mmac06

Hi everyone, I'm a current MPP1 student at HKS. I used this board a good amount when deciding what to do for graduate school. Like many of you, I got no funding from HKS and am taking out loans to be here. I am planning on working in the non-profit sector after I graduate. I can't speak about experiences at other schools, but I can tell you that I've really enjoyed my time here. It's hard to say if it's been "worth it." $40K per year in tuition isn't cheap. Still, $40K for HARVARD tuition isn't terrible when you think about it. I think HKS's website says something like the expected cost of a year here is $70K incl. living expenses? It's an overestimate in my opinion. It depends on your lifestyle, but I've found good ways to save on living expenses. First, DO NOT USE HARVARD HOUSING. A (seemingly wealthy) friend of mine is currently paying something like $1,500/ month for a Harvard studio. Good Lord.... Living in Boston is expensive for sure, but not THAT expensive. I'm living in the Brighton area. It's a 15min bus ride to HKS and I'm paying $600/ month for a pretty sweet place. I know others who live in Porter Square. It's a great location, close to school, and much cheaper than Harvard Sq. area. Next, second-year funding is very rare. Don't assume it will be there for you. BUT, there are other ways to save/make money around here. I had a research assistantship last year (they're fairly easy to come by it seems). I worked about 10hrs per week at $16/hr. Not AMAZING pay, but it's not bad and was really nice to have some extra money in my pocket. Plus, I got some great research experience with a prominent visiting fellow who has already written me one letter of recommendation. This semester I'm working for the Office for Sustainability and am making about $18/hr. You can find jobs around here that help ease the burden a bit. Like I said, I can't speak to other university experiences. I was (and still am!) pretty stressed about finances when I was making my decision to attend HKS. The amazing speakers and visiting fellows that come through here are awesome. The faculty are well-established with great experience. Boston/Cambridge is a sweet area. Plus, the student culture here has been pretty great. The people I run into here have all done amazing work in different fields and capacities all over the world. There are large international conferences here about every weekend. Is it worth it? Well, it's hard for me to qualify $40K / year -- especially because I'm still a first year student. Am I glad I'm here? Absolutely.

(I searched for this question in this thread but couldn't find an answer) I'll be starting at Harvard Kennedy School in the fall and am looking for very affordable housing. I'm currently thinking of rooming with some friends of mine who will be attending BC. We're looking in the Brighton area, which is between the two campuses. I will be bringing a bike and plan on using public transportation. Most of the apartments we're looking at are connected to HKS by either the #86 bus or the #66 bus. Using googlemaps, it calculates my bus commuting time to be anywhere from 18min-25min depending on the location. I was wondering if these estimates are realistic when it comes to traffic and bus frequency. Does anyone have experience with the #86 and/or #66 routes? Is traffic notoriously bad along these routes? Are they notoriously late? .... and, most importantly, can bus routes even be notorious??

Interesting reflections. As an admitted MPP student at HKS who will likely do non-profit or gov't work after graduation, I too am concerned with the debt I will be taking on. I am somewhat comforted by generous repayment plans. First, the government Income Based Repayment Plan (IBR) and the Federal Public Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), which you can read about at www.ibrinfo.org and http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/PSF.jsp. The programs allow you to repay federal loans based on a sliding scale and also offer a loan forgiveness program for doing "public service work," which includes working for any government organziation (local, state, national) or non-profit (a registered 501©(3) or a private organization that offers the following services: Emergency management, Military service, Public safety, Law enforcement, Public interest law services, Early childhood education, Public service for individuals with disabilities and the elderly, Public health, Public education, Public library services, and School library or other school-based services; source PSLF Q&A, #24). Using the IBR calculator, I entered the following info: married (no), debt ($140,000 USD), income ($56,000), interest rate (6.8%). A qualifying person with these stats would only pay $500 a month (not $1,060 as you indicated). For someone making $47,000, payments would be $380 / month and so on. In addition, after 120 on-time monthly payments (10 years), any remaining balance would be forgiven under PSLF--including any outstanding interest. Harvard also has HKS Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP), which reimburses graduates in the "public interest sector" (described above) for loan payments on a sliding scale for anyone making under $60,000 for five years. For a single person making $32,000 and below, Harvard reimburses your loan payments 100%. For those making $48,000-$60,000, Harvard reimburses you 25% of your payments. For the above example, a person making $500 / month payments would be reimbursed $125 / month for five years. Is it AMAZING? No. Is it a nice perk, and will it help? Definitely. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this.

