JWSS

I'll be at Chicago Harris, for the MPP. Good luck to all!

Hello! First of all, thank you all so much for your insight on the forum. It’s been so helpful throughout this process. Basically, my dilemma is deciding wether or not to wait for grad school. I have two years of Peace Corps experience in the economic development sector (West Africa), as well as 6mo doing research for a UN agency (in China) right after graduating from college. I got into a bunch of programs (SIPA, Wagner, Ford, McCourt), but all with $15-$20,000 aid. The best deal I currently have is $20,000/year at Chicago Harris, putting my tuition debt load at graduation around $62,000 (the tuition is cheaper and cost of living would be too). I want to go into public sector consulting or development consulting post-graduate school. My my question is: is it worth taking Harris and accepting the debt? Or is it better for me to work another year or two and reapply to programs hoping for more funding? If I started this fall, I would be 27 at graduation. I’ve never had student debt before (I had effectively a full ride at undergrad), so the thought makes me nervous. That said I do have about $14,000 in savings and a car worth about $8,000, so that would definitely help offset some living costs. I thought the decision would become clearer the closer I got to the deadline, but unfortunately it has not. Thank you for your insight!

In! But no word on funding. Congrats to all.

Rejected at Yale. There was a gigantic applicant pool and so few spots, so I’m not too bummed. Congrats to everyone accepted, you’re going to have a wild ride and I’m proud of all y’all!

I just checked my portal and didn't see anything about MPP decisions. Hopefully soon!

@Tk2356 Thank you! That's great advice, I'll give it all some thought. In terms of applications, in your experience do you think it's better to try to pair it down to 5 or so schools, or put out as many as possible to help negotiate funding down the road? I'm looking at the list of places I could apply now and am a little daunted by the sheer volume. That said I'm not really sure how to pair it down to the schools I should be focusing on. Also, and I don't know if you'd know this since I haven't seen much about it on the forum (though I am a newbie), is it true that Yale Jackson is as competitive as WWS?

Hello! As is the case with a lot of people here I've been reading the forum religiously for the last couple of weeks and you all have provided valuable insight in this process. I hope to contribute in the future, and thank you all in advance for taking a look at my profile! I'm mostly curious if you think I'm setting my sights too high, and what, if any, schools you think I should focus on in particular. Schools Applying To: Columbia SIPA, Chicago Harris, Duke Sanford, Princeton WWS, HKS, Berkeley, & Michigan Ford. My top choices would be Stanford IPS or SAIS, and obviously WWS for the tuition assistance. I've also been back and forth on whether or not I should apply to any MBA programs. Both types of programs would help me in the career trajectory I want, but as of right now I think applying to MPP/MPAs is a better choice because not only is the curriculum a better "fit," but I think I could get into better MPP/MPA programs. Interests: MPP/MPA programs, with a desire to break into development consulting after graduation. Undergrad Institution: Top 100 private university in Chicago Undergraduate GPA: 3.67 (unlike most, I have a downward trend. I took two semesters of 21 credits of all economics classes senior year because I added an econ major late). Years since Undergrad: Three years by the time of application Undergraduate Major: Econ and Int'l Studies (minors in French, Spanish, and Asian studies) GRE: Taking the test in September, but my practice tests are putting me at mid to high 160s in verbal, low 160s in quant Quantitative Courses: Intro and intermediate Micro & Macro (As and Bs), Stats (A), Calc (though I got a C- in Calc because I missed an exam). Hopefully retaking calc online (doing that now) and a high quant score will overcome that? Age: currently 24, will be 25 when I enroll Languages: English, working proficient Spanish, French, and Wolof, and what was once intermediate Mandarin (now not as good). I can also speak passable Serer, as my Peace Corps host family speaks it at home. Would that even be worth listing on an application? Work Experience: Currently a Peace Corps volunteer in the Economic Development sector (West Africa) A 6mo internship with the Quebec chamber of commerce in Chicago, mostly data research 6mo doing economic and policy research for the WHO in China LORs: I am family friends with a former ambassador and SAIS graduate, I was thinking he might be a good recommender? Thoughts? In addition, my boss in Peace Corps, my old boss at the WHO, and an old economics professor who runs Stanford business school's executive education program in China all agreed to write me recs. SOPs: I haven't written them yet but I have a rough idea. I come from a family of public servants and have a demonstrated international focus (both policy and development related). I was a writing tutor in college at one point, so the prose will be fine as long as I can project a coherent story. Concerns: My biggest worry is a less than stellar grade in Calculus (C-, I missed an exam), and a B- in intermediate microeconomics. In addition, I worry about work experience since I'll be on the low end with 2.5 years total. Additionally, though I'm scoring well on the GRE practice tests (and am studying a lot), I live in the literal desert and it's hard to know how I'll perform on the GRE when test day rolls around. I am extremely lucky to be a Peace Corps volunteer and have access to application fee waivers virtually everywhere. I also have a lot of time to apply, so I think pairing down a list of schools at which I have a reasonable chance of acceptance is my priority. Thank you all in advance for any thoughts you may have!

@Nonprofitguy Thank you! That was exactly the information I was looking for. One question though, what do you mean by "Majority of non-HBS MBA students (basically 90%+) end up doing MBA/MPA at HKS because of the flexibility. Although HKS looks to be changing this somewhat"? Non HBS MBA students from where? Thanks!

@Damis So wait, you're going to apply to an MBA while in your first year at HKS? How does that work when you get accepted for Fall 2019 and you're starting your second year at HKS? Or would you just try to split time between Harvard and like MIT for the MBA? Just curious how that would work being a simultaneous student in both programs. I'm so torn this application cycle. I'm definitely interested in both MBA/MPP programs as they'll each get me where I want to be career-wise, but I'd also like to go wherever I get into the best program. I'm working in community economic development for Peace Corps right now so most of my application fees are waived, so part of me wants to just put out a lot of apps and see who bites, but another part feels like I should just make up my mind and apply to mostly MBAs or MPP/MPAs. Thankfully the nature of my job means I have quite a bit of time to put together applications, so we'll see.

@Damis Do you feel like you’re more likely to get into an MBA program at Harvard applying from HKS than you would otherwise be? That would make sense, but I’ve always been curious what that feels like from the inside.

Hello! I've been a lurker for the past couple of weeks as I prepare for the 2018-19 application cycle, and this forum has been incredibly valuable. Since the application season is pretty much over, I thought this would be a good time to ask a question that's been on my mind for the last few months: was anyone else who eventually applied to an MPP/MPA program deciding between one of those programs and an MBA? I feel like almost daily my thought process changes. A little bit of background about me: I am an American currently working in international development in sub-Saharan Africa. I absolutely want a career in int'l development, but I'm just not sure the best way to get there. Yes, programs like SAIS open a lot of opportunities in that respect (and seem culturally like an incredible fit), but in the venn diagram of MPPs and MBAs, there's a lot of overlap especially when it comes to development consulting (at least as far as I can tell). I think I could get into a better MPP than MBA program, and a couple of my ex-colleagues went on to WWS and one to HKS, but others are in MBAs at Cornell and Georgetown. I also know that I'd probably be able to more quickly pay down any debt I might have with an MBA, but the "fit" of the MPP/MPA programs is much better for my background and interests. Do you all have any thoughts? I'd love to hear from someone who was in a similar position, or who plans on working in development in the future!