one1

I am was selected for Brazil. Very excited for the opportunity.

Dr. Blattman from Harris wrote something on his blog that might interest you. https://chrisblattman.com/2013/10/04/what-ma-mpa-or-mia-program-is-for-you/ He talks about SIPA and Harris and the pros and cons of both. He was a professor at both and shares a wealth of knowledge on his blog. I think one of the big points he mentions with the NYC and Washington D.C. programs is the networking opportunities. In NYC, SIPA has great connections with the UN. I will say that the Career Development Office at Harris seems extremely motivated to help students achieve their goals. I was not disappointed at my first impression with any aspect of UChicago. I think that when you talk about any of the top ten programs, they are all so great that you can make any of them work for your goals.

I visited a number of the programs you listed and was accepted to JHU, HKS, and Harris. I was in somewhat of a unique position because I was really looking for joint MPP/MBA programs. This factored into my decision making process, but I will give you my opinions based solely on the MPP programs. After visiting JHU, HKS, and UChicago, I felt it was clear that UChicago was the right place for me. The faculty seemed much more accessible. I was offered a global security fellowship that I was really interested in. Even though I was already fully funded, I wanted to be able to participate in an internal fellowship that offered professional development opportunities. The Pearson Institute at Harris is new and there are many exciting things on the horizon, I felt like HKS would be much more of a cookie cutter experience. I also felt like there was less flexibility with the program. Personally, looking back at when I first started thinking about applying to MPP programs... I would have not have expected to choose Harris over HKS. After visiting Chicago, it was an easy choice.

This is hilarious to me. In what world do you think arguing a pro-Palestinian stance is controversial in academia? That is not even a controversial stance at Tel-Aviv University.

I was notified on 31 January. Did anyone else find out on a different date?

Did anyone get information on the Pearson Fellowship?

It includes the mid-career MPA which likely skews the data. Look at the specific program you are interested in. 25% is about right for the MPP program from what I understand.

Program Applied To: MPP/MBA Schools Applied To: Harvard, Chicago, Stanford, Columbia (numerous joint MPP/MBA programs) Schools Admitted To: Harris (I am receiving full sponsorship and a stipend from the government) Rejected: HBS (So I will not accept HKS if offered) Undergraduate institution: Small state university Undergraduate GPA: 3.36 Undergraduate Majors: Public Administration GRE Quantitative Score: 150 GRE Verbal Score: 155 GRE AW Score: 4.0 Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 8 Years of Work Experience: 12 years working in the Intelligence Community; I am currently an intelligence officer in the military. Describe Relevant Work Experience: Wide range of experience in the Intelligence Community. Director of Policy and Advocacy for a nonprofit focused on policy issues that impact veterans with mental health conditions. Schools Admitted To: (Just listing MPP programs and not MBA) Harris Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Strong. Even though I am very much a nontraditional applicant, my experience lines up well with a MPP/MBA program. Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): This was probably the strongest part of my application. My LORs writers are all very supportive and have known me for a long time. My strengths are not with my academic background but with my leadership experience in the military. I asked my mentor/commanding officer to highlight my leadership accomplishments, a well-respected senior analyst I worked with to highlight my abilities as an analyst, and one of my military instructors to discuss my academic abilities. All three of my letter writers went above and beyond and even worked with each other to make sure they didn’t duplicate my accomplishments. I didn’t personally read them, but I am confident they were very strong. Other: I took the GRE in 2011 and scored 162V, 163Q, and a 4.0 AWA. My most recent GRE scores were obviously my biggest weakness. I had multiple scheduling conflicts to re-take the GRE before the cut-off dates. I have been studying for the GRE and have been scoring in the 157-160 range on V and Q… in case I have to re-take the test. If I get into Booth (U of Chicago’s Business School) I will not take the GRE again. Decision: I am choosing the University of Chicago. I visited HKS/HBS and Harris/Booth. I loved them both. There were definitely pros and cons with both. I really liked the staff at Harris which surprised me because on this forum I read some negative things about the administration at Harris. I think in the last 2-3 years, Harris made some amazing improvements to the program. The staff really impressed me. HKS was much different than I anticipated. Maybe it was just because of the group of current students I talked to, but students at Harris seemed like they were having a much better time than the students at HKS. Overall, Harris was my number one choice for a MPP program. Keep in mind, my thoughts are likely different than most people on this thread because I evaluated programs based on the combination of MBA and MPP programs. If I would have received an offer from HBS in round one, I would have likely accepted the offer without consideration of the results of Harris or HKS. That being said, the curriculum at Harvard was very rigid. I am attracted to Chicago because of the flexibility in choosing a path that best fits your goals. I am excited to go to Harris!