AUSAJAG

NO deadlines on decisions given.

Your criticism of my post is unfounded. First, you'll note I said HKS is not worth sticker. That should alleviate any fears you have about my perspective causing some poor soul to mortgage his future just to go to Harvard. Second, your criticisms either misrepresent my point or are unpersuasive. 
 
Michael Jordan is routinely believed to be the best basketball player ever. There have been more prolific scorers (i.e., Wilt, Kobe, Kareem), better rebounders (Rodman, Howard, Olajuwon), more efficient players (Lebron, Duncan). Still most people who follow the game believe Jordan is the best and it isn't even close. It is because he didn't have any weaknesses. There were no downsides to his game. Conceding for a moment that WWS, GSPP, Maxwell and others do somethings better than HKS does not even remotely undermine my argument that HKS is the best public policy school overall.
 
I gave four reasons (not exhaustive) for why I thought it was the best school. You've attacked each one. I'll briefly reaffirm my perspective and go deeper into why I believe each point. 
 
First, you might as well concede that the alumni network at HKS outpaces the alumni network at other schools. I think most reasonable people would concede this point. This is not to say that other schools do not have strong alumni bases in particular area. But top to bottom, HKS alum are influencing policy on every level in every industry imaginable in every region imaginable. This is not hyperbole, this is fact. Not only is the alumni base deep and powerful, they are also actively helping grads secure positions and move up the chain. So the alumni network is useful. As a practical matter, there are more HKS grads than just about any other school further creating the powerful alumni association.
 
Second, I think reasonable people can disagree on quality of faculty. I encourage all applicants to do their research and compare the strength of faculty at their respective schools. Certainly, one should not choose HKS because of their overall strong faculty if the student has a strong interest in a particular area where another school might be a better match. I simply commented on why when HKS is placed against the field, I believe it is a better policy school. Each applicant must be nuanced and make the appropriate decision for their specific interests. Debating the quality of faculty would take up a tremendous amount of time - so I'll just say it - other schools have great faculties too. I'll just clarify to say that HKS' faculty is pretty strong in just about every area relevant to contemporary issues.
 
Third, I did not insult anyone who works hard to get where they are. I was not, in my third point, referring only to students who were ADMITTED to Kennedy, but to the students who applied. What makes Kennedy so great is not the group of amazing students who got in. I believe that if you look at kids at the other top IR schools or public policy schools, they are basically interchangeable with HKS kids (though the HKS kids might have marginally better academic preparation). What strikes me is that so many kids with the potential to change the world in public policy applied to Kennedy and want to be a part of that community (Whether they have a realistic shot to actually get in or not). That's what I mean by saying it attracts the kids with the most potential.
 
Fourth, someone could get their Harvard name by going to the extension school.  And I bet lay people are impressed when the extension kids tell them they went to Harvard further proving my point. I would point out, however, that you used a straw man because I never said HKS was worth 120k much less that much for the extention school. Still, no one can deny the appeal of the Harvard brand.
 
I hope this clears up your concerns with my post.

Not comparing the schools but the Harvard name applies to both. Each could help someone with their career if the circumstances were right.
 
WWS yes but the selectivity of HKS has been debated ad nauseum so I'm not getting into that again. I just wanted to rid of the misconception that its good to go to Harvard with $120k bill despite because 1) its Harvard and 2) the brilliance of being selected by a school thats selective over a program like Elliott with a great aid package. Its insanity. 

1. Alumni network at other schools are just as strong, it really depends on the area you want to focus on. You want to work in domestic issues in the US, then yeah, I would say HKS has a strong alumni. But if you want to work on international issues, Fletcher, SFS, SAIS are all better/just as good.
 
2. The faculty is impressive. You know where else its impressive? Every top policy school in the country!
 
3. This is a complete insult to everyone else who has worked hard to get to whatever school they're at now.
 
4. You get the Harvard name on your resume through the extension school too. Perhaps people should spend $$$ on that too.

What are you talking about? You criticize HKS and then commend it as the best policy school around. It IS NOT the best policy school around. WWS, Maxwell, Georgetown, Duke, GSPP are all very good schools and in some areas better then Harvard. The only thing Harvard has that has no close second, is name recognition. There's a difference between what you're saying and the actual truth.
 
