PeterQuince

I'm selectively quoting, but I wanted to give Goldman props for the focus on race/social justice/and inequality at the admitted students day you describe. That's great and we need more policy schools to be talking this. There are a lot of phenomenal people at HKS who care about these issues, but not enough. I think that if you care about these issues we would be enriched by your attendance at HKS, but at the expense of your own experience if HKS isn't ultimately the right school for you. Best of luck to everyone making decisions and congratulations again.

Hello and congratulations on reaching the decision-making stage. I am an MPP1 at HKS, and probably saw some of you around the school on Thursday and Friday. It was great to meet those of you with whom I was able to speak. As a current student, I thought it could be helpful to offer some responses to some common themes on this thread (albeit speaking only for myself). I'm happy to respond to very specific questions over a private message or on the New Admit student boards under my real name. Additional disclosure: I am not a student of color but am active in diversity issues on campus and was also in attendance at the Diversity Reception in a semi-official non-speaking capacity. Maybe we met! I was not wildly enthusiastic about HKS following my own admitted students day, but that actually helped make the decision to attend easier because I knew I wasn't responding to emotion or sentiment alone. I was stressed about making the right decision, as was, I suspect, everyone else, which made the day less-than-enjoyable in some respects. The same was probably true this year. I am confident I made the right choice to attend, and I hope this post is useful. The first year core is a work in progress, but is generally better every year with thoughtful, incremental improvements, driven in part by student advocacy. As someone who came to HKS from a social justice background, I have often found the holes in the curriculum to be personally challenging. What's worth remembering is the purpose of the core is primarily the instruction of skills -- how to think, rather than what to think -- and that the flexibility and freedom of the second year provides ample opportunity to take classes at HKS and across Harvard that harness those skills for just purposes. The larger challenge, I think, is less about the instruction in the core for people already wired to think about issues of systemic oppression, etc., and more for the students who have had the exposure to discussions of those topics. Certain classes are moving in that direction and it is a work in progress with a lot of thoughtful people engaged. With respect to rigor, it's difficult to do very poorly here (although some people do struggle) and courses are graded on a curve, but ultimately your education here or at any professional graduate school program your learning matters more than your grades. Even if you you want to be a consultant or a PhD, your learning still matters more. Saying "grades don't matter" is silly and reduces the meaning of hard effort, but at the same time whether you earn a B+ or an A- in any given course doesn't actually matter very much, and that's probably the way it should be. Building on that point, learning happens inside and out of the classroom here in what I have found to be an incredibly dynamic environment. It's up to you to decide where and how you will learn the most during your two years at HKS. What I value about this school is the breadth and depth of the experiences people bring, and I have sought out opportunities to learn from the experiences of my peers. HKS is a generalist school in that it prepares people to conduct economic analysis for the IMF or to manage municipal transit systems, and everything in between. Between topical study groups with experts, lectures, panels, student-run journals, student-run conferences, research and practice based at the various centers, affinity and social groups (and coursework), HKS can be a bit of a carnival and it's up to each student to seek out opportunities, but professors and staff are excited to work with students and there is surprisingly easy access to funding for student initiatives. I see all of this as a strength and a key contributor to the vitality of the school, but if you're looking for a more intimate or narrowly-focused program there may be better options. If you're lucky enough to have options, go to the school that is the best match for what you want to do and how you need to learn. Finally, graduate school is expensive, and only you can decide if it's the right choice to make to attend now, in the future, or not at all. I can say that my graduating friends are getting jobs and getting jobs they're excited about with the opportunity to make a difference. As an "older" MPP with a substantial scholarship and a working spouse I'll be able to graduate without debt (just nonexistent savings), but that's not necessarily everyone's experience and I don't know if I would have felt comfortable attending HKS without the grant-based financial support. That said, I am incredibly glad that I am here.

I'm not in your field and not in the Triangle, so take this for whatever it's worth... I would definitely look for job postings at Duke, NC State, and UNC. You may be able to find work as a research assistant given your language training. If you studied any econ or math that might open more opportunities. Maybe you could see if there are faculty at one of the law schools with an international focus hiring researchers? Your ability to find meaningful work (or any work) will likely depend on which professors have flexible grants they don't need to allocate to doctoral students, but it's certainly worth a shot -- even for half-time work -- especially because you might be able to (a) make connections with faculty members outside of your alma mater who can serve as advisors, mentors, or connectors, (b) gain additional experience while staying close to family, and (c) take graduate-level courses in French or any relevant academic discipline as a non-matriculated special student, which could be especially useful if the university covers tuition for part-time students and/or you can leverage your state residency at UNC or NC State.

