PHL City Planner
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I have a good friend who was HKS '17. She was able to defer for professional reasons; she worked in ID and wanted to stay abroad for one more year. I know HKS isn't on your list, but it's at least possible at some schools.
Not sure about funding, but I'd have to assume deferring wouldn't result in a reevaluation of funding in your favor. They'd hold your place at your current offer of admission and/or not be able to commit to funding levels next year (those allocations vary each year and aren't committed that far in the future).
If you want to do the Fulbright and get additional funding by starting a year later, my scientific guess would be that you'd need to reapply.
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Throwing my hat in the ring for 2019 matriculation. Any thoughts/pointers would be appreciated
Program: MPP/MPA
Schools Applying To: WWS, HKS - see below for concerns
Interests: Domestic/urban policy - specifically economic development and government-business policy
Undergrad Institution: Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude in biology from top 20 competitive liberal arts college (2010)
Undergraduate GPA: 3.71
Grad Institution: Master's of City Planning from top 3 Ivy League program (2012) with a few fellowships/scholarships thrown in
Graduate GPA: 3.73
GRE: TBD - taking August 2018
Quantitative Courses: calc, micro econ, urban econ, statistics, plenty of science classes, etc. (not worried about my quant experience)
Age: 29
Work Experience: after finishing my master's I worked for 3 years in consulting working on public-private partnership deal structures, public sector real estate redevelopment, and economic development projects. For the past 3 years I've been a civil servant working for DOT in one of their policy offices, focused on real estate projects and some fine-grained accounting and financial analyses projects for some very large federal grant recipients. I also participate in some industry forums on urban revitalization, and volunteer for LGBT organizations.
LORs: TBD but three in total. Likely two from work: 1) my office director, who is an HKS grad and an SES, and 2) my current division chief. Third will probably be from my undergrad thesis advisor/close mentor (biology professor) who supervised my senior thesis.
Concerns: I have arrived at wanting an MPA/MPP degree slowly - if you told me even 1-2 years ago that I'd be considering going back to school I wouldn't believe you. I think the rigor of a policy program would do a lot to catalyze my career; I eventually want to work at the city-level. Reading through the courses, simulations, and curricula available at these programs really excites me.
I have a few concerns. I am a bit nervous that my GRE score will not be super competitive (92%+ percentile) for HKS and WWS because it's been a while since I've had to study for a standardized test. I'm sure lots of us deal with "imposter's syndrome" but it's especially true for me so I need to build my confidence to really sell myself. Also, I am really interested in domestic urban policy, which seems to be less popular among MPA/MPP programs. HKS and WWS both have solid programs focused on that concentration. What are some others? The other constraint is that my husband and I are located in the Northeast and would like to stay in that region. I'm tempted to apply to only 2-4 programs that really fit my interests and see what happens.
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On 4/1/2018 at 8:55 AM, jxw said:
Schools Applied To: SAIS IDEV, SIPA, Chicago-MSCAPP, HKS
Schools Admitted to: SAIS (75% funding, no IDEV), SIPA (85% funding), Chicago-MSCAPP (no funding)
Schools Rejected From: HKS
Undergraduate institution: Top 20 US University
Undergraduate GPA: 3.9
Undergraduate Major: Economics
GRE Quantitative Score: 163
GRE Verbal Score: 165
GRE AW Score: 5.5
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 7
Years of Work Experience: 7
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Currently work in the private sector in big data and product management. On the side, I volunteer with a refugee resettlement organization and a city councilman as a policy researcher. I would like to transition from the private sector into international development leveraging my big data and product management skills.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I think my private sector background, particularly since it specializes in the "hot" trend of the moment, big data and product management, helped me stand out. My challenge was being able to use the SOP to show both my interest in international development (which began in college after working with a non-profit in India), my practical skills around data analytics and technology, and my desire to merge the two.Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I got LORs that backed up three aspects of my application: interest in international affairs/devt, professional aptitude/leadership, and academic strength. I only read one LOR from the refugee resettlement organization's volunteer coordinator and it was super sweet and really attested to my dedication while volunteering. For professional aptitude/leadership, I got a LOR from my former manager at my company. For academic strength, I got a LOR from my economics professor who could speak about my quantitative skills and my interest in int'l devt (I wrote a thesis on women's empowerment in India that he supervised and loved).
Other: I applied to all besides HKS early and I really recommend doing that! Because of the rolling early decision deadlines, I was able to stagger my application work so I could focus on each school for a month. And applying early also meant that if I didn't get in to any schools, I still had the regular cycle to consider. My application to HKS was a last-minute one; I'm glad I did it but I think more time to really think through my SOPs would have helped. At the same time, I wasn't completely convinced that HKS was the school for me, which might have also hindered my application.
Decision: I'm leaning towards SIPA given the financial situation and the fact that I didn't get into IDEV at SAIS. SIPA's curriculum, though slightly overwhelming, seems more flexible than SAIS's and SIPA seems to have more of a focus on technology than SAIS. Given that I have a lot of experience in data analytics and I'm looking to transition to international development, Chicago didn't seem like it would fill in the gaps for me, and the lack of funding didn't help. I'm looking forward to visiting SAIS and SIPA in two weeks!
I thought I read on HKS's Admissions Blog (a post from 2016 I think) that they do not do rolling admission; has this changed? Anyone know what their policy is now/if there is a benefit to applying as early as possible?
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Hey everyone - I realize it's only April, but I figured I'd get started on the HKS thread for 2019 matriculation.
A little about me: I'm a 2010 grad from a competitive small liberal arts college, 2012 masters in city planning from an ivy (both with honors), worked in public finance consulting for three years, now working as a civil servant in a policy office in transportation. I'm active in a few LGBT causes, and have a fellowship with a large, international professional organization that focuses on urban revitalization. I'm taking the GRE in August. I'm attracted to HKS and other MPP programs that offer programs in domestic policy, economic development, and urban policy. I'm nervous but excited to go through the application process, and to be nearly 30(!). Currently brainstorming essay topics, and how to best hone my story.
What about you?
The 'Am I competitive' thread - READ ME BEFORE POSTING
in Government Affairs Forum
Posted
Thanks both! Have either of you thought about an MBA instead? I've been talking to some coworkers and friends and they've floated the idea of an MBA because of its versatility, and you can often take policy courses at other schools within the university/sister institutions. One good friend of mine was in the same policy/business debate and opted for her MBA.
If so, I imagine there are specific MBA programs that are "softer" on business, and have policy or public finance concentrations. Interested in your thoughts.