Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Washington University in St. Louis
Previous Degrees and GPA's: BA in Architecture, 3.5 GPA
GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 650/750/4
Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 2.5 years, community redevelopment and microfinance
Math/Econ Background: 2 semesters each of Calculus and Statistics in high school (community college), no Econ
Foreign Language Background: not fluent in anything, but learning Haitian Creole
Intended Field of Study in Grad School: MPP- Policy Analysis or Urban Policy
Long Term Professional Goals: City Revitalization- govt consulting or think tank?
Schools Applied to & Results: Princeton, UC Berkeley: rejected, GSPIA, Michigan: accepted, no $ Harvard: accepted, 50% funded
Ultimate Decision & Why: Harvard, MPP in Urban Policy, Fellowship in State and Local Govt. Barring a full fellowship offer from Michigan that is still being decided, my choice is extremely obvious. Harvard values my experience, commitment to service, and research interests, and has lots of classes co-taught by HKS and GSD (Planning). I felt extremely welcomed by many students, faculty, and staff, and have received an email almost every day from the school. In contrast, Pittsburgh sent me some follow up emails, and Michigan, almost none.
Any advice to Future Applicants? I gotta admit, I find my results a little confusing, so I don't even know what advice to give. I had a strong narrative tying together all my experiences and how public policy school would enhance my ability to serve communities, which I delivered to all of my LORs so they could bring evidence to support that. Honestly, I felt pretty low pretty often throughout the application process, receiving all my rejections first. If I could take my own advice: Take the praise personally, and the lack of it, impersonally. Either a school gets you, or it doesn't.