ChocChoc

Gosh, this is amazing, thank you!

Thanks WhatAmIDoingNow, really appreciate your insightful comments. I am actually considering maybe attending the conference, sounds quite intersting for me professionally.

Thanks WhatAmIDoingNow!

I took the test today and I wnated to say that the materials at Magoosh where splendid, just amazing. Today I had an overall good experecience at the test center. However, bear in mind this practical matters: 1) Bring earplugs! Otherwise it's impossible to concentrate as other people will be speaking loudly into their mikes because of the speaking section. I'm happy I brought them because otherwise it would be a challenge to concentrate. 2) Remember that the speaking section can be 60 or 80 minutes long. Bear in mind that no matter what it's gonna be 20 miniutes per text. Today I made a terrible mistake. For some reason i assumed that the reading section was always composed of 3 sections (as is the case with the TOEFL online practice tests). When the reading section started I saw that I had 4 texts. Then I thought, okay relax and quickly count how many minutes you have per text. I thought, in the middle of the stress typical on test day: "Well the screen says I have 1:20.00 to finish. Ok, so 12 dived by 4 is 3. So I have 30 minutes!" And quickly jumped into answering the questions... So stupid, I know. But I think this kind of stuff can happen under stress. At the end of the first text I suddenly realised that of course my quick calculation was completely wrong... That casued me to be unable to finish the reading section on time and had to guess the last 5 questions. I hope the last text was for testing, if not I'm not sure if I will reach my target of a 25 score in the reading

Thanks Flou! Will look it up!

Thanks Flou. Do you mean DAAD?

BTW, just heard about the funding, no scholarships for me unfortunately . Not even a waiver

i don't think it's necessary either, but I do think that networks help a lot. Even more than the brand of the school you attend. My point is: if you want to work in the US, Hertie is not going to have as much of a strong network there than most US schools.

LSE (almost desecrated due to the price and lack of funding), College of Europe (that's very very European I don't recommend at all that you go there). Then if I manage to get funding I would like to go to HKS, or Berkeley Goldman.

Thank you seaglass0025! Whether it is likely for me to attend or not depends completely on the funding When it comes to your concerns about the reputation of Hertie, I think it's been improving enormously and more and more people know about it in the field (just take a look around Grad Café). Now, in your case, do you plan to work in the US or in Europe? I'm saying that because I heard so many times from graduates that the most valuable thing a school can offer is its network. I presume Hertie's network will be mostly in Europe and that most graduates end up working in EU countries.

Got in! I have to wait for funding decisions though! . Did you get the info about the 25% tuition waiver right away together with your email of acceptance? It just because it says in my email that decisions regarding scholarships will be sent in another email.

It just feels very dishonest to defend a project that you know you may not be able to implement. It's like when Bernie Sanders tells people he's gonna make college in the US tuition-free, when he I'm sure knows that this will be very difficult to achieve.

Thanks for your answer Ben. You know, the think is that in Europe in order to enter into a PhD program you MUST hold a Master's degree. It basically works this way: you do a master's for 1 or 2 years and then you enter into a PhD program that lasts about 3-4 years. I'm considering whether it would be a good option to do a Master's at HKS and then do a PhD at a European university. I guess it's a hard question to answer...

Yes I have. but it's not for me. It's mostly focused on political economy. It's not my thing. Thank you RCtheSS.

My dream job would be to work as a professor doing research public innovation in Europe with active engagement in the public policy field as a consultant or perhaps working in government temporarily. I have been recently reading a lot about the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. I love the great array of courses they offer, the network they give you access to, the events, the faculty, the can-do spirit of the school and the forum they have (I think it has to be such a great space for intellectual interactions!). Also, I really like the work of the Ash center on public innovation and find that it really fits my interests. Now, somehow I have the feeling that getting an MPP at HKS would not be the "right" way for me to attain my professional goal. Especially because according to their website they are a profesional school. I could not and would not want to say in my statement of purpose that I don't want to be a professor, because I do. I also fear that being an HKS alumnus the network I'll have access to will be mostly US-based, while I am almost a 100% certain that I want to spend my live in Europe. Any thoughts?