Policy UN

Hi everybody! This forum has been great help during this past admissions cycle and it's time for me to finally pay my dues. I hope this helps, but please please keep in mind that grad school applications are much more than what you read in thegradcafe (more complexities, more variables, more opportunities...), so don't think everything you read here is 'the only truth'! Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP Schools Applied To: HKS, Goldman, SIPA Schools Admitted To: HKS ($$), Goldman (nada), SIPA ($$) Schools Rejected From: None Still Waiting: None Undergraduate Institution: Russell Group UK Undergraduate GPA: 3.8 Undergraduate Major: Political Science Graduate Institution: Oxbridge Graduate GPA: 4.0 Graduate Major: International Relations GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores: N/A (only applied to schools that would waive in light of COVID as I couldn't take the exam) Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 4 years in the fall Years of Work Experience: 4 years in the fall Describe Relevant Work Experience: 2 years with the UN in Nairobi headquarters, 1 year with EU in Brussels, 1 year as independent consultant Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Extremely clear professional plans after graduation (to enter UN system as permanent staff, with a specific thematic focus), and also a clear link with past professional experience and academic plans during MPP. It was a long process, started last summer and went through many revisions. I'd advice to share your narrative with friends and see how they react - they might point at any missing element (in my case it was a lack of personal/ emotional connection to my professional and academic plans, which I was then able to reframe!). Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): Very strong - one from my UN boss, one from my EU boss, and another one from an Oxbridge professor. All know me very well and were extremely kind! I made sure to stress the things unis are looking for when I asked them for the reference (mostly on leadership potential). Other: A few things that I have thought about throughout this process that might hopefully inform others' decisions and preparation: 1) I already have another masters, an MPhil from Oxbridge. Whereas I considered pursuing a PhD at some point, my commitment to a UN career made me ultimately choose the MPP. 2) I applied to A LOT of fellowships and scholarships both offered by the universities and from external sources. I sent something like 8 different scholarship essays to Harvard, and was offered great financial aid from the very last application that I submitted. The process is long and tiring, but please go through it till the very end and don't give up. 3) A part of me really wanted to choose Columbia (long-standing dreams of living in NYC, great connections with the UN, absolute love for the energy&environment specialisation...). I didn't in the end because I feel like SIPA is admitting a lot of students straight out of undergrad/ with very few years of work experience (feeling based on linkedin research plus conversations with friends at SIPA). It still is an amazing school though. Goldman is an excellent school too and I know I would have loved it there, but its focus on domestic policy does not match my UN plans that well. I discovered Stanford's Ford Dorsey and the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship too late to apply this academic cycle, and I still regret it to an extent (it is a very competitive programme, though). In any case, all three unis would have been great choices and I know I have been very lucky getting these offers. Choice: HKS - and I am very excited about it!