JonathanL96

I took GRE twice and got 332 for the first time and full score for the second time. What bothers me is that I got 4.0 for my writing both of the time. I don't even know why because I don't think I am a bad writer. My school GPA is OK too I am now looking to apply for a Poli Sci Phd program this fall. I was wondering how a 4.0 writing score will hurt my chances at top programs? Should I retake GRE?

Yah...I also got 60k from SIPA and am negotiating with Harris to get a bump in scholarship. HKS is too stingy. Despite the brand name I don't think it is worth 60K more than the rest of the schools that accepted me

i may choose another school over HKS.

I am in a similar position. Got 40k/yr from SAIS and 30k/yr from SIPA. No money from HKS. I am debating with myself now

I won't be taking on any debt even if I go to HKS. I guess it just depends on whether I care about saving 40k per year

I am also thinking about a law school joint degree. in this case, the HKS route will be much more expensive due to no scholarship

in your case, i think both SIPA and HKS MPP are good. SIPA has a location advantage over HKS MPP (in NYC). Consulting firms are also not as picky about ur grad school compared to your undergrad. Plus that both Columbia and Harvard are similarly excellent brands for most consulting firms, except for maybe MBB.

is this even debatable?? God I'm so jealous. I was dinged by WWS but accepted by HKS MPP with no funding. I would have taken WWS with no second thought

I am waiting for Uchicago Harris to reconsider my scholarship amount. If they can boost my funding to say 20k + per yr, I might consider it with SAIS and HKS.

Hi Kyle, Congrats on ur offers. I am more into public sector jobs as well. Coming from a provide sector background, HKS MPP's strength you mentioned is not that appealing to me. I guess I am just hesitating if I should fall for the Harvard brand name + better student profile on average + more opportunities for networking and potentially a joint degree

Hi all, I just received an offer from HKS MPP program, with no scholarship offered. I am currently debating whether I should take the offer or go for the MA program at SAIS in DC, which provides me a $40k scholarship per year. What are your thoughts? In the long run I am interested in development economics and international affairs. I may do a PhD after graduation as well, but nothing is set yet. I am really keen on to take the MPP offer but 40k per year is no joke.... My family is ok to support the MPP tuition but I feel bad letting them do this. Thanks.

thanks Kyle. My concern is that if I get into a good MBA program this year, my limited work experience may still hamper my recruiting process going forward - as far as I know for post-MBA positions consulting firms and F500 companies prefer those with longer work experience. Based on what you have read, have you seen people with 2 years of wp get into top firms after MBA? Thanks

you r right. I was not interested in finance at all but only went for it for the sake of prestige and money....I'm interested in foreign policy but given my background as an international student it is hard to explore this area in the US. It also seems the pay is meagre for think tanks and NGOs too. In my home country the gov usually does not take US-educated students in their foreign services department. This is kinda my dilemma now.

Hi all,I have been lurking on the website for a while and this is my first post. I am applying to MPA/MPP/MA in Intl Affairs programs for 2020 fall but now I am a little lost. I am an Intl student who went to a top US uni (top20) and graduated last year. I have been interested in international affairs and politics for a while (was writer for school politics magazine, did research in IR, etc) but eventually I went into investment banking after graduation. I was not particularly into banking but I guess I did not think about my career paths clearly before getting into finance. One year after doing the job I realized that banking, or finance in general, is a bit too boring for me. Around that time I also had a bit of family issues and was depressed as a result. I then quit and joined a multilateral organization as an intern (6 months) focusing on sustainable investment policy in region, while making plans to go back to the states for a MPA/MPP degree. I did my GRE in Sept. and luckily got a full score (writing 4.5) Currently I am applying to SAIS MA, SIPA MIA, HKS and Uchi Harris + maybe stanford However, after spending some time doing research and browsing this website, I started to have a bit doubts. I kinda feel like I was too silly to just quit a high-paying job and jump into this field without knowing the difficulties ahead. I do know that a policy job for intl students is not going to be lucrative, but I don't really mind the salary as long as I really enjoy it and I am not starving. My issue now is I dont know if I am THAT into the policy field. Doing my current internship makes me feel like maybe politics and stuff are just my hobbies on the side. I know that I don't wanna go back to banking, so I am starting to think about maybe consulting or macroeconomics research or equity research in the future, while still exploring the policy sector after I get into one of those programs (like maybe world bank, IMF, Asia Dev bank, etc) My question is should i also apply to dual degrees in MBA? My dilemma is that I stupidly quit my job so I only have one year full time experience in banking + an internship before MBA. I think most private sector companies will look for those with 3-5 work exp post-MBA grads, let alone the fact that top MBAs normally don't take those with work exp less than 2 years. Thanks for your inputs in advance. Any suggestions on job search or figuring out ur career passion are welcome.

Hi all, I have been lurking on the website for a while and this is my first post. I am applying to MPA/MPP/MA in Intl Affairs programs for 2020 fall but now I am a little lost. I am an Intl student who went to a top US uni (top20) and graduated last year. I have been interested in international affairs and politics for a while (was writer for school politics magazine, did research in IR, etc) but eventually I went into investment banking after graduation. I was not particularly into banking but I guess I did not think about my career paths clearly before getting into finance. One year after doing the job I realized that banking really is too boring for me. I then quit and joined a multilateral organization as an intern (6 months) focusing on sustainable investment policy in region, while making plans to go back to the states for a MPA/MPP degree. I did my gre in Sept. and luckily got a full score (writing 4.5) Currently I am applying to SAIS MA, SIPA MIA, HKS and Uchi Harris + maybe stanford However, after spending some time doing research and browsing this website, I started to have a bit doubts. I kinda feel like I was too silly to just quit a high-paying job and jump into this field without knowing the difficulties ahead. I do know that a policy job for intl students is not going to be lucrative, but I don't really mind the salary as long as I really enjoy it and I am not starving. My issue now is I dont know if I am THAT into the policy field. Doing my current internship makes me feel like maybe politics and stuff are just my hobbies on the side. I know that I don't wanna go back to banking, so I am starting to think about maybe consulting or macroeconomics research or equity research in the future, while still exploring the policy sector after I get into one of those programs (like maybe world bank, IMF, Asia Dev bank, etc) My question is should i also apply to dual degrees in MBA? My dilemma is that I stupidly quit my job so I only have one year full time experience in banking + an internship before MBA. I think most private sector companies will look for those with 3-5 work exp post-MBA grads, let alone the fact that top MBAs normally don't take those with work exp less than 2 years. Thanks for your inputs in advance.