obrien_blue

@quietman, I feel for you for sure. I'm a lawyer going back - admits to Berkeley and Michigan (and probably NYU; I interviewed for a fellowship with them and didn't make finalist, but they've all but told me I'm in) and rejected from HKS. My quant score was abysmal (lower than yours, trust me), mostly because the last math course I took was Cal 2 in Spring 2003 (my freshman year...Jesus, it's been so long). I think I got the admits I got because of my life experience. I get the feeling that at least Berkeley and Michigan didn't give a toot about my GRE score because of that (though I did well on verbal and the writing portion; I can't even remember what the score was; I was mostly just taking it because I had to). My undergrad GPA was a 3.9, and I graduated from law school with honors, but I think there were two things that got me in:
1. I have spent my entire professional career (now seven years) in public service (I was hired through DOJ Honors out of school, and I've stayed put, despite the call of...so much money. I don't know if that makes me cool or an idiot).
2. I had a clear narrative for why I want this degree and what I plan to do with it.
It sucks to high heaven that you didn't get in on this go, but you certainly sound like you're headed in the right direction. I didn't have econ in my background, either (I'm taking it right now, actually; I don't want to go in cold); I went to a state school for undergrad and law school; I've never been abroad; I've been involved in non-profits. Frankly, reading your profile you posted, you sounded a lot like me a few years ago. I think you've got a great groundwork. Please don't give up! Take heart! I truly believe I wouldn't have gotten in a few years ago, but the life experience, and the time that gave me to craft an idea for what I really want to do (an insane plan to try to save the Mississippi Delta, where I'm from). I hope that you can take this as an opportunity to explore the world a little bit. So many of us, I'm sure, have spent a lot of time busting our tails in school or trying to improve our professional lives, and we don't take the time to appreciate all of the knowledge we've gotten, the things we've achieved. You have achieved a great deal, and not being admitted this go round does not change that. You're going to get in; it's not a matter of if, but when. 

For anyone waiting on Harvard results, if you didn't get in there, but did at Michigan, you now have the date free for admitted student weekend.  I hope to meet some of y'all there! Very excited to check out Ann Arbor!

@quietman, I feel for you for sure. I'm a lawyer going back - admits to Berkeley and Michigan (and probably NYU; I interviewed for a fellowship with them and didn't make finalist, but they've all but told me I'm in) and rejected from HKS. My quant score was abysmal (lower than yours, trust me), mostly because the last math course I took was Cal 2 in Spring 2003 (my freshman year...Jesus, it's been so long). I think I got the admits I got because of my life experience. I get the feeling that at least Berkeley and Michigan didn't give a toot about my GRE score because of that (though I did well on verbal and the writing portion; I can't even remember what the score was; I was mostly just taking it because I had to). My undergrad GPA was a 3.9, and I graduated from law school with honors, but I think there were two things that got me in:
1. I have spent my entire professional career (now seven years) in public service (I was hired through DOJ Honors out of school, and I've stayed put, despite the call of...so much money. I don't know if that makes me cool or an idiot).
2. I had a clear narrative for why I want this degree and what I plan to do with it.
It sucks to high heaven that you didn't get in on this go, but you certainly sound like you're headed in the right direction. I didn't have econ in my background, either (I'm taking it right now, actually; I don't want to go in cold); I went to a state school for undergrad and law school; I've never been abroad; I've been involved in non-profits. Frankly, reading your profile you posted, you sounded a lot like me a few years ago. I think you've got a great groundwork. Please don't give up! Take heart! I truly believe I wouldn't have gotten in a few years ago, but the life experience, and the time that gave me to craft an idea for what I really want to do (an insane plan to try to save the Mississippi Delta, where I'm from). I hope that you can take this as an opportunity to explore the world a little bit. So many of us, I'm sure, have spent a lot of time busting our tails in school or trying to improve our professional lives, and we don't take the time to appreciate all of the knowledge we've gotten, the things we've achieved. You have achieved a great deal, and not being admitted this go round does not change that. You're going to get in; it's not a matter of if, but when. 

@shrimps Glad I was able to make you crack up! I have no idea how on earth I'm supposed to get a darn thing done today at my own desk under these conditions. But I do know that whatever it would be, I would do it much better were I wearing yoga pants. That's a fact. May we all have yoga pants in our futures!

Personally, I think I'd go out for admit day, just to see. It might ease some of your concerns, and they probably reimburse some of the expenses. I'm hoping I end up with full funding one way or another to one of my places - it would be lovely to really concentrate on the program/school instead of working as well. I've talked with my boss about maybe transferring to another one of our offices and doing the program part time (at NYU, they actually have it set up so you can work full time if you want and go full time, so we'll see), but if I didn't have to do that...I mean, I would miss the money. Money is great. But the idea of sitting in a coffee shop at 2pm on a Tuesday while reading for an econ class and wearing yoga pants and a t-shirt sounds better than straight up hard cold cash for a couple of years. I cannot stress to you the call and power of yoga pants/soft clothes on a Tuesday after years of suits every day.

