a lot while writing my essays(atleast the other schools liked it :-)).Also, David Kings posts clarified a lot of things for me with respect to admission process (as some one mentioned can we pin his posts for future candidates ????). PolicyGrad92, I feel you. HKS was a dream and I had spent countless hours on the application. But, I did learn a lot during the process. I was for a second thinking of re-applying but then given my age and what I want to do, I have decided to not let HKS be my "Goal". I have decided to move on and reach my long term goals by making the best out of schools that want me :-). This rejection from HKS has only given me that much needed push and brought me back to the reality of what i really want to do.