Damis

You're right. Thanks for this comment. Gradcafe has been there for me throughout the years. It's helped me receive the Fulbright and get into my dream school on a full ride. I'll add to the thread now.
Program Applied To: (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.)  MPP
Schools Applied To: Harvard Kennedy School
Schools Admitted To: Harvard Kennedy School

Undergraduate Institution:  State School in the South
Undergraduate GPA:  3.78
Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.9
Undergraduate Major: International Studies
GRE Quantitative Score: 144 (more on this in other)
GRE Verbal Score: 158 
GRE AW Score:  4.0
 
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 7
Years of Work Experience: I graduated in 2011, but I've often held down multiple roles at one time. From running political campaigns while doing private sector work to working on a ballot initiative while serving as a policy analyst...I've often leveraged positions I'm in to get additional experiences outside of work. Sometimes it's of the paid variety, but often I did the work for free. Ultimately, it's all invaluable on your resume. So if you count those experiences separately, about 10 years. I did count them separately with my HKS application and obviously they seemed to have sided with me lol. It's not frou frou stuff neither. You have to demonstrate that you're doing more than just showing up or it's pointless to list the experiences imho.
Describe Relevant Work Experience: I've done some stuff...within the U.S., I was a policy analyst, ran multiple campaigns, and had some private sector experience. Internationally, I've been a Fulbright, German Chancellor Fellow, and worked for the State Department. I was on track to become a diplomat, but during my Fulbright year I noticed some troubling things. So I had an about face and came back to my home state to do some work. Through luck and a strong network, I was able to get involved in public policy. I pushed and passed legislation, but wasn't moving the needle fast enough...so I ventured back abroad as a GCF. Now I'm back implementing my research within my home state at a pretty high level.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I'm going to be pretty descriptive here so that I hopefully convey the elements that went into what I think was the main reason I got into HKS. I also realize that a lot of this profile could easily give me away haha. Oh well, I want ya'll to get in, so I'm going to just be real. In looking back on everything now, I've lived a crazy life. I talked about it a little, but immediately contextualized it around what I care about and how the recalibration of my career focus has allowed that former pathway to enhance my work. I specifically focused the essay around a lady I once worked with and her plight. How I saw first hand that the system can gobble you up and spit you back out with nothing to show for it. I didn't hold back at all. I then talked about what I need from HKS to prevent that situation from ever happening again. The other essay I talked about a person who was able to benefit from some legislation I helped pass. I talked about the process of getting it done. The data analysis. The lobbying. Winning and what it meant for thousands of kids in my state. Big stuff! Then I talked about the unexpected consequences that followed as a result. How I could never have envisioned them occurring back then, but that now I could see why I needed more training to mitigate this moving forward. With the diversity essay, I talked about the decision to work in my home state instead of becoming a diplomat. I framed it around coming back to my community and the reaction that caused. I finished with the perspective I would bring to the school as a result.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I had 3 Professional LORs. I'd simply been out of school too long to even think about getting an academic one. However, I took part in the Maryland Leadership Institute (I think it's now defunct, but HKS recruited from there) which is a high-level Summer quant/leadership program that a bunch of fellowship programs used to send their participants. You're required to upload that transcript and, thankfully, I did really well and the organizers wrote a very positive letter...so even though it's from years ago, I'd say it was a proxy academic LOR. One of my LORs wrote a really powerful letter for me. He also mentioned how he'd supervised someone who had just graduated from HKS and that he could attest to my quantitative abilities because we essentially had the same job. I'm sure that was clutch as well. The other two I didn't read.
Other: So those scores! I remember folks saying "Oh, if you don't score X and Y they won't even review your application. BULLSHIT. I hope folks who read this moving forward can see that while those scores are important...they definitely aren't decisive. Now, I did have all of the quant coursework (micro, macro, stats, calculus, quantitative seminar, thesis) in college and completed them with honors credit. My quantitative resume was like 4 pages long if I remember correctly. Further, I work with data often at work and in multi-faceted ways too. I've done that both within the U.S. and as a Research Fellow internationally. I can do the stuff, but I am not a good test taker at all. Couple all of that with the fact I'd been out of school for awhile, and there's probably no chance in Hell I'd have a shot at doing well with that test unless I could study for it full-time which, as I've indicated, is damn near impossible given everything else I do. I think the AdCom saw that as well. I obviously DON'T recommend you take the path I did lol. Please score as high as you can! I just want to be forthright in all of this to show that HKS really does look at your entire application. They won't trash you because of a damn random score on a high-stakes test. Hell, I was abroad for my test and was sick. I noted all of this in my additional info section and let it go. I also received a full ride, so they obviously value everything in spite of! I'm passionate about this particular part because I'm convinced many high quality candidates won't apply because they'll believe this idea that you have to score at a certain level. Matt says they'd like to see you score within a certain range, true, but he also says they'll look throughout your application for evidence you can handle the quant in spite of your score. Believe that and make your case. 
A piece of advice. I think I stood out because I was vulnerable and made my essays personal. Don't make your narrative mechanistic. Don't just check boxes. Let your story shine through. I'm saying this because I highly doubt you could read my essays and know exactly what I want to do. That said, you will know WHY I do what I do WHO the people are I work to uplift and HOW I could do many things if I had the tools needed to do my work at a higher level. You will know from my words that I'm committed to what I do every single fiber of my being. Just saying "I want to be X in Y years" would never encapsulate what I'm trying to accomplish. No random title job at fancy institute would be indicative of this journey I'm on, ya know? I think my profile shows a life time of service on paper, but I think my essays also show what motivates me and drives me to do the work that I do. No single element of my resume has a frivolous aspect to it. I've been lucky to do some really cool stuff, yet everything I've done has been strategically aligned with my heart.
Let your friends and family help craft your narrative too. Let them look over crappy drafts and give advice. Let them learn things they may not have known about you, which could make you uncomfortable. Use every resource possible. Let the process consume you. Don't take every piece of advice, however. Your message won't resonate with everyone. That's okay! Ignore that part of their criticism and instead make sure your subject-verb agreement is on point.
Do a much better job of managing the process than I did though. I've always wanted to go to HKS, but you wouldn't know that by how close I was to the dang deadline. Frantically typing with a minute to go close. Start early! The only school I applied to in the end was Harvard because I just didn't have time with everything else I had going on, but all of this was because I didn't start the process early enough. I didn't think I'd ultimately get in at all, so this was going to be a trial run. I was already planning how to rewrite my essays even! Lo and behold...I'm going to my dream school next year on a full-ride Presidential Scholarship!

