ajak568

Don't be embarrassed to ask for money. You might feel uncomfortable for like two seconds, but the discomfort is worth it if the school can give you a few extra thousand dollars. The worst they can do is say not. You do yourself a disservice by not negotiating if your current funding offer isn't enough to cover your expenses.

Could anyone comment one what this post is referring to re: arrangement for Princeton grads to "get in"? To get in where? Into a government position? If someone could explain, I appreciate it. Thanks!

For my two cents--do not take the price tag lightly! I love public policy and international affairs, and at the same time I've never been able to figure out why people go into tens of thousands of dollars of debt for these degrees. They are valuable for the skills you learn, but in terms of finances if you're looking to work in the public sector, often these jobs do not justify going into debt for a master's degree. I'd recommend considering getting more work experience and applying next year to try and get more funding or finding a way to work for an employer that might help you fund the degree. Congrats and good luck!

The most important thing is to make sure you clearly lay out how you feel and what your preferences are. Your boyfriend will have to make his own decision about whether to move or not, but in any case you want to make sure you've communicated where you stand. I know it's a big transition. Sending you well wishes. Best of luck!

Which program? I got an offer for the Econ/Policy PhD at Tufts a few days ago, but when they sent me a letter, the text was pretty clear that it was an offer of admission. (I know this for sure because i read it over several times to makes sure my eyes were not deceiving themselves, haha!)

Thanks for the tip! I'm currently based in Colombia but when it comes time to move to Boston, there's I might be driving up from the DC area or even from NC (where I'm from originally). I will keep your advice in mind.

Hi gradcafe folks, Congrats to anyone recently admitted to grad school programs. I'm excited about my recent PhD admission offer at Tufts and wanted to start this thread for applicants strongly considering enrolling in grad school programs (MA, PhD, etc.) in the Boston area. There are so many schools in the area (e.g., Harvard, MIT, Boston College, Boston U, Northeastern, Tufts, etc.), I felt it made sense to start a thread to unify all the folks considering moving to Massachusetts and forming part of the grad school/research community in the greater Boston area. Any tips about moving to the area? Anybody who already lives there have any sage advice about the vibe? I'm currently based overseas, so come summer I'm sure I'll have some hurdles to jump in terms of trying to secure housing from a remote location. I look forward to connecting with you folks, and congrats again.

You might feel impatient, but you lose absolutely nothing by waiting to get the funding offer. If you accept before getting the funding offer, you lose any chance of negotiating for more money. Of course, in any case it is more difficult to negotiate without a competing offer, but in any case I don't think accepting before getting the formal funding offer is a good idea. You want to have a clear idea of what your costs will be over the next few years of your program. I'm sure that offer will come through soon enough. Good luck!

Thanks! I was able to find the group and request to join. Hopefully the admin lets me in. Which program were you admitted to? Do you think you'll end up enrolling?

I'm Research and Design stream.

Admitted. I'm still making a decision about whether to accept!

Heard back from Tufts today, they gave me an offer of admission to the Econ/Public Policy PhD program.

Just today I got an offer from Tufts Econ/Policy PhD program (program in both the Econ Dept and the Fletcher school). I anticipate the conversation on this thread will focus mostly on Master's programs, but I hope y'all will accept me! I figure maybe folks might want to compare notes on anything you learn about housing in the area, especially? If there are any social media groups or group texts, etc. for prospective Fletcher students, include me, please! I'm seriously considering accepting the offer. Good luck to everyone!

I apologize that I can't actually contribute the answer you're looking for (hopefully someone on this forum can provide some useful information for you), but I just wanted to highly recommend that if you're thinking of going into a social science research PhD, gaining some quant background with some calculus, statistics and econometrics courses can only help you. Even if you go on to be a more qualitative researcher, you may do yourself a disservice (and limit your options) by not getting at least a bit of quant background, maybe through taking an extra community college class or an online course if those options are available to you.

I guess I'm a little late to this (you probably already had your informational interview by now, I hope it went well!). I don't have any insight since I'm also applying the same cycle (for the Research, Analysis and Design stream), but wanted to share that I'm in a similar situation. I had my informational interview with a faculty member a few days ago. The researcher I talked to was incredibly personable. I'm unsure on how RAND uses these interviews in admissions--I'm sure there must be some conversation that happens with admissions on the backend--but in any case, I had a really positive experience in my interview. I could see my interviewer as a potential thesis advisor, and even if I don't end up at RAND, I definitely see myself reaching out to her going forward. Good luck on your application! Feb 24 will be here before we know it.

