Kaneisha

@bktz, k_angie provided a great structure for the essay. I also offer these guiding questions to help you make sure you are fully addressing the prompt—that is, going beyond the superficial question they've asked and answering what I think of as the "questions behind the question." Questions/Suggestions to help you fully answer the JHU-SAIS issue essay: Choose an issue that is more specific than general. It's a lot easier to write a meaningful essay about street children in Accra than say child labor globally. Why does this issue matter to you? (Is it a personal interest? Have you been directly affected by it? Do you feel your particular skills, talents, and experience would be especially helpful in this area?) What have you done so far, if anything, to help address the issue? (And yes, making a concerted effort to learn more about the issue or helping raise awareness about the issue counts as "doing something.") What are some of the existing solutions to this problem and what do you think should/could be done to address it? (Keep this part short.) I hope you found this helpful! Kaneisha

Hi Burmese, If you are looking for a straightforward answer, I offer this: Apply to SIPA. You don't have to go, and as MPPGal always reminds us, it's a very low marginal amount of extra time and effort (and the application fee). I think you would keep questioning yourself and wondering, "What if?" if you didn't apply to SIPA. If you have the time and energy, go for it. Also - consider LBJ at UT Austin. I am biased though as an Austin native. Kaneisha

Hi Burmese, I'm an HKS alum, but I personally have nothing negative to say about SIPA. I think it would be extremely valuable for you to speak to two SIPA alumni about their experiences—and not just any alumni—alumni who have a similar background as you or who are now working in a field that you want to work in. It may sound wacky to reach out to a current student, but believe me, although these students are very busy, they are very open and enthusiastic to speak to prospective students. Often schools even have ambassadors set aside for this very reason. Here is the link to SIPA's Admissions Ambassador Program: https://new.sipa.columbia.edu/alumni/get-involved/admissions-ambassador-program You don't have to be afraid to reach out to speak to these people. These are students who have voluntarily signed up for this because they want to help other applicants. When I was applying to HKS, I even asked the admissions office to help me find someone I could stay with when I visited—and they did! While keeping the conversation positive and diplomatic, ask the person (the admissions ambassador) about his/her experiences. Don't frantically tell him/her all the bad things you've heard. Just ask specific questions about the things you want to know and then really listen. Even though I'm an alum and I've made admissions advising my profession, nothing beats speaking to a few current students and getting the real deal on a school. I hope you found that helpful, and I would love to hear from others if they have reached out to ambassadors at different schools. Best of luck! Kaneisha in response to the following:

@NPRJunkie: I just had to LOL at "What's SAIS? Is that the new gluten-free restaurant on 14th?" Reminds me of the times when I told people where I went to college, and they were like, "Yeah...Pomona...That's a women's college right?"

Yhakak, I know you were just kidding in your prior post, but I just had to jump in and say this for the benefit of everyone working on their essays for other schools: Do not, do not, DO NOT begin your statement of purpose with a quote from someone else, a book, poem, etc. In fact, I would advise that you stay away from quotes period. I've always taken the epigraphs/introductory quotes out of my clients' essays because it wastes valuable word count. However, HKS Admissions has now clearly stated that it's a no no: http://hksadmissionblog.tumblr.com/post/64653575729/essay-notes-post-7 Use your own words to dazzle the AdCom. Don't make them roll their eyes as soon as they pick up your essay. Happy writing!

Hi JustSomeGuy75! I made some quick remarks and suggestions in bold below. Best of luck on your applications! Kaneisha

Jorexer: That is awesome! I'm happy for you! Time to get those applications in! MAAHF: My answers to your questions are below in bold. Best of luck, everyone!

To MAAHF MPA2 Hopeful: I think the primary challenge with your application (as you already know) is your GRE scores. With outstanding essays and stellar recommendations, you have a chance at getting into the HKS MPA2. Some strengths of your application is that you did well in college and your postgraduate work and it sounds like your CV will be chock full of great public service-centered content. Despite these strengths, you would have a much better chance if you would wait until next year, knock the GRE out of the park (or get at least a score in the high 150's on each part), and make sure your essays are airtight. I typically advise my clients to wait to submit a top-notch application rather than rush and submit a so-so one. I do think that the hurdle is higher for admissions to HKS and other top policy schools as an applicant. If you are absolutely sure you are applying this year, make sure your essays provide lots of specific detail on your plans for the future and how HKS fits into those plans (classes, research centers, student organizations, etc.). Best of luck and I hope you can shake the heebie jeebies! Kaneisha