So HKS usually has a defined timeline for which blog posts go up when. Its sequential. And for the past several years its when the admitted stuents blog post is up a day or two after they have released results. Its not a sure thing but its definitely a pattern and idk why they would deviate this year. 

Finishing up my MPP now! Been a crazy experience, but so glad I did it!
Best of luck to ya'll! I sat where you were two years ago. :) 
Based on prior years, those sequential blog posts are pretty indicative of decisions! Please don't take my word for it though...don't need Matt trying to find out who I am. ?
Btw, COVID may shut down classes after Spring Break (which starts next week for us), but I highly doubt it has an impact on the campus functions. The fact that Spring Break starts at the end of this week coupled with the Corona challenge though seems to indicate that ya'll should be hearing by the end of the week for sure. But once again, I'm just a friendly student who doesn't represent admissions in any which way! 

Finishing up my MPP now! Been a crazy experience, but so glad I did it!
Best of luck to ya'll! I sat where you were two years ago. :) 
Based on prior years, those sequential blog posts are pretty indicative of decisions! Please don't take my word for it though...don't need Matt trying to find out who I am. ?
Btw, COVID may shut down classes after Spring Break (which starts next week for us), but I highly doubt it has an impact on the campus functions. The fact that Spring Break starts at the end of this week coupled with the Corona challenge though seems to indicate that ya'll should be hearing by the end of the week for sure. But once again, I'm just a friendly student who doesn't represent admissions in any which way! 

Finishing up my MPP now! Been a crazy experience, but so glad I did it!
Best of luck to ya'll! I sat where you were two years ago. :) 
Based on prior years, those sequential blog posts are pretty indicative of decisions! Please don't take my word for it though...don't need Matt trying to find out who I am. ?
Btw, COVID may shut down classes after Spring Break (which starts next week for us), but I highly doubt it has an impact on the campus functions. The fact that Spring Break starts at the end of this week coupled with the Corona challenge though seems to indicate that ya'll should be hearing by the end of the week for sure. But once again, I'm just a friendly student who doesn't represent admissions in any which way! 

Finishing up my MPP now! Been a crazy experience, but so glad I did it!
Best of luck to ya'll! I sat where you were two years ago. :) 
Based on prior years, those sequential blog posts are pretty indicative of decisions! Please don't take my word for it though...don't need Matt trying to find out who I am. ?
Btw, COVID may shut down classes after Spring Break (which starts next week for us), but I highly doubt it has an impact on the campus functions. The fact that Spring Break starts at the end of this week coupled with the Corona challenge though seems to indicate that ya'll should be hearing by the end of the week for sure. But once again, I'm just a friendly student who doesn't represent admissions in any which way! 

