Zeppelin17
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Posts posted by Zeppelin17
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Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP, MPA
Schools Applied To: HKS, SPIA, Jackson, Sanford, LBJ, O'Neill
Schools Admitted To: HKS (0$), LBJ (Fulbright scholarship), O'Neill (Fulbright Scholarship)
Schools Waitlisted At: SPIA, Sanford
Schools Rejected From: Jackson
Undergraduate Institution: Some obscure university in a post-Soviet state
Undergraduate GPA: 3.85
Undergraduate Major: Economics
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores: 163 Q, 158 V, 4.5 AW (IELTS 8.0)
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 3
Years of Work Experience: 3.5
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Worked for the leading think-tank in the region, researching topics related to economic development.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): It is my third year applying (whoops), so I worked on them so much. I believe they are pretty good - 8/10.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): one from a former boss who is currently an MP, one from the head of Economics department from my previous university, one from a former professor of Econometrics - 7/10
Other: Fingers crossed for waitlists of SPIA and Sanford. If not, I will be heading to (most likely) LBJ. -
Got Waitlisted for MPP. Has anyone ever gotten off the waitlist for Princeton in the past years?
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2 hours ago, GradSchoolGrad said:
I am very uncomfortable with this question at large because there is no real way to rank schools like that.
1. Schools are rather secretive about what their strategic scholarship spending plans are
2. What was relevant last year may change the next year.
3. Even the stingiest schools may put aside money for specific people they are looking for (for example, I know of a graduate program willing to give Indian/Latin American students more scholarships one year in order to grow the Indian international student community to avoid being to Chinese international student exclusive). The stopped it for the next year.
4. That being said, schools tend to be reluctant to give entry level applicants scholarships unless they fill a targeted diversity category of interest. The reality is that entry level applicants tend to be higher risk (everything from bringing credit to the program, enriching the classroom experience, and post graduation career opportunities). There are exceptions for when grad schools are trying to grow their program with entry level applicants, but they prefer to pick from their own undergraduates generally speaking.
Thank you very much for your detailed response, much appreciated.
I am a little paranoid since last year when I got admission from all univerisities that I applied to, but failed to secure enough funding to actually attend. This year I have been lucky enough to receive Fulbright scholarship, but the submission plan is yet to be finalized and per the rules I have no control over my placement. Coming from a small developing country, my Fulbright country office informed me that they cannot send me to a high-cost (or even mid-cost) universities, which makes me even more anxious...
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Hey @GradSchoolGrad ,
I noticed in this forum that you are very knowledable about the government affairs programs. Considering that, could it be possible if you could share with us (in your opinion) top 10 MPA/MPP programs (for entry level applicants) that are most generous when it comes to funding?
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3 hours ago, GradSchoolGrad said:
If you are going for a scholarship or nothing approach, you might want to apply with consideration of what schools have money. Yes some of them will be the prestigious ones you applied to (Chicago and Harvard). However some of the prestigious ones like Columbia SIPA and Michigan aren't exactly scholarship friendly. You might want to consider lower tiered programs that actually have money to burn (especially for diversity like yourself) Georgetown MPP has pools of scholarship to give (in my other posts I warn about the issues of the program, but if you are all about the dollars, that might make sense). There are others out there like Cornell MPA and Yale Jackson trying to grow their program. Both of those programs do have some issues/challenges, but they are flush with money to give students.
Keep in mind, it is about the money they are willing to set aside for MPP/MPA students that matter, not the overall wealth of the University.Hey, thanks for the info!
I noticed that Cornell also has a relatively cheaper program as well, but was not sure whether they are generous with their funding. I emailed them about the prospect of funding and the answer that I got was more like "meh, we have very limited funding".
I will certainly keep Yale and Georgetown in mind too. If any other program comes to your mind (including lower tiered programs), I would be glad if you share with me.
Thanks once more!
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Hello!
I am an international applicant from Azerbaijan who is applying to entry-level MPP/MPA programs (I have 2 years of work exp). Last year I applied to Chicago, Harvard, Columbia, and Michigan and got admission from all of them. However, apart from a small tuition discount from Chicago, I got no funding (I actually missed the funding deadline for Columbia). Being from a developing country, it is impossible for me to bear the cost of the above-mentioned programs without significant funding aid. Hence I am re-applying this year.
I got my bachelors degree of Economics in my home country. Have 80%+ scores both on verbal and quant section of GRE. I believe my LoRs are good enough (one from an MP (who used to be my boss), one from head of our Economics department, and one from my professor of Econometrics). Career goals are primarily focused on working for government agencies or NGOs that deal with economic development.
Long story short, I am looking for programs that are (a) fit for my background/career aspirations, and (b) would offer me decent funding. So far I applied to Princeton (MPA). I'm also planning to apply to Duke and Harvard. Other than these 3, what programs would you recommend for me?
Thanks in advance!