I'd like to hear any reactions as well. I wan't able to make it.

Thanks StellaHaiti2. I keep seeing your name pop up on posts I'm reading. Very helpful. Does anyone else have experience approaching schools for funding??

I have been admitted to two great Master of Public Policy programs for the fall. However, both schools are pretty expensive (around $40,000 in tuition / year), especially considering I will likely be working in the non-profit sector. Graduating with well over $80,000 (tuition + living) in debt makes me queasy. My question is: How does one go about asking for more money? I was planning on calling the Financial Aid Office at each school to explain my situation and explore my options. Has anyone had any success doing this? Any advice on how to go about it? What have other people done to secure more funding? I feel like any advice would be helpful to me and many others who are in similar situations. Thank you all!

Excellent question DCA-John!! This thought has been rolling around in my mind for the last couple of hours - especially since I imagine I'll be going into non-proft work. I'm interested in hearing people's responses!

Congrats! I clicked it and received an *amazing* financial aid package consisting of Direct Sub. Stafford Loans ($8,500), Direct Unsub. Stafford Loans ($12,000), and GRAD Plus or Private Loan Eligibility ($48,925). I feel like they held the carrot in front of my face with the Accept Awards Tab and then yanked it away and slapped me with it.

So.... I got my Financial Aid email a few minutes ago (about 10:00am EST). Here's the email: I'm confused though. I went to MYFAID and I have an "Accept Awards" tab. Then I see a list of terms and conditions that starts with: But there is no award "above" as indicated. Then after the list of terms and conditions, there's a box you can tick that says "I agree to these terms and conditions" and a button to click that says "Submit." Do you think I have to click this to see my financial aid package? By clicking it, am I accepting a financial aid offer (that I don't see)?? Does anyone else have this?

Very helpful advice. Thanks!

Against all odds, I was admitted to Master of Public Policy programs at U of Chicago (no $) and Harvard ($ decisions pending). Unfortunately, both schools scheduled their admitted student day for the same date. I'll be attending Harvard's but don't feel comfortable making a decision without visiting U of Chicago as well. I live in Chicago, so it's no problem to stop by the school. I was wondering how to go about visiting U of Chicago. Should I contact the admissions office to arrange a visit? Should I contact professors I would like to meet? What kind of experiences should I seek out during my visit? Any advice would be great. Also, because I didn't receive $ from U of C, I was going to slyly mention that I was admitted to Harvard when scheduling my campus visit. If I receive funding from Harvard, I'm also considering approaching U of C to see if they are willing to offer me anything. Does anyone have opinions of this approach?

I like that you said: "equal funding offers" meaning $0.00 Thanks to both of you. I'm attending Harvard's open house on April 8th. Sadly, UC's open house is the same day. I need to make an appointment to check out UC's program on my own time.

Another question from a Harris admit... U of Chicago seems to have a reputation of being a bit more politically conservative and right-leaning than other comparable universities. Did you find this to be true at Harris and the MPP program? How would you describe the political atmosphere?

Thanks for the feedback namename! I figured this question would go unanswered. I received my acceptance letter from UChicago last night. Sadly, like you, they didn't give me any funding which makes it even harder to pass up Harvard. I admit that choosing between these two programs is a great "problem" to have, but it's quite stressful to be honest. If I happen to get aid from Harvard on April 1, can I use that as leverage to try and get some aid from UChicago? Do people do that??