Not receiving funding (or what you believe to be adequate funding) can certainly feel like a rejection, but it's not at all tantamount to an actual rejection nor is it necessarily commentary on your candidacy. Generous need-based scholarships can make the difference between attending and not attending, and merit-based scholarships certainly signify to you that the school is interested in you and to others that you have some academic or professional credibility, but not receiving either for a terminal master's degree does not mean much about your overall worth as a degree candidate or a professional in the field. Sizable merit scholarships are few and far between and most programs don't have the resources to offer generous merit or need-based aid beyond federal loans and work study packages. If you're accepted to a good quality program that is a solid match for your long-term career goals, that is the right confirmation. Whether you decide it is affordable or not based on the aid they offer is at that point your decision. But the non-need-based aid offered can still be so separate from any general consideration of merit that it's worth celebrating if you get funding but not questioning your worth if you don't. I echo MaxwellAlum: people won't make you feel inferior because you're not funded. Most people don't know who is funded or to what level. The only indicators are if a school publicizes those with named awards or who else you see at your mandatory loan meetings. Personal example: I applied to three MPA/MPP programs. My top choice offered me a ~75% tuition scholarship based on a fluke (I could check a box and they had an award for someone who could check that box; it wasn't merit-based and I would not have received any other aid besides the opportunity to take out loans). My second choice offered me full tuition, with the possibility of a stipend and health insurance if I ever served as a TA (others received the stipend and health insurance outright). My third choice -- by far the least competitive -- offered me nothing but loans. It felt good to get into all of them, aid or not.

How interested are you in staying in California -- both for school and long-term -- and how set are you on an MPP/MPA versus a policy-focused master's degree from a school of education? I'm from the other coast but have been hearing a lot of good things about UC-Irvine over the past 4-5 years (education, rather than public polic side of things), although that might be on the basis of their PhD program rather than master's degree-granting programs.

You could also look at some of the programs at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. There is no requirement for quantitative rigor, but the courses are there, both at the Ed School and at other professional schools at Harvard. My understanding is that funding for international students is weak, but as the program is only one year long that in and of itself is a 50% reduction in cost.

There are a few reasons why this might not be an appealing choice, but I would strongly encourage you to consider the Ford School at the University of Michigan. Their merit-based financial aid is excellent and entirely uncomplicated (and generous!). Inasmuch as all Universities are relatively closed and decentralized, Michigan is surprisingly open and actively encourages faculty and graduate student collaboration. Michigan has a well-regarded school of education practically on the same city block as the policy school, making cross-registering for classes that much easier. The MPP program (probably the best fit for you) is on the smaller side, which has benefits and disadvantages. Many faculty members there who focus on education are primarily economists, which is a huge plus if you're looking to develop analytical skills within a social policy or education framework, but one of my concerns as a fellow education-focused public affairs student was that there might not be as broad an offering of management training relevant for the social sector (as opposed to government work or nonprofit organizations more generically). [Edit: I also don't know how transferable the education focus at Michigan will be to a UK context, so that too is worth some research]. I may need to check with some of my British classmates before recommending my program, which was incredibly generous toward me with respect to funding but was not so to all American students. No clue what finances are like for British students other than the few who secure named fellowships by competitive application.

This would only be for informational purposes, but you could consider calling up the financial aid office of a school similar to your top school(s) but not one you plan to apply to, and ask them. It's not in any way a guarantee, but it might give you a sense of how the financial aid offices think about situations such as yours. There may also be different requirements for different public institutions in different states, so if you're thinking about Indiana or Michigan or Berkeley or Maryland (etc., etc., etc.) just know that their hands may be tied more tightly (although I can't give you a good reason for why I think this could be a concern).

Hi Pt.r. I don't know much about WWS, but at HKS students in the MPP program don't elect concentrations until their second year, which allows some time to consult with faculty, staff, and fellow students. I think it is understood that several students attend professional graduate schools looking to change focus. A committee may become concerned if your entire work experience is in transportation policy and you post-grad school goal is to move to a country whose language you do not speak and advise governmental leaders on health care (extreme example), but the value of some of these programs (especially generalist schools) is that you gain substantial skills and contextual knowledge at the same time. HKS MPP concentrations specify a minimum number of required credits across a varying number of distributions, along with a policy analysis exercise in that specific field. The categories are broad and the requirements can be fulfilled multiple different, creative ways. While you cannot write two PAEs, you could accumulate the credits that would otherwise qualify you for more than one concentration, and substantial opportunities for relevant learning happen outside the classroom (serving as a teaching fellow, serving as a research assistant, participating in a semester-long expert-led study group, leading certain policy-area student groups, etc.). At least for HKS I wouldn't stress too much about the concentrations, but do make sure that they sound appealing. Example: if what you're really interested in is public policy and information management, or public-private partnerships for real estate development, you might find other programs elsewhere have stronger and more numerous course offerings. If the concentrations sound interesting and like you could find a viable home within them, that's great. Don't just check out the concentrations, though, since it's largely self-directed: actually review the course offerings. That, too, may be instructive.