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On 3/30/2018 at 10:16 PM, pasale said:
Hey thanks so much for the advice. I did build a google sheet. Please edit/change the format and add on to the list. This is a quick version I created, so definitely need inputs and edits. I hope this serves as a useful tool for people applying and seeking financial aid.
Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NQ73cGtG8IrL0eBCUdCydKUd3hF0MbbTNRDt-X1H06A/edit?usp=sharing
Hey, I checked the link last week and found it super useful. I was planning to go over it again today and make relevant notes but the link does not work anymore. Has it been taken down or is this a technical error?
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Whelp, I am still waiting from my government to see if they would fund at least some part of my costs so that I can attend HKS, otherwise I will not be able to ?
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Hey! Got an offer for MPP with scholarship just this morning!
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1 hour ago, NamrataC said:
Any updates?
They said the results would be started from early April. Yesterday (April 2nd) was a public holiday in Singapore, so it was natural that we did not hear back yet. I think it is likely that at least the first batch of the results will be released during the next week.
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8 hours ago, fkeod021 said:
Congratulations! Would you mind sharing how much the Boutmy scholarship was? I was waitlisted for it and am trying to decide if I should accept my offer in the hopes of getting the scholarship or not. Thank you!
Thanks! Yeah, it is a tuition waiver of 12.2k (roughly 2/3 of the full tuition) for both years of study.
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Hey! So I just got notified today that I have been awarded the Emile Boutmy scholarship! Although it is not full ride, it is still a good opportunity. Still waiting on the Eiffel scholarship tho, and seemingly they have pushed the release date back from its previous "week of March 22" to "mid-April"...
Good luck to all who applied!
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26 minutes ago, aspiringmpp said:
Have any students who were admitted without funding been able to negotiate aid from HKS? I have funding from SIPA (33%), UChicago (50%), Wagner (50%) and McCourt (50%) for leverage.
I tried, but they said there is nothing more that they can offer...
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2 hours ago, MadEye said:
Even I am confused. I am writing to them now.
Please do let us know of their reply
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5 minutes ago, Mpp2021 said:
Did we ever figure out if the mysterious magazine deliveries actually correlated with acceptance? Can anyone who received a magazine and didnt get admitted let us know by posting? Curious to know if we can add it to the repository of information for future HKS aspirants to pore over.
I am an international applicant from a post-Soviet state - got admitted to MPP program of HKS but did not receive the magazine.
- Mpp2021 and StudentUSA
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2 hours ago, MadEye said:
I heard some people have received admits, both for MPP and MPA.
Are you sure? the results should not have come out this early, no?
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Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP, MAPP, MPA, MSc Economics for Development, MPhil Development Studies
Schools Applied To: Chicago Harris MPP, Michigan Ford MPP, Colombia SIPA MPA, Harvard Kennedy MPP, GWU Trachtenberg MPP, Sciences Po MPP, Cambridge MPhil Dev. Studies, Oxford MSc Econ. for Dev., NUS LKY MPP, CEU MAPP
Schools Admitted To: Sciences Po (waiting for funding results), GWU Trachtenberg (0$), Cambridge (0$), Chicago Harris ($ + TA), Michigan Ford (0$), Colombia SIPA (0$), Harvard Kennedy (0$).
Schools Rejected From: None so far
Still Waiting: Oxford University, National University of Singapore (interviewed), Central European University
Undergraduate Institution: some obscure university in a post-Soviet country.
Undergraduate GPA: 3.87
Undergraduate Major: Economics
GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores: 162/158/4.5
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 1.5
Years of Work Experience: 2
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Worked at the #1 ranking think tank of the region for two years, conducting policy analysis.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): This is my second year applying to master's, and I believe I learnt a lot from the mistakes that I did in the past cycle. Overall I would rate it 7/10.
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): One letter from the head of the think-tank that I worked for, who at the moment is a member of parliament. The second letter one from the head economics department at the university. The third letter (when required) from my professor of econometrics. I believe all three were strong letters, I would rate 9/10.
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So I received admission from MPP program. I applied to the fellowships by the February 4 deadline but received no funding from them. My question is, are there any need-based awards that I would be eligible for?
I am talking to a lot of current students of Harvard from my country and all of them mention need-based awards. Do you guys know anything about this?
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Yeah no funding for me either. That makes things a lot complicated. Will keep an eye for external sources tho. Harvard carries heavy name recognition and some companies/organizations might be willing to finance.
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If I may ask - Who is Matt?
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In the interview they said that the result will start to come starting from April and it will continue through May.
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Just got the follow-up email, no funding... It says there still might be some funds that will be later available, but I doubt it is likely that I receive any. That's a bummer.
Princeton SPIA MPA 2021
in Government Affairs Forum
Posted
Got a call from SPIA that I am accepted off the waitlist! Posting here so that next years' waitlisted students know that there is still a chance!