Hi DreamTeam, It does sound a little like you're overthinking it. It's hard to advise you on what topic to write about without more details regarding what you currently do in your role. Perhaps seeing some policy memos will help? Here are a few links I found on the internet that I think will be helpful in writing your memo once you decide what to write about: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/var/ezp_site/storage/fckeditor/file/pdfs/degree-programs/registrar/sample-policy-memo.pdf Great quick guide on how to write a policy memo: http://www.mm.cs.sunysb.edu/300/lectures/HOW_TO_WRITE_A_POLICY_MEMO.pdf Great tips on writing a policy memo from Maxwell school: http://wilcoxen.maxwell.insightworks.com/pages/275.html.. Best of luck! That memo can be a pain... Kaneisha

Hey TBCTT, Bad grades on your transcript totally suck. I got a C the semester right before I was applying to Harvard, and I remember crying when I got my grades! But it turned out fine. See my response below to your question. Yes, that would be a great thing to do. Just know that retaking classes after you have graduated does not retroactively increase or change your undergraduate GPA. You can also address these blemishes on your transcript in an optional essay if the school gives you the option to write one. In the optional essay, you'll want to do the following: point out the problem (don't worry about drawing their attention to it; they are going to notice it) state why the problem happened share what you learned from the experience share what resources / support systems / action plans you've put in place so that if you encounter a similar challenge it won't have the same negative impact on your grades end on an upbeat, enthusiastic, positive note Best of luck with your application! Kaneisha

There is no reason to report both scores. Your GRE score is higher, so report that one. Best of luck!

@JustSomeGuy75, NPRjunkie gave a really thoughtful and candid reply that I mostly agree with. The only part where I'd disagree is that I would strongly recommend you wait to apply next year when you're able to get your GRE score up and get some more solid work experience. Of course your application will be throughly and thoughtfully considered by the AdCom if you end up reapplying, but it's a "higher hurdle" to overcome the second time around. When working with my clients, it is much easier to help someone get in with a few problem areas in their application if they are applying for the first time than it is when they are reapplying. But it has happened and turned out well for some people—so perhaps it's worth the risk. Let us know what you decide to do!

The general guideline is that they mean postgraduate (after college) full-time work experience.

They ask for the salary not so that they can figure out who has money to pay and who doesn't or anything like that. It helps them understand your career progression and also provides context for the kind of organization you are working for. For example, it would be very interesting/notable to them to see that you got a $10,000 raise from one job to another or that you took a pay cut to take a certain position. Don't draw the conclusion that more money = better or the other way around. It's for contextual purposes.

Hi Whiterose, You should submit your GRE score for two reasons: 1) Your quant. score is higher than your verbal in this case (versus the other way around with your GMAT). And like you said, HKS will likely be more lenient about a less than amazing Verbal score since you are a non-native speaker. 2) Even if you convert your GRE score to the GMAT (using the official score comparison tool: http://www.ets.org/gre/institutions/about/mba/comparison_tool) your GRE score would still come out higher. Best of luck! Kaneisha

My reply to Jorexer: (my responses in bold) Please bear with me. I'm new to the "quote" system.

Hello everyone! I wanted to pop in and introduce myself. I am not 100% familiar with the etiquette of GradCafe so please excuse me if this is not the place for my message. I'm Kaneisha Grayson, a 2010 HBS/HKS MBA/MPA grad. In 2010, I wrote a business plan to start an admissions consulting firm called The Art of Applying for MPA/MPP/MBA applicants and received a $10k fellowship from HBS' Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship to start my business. Since then, I've worked 1-on-1 with 50+ applicants from around the world to get into top business and policy schools—and I have hundreds of applicants on my free mailing list who receive my applications tips each week. I spend most of my time answering questions over at Beat the GMAT and realize that there are hundreds of you over here at GradCafe who have no idea that me or my company exists. So...hello! Also - I'm hosting a free hour-long "ask me anything" webinar on Sunday, November 24 from 1:30 - 2:30 pm CST for MPP / MPA / MPA/ID / MPA/MC applicants and I wanted to make sure all of you knew about it. Here's a link to learn more about it: http://theartofapplying.com/mpp-applicant-ask-anything-webinar/ (If you are reading this post after the webinar has ended, it's likely that this page will no longer be live.) I'll try and pop back in here periodically to offer advice as well and be an active, contributing part of the community. I remember when I applied back in 2005 that I had NO ONE to talk to about it so I know how important forums like GradCafe are in keeping up your spirits and keeping your sanity! Thank you! Kaneisha Harvard MBA & MPA Founder, The Art of Applying http://theartofapplying.com