Hi vendettapolitics. Reading your original post, I am curious to know why you want to pursue a public policy degree (not necessarily at Harvard, just in general), and what you hope to do with it. Articulating this vision might be helpful for your own sense of purpose also for the application committee that will read your file. You have an unusual undergraduate background that could be valuable to bring to a public policy school, but you will need to explain why you are pursuing the path you are pursuing and how an MPP (or similar) will advance that (or redirect it). While there are some students who enroll in competitive MPP programs (or similar) directly out of undergrad, I think it's useful to have at least a few years of professional experience to help guide your graduate studies. A place like the Kennedy School has a dizzying amount of incompatible opportunities, even for someone adept at navigating commitments as you are now. To get the most out of any such program you will want to know why you're going there in the first place, and some work experience can often help. Best of luck deciding what to do next.

Long-time lurker, infrequent poster. This is an interesting thread. I was talking to a good friend of mine last night, considering options for what to do next year. We have very different work experience (he's a lawyer for the government, I work for an education nonprofit), and he reminded me just how subjective my application process was compared to his. For law school, your LSAT and GPA largely (although not entirely) dictate your options before the consideration of funding. Statements of purpose or personal statements matter, as do letters of recommendation, but it remains an equation with two primary variables that have the greatest weight (although tipped differently based on the school). The common denominator is that almost everyone applying to law school intends to become a lawyer (or will become one, even if they don't intend to now). There's only one bar exam for each state (plus a few for certain federal courts), and while some law schools have specialties, the general education is very similar across all institutions, so with acceptances in hand, it's pretty easy to examine cost, aid, size, community, hiring record, and a few other factors to make a good matriculation decision. Conversely, for most of the people who post and read on this forum specifically (for a broad range of policy and government administration programs), the GPA and GRE scores matter, but they are far from the only factors. Because many of these programs are so different from each other in their areas of emphasis, scope, and type of professional and/or academic training, and because so many people's interests are so different from each other (community organizing, municipal administration, economic policy analysis, international diplomacy), it's much more of a complicated matching process for the admissions committees, which is why statements of purpose and letters of recommendation matter so heavily. I've wondered why people often mention (on this board and elsewhere) that they know they have "Strong LORs" or similar, because that seems necessary but not sufficient. Programmatic fit seems to matter a great deal and whether a recommendation is a strong endorsement or not, it has to demonstrate that your academic and professional goals match those of the program, and that you would add to the community. I think it's more difficult to write a thoughtful and customized letter of recommendation for some of these schools than for law school. And then there are things no one can control: the size of the applicant pool, the quality of the applicant pool, the diversity of the applicant pool (across the obvious and many far less obvious measures). It's enticing to think it's cut-and-dry, and perhaps it is when you're accepted, but it isn't necessarily when you aren't, because countless qualified people are denied admission or waitlisted every year because there aren't enough seats in the classes. But you really have no idea if you "got in by the skin of your teeth" unless someone with authority tells you as much (and you might question why they decided to do so if they did). I have friends with amazing experience, grades, and scores who have struggled to be admitted and friends with far less stellar profiles who got in everywhere they applied, and I think it has a lot to do with (a) really knowing what you want to do and why, (b ) applying to schools that will help you achieve those goals, © communicating that effectively through your application, and (d) supporting your recommenders as they communicate it in their letters. I'm sure that's why some of my friends have struggled, but it's also not always enough because of all of the exogenous factors no one can control. Best of luck to everyone with decisions if you have them to make, and if you do, give yourself a pat on the back. You may not know why you were admitted (or denied) somewhere, but don't assume you know for sure unless someone on the admissions team is willing to sit down and review your file with you.

Thanks! I was so hesitant to accept anything that I didn't realize that I was only accepting the terms!

Hi Folks, Where are you seeing the specific dollar amounts? When I click "View & Accept Your Aid Package" it brings me to an acceptance portal, but gives me no details as to what I am accepting. I did receive a call regarding a University-wide fellowship, which is very exciting, but I'm not sure how the other pieces fit in. Thanks!

Are you more interested in studying in a geography department or an earth sciences / geology program? There are some real content area and disciplinary differences, despite some overlapping methodologies and technologies. A decade ago when I was an undergraduate I studied under a geographer who was visiting my university for a few years. He ordinarily held tenure at the University of Saskatchewan. His background was actually in cognitive psychology and how children understood space developmentally (which is fascinating). My memory is that UBC's education faculty has some focus in this area, although it's more geographic theory and not at all GIS. I was always more interested in economic and social geography, so if you're interested in the sciences (resource management, hydrology, etc., etc.), I can't be of much help, but I know the programs are out there. Some British universities have solid programs, too. Most of the good programs in the US that offer solid doctoral training in various forms of spatial analysis are actually tucked away in other departments.