I'm gonna chip in with my two cents. I don't think it's out of the question to be able to minimize debt for a policy degree. It's not always easy, but I think there are a few things people can do to maximize their chances: Warning: I read over this and it sounds kinda preachy. Sorry 'bout that. 1) Get work experience. (Already discussed in this thread.) 2) Do a lot of background research on your programs to make sure you're a good fit/the programs fit what you're looking for. I think it's underestimated how much being a good fit for a program can help your application. (I.e.: Being a stellar student/professional is one thing. Being a good fit for a program can also really help your chances. Know why you're applying to a particular program.) 3) Spend a lot of time on your apps (especially essays). Fellowships can't fall out of the sky. You have to put effort into those apps! 4) Apply to a variety of schools (reaches as well as some other programs in order to hopefully give you some leverage to negotiate when offers come in.) 5) Be willing to give the application process several shots if it doesn't go right the first time. Don't put all the eggs into the grad school basket. Grad school will be there year after year. It's not going anywhere. If you really prioritize putting in a strong application and minimizing debt, I think coming out with a small amount of loans can be done. There is absolutely no reason why a policy student should graduate with unmanageable amounts of debt unless you were hellbent on getting that master's degree. I think in terms of academic growth, a policy degree offers a lot to aspiring public sector professionals, but if we're discussing the dollar value of that degree--it ain't much! (I say this as a policy student who is very proud to be studying policy, so don't get me wrong.) Anyway, that's my two cents. Feel free to disagree, of course. Good luck on apps for anyone applying!

A few ideas/my two cents: 1. Don't get tunnel vision! HKS and WWS are great programs, but there are other great policy schools out there with solid quant programs that don't get talked about on GradCafe as much (Michigan, Duke, etc.). Look into some of those and see if they might fit what you're looking for. 2. If you're worried about your quant score and you mentioned that you're not looking for a job that emphasizes quantitative skill anyway, it may even be worth investigating programs that are more qualitative. A 155 quant score is not bad at all, but if you're not even looking for a quant-related job, maybe consider investigating programs that put less emphases on that aspect of policy. (Unless policy analysis training is what you're looking for. In which case, disregard this point.) 3. See: #1. 4. Admissions to some programs are a little bit of a crapshoot anyway. Even with perfect test scores/GPA/recommendations/etc., you never really know. There's not secret algorithm for this. All you can do is put your best foot forward! Good luck!

Congrats to all those who got accepted, and best of luck in your future endeavors to those who didn't (whether that be reapplying, gunning for admittance to a different program, etc.) For those who are admitted, but awaiting funding decisions--let me tell you a secret. You're gonna get funding. I mean like, money is going to fall out of the sky. Unless you were pretty well off to begin with (like your dad is Donald Trump), WWS is gonna make it rain on you, so go ahead and factor that into your grad school decision, haha. Good luck in your decision making! Next week is spring break, so if people are considering WWS and have questions, get at me in the inbox. If I don't have your answer, I can at least put you in contact with someone who does. Happy Thursday!

Yea, go with what the others say. I heard a rumor that admissions decisions have been made, but it's midterm week here at WWS--all the MPA students are pretty focused on studying right now, and I'm sure a good number of my class may not realize that new admit decisions are coming out soon! Again, best of luck to you guys. This is an exciting time! Even if the odds aren't in your favor with respect to this particular program this year, I'm sure you guys are gonna go on to do great things.

They try and send out decisions all at the same time. Last year we heard back a day or two before we expected to, so I nearly had a heart attack when I checked my email and had a message from admissions in my inbox. Good luck to all you applicants. The wait will be over before you know it! And for those who do get in. . .come to admit weekend if you can!

In addition to Pichichi and chocolatecheesecake's recommendations, I'd say Bottom Billion (Paul Collier) is a good read and gives you an overview of some of theories floating out there with respect to trade as it relates to development. Also Nelson Mandel's autobiography is pretty boss, just throwing that out there.

I second that. I wouldn't necessarily go back and take the test again. I also disagree with the assumption that your scores are low for WWS or HKS. There are people in those programs with near perfect GRE scores, but give HKS/WWS admissions pages another look. Your scores sound pretty average for WWS/HKS. Of course, as you alluded to, solid scores are necessary but not sufficient for admittance, so definitely focus your attention on really solid SOPs and recommendations. I think your energy would be much better spent there than on trying to raise your GRE score by a few points. Best of luck!

Cosign, I definitely couldn't have said it better. Duke was on my shortlist for grad school decisions, and for anybody looking for a quant program, I'd definitely give Duke a good look.

I would recommend adding some safety schools as well. Your application has some strong facets, but when it comes to admissions in programs like HKS/WWS/Goldman, you never know! Also, there are other solid quant programs (Ford School, Sanford School) that can give you a really good basis in policy analysis that are easier to get into (and get funding!).

Full time work is experience is always going to be the ideal for your application, but absent those, internships and volunteer experience can add some value to your candidacy if you're able to talk about them in a way that shows that your internship really provided value in terms of helping you gain some kind of field experience. I've probably said nothing you don't already know. Gaining some experience before applying to schools is advisable, but given that (the way I understand it) you're deciding to go ahead and apply before gaining field experience, internships can help boost your candidacy a little. Best of luck!