Hi everyone! For those of you who are done with the MPP/MPA application process and are just hanging around to answer folks' questions, congrats to you! Get ready for a wild ride. For those of you who are just getting started with the application process, I wanted to introduce myself and let you know about a course I created that I think you'll find helpful. I'm a 2010 graduate of Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School. While I was in grad school, I realized I really wanted to work for myself as both a writer and teacher. I wrote a business plan for that, received some funding upon graduation, and was off on my adventure! For the past three years, I've worked full-time as an independent admissions consultant. I've worked 1-on-1 with dozens of clients from around the world on their applications to MPA, MPP, and MBA programs. My first batch of clients have now graduated and are out in the world doing great work and pursuing their dreams. I've created a course that combines the best advice from my work with applicants to HKS. It has a cheeky title, "Hacking Harvard Kennedy School," but there's nothing cheeky or sneaky about it. My results with working with HKS applicants are stellar, and several of my clients have received full fellowships from the school. (I myself was a fellow but not on a full ride). You can learn more about me at http://kaneisha.com and specifically about the Hacking Harvard Kennedy School course here. The first 60+ minutes of the course are free and packed with useful information so even if you aren't interested in buying the course, there is still much to be learned in the free portion! I wish you all the best of luck in pursuing admission to HKS and other dream schools. Warm regards, Kaneisha

Hey Spark! Yes, I did do some love coaching and wrote a book that I'm very proud related to the topic. However, I am definitely still coaching for HKS and had great success with my clients this season. Stop by my website and say hi!

Congratulations to everyone who was admitted!!! Also - I think it is AWESOME that official HKS folks are now in this thread (not me; I'm a 2010 HKS alum and admissions consultant). Hopefully, they will be able to answer you guys' questions from the official point of view. I'm here to provide insight as a 2010 MBA/MPA Harvard joint degree alum (who received a HKS fellowship) and an experienced admissions consultant. I wanted to reach out to those of you who applied to HKS and were not admitted to see if you might be interested in having me review your applications and give feedback on where I think things went wrong. I'm updating a course on applying to HKS that I created, and want to include (anonymous) live case studies showing do's and don'ts. If you'd like to get some insight from someone who has done this for three years, has several clients who have been admitted with full rides, and has several HKS admits this season (including a reapplicant), please see this post and respond by 4/1 if possible: http://kaneisha.com/free-essay-and-resume-editing/ It's not guaranteed that I'll be able to get to everyone's materials that I receive, but I'd love to help provide some insight into your application as well as have some live examples to make my HKS Video Series that much more useful. Regards, Kaneisha

You make a good point about the frustration of turning in your application fairly early only to hear back around the same time. My guess is that HKS gets inundated with more applications than many of the other schools (I may be wrong about that) AND that they are trying to sync up their timing well with HBS because of the relatively new HBS-HKS integrated joint degree (perhaps they know who they are going to admit a bit earlier than applicants are notified). That's just a random guess though. Maybe it's just to be fancy and complicated!

Nothing wrong with withdrawing from schools if you KNOW you aren't going to really go there. I think you made a wise decision and gave yourself some good karma. Leaves room at those schools for someone who really wants to go there. My MC/MPA clients have already heard back (admitted!). I hope that you got great news as well (but if not, like you said, you have a great job, so it sounds like you win either way).

I know I'm super-late and you all have already applied. I just want to weigh in and say that I think it's awesome that you all are collaborating and helping each other with your essays. I hope that you were all successful in gaining admission to your target schools!

The information is a little outdated, but I blogged about the HKS acceptance rate and haven't been vehemently corrected by the school or anyone else (yet): http://kaneisha.com/admissions-statistics-for-harvard-kennedy-school-hks-ksg-mpp-mpa/