Crumpets

Oh. Tricky. Maybe you should just call HBS and ask what the protocol is in situations like yours? (though think long and hard about that, I imagine they could revoke your offer if they think you are trying to hold two places simultaneously). I really don't know what to tell you to do. Good luck!

It's certainly not polite, and you are going to want to tell them you are not coming so they don't start charging you tuition. You'll lose the deposit for sure. Other than that, I don't know, but I can't think of what other ramifications there would be except this: if you are planning on going into academia, you may not be so well looked upon by Harvard for turning down their offer. I think you can mitigate any consequences by giving a legit reason for the change. If you got a big scholarship somewhere else, you can be gracious and tell HKS that ultimately it ended up being a less financially viable option (or whatever the reason is).

I actually got a scholarship at HKS (one of the essay-based ones) I was totally shocked, but that made my decision super easy: Cambridge here I come!

I am so not getting into a prestige argument with you about what a "real university" is. I hope that you are less obnoxious in person than you are online, because your online persona does not bode well for success in real life.

Did either of them give you funding? Also, check the course listings and see which one has more courses in your area of interest ( I also got into both programs, but I ended up deciding to get a Public Policy degree instead). Also, what do you want to do after grad school? Talking to the career offices in both places might really help. I was impressed by CCT when I went there, and NYU was really my back up plan, so I would have chosen CCT over NYU, but that's kind of arbitrary, and was also driven by the amount of funding I got from CCT.. They are both great schools.

OK, Thanks! I just turned down everywhere else, so I was getting nervous!

Right, it just said "thank you for submitting your form," right? Nothing like "thank you for enrolling," or anything that would imply I accepted rather than turned them down??

Siiigh, this probably does not warrant a response, but, I'm sorry that you had such a poor University experience that you found professors gave no added value over text books. All I was trying to say is that no school is going to be perfect all the time, and during all of those less-than perfect times (including outside the classroom), the original poster might not want to be beating herself up about all that debt for something that is not always going to be wonderful.

Did anyone here accept an offer from HKS? Did you get any confirmation other than a generic "form submitted" e-mail?

I'm in a great position in that I got a scholarship for HKS, but before I knew that HKS was going to be financially viable, I wasn't even considering going. There are connections to be made anywhere, and you are right that with an MPP degree, it will take a loooong time to pay off the debt. If you go into all that debt, think about how annoyed you will be every time you have a mediocre professor (which I am sure there are at HKS just like everywhere else) or when you have to miss out on an event.

Check if you can do an online course or something that will be more flexible and allow you to travel!

Does anyone know what time the fellowship applications are due?

I think single. Does anyone know if everyone is asked to submit a scholarship statement?

I sent proof of admission to a university to the relevant regional director at IEE. If your regional director is as helpful as mine, shooting him/her an e-mail would be illuminating, and s/he can forward any info to the Sri Lankan comission.

Found the e-mail address. Do you think he meant there are 600 finalists?? That seems impossible!