Finishing up my MPP now! Been a crazy experience, but so glad I did it!
Best of luck to ya'll! I sat where you were two years ago. :) 
Based on prior years, those sequential blog posts are pretty indicative of decisions! Please don't take my word for it though...don't need Matt trying to find out who I am. ?
Btw, COVID may shut down classes after Spring Break (which starts next week for us), but I highly doubt it has an impact on the campus functions. The fact that Spring Break starts at the end of this week coupled with the Corona challenge though seems to indicate that ya'll should be hearing by the end of the week for sure. But once again, I'm just a friendly student who doesn't represent admissions in any which way! 

Let me say something for those not yet accepted, or waiting on a list, or for future applicants, because I've been on Gradcafe for a while now.
I have talked myself out of applying to Harvard for many years now. I never thought I'd make it there. It took sitting down with someone who is currently attending HKS and their basically cursing me out for not applying to actually muster up the courage to finally do so. 
So when I began applying last year, I approached it with no holds barred. I went from not applying because I was scared, to not only envisioning myself at the school but also having the audacity to try and figure out where to live. I embraced the process fully. I made myself vulnerable. I reached deep within myself and, with the help of many friends, wrote essays that I guess were compelling. I made the process personal. I talked about PEOPLE and had these experiences guide me in crafting my narrative.
I HAD A REALLY BAD GRE SCORE. I can't stress enough how holistic this process is. I've been out of school for a while, but even by that standard I think it was too low. Had a decent GPA. Graduated from a community college and a state school. What undoubtedly helped was my work experience. I've worked with data and quantitative stuff for a while now. I've managed campaigns. I've done heavy quant research. I'm just horrible at standardized tests haha. I think I made a good enough case along those lines. I also have multiple years of international experience. 
I had really good recommendations. You want to ensure you find someone that will fight for you within their recommendations. Essentially, you want folks who would call and curse admissions out for not accepting you.
I owe a lot of my admission to this forum. For that, I'll check in every now and then to look at any PMs or responses. I'd love to be the person that gives you the encouraging word I received from a friend not too long ago to apply. YOU CAN DO THIS! Whether you're in now or will be applying later. BELIEVE THAT! 

You're right. Thanks for this comment. Gradcafe has been there for me throughout the years. It's helped me receive the Fulbright and get into my dream school on a full ride. I'll add to the thread now.
Program Applied To: (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.)  MPP
Schools Applied To: Harvard Kennedy School
Schools Admitted To: Harvard Kennedy School

Undergraduate Institution:  State School in the South
Undergraduate GPA:  3.78
Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.9
Undergraduate Major: International Studies
GRE Quantitative Score: 144 (more on this in other)
GRE Verbal Score: 158 
GRE AW Score:  4.0
 