I echo the sentiments that the differences between the degree nomenclature are often historic (and rooted in what individual universities will and will not approve through their faculty committees, which can vary widely for reasons unknowable to external observers). My best recommendation is to look not to the names of the degrees but the curriculum and the jobs graduates take after completing their studies. Those two metrics will be much more instructive. If you're interested in a PhD program, an extended master's thesis or rigorous research methodological training will probably be valuable (both in gaining admission and once you're there), but if you're interested in becoming a practitioner of some sort field work will probably be more relevant. And some programs combine these elements or allow you create a more personalized experience that sets you up for your targeted path. Don't discount what people do with the degrees and don't assume that you will be the person who does the singularly different thing (i.e. remember the old statistic that 98% of people with law degrees become lawyers).

I think it depends on what you're looking for between the two programs (bias: I live near HGSE and am not considering Stanford). If you have a K-12 focus on urban education and education equity, Harvard is a terrific place to study and has (what appears to be) deeper bench of experts thinking about these topics. I don't know as much about the higher education landscape, but the only person I know who studied Higher Ed at HGSE worked for the Department of Education for several years and is now wrapping up a PhD at Stanford focused on higher education access for low-income students. So in light of that I think both schools could do you well. Maybe I just know a small subset of people, but most of the people I know who went to HGSE was also generously supported with grants, not just loans, so I'm not sure about the cash cow reputation. But maybe I'm jinxing myself here.

Thanks socialimpact! That is helpful to learn.

Nope. No word yet. I may reach out on Monday to inquire, but I suspect this means I am not under consideration. Any word on your end? It's definitely a long-shot.

I just turned 30 and will be 30 when I matriculate. I've worked for the past eight years with public K-12 education-focused initiatives in urban centers from both higher ed and nonprofit settings. My age definitely played a factor in what programs I considered, especially as I'm just a bit too young for most of the mid-career programs but older than most of the students at the more competitive "first degree" programs. My wife is a teacher and went back to school semi-locally for a one-year master's degree, so I decided to apply only to schools in metro areas where (a) she thought she might want to teach and ( I thought I could find meaningful work upon graduating, because it would interrupt her career to much to keep moving around. I think we'd both have been more willing to serially uproot our lives or live apart from each other earlier in our relationship, but we've been married for several years and deeply connected with our community where I work, where she teaches, and where some of her students live on the same block as us, so packing up and moving isn't as easy as it might have been. I never intended to wait this long to go back to school, but I wasn't ready and knew I shouldn't apply until I really knew why I wanted to go. So I waited, and it worked out pretty well. That said, everyone on this board may have different stories and circumstances that may make graduate school more or less enticing at different points in time in their lives.

Congratulations to everyone on the acceptances, to HKS and other terrific schools. Best of luck to all with decisions, funding, housing, waitlists, and thoughts about whether to apply again next year to this program or to other programs.

Thanks! That makes sense. The website mentioned coming to Cambridge for the interviews for US applicants, which is why the time frame seemed condensed. But maybe that's just an option if you're local. This falls into the category of things I should have emailed to inquire about a month ago but didn't because emailing people about logistical details can be intimidating, but is something I need to get over. Good luck to you!

Has anyone applied for fellowships with the Center for Public Leadership? The website says that finalists will be invited on March 14, 2015 to interview next week (at least for the fellowships I'm looking at), but that seems like a tight turnaround (even to schedule a telephone interview). Does that mean finalists are informed earlier than this Saturday and only receive interview information over the weekend, or that finalists aren't notified in any way until the 14? I know there hasn't been much time for the selections committee(s) to review materials, so I recognize the time constraints on all ends. Does anyone have any experience? Many thanks!

For those hoping the EdM decisions will come earlier, just remember that the EdLD interviews haven't happened yet and that those candidates had the option to be considered for EdM programs were they not successful in securing an EdLD position. So maybe it will be earlier than March 6, but probably not more than a day or two as they need to sort out the (small number of) EdLDs who interviewed but aren't admitted before they release the batch of EdM decisions.

Hello everyone, I just signed up to attend an information session on Monday for an MBA program. This will be the first information session or camps visit I've attended. I signed up after the Admissions Office closed for the day, too late to call with the following question: What is appropriate attire for a summer information session? Suit and tie? Sport coat and slacks without tie? Business casual (sport shirt and slacks)? It's alternated between hot and rainy. Thanks for any guidance - I don't work in finance or a traditional suit-and-tie industry so I thought I would reach out for suggestions.

Does anyone here know anything about the EMPA program format at SIPA/Columbia? I've been trying to navigate the website to answer some basic questions like whether students study part time or take courses on the weekends, etc., but have struggled to find those answers. Before emailing the admissions office with what might seem like a "go to our website for that..." kind of question I thought I would ask here first. The other degree programs are much more clearly fleshed out. Any personal experience with this program? Thanks!