LLCoolJ1585
-
Posts
32 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by LLCoolJ1585
-
-
That article had a mission. Mission accomplished, kind of. It even got a response from Harvards dean! But, let’s be honest, it’s Harvard. So nothing to see here. Keep being awesome and creating opportunities for individuals that otherwise would not have those opportunities in any industry they want.
-
On 5/5/2017 at 3:19 PM, CPRMPA said:
I'm going to Fels in the fall. It's a great school if you're interested in domestic policy and want to stay in the Northeast. If you want to be in Philly, Fels offers incredible connections here. You're right that it's a small school - each cohort only has about 30 students, so it's a pretty tight-knit group. Alumni also seem to be fiercely loyal to the program, which is helpful for networking and finding jobs. Their career counseling seems to be excellent. All of the students I've met seem incredibly bright, and bring interesting professional backgrounds and perspectives.
As far as the interview goes, I had my alumni interview back in the fall and it was really more like a casual conversation and opportunity to ask questions about the program.
Also, this existing thread on Fels might be helpful to you:
Thanks a a lot for this. Any idea how easy it is to duel enroll into Wharton after getting into Fels?
-
Anybody affiliated with Fels at UPENN? I know it’s a small school. What’s the reputation like? I see the tuition is very affordable, so that’s great. Job prospects after? Especially if you’re someone considering consulting? Anybody done their interview? I have one in the next few weeks. Need some info! Thanks.
-
32 minutes ago, EmPeePee said:
I went to new admit day trying not to like it, but I was very impressed. A few thoughts from a prospective MPP student:
- I'm new to the Harvard world, and expected there to be some arrogant elitism. I saw none of that. I met dozens and dozens of smart, committed, passionate people who were as approachable as they were impressive.
- I really had the feeling that the people in the room were tomorrow's leaders.
- They gave us a lot of time to interact with each other, which I really appreciated. I was really excited by the range of professional experience people are bringing. I expected to meet a bunch of certain types (a bunch of TFAs, a bunch of consultants, etc.) but everybody had a different and interesting story. I didn't meet a single person who was coming straight out of undergraduate.
- The HKS folks centered much of their pitch around the word "Access." Access to famous folks, access to thought-leaders, access to other stuff. I don't know if I loved how much they talked about all the amazing people who come through HKS. I would have liked more focus on the academic curriculum and what they are teaching me, not just what they are giving me access to.
- Most of the admitted students were very much on the fence regarding enrolling. I had many, many conversations about the high cost of attendance. More people seemed to be deciding between HKS and not going anywhere. There were fewer people choosing between HKS and another policy school. It seems like if you are impressive enough to get into HKS, you're impressive enough to not need the degree to do what you want to do...
- It's not a racially or socioeconomically diverse community (especially w/r/t US POC). People are aware of that, however, and talk about it as something needing to change.
- Students seem to spend most of their time at HKS. Like, they don't go home after classes, preferring to work, meet, and socialize on campus well into the evening.
- People seemed happy. Happier than some of the other policy schools I visited
So my main takeaway was that the offerings of HKS were pretty great and that the students are amazing. I'm as attracted to HKS for the stuff that I would learn from my peers as for the things I'll learn from professors.
Happy to answer any other specific questions, either on this blog or privately!
Classy post bro/gal. Making me wish I was going there! I’m going to the school that’s going to creep up on HKS and take the #1 Spot in a few years instead
haha. Good luck! Major Congrats to you.
-
On 3/10/2017 at 10:22 AM, ExponentialDecay said:
Didn't come here to say this, but now I will: this article is so myopic as to essentially be blind. I certainly expect better of Salon and of anyone who claims to be a PhD student.
First of all, to the OP, the article is taking about the 1 year midcareer masters at HKS - not the 2 year MPA/MPP most people here are applying for. But that's just a factual correction. My beef is more with the spirit of the thing.