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 7
Years of Work Experience: I graduated in 2011, but I've often held down multiple roles at one time. From running political campaigns while doing private sector work to working on a ballot initiative while serving as a policy analyst...I've often leveraged positions I'm in to get additional experiences outside of work. Sometimes it's of the paid variety, but often I did the work for free. Ultimately, it's all invaluable on your resume. So if you count those experiences separately, about 10 years. I did count them separately with my HKS application and obviously they seemed to have sided with me lol. It's not frou frou stuff neither. You have to demonstrate that you're doing more than just showing up or it's pointless to list the experiences imho.
Describe Relevant Work Experience: I've done some stuff...within the U.S., I was a policy analyst, ran multiple campaigns, and had some private sector experience. Internationally, I've been a Fulbright, German Chancellor Fellow, and worked for the State Department. I was on track to become a diplomat, but during my Fulbright year I noticed some troubling things. So I had an about face and came back to my home state to do some work. Through luck and a strong network, I was able to get involved in public policy. I pushed and passed legislation, but wasn't moving the needle fast enough...so I ventured back abroad as a GCF. Now I'm back implementing my research within my home state at a pretty high level.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I'm going to be pretty descriptive here so that I hopefully convey the elements that went into what I think was the main reason I got into HKS. I also realize that a lot of this profile could easily give me away haha. Oh well, I want ya'll to get in, so I'm going to just be real. In looking back on everything now, I've lived a crazy life. I talked about it a little, but immediately contextualized it around what I care about and how the recalibration of my career focus has allowed that former pathway to enhance my work. I specifically focused the essay around a lady I once worked with and her plight. How I saw first hand that the system can gobble you up and spit you back out with nothing to show for it. I didn't hold back at all. I then talked about what I need from HKS to prevent that situation from ever happening again. The other essay I talked about a person who was able to benefit from some legislation I helped pass. I talked about the process of getting it done. The data analysis. The lobbying. Winning and what it meant for thousands of kids in my state. Big stuff! Then I talked about the unexpected consequences that followed as a result. How I could never have envisioned them occurring back then, but that now I could see why I needed more training to mitigate this moving forward. With the diversity essay, I talked about the decision to work in my home state instead of becoming a diplomat. I framed it around coming back to my community and the reaction that caused. I finished with the perspective I would bring to the school as a result.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I had 3 Professional LORs. I'd simply been out of school too long to even think about getting an academic one. However, I took part in the Maryland Leadership Institute (I think it's now defunct, but HKS recruited from there) which is a high-level Summer quant/leadership program that a bunch of fellowship programs used to send their participants. You're required to upload that transcript and, thankfully, I did really well and the organizers wrote a very positive letter...so even though it's from years ago, I'd say it was a proxy academic LOR. One of my LORs wrote a really powerful letter for me. He also mentioned how he'd supervised someone who had just graduated from HKS and that he could attest to my quantitative abilities because we essentially had the same job. I'm sure that was clutch as well. The other two I didn't read.
Other: So those scores! I remember folks saying "Oh, if you don't score X and Y they won't even review your application. BULLSHIT. I hope folks who read this moving forward can see that while those scores are important...they definitely aren't decisive. Now, I did have all of the quant coursework (micro, macro, stats, calculus, quantitative seminar, thesis) in college and completed them with honors credit. My quantitative resume was like 4 pages long if I remember correctly. Further, I work with data often at work and in multi-faceted ways too. I've done that both within the U.S. and as a Research Fellow internationally. I can do the stuff, but I am not a good test taker at all. Couple all of that with the fact I'd been out of school for awhile, and there's probably no chance in Hell I'd have a shot at doing well with that test unless I could study for it full-time which, as I've indicated, is damn near impossible given everything else I do. I think the AdCom saw that as well. I obviously DON'T recommend you take the path I did lol. Please score as high as you can! I just want to be forthright in all of this to show that HKS really does look at your entire application. They won't trash you because of a damn random score on a high-stakes test. Hell, I was abroad for my test and was sick. I noted all of this in my additional info section and let it go. I also received a full ride, so they obviously value everything in spite of! I'm passionate about this particular part because I'm convinced many high quality candidates won't apply because they'll believe this idea that you have to score at a certain level. Matt says they'd like to see you score within a certain range, true, but he also says they'll look throughout your application for evidence you can handle the quant in spite of your score. Believe that and make your case. 
A piece of advice. I think I stood out because I was vulnerable and made my essays personal. Don't make your narrative mechanistic. Don't just check boxes. Let your story shine through. I'm saying this because I highly doubt you could read my essays and know exactly what I want to do. That said, you will know WHY I do what I do WHO the people are I work to uplift and HOW I could do many things if I had the tools needed to do my work at a higher level. You will know from my words that I'm committed to what I do every single fiber of my being. Just saying "I want to be X in Y years" would never encapsulate what I'm trying to accomplish. No random title job at fancy institute would be indicative of this journey I'm on, ya know? I think my profile shows a life time of service on paper, but I think my essays also show what motivates me and drives me to do the work that I do. No single element of my resume has a frivolous aspect to it. I've been lucky to do some really cool stuff, yet everything I've done has been strategically aligned with my heart.
Let your friends and family help craft your narrative too. Let them look over crappy drafts and give advice. Let them learn things they may not have known about you, which could make you uncomfortable. Use every resource possible. Let the process consume you. Don't take every piece of advice, however. Your message won't resonate with everyone. That's okay! Ignore that part of their criticism and instead make sure your subject-verb agreement is on point.
Do a much better job of managing the process than I did though. I've always wanted to go to HKS, but you wouldn't know that by how close I was to the dang deadline. Frantically typing with a minute to go close. Start early! The only school I applied to in the end was Harvard because I just didn't have time with everything else I had going on, but all of this was because I didn't start the process early enough. I didn't think I'd ultimately get in at all, so this was going to be a trial run. I was already planning how to rewrite my essays even! Lo and behold...I'm going to my dream school next year on a full-ride Presidential Scholarship!

Good luck to you all! I remember being in this position last year.
Right now I'm in the throes of my first semester finals and figured I'd stop by to remind myself why I decided to come here.

