pete-mc

Congrats! Now down to Sipa and Hks, right?

BA: Psychology/Behavioral Sciences (1993-1997) Clinical year, 1997-1998 MA: Management/Organizational Behavior (1998-2000) Public servant at city hall, 2000-present Applied to MC/MPA at HKS (exp. 2013-2014)

Same here. Which one's your top choice? SIPA vs. SAIS?

You're getting good with the acronyms, hehe. Just posted an update on HKS decisions (week of 15th).

Just sent you a PM

A friend who also applied told me that HKS decisions will be out in the week of the 15th this month. Good luck everyone!

Adollarninetynine, are you currently attending HKS? May I ask which program? If yes, then I'd like to ask you a few HKS related questions. I've applied to the MC/MPA progam as Mason fellow and am awaiting decisions.

Kadisha, may I ask which programs you've applied to? And which programs replied to you already?

May I ask which program you applied to at Harvard? I applied to HKS but have not heard of any admissions decisions being communicated so far.

Does anyone know if policy schools do background checks of admitted candidates? I read in another forum that MIT Sloan conducts them and some other business schools. Reason why I'm asking is because I am a Mason applicant, and if admitted, my program would start in July. Now that leaves me about 3 months to matricualte. And these checks usually last 4-6 weeks? Plus, if they want to verify ALL info on my CV, some of that stuff goes back 15-20 years. A recent employer did a background check on me but only went back as far as 5 years on my professional experience. Educational is easy since you simply need to provide a notarized diploma copy.

Do you mind sharing with us your background and which programs you applied to? I have a friend who is also from Singapore and went to the military before coming to college and grad school in the US. Is it true that you have to return to Singapore after graduation?

My advice would be to choose the school with the best overall reputation, especially since you are an international student. I visited SIPA multiple times and was able to compare it well with HKS. While Columbia has a good reputation globally, it is far from Harvard's. That would be my rationale in selecting the right program. If cost is an issue, and you get in at SIPA and GSPP (and not at HKS), I would recommend Berkeley. While NY as a location is amazing for international affairs, your curriculum will be very intense and not allow you much time to actually explore the amenities NY offers. Manhattan is also a very expensive place to live in, and I would discourage commuting. The good news is you already got in at GPPI, and Wagner I believe. You could now, if you wish, withdraw your LBJ application since it's last on your list anyway just to make the whole process more streamlined.

Just finished my fellowship apps, specifically those that do not require recommendations. Wanted to get this done already earlier, but kept procrastinating thinking whether I should do it or not, not knowing if I get admitted. Need to now court my recommenders to finalize the "big" apps. Glad that HKS at least does not require same deadline for that to come in. Good luck everyone else. PS: I basically re-processed my app essays into the required one page statement and modified them slightly.

Alf, could you kindly rank the schools you applied to and why you prefer one over the other? Maybe I can share some of my perspective to it as well.

Revolution, do you mind sharing with us your educational and professional background? Which business schools did you apply to and which replied to you already? With or without interview? Then I can try to give you my opinion. In terms of private sector placement, what I know is that consulting firms like McK etc. do recruit HKS grads and at SAIS you'd have a pretty good shot at WB/IMF/IFC due to the econ heavy course load. I have seen people who applied to a joint degree after entering a program, and either combined it with their current program or added it on after graduating. It would depend on your age, college degree, Gmat/Gre results (maybe you need to retake if not 700+), previous work experince, post graduation plans etc. whether an additioanl master's makes sense or not. What about a PhD? The financing is surely also an issue but if you are a US citizen I believe you have more access to public funding than international students. And you could come back for an Executive MBA or similar later. Why "waste" 4 years now (unless it would be a JD) if you can go out there and get experience and earn money.

I fully agree with you. It's an archaic relict in HKS admissions and they should really go with the flow. First, admissions decisions, then possble funding. I'm in the same situation as you. Trying to finalize my fellowship applications til the 28th February. Need to bug my recommenders again, at least we have til 8th March for that. I would ignore their message and apply to as many fellowships as you are eligible.

Have you already heard from Fletcher and GTown?

May I ask why you didn't apply at HKS?

Did you already hear sth from Wagner?

Do you mind sharing your background and experience with us? What programs did you apply to?

You got a full ride for Korbel? Sounds like a good deal. I guess you'll be going for that then? Any news from the other schools?

Very reasonable peace of advice, this is life experience.

Same here! Best is keep busy as if you didn't apply. Hopefully you get good news, but if not then at least it won't hurt so much since you are busy with other things.

Congrats! Which school are you attending?

For your info, I saw someone who got in at Wagner (deadhead47). Maybe you can follow up with him: I'm also still waiting to hear from HKS. I withdrew my other applications as I realized HKS is the only school I want to attend (I'm mid-career, so it's a bit different as I'm already more settled).