@wearingsocks For my two cents: I already have one professional degree (law), and I think you should go for fit and funding over prestige. I went to a tier two law school that was the same as my alma mater. Not terribly prestigious, but I did well, and I got great job offers after (I took a job through USDOJ Honors, and I'm now stupidly choosing to leave to do an MPP so that I can start my own non-profit). I've been dealing with these loans for 6.5 years. They are the utter worst, and I don't even have that much debt compared to most law grads. I feel like I made a good decision, because however fancy your degree is when you get it, the reality is that the debt can be a killer, and knowing I can manage this and pay has been worth more to me than a truly fancy degree (and if I didn't have any...my God. I would Scrooge McDuck swim in all of the money I would still have). I also got into Berkeley with no funding, so I'm crossing them off the list (also, I don't want to quit practicing entirely when I'm in school, and CA would mean another bar - they were always in it for me only if I got a full ride). Prestige is an important factor, but as I learned in law school, professional school can depend a lot on what you make out of it. If you hustle and work connections - and every school you listed has them - then you can turn that full funding into something great after. Good luck!

Personally, I think I'd go out for admit day, just to see. It might ease some of your concerns, and they probably reimburse some of the expenses. I'm hoping I end up with full funding one way or another to one of my places - it would be lovely to really concentrate on the program/school instead of working as well. I've talked with my boss about maybe transferring to another one of our offices and doing the program part time (at NYU, they actually have it set up so you can work full time if you want and go full time, so we'll see), but if I didn't have to do that...I mean, I would miss the money. Money is great. But the idea of sitting in a coffee shop at 2pm on a Tuesday while reading for an econ class and wearing yoga pants and a t-shirt sounds better than straight up hard cold cash for a couple of years. I cannot stress to you the call and power of yoga pants/soft clothes on a Tuesday after years of suits every day.

Personally, I think I'd go out for admit day, just to see. It might ease some of your concerns, and they probably reimburse some of the expenses. I'm hoping I end up with full funding one way or another to one of my places - it would be lovely to really concentrate on the program/school instead of working as well. I've talked with my boss about maybe transferring to another one of our offices and doing the program part time (at NYU, they actually have it set up so you can work full time if you want and go full time, so we'll see), but if I didn't have to do that...I mean, I would miss the money. Money is great. But the idea of sitting in a coffee shop at 2pm on a Tuesday while reading for an econ class and wearing yoga pants and a t-shirt sounds better than straight up hard cold cash for a couple of years. I cannot stress to you the call and power of yoga pants/soft clothes on a Tuesday after years of suits every day.

Personally, I think I'd go out for admit day, just to see. It might ease some of your concerns, and they probably reimburse some of the expenses. I'm hoping I end up with full funding one way or another to one of my places - it would be lovely to really concentrate on the program/school instead of working as well. I've talked with my boss about maybe transferring to another one of our offices and doing the program part time (at NYU, they actually have it set up so you can work full time if you want and go full time, so we'll see), but if I didn't have to do that...I mean, I would miss the money. Money is great. But the idea of sitting in a coffee shop at 2pm on a Tuesday while reading for an econ class and wearing yoga pants and a t-shirt sounds better than straight up hard cold cash for a couple of years. I cannot stress to you the call and power of yoga pants/soft clothes on a Tuesday after years of suits every day.

@wearingsocks For my two cents: I already have one professional degree (law), and I think you should go for fit and funding over prestige. I went to a tier two law school that was the same as my alma mater. Not terribly prestigious, but I did well, and I got great job offers after (I took a job through USDOJ Honors, and I'm now stupidly choosing to leave to do an MPP so that I can start my own non-profit). I've been dealing with these loans for 6.5 years. They are the utter worst, and I don't even have that much debt compared to most law grads. I feel like I made a good decision, because however fancy your degree is when you get it, the reality is that the debt can be a killer, and knowing I can manage this and pay has been worth more to me than a truly fancy degree (and if I didn't have any...my God. I would Scrooge McDuck swim in all of the money I would still have). I also got into Berkeley with no funding, so I'm crossing them off the list (also, I don't want to quit practicing entirely when I'm in school, and CA would mean another bar - they were always in it for me only if I got a full ride). Prestige is an important factor, but as I learned in law school, professional school can depend a lot on what you make out of it. If you hustle and work connections - and every school you listed has them - then you can turn that full funding into something great after. Good luck!

Hi all, I'm waiting along with you! I applied to HKS, Berkeley Goldman, Michigan Ford, and NYU Wagner. I had a semi-finalist Skype interview with Wagner last week for a fellowship, so either I'm in there, or I just tanked my own chances (people waiting for Wagner: it sounds like they'll have finalist fellowship decisions at the end of this week, then probably admissions by the end of the next, with additional funding info the next week, so just hold tight, guys!). I thought when I finished that interview and my HKS essays, I would feel relieved....but no. The wait. Is. Terrible. I'm a practicing attorney with DOJ, so God knows there's enough work to keep me busy, but I don't know if anything short of a bottle of wine and a time machine is going to make me sane by next week. Congrats to those who have gotten in, and good luck to the rest of us!

Hi all, I'm waiting along with you! I applied to HKS, Berkeley Goldman, Michigan Ford, and NYU Wagner. I had a semi-finalist Skype interview with Wagner last week for a fellowship, so either I'm in there, or I just tanked my own chances (people waiting for Wagner: it sounds like they'll have finalist fellowship decisions at the end of this week, then probably admissions by the end of the next, with additional funding info the next week, so just hold tight, guys!). I thought when I finished that interview and my HKS essays, I would feel relieved....but no. The wait. Is. Terrible. I'm a practicing attorney with DOJ, so God knows there's enough work to keep me busy, but I don't know if anything short of a bottle of wine and a time machine is going to make me sane by next week. Congrats to those who have gotten in, and good luck to the rest of us!