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tryingsmall

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    2014 Fall

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  1. Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): top 10 UK university Previous Degrees and GPAs: Econ undergrad, first class honours (4.0?) GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): V169 Q165 AW 4.5 Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 1.5 yrs banking, 2 yrs research africa, 0.5 government africa Math/Econ Background: math grades not excellent but intro, intermediate and advanced micro/macro/metrics. grad level courses in sub fields (Labor econ, behavioural econ, economics of information etc. Foreign Language Background (if applicable to your program): english + french fluent, german good, mandarin poor (semester abroad) Intended Field of Study in Grad School: development + econ & public policy Long Term Professional Goals: International development. IFIs, NGOs etc focus on africa Schools Applied to & Results: Accepted in all schools I applied to: Columbia SIPA MPA EPD ($$), John Hopkins SAIS MA IDEV ($$), Harvard Kennedy MPA/ID ($$), Princeton WWS MPA Econ track iv ($$$$), Oxford MSc Economics for Development (no funding - may have received college funding ? but declined), LSE MSc Economics (no funding) Ultimate Decision & Why: HKS MPA/ID. It was a big hesitation with WWS but im really interested in dev econ and the MPA/ID is more focused on that. Princeton WWS was incredible though: their admissions team is exceptional, the classes are tiny (5-20 students with a professor), the level of attention given to student is unparalled, obviously the full tuition + living stipend is incredible. But in the end I made my decision on program content and the more international aspect of MPA/ID: 80% students from developing & transition countries vs. 80% Americans on WWS MPA. I think my order of preference (without taking funding into account) was 1) MPA/ID and WWS tied, 2) SAIS, 3) LSE Econ, 4) Oxford, 5) SIPA. But the english programs are hard to compare with the american ones. Advice for Future Applicants: GO VISIT THE SCHOOLS. The price of a ticket is a drop in the ocean compared to the funding you receive and/or loans you're going to take. Study hard for your GRE because it'll pay back in terms of funding later on. Send your essays to a few key people (no more than 5) that will really take the time to edit and give feedback. BELIEVE IN YOUR CHANCES During the application period, I felt so unsure about my chance of getting admitted that I didn't apply to all fellowships and scholarship (e.g. at HKS). Mostly, I was reluctant to ask my recommenders for additional letters (I felt that I had troubled them enough already). Also, I was really tired of writing essays and felt discouraged. I regret this now. Perhaps I could have received more from HKS for example. Also, I wouldnt worry too much about foreign languages (I think only SAIS has a foreign language requirement). Focus on the quant stuff (econ and maths) and the GRE. For international students, remember that Fulbright comes with a 2-year home residency requirement. That's something to take into consideration as it will limit your job options when you graduate. I wasn't really aware of this (or thought through this thoroughly) until after I sent out my Fulbright app - which took forever). I think I shouldn't have bothered and used that time for other funding opportunities. Oh and obviously GET WORK EXPERIENCE. it's really not such a good idea to apply to these schools right out of undergrad. I actually did that and I'm glad I decided to go for the job offer I had instead. I'll take advantage of the courses more and I got into better schools with more funding.
  2. hey anyone out there admitted to both HKS MPA/ID and WWS MPA. If so send me an inbox, we're setting up a private discussion about pros and cons
  3. hey anyone out there admitted to both HKS MPA/ID and WWS MPA. If so send me an inbox, we're setting up a discussion about pros and cons
  4. It's crazy that we have to wait for HKS until the first week of April. Ive already heard about funding from all the other schools I applied to (SIPA, SAIS, WWS).
  5. Hey did you guys get a stipend in addition to the full tuition & healthcare (approx $44)?
  6. Me too. I got into both MPA/ID and WWS econ track. I'm really torn. Let's see how funding turns out. I don't think that WWS will be smaller class sizes though. Isn't the MPA/ID a small program? I thought MPA/ID was like 40-50 students, whereas WWS MPA is 60+ ? Could we set up something (preferably private) where we share our research, pro/cons about the two programs? This is my first time posting here so I'm not sure how it all works. Also, I feel like going to the admit days would help. I can't really afford to fly out though. Are you guys going?
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