pete-mc

Alf, congrats on getting in at GPPI. Which other schools are you waiting for now? I know you also applied to HKS like me.

May I ask why you didn't apply to HKS? (waltlaa9)

I can understand that a little bit. But it still does not make a lot of sense. It says on the MIT website, for example, that you can apply to the MPA program at HKS after enrolling in the 1st year of MIT MBA and if you get accepted at HKS you can pursue the joint degree in the 3 years. Same goes for HKS and other MBA or JD programs (see HKS website). Why would Harvard discriminate against applicants to their own graduate school if they accept other graduate school applications after enrolling at HKS? And what if someone discovers after enrolling at HBS or HKS that they actually would like to pursue the joint degree? It just does not seem to make sense to me that someone would be restricted by a school to pursue additional studies once they are academically fit and eligible to do so.

At this stage, it's speculative. The best is to apply to as many programs as possible; imagine that you would actually be interested and able to attend if admitted Then you can hopefully choose among the best program.

Do you mean with PolyU the CityU? It is correct that CUHK is prestigious but has a far less personal environment. Plus the campus is far away from the city center.

Do you know which program you will choose to attend? Is there a big difference in the stipends between the schools?

Send me a message and I'll be happy to put you in touch with someone who has a similar background like yours. Good luck!

Hi, would you mind sharing with us your profile / background info with regards to your HKS application?

Hi, would you mind sharing with us your profile / background info with regards to your HKS application? I'm also a MC/MPA applicant. Did you apply through Mason?

Last time I checked on the admission blog is that decisions will be communicated sometime in March. Would you mind sharing with us your profile / background info with regards to your HKS application?

Hi, would you mind sharing with us your profile / background info with regards to your HKS application?

Harvard alumni attest themselves that their degree only helps with the 1st job after graduation. What matters from there onwards is your performance and ability to network. I know top HBS/HLS/HKS graduates who did not at all end up with dream careers upon graduation because they simply don't have a CEO personality. But if you look at companies like GE, the kind of guys who make it to SVP level etc, are mainly people from state schools because they are the leader types. HBS says itself, they don't develop leaders, they train leaders / enhance their skills.

Can you please state where you read this info? Let's say I get admitted to HKS's MC/MPA (1-yr program), and I decide to apply also to HBS either prior to or after enrolling at HKS. Why would I be not allowed to do so?

There is also the issue of cost. I assume Princeton will be fully funding you. What about MIT? Check if you can transfer credit after finishing MIT's Master's to Princeton's PhD. If they accept, you could finish in the same time while getting both MIT and Princeton degrees. Also, there is a difference betwenn New Jersey and Massachussetts. Check out the campus, faculty, students, amenities, housing, leisure options etc. before making a decision. Princeton is Ivy League, MIT is not but considered Ivy League. Princeton has the world's tightest and best conncted alumni network, MIT less so.

I had the same experience with HKS (HBS is worse, they never reply to any inquiry). I sent an email to the director to follow up on my application status, but no reply. Does anyone have a suggestion what to do in those situations? Would it be seen as negative to escalate/push the issue? Or is it better to drop it?

I assume that you applied to HKS's MPP and SIPA's MIA programs? How many years of full-time (post-grad) work experience do you have? Looking at your profile, I think you are a good candidate for these schools. May I ask what's your nationality, do you have some minority background? How "bad" was your GRE quant score? You have a high undergrad GPA, and if it was in a technical discipline you can balance your GRE. I applied to the HKS's MC/MPA, have 10 years of work experience in local / municipal government of a major city.

Soapwater, what programs did you apply to? Heard anything from admissions so far? May I ask what's your background/profile?

The HKS admissions director just posted on his blog that they are still reading through applications. Does anyone know why HKS needs so much more time than HBS to make decisions? HBS has already sent out interview invites, while HKS is still going through files. HBS receives many more applications each year than HKS, yet HKS does not even conduct interviews and still needs until late March to notify candidates. Is it because it's policy program that it's slower and less efficient than b-school?

Does anyone know why Mason applicants for the MC/MPA program are exempt from the GMAT/GRE requirement and non-Mason applicants are not?

Does anyone from HKS admissions read this? I'd like to argue that some HBS or HLS students, without belittling their achievements, would not be admissable to HKS. For instance the MC/MPA program has very specific requirements which most HBS or HLS students would not even meet. I agree with cunninlynguist that prestige may only get you so far, but what matters in real life is delivering on the advance credit that you were given due to your degree. Do all HBS or HLS grads become CEOs or Supreme Court Justices? How many of current Fortune 500 CEOs have never gone to Harvard? Certainly the education and students are top-notch, but business/law are catering to different employers than policy schools. That's why we cannot draw conclusions from admissions to quality of school or degree. Would be nice to get someone "official" to throw in their 2 cents. Anyone got an update on the current admissions process? Or knows some valuable, current stats?

If you go to HKS's admissions blog, you will find a video where an MPP student - after being admitted and having enrolled at HKS - applied to Yale Law and was subsequently admitted. YLS's is the toughest law school to get into, so apparently being at HKS helped him to get in. A professor told me that once you're in, it's easier to get into another program since you've already proven to be Harvard material.

May I ask if you are at HKS's MPP program? How does HKS view HBS and vice versa? I've been following a blog where a current HKS student describes how HBS and HLS dislike HKS's grading, planning, and organization. Is there indeed such negativity between these schools? I've even read that it's been argued to spin off HKS from Harvard.

Does anyone know if it is easier to get into HBS's MBA program once you are at the Kennedy School's MC/MPA program? I've read stories where MPP students successfully got into the Harvard Law or Yale Law's JD program.

I applied to Insead and IMD, so European programs only, as they are 1 year. Do you have a source confirming the MC/MPA admissions rate? HKS does not conduct interviews, but I read that they do on occasion. Any ideas on that? How many people apply to the MC/MPA? They published some maps of countries represented, but no stats.

- Alf, how many years of work experience do you have? Did you take the GRE or GMAT? May I ask what score you got? A friend of mine applied to the MPP and from what I know they are obsessed with high test scores (unless you qualify as minority). - Revolution, do you know the % rate for MC/MPA and Mason admissions? Anything official? I applied also for MBA programs (not joint degree), but will choose which one to attend (MPA vs. MBA) after admissions.