You're right. Thanks for this comment. Gradcafe has been there for me throughout the years. It's helped me receive the Fulbright and get into my dream school on a full ride. I'll add to the thread now.
Program Applied To: (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.)  MPP
Schools Applied To: Harvard Kennedy School
Schools Admitted To: Harvard Kennedy School

Undergraduate Institution:  State School in the South
Undergraduate GPA:  3.78
Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.9
Undergraduate Major: International Studies
GRE Quantitative Score: 144 (more on this in other)
GRE Verbal Score: 158 
GRE AW Score:  4.0
 
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 7
Years of Work Experience: I graduated in 2011, but I've often held down multiple roles at one time. From running political campaigns while doing private sector work to working on a ballot initiative while serving as a policy analyst...I've often leveraged positions I'm in to get additional experiences outside of work. Sometimes it's of the paid variety, but often I did the work for free. Ultimately, it's all invaluable on your resume. So if you count those experiences separately, about 10 years. I did count them separately with my HKS application and obviously they seemed to have sided with me lol. It's not frou frou stuff neither. You have to demonstrate that you're doing more than just showing up or it's pointless to list the experiences imho.
Describe Relevant Work Experience: I've done some stuff...within the U.S., I was a policy analyst, ran multiple campaigns, and had some private sector experience. Internationally, I've been a Fulbright, German Chancellor Fellow, and worked for the State Department. I was on track to become a diplomat, but during my Fulbright year I noticed some troubling things. So I had an about face and came back to my home state to do some work. Through luck and a strong network, I was able to get involved in public policy. I pushed and passed legislation, but wasn't moving the needle fast enough...so I ventured back abroad as a GCF. Now I'm back implementing my research within my home state at a pretty high level.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I'm going to be pretty descriptive here so that I hopefully convey the elements that went into what I think was the main reason I got into HKS. I also realize that a lot of this profile could easily give me away haha. Oh well, I want ya'll to get in, so I'm going to just be real. In looking back on everything now, I've lived a crazy life. I talked about it a little, but immediately contextualized it around what I care about and how the recalibration of my career focus has allowed that former pathway to enhance my work. I specifically focused the essay around a lady I once worked with and her plight. How I saw first hand that the system can gobble you up and spit you back out with nothing to show for it. I didn't hold back at all. I then talked about what I need from HKS to prevent that situation from ever happening again. The other essay I talked about a person who was able to benefit from some legislation I helped pass. I talked about the process of getting it done. The data analysis. The lobbying. Winning and what it meant for thousands of kids in my state. Big stuff! Then I talked about the unexpected consequences that followed as a result. How I could never have envisioned them occurring back then, but that now I could see why I needed more training to mitigate this moving forward. With the diversity essay, I talked about the decision to work in my home state instead of becoming a diplomat. I framed it around coming back to my community and the reaction that caused. I finished with the perspective I would bring to the school as a result.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I had 3 Professional LORs. I'd simply been out of school too long to even think about getting an academic one. However, I took part in the Maryland Leadership Institute (I think it's now defunct, but HKS recruited from there) which is a high-level Summer quant/leadership program that a bunch of fellowship programs used to send their participants. You're required to upload that transcript and, thankfully, I did really well and the organizers wrote a very positive letter...so even though it's from years ago, I'd say it was a proxy academic LOR. One of my LORs wrote a really powerful letter for me. He also mentioned how he'd supervised someone who had just graduated from HKS and that he could attest to my quantitative abilities because we essentially had the same job. I'm sure that was clutch as well. The other two I didn't read.
Other: So those scores! I remember folks saying "Oh, if you don't score X and Y they won't even review your application. BULLSHIT. I hope folks who read this moving forward can see that while those scores are important...they definitely aren't decisive. Now, I did have all of the quant coursework (micro, macro, stats, calculus, quantitative seminar, thesis) in college and completed them with honors credit. My quantitative resume was like 4 pages long if I remember correctly. Further, I work with data often at work and in multi-faceted ways too. I've done that both within the U.S. and as a Research Fellow internationally. I can do the stuff, but I am not a good test taker at all. Couple all of that with the fact I'd been out of school for awhile, and there's probably no chance in Hell I'd have a shot at doing well with that test unless I could study for it full-time which, as I've indicated, is damn near impossible given everything else I do. I think the AdCom saw that as well. I obviously DON'T recommend you take the path I did lol. Please score as high as you can! I just want to be forthright in all of this to show that HKS really does look at your entire application. They won't trash you because of a damn random score on a high-stakes test. Hell, I was abroad for my test and was sick. I noted all of this in my additional info section and let it go. I also received a full ride, so they obviously value everything in spite of! I'm passionate about this particular part because I'm convinced many high quality candidates won't apply because they'll believe this idea that you have to score at a certain level. Matt says they'd like to see you score within a certain range, true, but he also says they'll look throughout your application for evidence you can handle the quant in spite of your score. Believe that and make your case. 
A piece of advice. I think I stood out because I was vulnerable and made my essays personal. Don't make your narrative mechanistic. Don't just check boxes. Let your story shine through. I'm saying this because I highly doubt you could read my essays and know exactly what I want to do. That said, you will know WHY I do what I do WHO the people are I work to uplift and HOW I could do many things if I had the tools needed to do my work at a higher level. You will know from my words that I'm committed to what I do every single fiber of my being. Just saying "I want to be X in Y years" would never encapsulate what I'm trying to accomplish. No random title job at fancy institute would be indicative of this journey I'm on, ya know? I think my profile shows a life time of service on paper, but I think my essays also show what motivates me and drives me to do the work that I do. No single element of my resume has a frivolous aspect to it. I've been lucky to do some really cool stuff, yet everything I've done has been strategically aligned with my heart.
Let your friends and family help craft your narrative too. Let them look over crappy drafts and give advice. Let them learn things they may not have known about you, which could make you uncomfortable. Use every resource possible. Let the process consume you. Don't take every piece of advice, however. Your message won't resonate with everyone. That's okay! Ignore that part of their criticism and instead make sure your subject-verb agreement is on point.
Do a much better job of managing the process than I did though. I've always wanted to go to HKS, but you wouldn't know that by how close I was to the dang deadline. Frantically typing with a minute to go close. Start early! The only school I applied to in the end was Harvard because I just didn't have time with everything else I had going on, but all of this was because I didn't start the process early enough. I didn't think I'd ultimately get in at all, so this was going to be a trial run. I was already planning how to rewrite my essays even! Lo and behold...I'm going to my dream school next year on a full-ride Presidential Scholarship!