There is SO much disservice being done to future applicants. I loved reading through these forums at the beginning of my application cycle and a lot of it was absolutely crucial in my decisions. I would hate some applicant to read this and then mortgage their immediate future for a name, Its irresponsible to write stuff like this.

Your criticism of my post is unfounded. First, you'll note I said HKS is not worth sticker. That should alleviate any fears you have about my perspective causing some poor soul to mortgage his future just to go to Harvard. Second, your criticisms either misrepresent my point or are unpersuasive. 
 
Michael Jordan is routinely believed to be the best basketball player ever. There have been more prolific scorers (i.e., Wilt, Kobe, Kareem), better rebounders (Rodman, Howard, Olajuwon), more efficient players (Lebron, Duncan). Still most people who follow the game believe Jordan is the best and it isn't even close. It is because he didn't have any weaknesses. There were no downsides to his game. Conceding for a moment that WWS, GSPP, Maxwell and others do somethings better than HKS does not even remotely undermine my argument that HKS is the best public policy school overall.
 
I gave four reasons (not exhaustive) for why I thought it was the best school. You've attacked each one. I'll briefly reaffirm my perspective and go deeper into why I believe each point. 
 
First, you might as well concede that the alumni network at HKS outpaces the alumni network at other schools. I think most reasonable people would concede this point. This is not to say that other schools do not have strong alumni bases in particular area. But top to bottom, HKS alum are influencing policy on every level in every industry imaginable in every region imaginable. This is not hyperbole, this is fact. Not only is the alumni base deep and powerful, they are also actively helping grads secure positions and move up the chain. So the alumni network is useful. As a practical matter, there are more HKS grads than just about any other school further creating the powerful alumni association.
 
Second, I think reasonable people can disagree on quality of faculty. I encourage all applicants to do their research and compare the strength of faculty at their respective schools. Certainly, one should not choose HKS because of their overall strong faculty if the student has a strong interest in a particular area where another school might be a better match. I simply commented on why when HKS is placed against the field, I believe it is a better policy school. Each applicant must be nuanced and make the appropriate decision for their specific interests. Debating the quality of faculty would take up a tremendous amount of time - so I'll just say it - other schools have great faculties too. I'll just clarify to say that HKS' faculty is pretty strong in just about every area relevant to contemporary issues.
 
Third, I did not insult anyone who works hard to get where they are. I was not, in my third point, referring only to students who were ADMITTED to Kennedy, but to the students who applied. What makes Kennedy so great is not the group of amazing students who got in. I believe that if you look at kids at the other top IR schools or public policy schools, they are basically interchangeable with HKS kids (though the HKS kids might have marginally better academic preparation). What strikes me is that so many kids with the potential to change the world in public policy applied to Kennedy and want to be a part of that community (Whether they have a realistic shot to actually get in or not). That's what I mean by saying it attracts the kids with the most potential.
 
Fourth, someone could get their Harvard name by going to the extension school.  And I bet lay people are impressed when the extension kids tell them they went to Harvard further proving my point. I would point out, however, that you used a straw man because I never said HKS was worth 120k much less that much for the extention school. Still, no one can deny the appeal of the Harvard brand.
 
I hope this clears up your concerns with my post.

1. I think Harvard name goes a reasonably long way. If you are an international student, particularly a rich one and connected, going to HKS is probably the easiest way to get bonafides to start governing. It really opens up doors. People who can afford to pay sticker without it adversely impacting their financial position are wise to get Harvard on their resume.
 
2. I think that taking classes at other schools is a good opportunity, but not particularly helpful in the final analysis. No one is going to mistake a HKS kid for a HBS kid because the HKS kid took a couple business courses.
 
3. True, but it is still not worth sticker. It takes forever to pay off 100k.
 
That said, to me, HKS is far and away the best public policy school in the world. There's no close second. It is just, the jobs that you can get coming out are not the biglaw or Wall Street jobs that pay well into six figures starting. Makes it hard to justify especially if you have undergrad debt, wife, kids . . .