sanctaphrax

What are the ***real**** acceptance rates for each programme? What is the process of allocating finaid? How are things like JFK fellowship etc decided?

Decades to pay off a max 180k loan? I think this might be an exaggeration..

Thank you - you would be correct that the Harvard brand outshines others, especially in the job market in India. I met a few HKS alums a few days ago here in India and they told me that they have actually never not heard back from jobs and internsips they applied to because Harvard grabs everyone's attentions. It's kinda the 'foot in the door' in policy spaces in low/middle income countries. One of my goals is to end up in technical committees within the government of India - and unfortunately branding and networking matters a lot here. If I end up at HKS, I plan to take more technical courses beyond the core curriculum of the MPP - thankfully I have many friends who have gotten through the MPA/ID course and they can guide me. However, I do get your point about Harris being quant intense and more suited for a data job - I was indeed very attracted to the cross-school collaboration possible at UChicago but the scholarship they gave me is a little bit of a joke (and I missed the reconsideration deadline which is on me) so I am keen on sticking to HKS Regarding Fletcher - it was pretty much my "safety school" - I have been told by a current student that the 'flexibility' the MALD degree offers is useful only when I have full information on what I want to learn and specialize in - I do not. I am going to policy school with an open mind, and I think in that way SIPA and HKS are the best for me. But SIPA is lethally expensive, so is HKS, but at least HKS is not NYC expensive.

Programs Applied To: Princeton SPIA MPA, HKS MPP, UChicago Harris MPP, Oxford BSG MPP, Fletcher MALD, Columbia SIPA MPAPrograms Admitted to: Fletcher MALD ($$$), Harris UChicago ($), HKS MPP (nothing), Columbia SIPA (nothing)Schools Rejected From: Princeton SPIA, Oxford BSGUndergrad / Grad Institution: University of Delhi (India)Degrees: Business, with a PG concentration in liberal artsGPA: 3.6GRE: 163Q 160VWork Experience: 3.5 yearsRelevant Experience: 1.5 years at a philanthropy (India's largest), 2 years as RA at a research centre doing field experimentsStrength of SOP: strong narrative in my opinion tying my identity to my work in social inclusion. strongest versions were written for Princeton (shame I didn't get a waitlist which I was hoping as a best case scenario) and HKS. Oxford SOP was drastically different as I was told by alumni that they pretty much look for a straightforward narrative and no storylines and punches as american policy schools do. LOR: Manager from my first organisation, professor/economist I TA'ed for recently and a law and ethics professor from UG. Most likely attending HKS this fall. My circumstances might lead to be dropping the offer or deferring it if they allow it. Let's see.

Just confirmed from the admissions team: all fellowships have been sent out. If you can't see a letter, you didn't get any aid.

Would this mean there is hope? Because the other mail says that decisions have been released

I GOT IN! Nothing on funding, so I assume I didn't get it.

The miracle did not happen. Got my rejection a few minutes ago. Does anyone know if we can retain the LORs for next year?

Does anyone know when the rejections came last year, i.e. what day? We know sufficiently that there was a gap between the acceptance mails and rejection mails. But it shouldn't have been more than..3 days? Gosh, this wait just seems humiliating.

I have seen very few people with admits on the internet - of course this all could be confirmation bias. Hoping for the best. If nothing happens, at least I assumed for a greater part of the weekend that I have already been rejected.

I got a call and I was told that I am in but with only 8k a year scholarship

Acceptances went out last night around 10PM GMT I haven't heard back - so I sense what this means?

It's next week. On the Harvard applicant discord, an applicant dropped SIPA a mail and they responded that the results will come in the middle of next week.

March 16

Rejected as well. Had pinned my hopes on a waitlist but oh well.

Unsure about MPP but all MPA admits have heard from SPIA. Now we just wait for the portal update.

Must be Friday then

Do we receive a phone call from someone from Harris in Round 2 admissions as well?

Does anyone know how alumni recommendations help? I know many get their fee waived through alum reccs but is there any additional benefit? P. S: I am talking about Harris alumni recommending through a system they have, not them writing letters of recommendation

Oh great! I see you're an applicant from India as well. Wonder if they do it to attract international students. Fletcher is still my 'niche' choice and a few positions below in preference but if they validate me like this, thinks could change

Bumping this thread - I received a similar mail yesterday and was quite elated that the mail was so personalised. Does anyone know what is the reasoning behind such emails? I wonder if any of this means anything!

As much as I would like to believe it is a positive sign, I do think this was some standard check done by an admissions officer. I got the notification to submit another letter in mid-January, don't think there was enough time for anyone to give more than a cursory look at my application. Anyway - I submitted the second letter a few days ago. They confirmed that all results would come out before 22nd March. So we have a date..

I wish I were anxious over a decision. Instead, I have to be anxious over an additional LOR I was asked to submit from my undergrad (I had incorrectly assumed a postgrad LOR would be superior, and would suffice)

Answering this question for any future lurkers. From my research, it seems like BSG prefers people with more work experience. HOWEVER, it also takes in a substantial bunch of people with one or two years of work experience if (and only if) they have shown academic excellence. If you're an alumnus of Oxford, you could also get in without any work experience in policy.

Was the MPA-DP offer also conditional on completion of quant courses? Could you tell how many quant courses you completed? I have taken classes in statistics, econ but not calculus