The article's thesis is that HKS is an opportunity for established professionals to pick up a brand-name degree, and " no different from a political schmoozefest", and that this somehow makes it illegitimate as a degree program. And I'm like, dude, do you even know what professional masters are? The writer seems to have a problem with the notion that MPA students don't sit in a lecture hall for 6 hours every day, but instead go to conferences, organize events, and talk to each other. That's the whole point of the program. That's why applicants are asked to have professional experience before applying - so that each student has something to contribute to these discussions that, if not innovative, is at least realistic. Learning in the policy world doesn't happen by sitting in the library and reading books published 20 years ago - of course papers and publications are an important form of communicating knowledge, but the knowledge itself isn't very useful in a spherical-horse-in-a-vacuum state. Conducting policy isn't like blue-sky research. Every context is different, every instrument mix is different, every organization works differently, via different channels, tapping different people and funding sources. Your course of action can change at a moment's notice due to political changes, organizational changes, and so on. When implementing a given policy, it is just as important to know the local context, including the people to go to to help push things through, pay for things, and find things out, as it is to know how a policy works from a theoretical standpoint. Being a person who knows people is a job family in the policy world. And I'm sorry, but being the other type of expert, who knows the theoretical side, usually requires that you get a PhD.
On a broader note, it's good to know why you're pursuing this degree when you go into it. I'd posit that attending HKS isn't only an opportunity for foreign bureaucrats to say they went to Harvard, but for most domestic ones as well - everybody knows that the admissions process at HKS is a lot less selective than Harvard College, a Harvard PhD program, HBS, HLS, and so on, everybody knows that an MPA, even in the ID program, isn't, so to say, equivalent to a degree in economics, and everybody knows that, if you didn't care about the brand name, you wouldn't be paying 150k. It's also not a secret that lots of people attend MPA programs to help them in switching fields or to cover up a lackluster undergrad record. Everybody knows that MPA students want a job at the end of it. So, how much of anyone's motivation is pure learning is questionable. You certainly learn something in an MPA program. That stuff can probably be learned for cheaper. If you're looking to learn a specific skill, like a language or serious data analysis, you're probably better off in a program dedicated to that. If you're looking to become a technical expert, get a PhD. If none of those apply to you, then you're probably a typical political functionary that wants to keep growing their career, and for that your network is important, and your network's opinion of your degree granting institution is important, and therefore you're in the right place.
Mostly I'm just appalled that a grown-ass man is surprised that people would pay hundreds of thousands of bucks to schmooze with Paul Volcker. Does he not realize the premium one is able to charge just for having a name like that in their address book?
Passionate and real stuff here. Also bump. Anyone else want to give their opinions on most prestigious/popular schools?
-
First off, congrats to everyone who got in this year. If you didn’t I didnt get in last year and I had horrible GPA, and GRE, and still managed to get into a few great schools this year. Don’t give up. Find your bal... I mean your desire and get it done!
Anyhow, I’ve been watching this board for about a year. Just curious, what everyone thinks the top 3 most popular/prestigious MPP or MPA programs are the past year. USNews ranks it by MPP and MPA seperately, but for instance for the MPA they list Indiana, and Syracuse top 3, but no one ever talks about them, and I’m sure top consulting firms and other employers aren’t always running there for recruitment. What’s your list, regardless of MPP, or MPA, just from a prestige or popularity standpoint?
Mine:
1. Harvard (Kennedy)
2. (Tie) UC Berkley (Goldman)
2. (Tie) Chicago (Harris)
-------
Hon mention:
Princeton (WWS)
Duke (Sanford)
Georgetown (McCourt)
Michigan (Ford)
-
In too, no funding. So probably won’t go, New York too damn expensive.
-
Waiting as well.
-
Harris (Chicago) early decision is tomorrow. Freaking out of course. Sorry, Im not the dream student like the rest of you. In fact, Im a terrible student. But I have a cool CV - I'm better at life than school.
-
Hi,
I was just wondering if anyone besides me wasn't accepted into any program? I applied to UChicago, Brown, CMU-Heinz, and Georgetown. Still waiting on Georgetown although Im obviously not too confident still. Just wondering if anyone else is in a similar situation, curious to know what you think you need to improve on next cycle.
