Schools Applied To: WWS (2yr MPA), HKS (MPA2), Yale (2yr MA), Tufts Fletcher (MALD), Chicago Harris (2yr MPP), and HGSE (3-year practitioner doctorate) Schools Admitted To: HKS, Tufts Fletcher (40k), Chicago Harris (38k) Schools Rejected From: HGSE (okay, 2.5% selectivity), WWS (sadface), Yale (WTF!) Still Waiting: None Undergraduate Institution: Business undergrad from India. The program admitted only 1% of applicants, and was ranked the #1 in the country ?♂️ Strong extra-curriculars and team leadership. Undergraduate GPA: Piss-poor academic performance. Graduate Institution: East Coast MBA (nationally ranked #20 to #50). Received substantial scholarship. Leadership of one of the most competitive on-campus clubs. Graduate GPA: Piss-poor academic performance, again. I see a trend here. GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores: 169/162/5.5 Years Out of Undergrad: 16 Years Out of Grad: 11 Years of Work Experience: 10 (if you do the math, I've been unemployed for 4 years, all post-MBA). Describe Relevant Work Experience: Ed entrepreneurship in India (2 years); ESL teacher in North Africa (3 years); tech entrepreneurship in DC (2 years); Project Manager in charter school in NOLA (3 years). Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): V strong. I started by writing a 3,000-page story of my life in March 2019, and got pilloried by friends. It was depressing. Started from scratch in July, and this was still depressing as fuck. Finally, started from scratch again in September, and this just came together beautifully. It was vulnerable and inspiring, and painted a vivid picture of who I was: how my past had shaped me, and brought me to this professional calling to do great things with my life. I know what I want, and either the school can help me get there in 5 years, or I'll get there on my own in 10-15 years. From that, depending on what each school asked for, and what their respective strengths were, I modified my essays a little bit, and sent them over. My weakest writing was for Tufts (early November); HKS, WWS, and Chicago got decent writings (Dec 1 deadline), HGSE and Yale got my best writing possible (late December). Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): V strong. From three people, but none from my direct manager. (i) From my first manager in the US; someone I'd worked with in grad school in 2007, while she was an employee there. We had stayed in touch since, and she was now a mentor/friend. (ii) From a manager/mentor in North Africa. This was difficult, because I'd worked closely with two people, but both had seen different sides of me. Eventually, after extended phone calls and long emails, I finalized on one person to write the letter, but she also spoke with the other person to get a well-rounded perspective on me. (iii) From a friend who had seen me closely in my current role but had not actually managed me, and wasn't even employed at the school at the time she wrote the letter. This was a difficult choice because though my manager would have been able to write a far stronger LOR, but I wasn't sure she would. I wasn't 100% confident that she wanted the best for me. Yeah, I know, fucked up situation. In addition, I also volunteered in non-profit consulting roles over the past 2 years, to ensure I had back-up LOR writers.
In general, if you're older (and have been out of school longer), then GPA doesn't matter as much as your GRE scores (shows I can still be a disciplined student) and LORs (shows I am valued as a professional, and not unproven). In addition, all of my recommenders knew me very well, and would have been able to speak not just to my work abilities, but also to my character and personality. I sent them my second draft of the essays (July 2019 version), and a one-page doc on why I was attracted to each program I was applying to.
All said, I'm relieved and grateful to be admitted to HKS. No one in my family even has a passport, and yet here, I am at the doors of the Big H. It's unnerving, and while a part of me had faith I'd get here, I was also aware of how those 4 years of unemployment could tank my candidacy. I'm 100% devoted to my work in education and public service, and I'm very thankful for having gotten here. Looking forward to how things shape up next.