Let me say something for those not yet accepted, or waiting on a list, or for future applicants, because I've been on Gradcafe for a while now.
I have talked myself out of applying to Harvard for many years now. I never thought I'd make it there. It took sitting down with someone who is currently attending HKS and their basically cursing me out for not applying to actually muster up the courage to finally do so. 
So when I began applying last year, I approached it with no holds barred. I went from not applying because I was scared, to not only envisioning myself at the school but also having the audacity to try and figure out where to live. I embraced the process fully. I made myself vulnerable. I reached deep within myself and, with the help of many friends, wrote essays that I guess were compelling. I made the process personal. I talked about PEOPLE and had these experiences guide me in crafting my narrative.
I HAD A REALLY BAD GRE SCORE. I can't stress enough how holistic this process is. I've been out of school for a while, but even by that standard I think it was too low. Had a decent GPA. Graduated from a community college and a state school. What undoubtedly helped was my work experience. I've worked with data and quantitative stuff for a while now. I've managed campaigns. I've done heavy quant research. I'm just horrible at standardized tests haha. I think I made a good enough case along those lines. I also have multiple years of international experience. 
I had really good recommendations. You want to ensure you find someone that will fight for you within their recommendations. Essentially, you want folks who would call and curse admissions out for not accepting you.
I owe a lot of my admission to this forum. For that, I'll check in every now and then to look at any PMs or responses. I'd love to be the person that gives you the encouraging word I received from a friend not too long ago to apply. YOU CAN DO THIS! Whether you're in now or will be applying later. BELIEVE THAT! 

I wanted to return to this thread in case it could help ease the anxiety of a future applicant.

I checked in with CMU Admissions and Financial Aid to see if my funding would be affected, and they assured me it would not be. Their general stance seems to be that life happens, and what they really care about is that everything on the application is true at the time of applying. My award may be rebranded, but the sum of my aid should remain unchanged. 

I found out right after I enrolled at Heinz that I would not receive the AmeriCorps Segal Education Award if I left three weeks early to attend grad school. I resigned from my AmeriCorps position almost immediately to earn more money, and my supervisor was incredibly understanding. I'll post updates if anything with CMU arises as a result of that, but at this point I'm feeling assured that I made the right decision for me financially.

Thank you, Yellina! Congratulations to you, by the way! 

I suspect that it'd be just that- they pay off whatever needs to be paid of for your tuition and then the school sends you a check for whatever is left. That's how all the federal support works, but a specific fellowship might be different!

Oops. That's right. $83k per year. 
Now, I have no idea how they disperse funds, as I'm just starting. I'll ask around though, because that'd be useful to know. :P

No problem! Hopefully this is helpful to others applying this fall as well. Yep, I applied to 4 separate HKS fellowships with 4 separate (but very similar) essays. That's probably on the high end but all 4 fit my background (science-policy). I personally wouldn't recommend spending time applying to lots of fellowships that are poor matches for your interests--it's better to put a lot of time into just a few. 
It can't hurt to browse the HKS financial aid website to get an idea of what opportunities are out there, but you won't be able to apply to any HKS fellowships until you submit your admission application, so you have tons of time. A good way to make sure you don't miss out on anything is to follow the HKS admissions blog. Sign up for email delivery so you see it in your inbox every morning! 