-
Anyone else still waiting for their (rejection) letter like me? LoL Seems that way. Thought we'd hear today. Even worse, my application shows 'incomplete' now even though 3 weeks ago it showed complete. *Sigh* not my year.
-
Rejected :-/ my 2nd choice. Sucks.
-
8 minutes ago, jeb!2016 said:
The portal is at least updated with an envelope icon that says Decision Documents.
When I click on it, it says: There is no update to your application status to report.They sent their automated email on Monday @ 7pm est. Thinking they;re gonna do it at the latest by that time. Or at that exact time again..
-
On March 8, 2016 at 8:23 AM, MidByMidwest said:1 hour ago, mls0325 said:
got an email about them today, april 1 and april 8
What do you mean? What are those dates for?
-
Bump as this has info on Chicago Harris and CMU Heinz...
-
4 minutes ago, SDtoMPP said:
If I am accepted, I may turn it down for Berkeley GSPP, since it's a very prestigious program and I am in-state. It will come down to funding and school visits though.
Well that certainly makes sense. Not to mention/forget the weather aspect lol.
-
9 minutes ago, SenNoodles said:
Did you hear back before the March 11 notification date? Or had you applied for the Jan notification?
Waiting for tmw, just this one seems less popular than some of the other schools although IMO seems like a great school, wondering why it would be someones alt rather than first choice. Im biased though.
-
Anybody accepted here thinking they'll probably turn it down? If so why?
-
Just now, SDtoMPP said:
When did they complete yours? I will email them
A week or two ago.
-
Thanks a bunch. Same to you.
Anyone else looking into Brown?
-
5 minutes ago, SDtoMPP said:
Ugh, just realized their site says decisions are released 6-8 weeks after the application is completed.
Means I probably won't get one until April. That means I'm definitely turning them down.
When I updated mine I emailed them and they said I'd still be considered priority deadline and it should be 4 weeks
-
Same thing happened to me. They are picky, fancy folks
-
Waiting, one of my top choices as well. Heard its very competitive. But I'll let them decide.
-
50 minutes ago, sneeps said:
Hey - I also applied to Brown, but back in December (I think around the 22nd). I received an acceptance on 2/16 (and didn't get any updates about my application being under review or anything before that, so I get what you mean about the crickets). I'm sorry that they never responded to your email, but as you can see I didn't hear anything until well after the four week mark.
I agree that the revamped program is super appealing (love that one of the global policy experiences is in Stockholm), but I do have my reservations about attending a program that is new...there may be some kinks to work out.
I can understand that, ESPECIALLY if you have options. But me, Im older, I have a doctorate degree already and I really would prefer not to be out of work for 2 years (as opposed to 1 which is another great thing about the program), and also my visit there was pretty great.
Funny enough, I just received an email from them. I guess the 4-week turn around is off the table. They now say April 15th folks should hear something, which is pretty late considering you'd start class first week of June if you are accepted. That's less than 2 months to change your whole life around haha.
P.S. Looks like we applied to a few of the same programs. I almost did Sanford, decided against it, but I did do McCourt and visited there as well, and UChicago (not sure if you applied there).
Unless you have a trust fund and never want to leave DC, these programs are a scam
in Government Affairs Forum
Posted
Theres a ton of truth to what the OP is saying. I don’t think most policy folks are risk takers, but the only modification I would make to his/her statements are regarding, non-binding risk tolerance. So, Harvard is Harvard, UC-Berkeley is UC-Berkeley, Princeton is Princeton, and University of Chicago, is University of Chicago. Most of these schools, you can leverage your degree to get into spaces in certain cases, where the jobs are high paying, but I feel the key is by doing so early (preferably while in school). Also, with that, some people just are interested in the quality of the work, and not the level of income they make. In that case my statements would be worthless to you. Me personally, I’m taking the entrepreneurial route with my degree. I have the name, now, I’m looking for (big) investors who typically care where you went to school. Wish me luck.