dandylion

Ah! I realized I stepped out of the student panel early to make another meeting, and I totally missed that second question! Concerning indeed. To add to what was said above, for me, addressing diversity/race/inequality at a school isn't just about welcoming diverse individuals into a community - it's about how a school, particularly a policy school, approaches understanding the larger world that its graduates intend to shape. The fact that students feel they don't "need" to discuss these issues is even more concerning to me. How are we supposed to be leaders who write and create policy without understanding the dynamics of the society we are writing policy for? This being said, I have decided to accept my offer of admission to HKS. Even with all my concerns, HKS has the best curriculum and faculty for what I want to study. I also spoke with an alumnus friend from HKS who said she found like-minded people who were concerned about issues of social inequality, and I know that there has been movement in the past to make diversity and privilege a more integral part of the campus conversation (http://hksspeakout.tumblr.com/). I wanted to make this post before the end of decision day to try and convince others (and myself) that we can reignite these conversations. I have faith that people do care about these issues, but they often feel ill-equipped to tackle them and that paralysis turns into apathy. SO! I look forward to seeing you all at HKS and having these conversations inside and outside of the classroom!

The admitted students day was a mixed bag for me. Generally, I got excited about the curriculum and the opportunities at HKS to nerd out about policy, but the admitted students day didn't dissuade my worries about the culture of an elite academic institution. Coming from a liberal, social justice oriented background, I want a classroom where students understand and are open to talking about systems of power, oppression, and privilege, and how we can redefine policy to balance scales. It was hard for me to get a sense of how many admitted and current students engage with these concepts. I'm wary of coming into a student body as an educator in these areas, which I don't feel qualified to do, instead of as a participant in the conversation. I would greatly appreciate the thoughts of any current/admitted students on this! Personal highlights from the day: Nerding out. Professor Christopher Robichaud gave a mini-lecture on Ethics and Public Policy in Emergency Decision-Making to the MPPs where he discussed the trolley problem, related it to a real life case, and turned the session into a mini classroom. I enjoyed this a lot - this topic area appeals to me, and it was interesting to hear the perspectives of other admits. Students seemed genuine and forthright in their responses, and Robichuad did a good job of picking apart arguments quickly yet respectfully. You can tell he's a good professor. Supportive career services. The Office of Career Advancement (OCA) seems like they work really hard to help students find internships and jobs in their field of interest. I met with Amanda Peters at the OCA, and she guided me on a path to finding potential internship opportunities in my field of interest. Diverse professional backgrounds. The range of backgrounds from the MPPs was interesting and telling - I met people who work in DC at various research centers, a labor union organizer, several ex-military/Marine members, World Food Programme officers working abroad, teachers, corporate consultants, research analysts from think tanks, etc. One of the students who works as a corporate consultant said something to the effect of "Geez, I feel like everyone else here is out like saving the world or something, and I'm just working for the man". Heh. Cohort throughout the core. The student panel and the speech from the student government president stressed the community and the caring friendships you build at HKS, particularly with the cohort of 60 students that you take all your courses with in the first year. Okay, to be honest, they didn't sell the cynic in me on the rainbows and butterflies, but the idea of taking all first year courses with the same 60 people and getting to know them well does appeal to me. "Theater Camp". One of the students on the panel talked about her favorite courses (US Congress, Making of a Politician) which all involved role play, like mimicking an actual congress, complete with lobbyists that can give out money during the semester, or running for president within the class, where they put you through a full presidential campaign, complete with a horrific scandal that you are guilty of and must handle. This sounded hilarious, and the excitement with which the students talked about the courses excited me. It seemed students got a lot out of the courses beyond acting skills, even if acting/bs-ing is most of what you need to go into politics, right? Areas for concern(?) Debt. Many of the students I talked to were worried about the cost of HKS. These were also students who received admission to other very reputable schools with better $$, such as Berkeley's GSPP or Princeton's WWS. When I spoke with the financial aid counselor, Dan Rossi, he said that the average in loans is $60k, but many students take out the entire thing in loans, which is just bananas to me! His advice was to determine whether HKS could provide us with something beyond our other options, and if the difference is worth the cost. Racial/socioeconomic diversity. I had to leave early and didn't get to attend the diversity reception, but I've heard from a current student that representation from minorities is low. Among the admitted MPPs, it looked like about 20% were students of color, but with the lack of financial aid I'm wary that the percentage will drop significantly. If I remember correctly, this question was about diversity amongst faculty, which the students did say something to the effect of "It's a work in progress..." Like many elite universities, diversity is pretty dismal, and the general shrug of the shoulders towards the issue disappoints and worries me. A current student I spoke with did say that the diversity caucuses are working with the admissions committees to look at how they can better recruit and support students of color. The core curriculum. The student panel expressed that the core curriculum is flawed, but gave caveats that it's hard to please everyone with a standardized curriculum. From another student, I heard people really disliked Policy Analysis, but loved Negotiation. The administration is constantly tweaking the curriculum according to student feedback. Rigor. This was interesting because a friend of mine from undergrad (a very rigorous, intensely academic school) said HKS was just as intense and difficult. However, I think this depends on how much you care about your grades, like if you're aiming for a future PhD program. Another student did tell me it's hard to do poorly, and, echoing the student panel, that she did skate by in courses she didn't enjoy as much. Of course, we don't really know what "skate by" means - it could mean still working at 85% and getting a B instead of working to get an A. Let me know of any questions! Would also love to hear from other students who went, particularly from those who attended the diversity reception.

Kaneisha - your website helped me immensely in preparing application materials and refining my essays. Thank you, thank you, and thank you again!

Accepted and in awe!! After rejections from both Berkeley and Princeton these past few days I was not optimistic about HKS, but I am incredibly grateful! Here's to hoping that some funding pulls through!

Edit: deleted my post as it was no longer relevant. Received the rejection email as well. Sigh. Good luck all!!