You're right. Thanks for this comment. Gradcafe has been there for me throughout the years. It's helped me receive the Fulbright and get into my dream school on a full ride. I'll add to the thread now.
Program Applied To: (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.)  MPP
Schools Applied To: Harvard Kennedy School
Schools Admitted To: Harvard Kennedy School

Undergraduate Institution:  State School in the South
Undergraduate GPA:  3.78
Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.9
Undergraduate Major: International Studies
GRE Quantitative Score: 144 (more on this in other)
GRE Verbal Score: 158 
GRE AW Score:  4.0
 
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 7
Years of Work Experience: I graduated in 2011, but I've often held down multiple roles at one time. From running political campaigns while doing private sector work to working on a ballot initiative while serving as a policy analyst...I've often leveraged positions I'm in to get additional experiences outside of work. Sometimes it's of the paid variety, but often I did the work for free. Ultimately, it's all invaluable on your resume. So if you count those experiences separately, about 10 years. I did count them separately with my HKS application and obviously they seemed to have sided with me lol. It's not frou frou stuff neither. You have to demonstrate that you're doing more than just showing up or it's pointless to list the experiences imho.
Describe Relevant Work Experience: I've done some stuff...within the U.S., I was a policy analyst, ran multiple campaigns, and had some private sector experience. Internationally, I've been a Fulbright, German Chancellor Fellow, and worked for the State Department. I was on track to become a diplomat, but during my Fulbright year I noticed some troubling things. So I had an about face and came back to my home state to do some work. Through luck and a strong network, I was able to get involved in public policy. I pushed and passed legislation, but wasn't moving the needle fast enough...so I ventured back abroad as a GCF. Now I'm back implementing my research within my home state at a pretty high level.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I'm going to be pretty descriptive here so that I hopefully convey the elements that went into what I think was the main reason I got into HKS. I also realize that a lot of this profile could easily give me away haha. Oh well, I want ya'll to get in, so I'm going to just be real. In looking back on everything now, I've lived a crazy life. I talked about it a little, but immediately contextualized it around what I care about and how the recalibration of my career focus has allowed that former pathway to enhance my work. I specifically focused the essay around a lady I once worked with and her plight. How I saw first hand that the system can gobble you up and spit you back out with nothing to show for it. I didn't hold back at all. I then talked about what I need from HKS to prevent that situation from ever happening again. The other essay I talked about a person who was able to benefit from some legislation I helped pass. I talked about the process of getting it done. The data analysis. The lobbying. Winning and what it meant for thousands of kids in my state. Big stuff! Then I talked about the unexpected consequences that followed as a result. How I could never have envisioned them occurring back then, but that now I could see why I needed more training to mitigate this moving forward. With the diversity essay, I talked about the decision to work in my home state instead of becoming a diplomat. I framed it around coming back to my community and the reaction that caused. I finished with the perspective I would bring to the school as a result.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I had 3 Professional LORs. I'd simply been out of school too long to even think about getting an academic one. However, I took part in the Maryland Leadership Institute (I think it's now defunct, but HKS recruited from there) which is a high-level Summer quant/leadership program that a bunch of fellowship programs used to send their participants. You're required to upload that transcript and, thankfully, I did really well and the organizers wrote a very positive letter...so even though it's from years ago, I'd say it was a proxy academic LOR. One of my LORs wrote a really powerful letter for me. He also mentioned how he'd supervised someone who had just graduated from HKS and that he could attest to my quantitative abilities because we essentially had the same job. I'm sure that was clutch as well. The other two I didn't read.
Other: So those scores! I remember folks saying "Oh, if you don't score X and Y they won't even review your application. BULLSHIT. I hope folks who read this moving forward can see that while those scores are important...they definitely aren't decisive. Now, I did have all of the quant coursework (micro, macro, stats, calculus, quantitative seminar, thesis) in college and completed them with honors credit. My quantitative resume was like 4 pages long if I remember correctly. Further, I work with data often at work and in multi-faceted ways too. I've done that both within the U.S. and as a Research Fellow internationally. I can do the stuff, but I am not a good test taker at all. Couple all of that with the fact I'd been out of school for awhile, and there's probably no chance in Hell I'd have a shot at doing well with that test unless I could study for it full-time which, as I've indicated, is damn near impossible given everything else I do. I think the AdCom saw that as well. I obviously DON'T recommend you take the path I did lol. Please score as high as you can! I just want to be forthright in all of this to show that HKS really does look at your entire application. They won't trash you because of a damn random score on a high-stakes test. Hell, I was abroad for my test and was sick. I noted all of this in my additional info section and let it go. I also received a full ride, so they obviously value everything in spite of! I'm passionate about this particular part because I'm convinced many high quality candidates won't apply because they'll believe this idea that you have to score at a certain level. Matt says they'd like to see you score within a certain range, true, but he also says they'll look throughout your application for evidence you can handle the quant in spite of your score. Believe that and make your case. 
A piece of advice. I think I stood out because I was vulnerable and made my essays personal. Don't make your narrative mechanistic. Don't just check boxes. Let your story shine through. I'm saying this because I highly doubt you could read my essays and know exactly what I want to do. That said, you will know WHY I do what I do WHO the people are I work to uplift and HOW I could do many things if I had the tools needed to do my work at a higher level. You will know from my words that I'm committed to what I do every single fiber of my being. Just saying "I want to be X in Y years" would never encapsulate what I'm trying to accomplish. No random title job at fancy institute would be indicative of this journey I'm on, ya know? I think my profile shows a life time of service on paper, but I think my essays also show what motivates me and drives me to do the work that I do. No single element of my resume has a frivolous aspect to it. I've been lucky to do some really cool stuff, yet everything I've done has been strategically aligned with my heart.
Let your friends and family help craft your narrative too. Let them look over crappy drafts and give advice. Let them learn things they may not have known about you, which could make you uncomfortable. Use every resource possible. Let the process consume you. Don't take every piece of advice, however. Your message won't resonate with everyone. That's okay! Ignore that part of their criticism and instead make sure your subject-verb agreement is on point.
Do a much better job of managing the process than I did though. I've always wanted to go to HKS, but you wouldn't know that by how close I was to the dang deadline. Frantically typing with a minute to go close. Start early! The only school I applied to in the end was Harvard because I just didn't have time with everything else I had going on, but all of this was because I didn't start the process early enough. I didn't think I'd ultimately get in at all, so this was going to be a trial run. I was already planning how to rewrite my essays even! Lo and behold...I'm going to my dream school next year on a full-ride Presidential Scholarship!

Congratulations! Love seeing good things happen for great people. 

Congratulations! Love seeing good things happen for great people. 

I heard on Wednesday! My total offer was originally $24k total, but SIPA actually ended up nearly doubling it to $44k total. So don't lose hope y'all!

Ha, that's kind of incredible at the last minute. Hope someone else gets a great email today!

Hey guys. Just updating. HKS offered me Public Service Fellowship (100,000. I guess it takes care of tuition). The mail came out of the blue. But declined in favour of WWS. They replied saying it will be offered to someone else. Maybe someone has already got a mail in that regard!

Hey guys, added all the appropriate info to the google doc, but just wanted to put it out there that Columbia SIPA ended up increasing my scholarship offer by nearly half even though I didn't have funding offers from other schools.
For all my future SIPA-hopefuls reading this, it is 100% worth the time to fill out the request for additional funding! I honestly didn't think I had a leg to stand on, but they've been more generous this year (with me, and other folks I've talked to on this forum and at Admitted Students Day) than in the past.

That's my story. 
I finished my Fulbright and decided to come back home and try to make an impact in my state. About 8 years of policy work later (with some international experience in between) I'm towards the upper end of the $70 - $100k range...in the U.S. South...doing the work I've always wanted to do. I've been able to do some really high level stuff and really put myself out there in ways I would never be able to do so in a D.C. or New York, but I'm definitely not some savant or anything. Just really went after what I wanted. The most important of advice to anyone though is work. You'd be surprised how you can have any job be exactly what you need it to be in the long run.
The stuff isn't rocket science, yet some of the most brilliant people I know struggle with all of this. Folks who are much smarter than myself, yet I've been able to get through all levels of education without having to take out a single loan. Ever. I'll be able to go to HKS without having to take out a cent in loans. In fact, I didn't even have to pay the dang deposit nor application fee. It's not to big myself up at all. I don't have some secret formula. I just have good experiences and the right background, which I crafted over time and very strategically. I guess I put all that stuff together in a cohesive enough manner with my application. You can too, though! Probably better than I can. Just trust the process.
So to more directly answer the original question. No, taking out all that money to pursue this particular type of education is not worth it and never will be. I believe you can always find the right school who will give you the right money. I encourage you to reevaluate your approach to this process, whether it be the testing (I didn't study much for the GRE and was going to really concentrate on retaking if I didn't get in), essays (I told stories that wrapped around both my work and what I envision being able to do), and coaching up my recommenders (make sure you don't duplicate your resume and help them dig deep).
I encourage you all to simply not rush any of this. It will work out to your benefit if you don't.