StellaHaiti2

I'm starting at HKS next month. If I do say so myself, you definitely have a chance at HKS. You have better GRE scores, better GPA (with a more relevant major- I had no prereqs), and more awards than I did. HKS accepts a range of personalities and stories (with a track record of success), so what is really important is articulating your fit with the school. Your near-military experience is actually a pretty interesting story, thanks for sharing it.

Major problems: APPROACH TO CAREER REDIRECTION I approached my change in career a little differently. I identified the strengths and weaknesses in my training (not myself) as an architect in reference to my goal of serving my community. I described my own efforts to rectify these weaknesses (in my profession and educational system) and how I applied the lessons I had learned. I then was able to explicitly state what I wanted to gain from a MPP program and how specifically it would rectify the weaknesses I had identified in my earlier training. For instance, something you might also want to learn is, "How can change be implemented in ineffective governments?" You set up your interest in the question with your background in Lahore. You can end your essay with a strong, definitive statement of your future plans, "I seek to return to Lahore with a new understanding of x,y, z as a policy-maker." You also need to spend more time describing your future because schools are not just recruiting students, but future accomplished alumni. Give them a chance to get excited about your opportunities! SELL YOURSELF NOT THE SCHOOL I spent at most 2 sentences talking about the specific program's offerings, and never name-dropping. My goal was to SHOW not say how I was a great fit for their program. In some of my initial drafts I made the mistake of describing how the program was a great fit for me. It's a waste of the Admissions Committee's time to read back quotes or near quotes from their own materials. I'm seeing a lot of space wasted in your essay on this. RELATIONSHIP TO FAMILY You seem bitter that you bent like a sapling to your family's wishes. However, your loyalty and desire to serve your family and community is a hidden asset. Law, you tried it, it's not the best medium for you to do that because you want to do x,y,z. I partially went into architecture because my father wanted me to major in a profession where I would have a job coming out of school. I don't mention this at all in my essays because I took responsibility for my decision. In this essay you are avoiding that responsibility and that is not attractive. This is your chance to rewrite your story. Figuratively as well as literally. Ok, go forth and conquer!

I'm excited to meet my fellow admits to the MPP tomorrow at the Accepted Students Day! See y'all soon!

If you don't feel excited about any of the schools with the funding you have, then save your money! If you want to go somewhere next year, you should really look at not how much funding you received but your end cost. Rank the schools from low to high end cost and then rank the schools by fit with your interests and where people end up after graduation. Average the two rankings and that should narrow down your choices.

I will have to take similar levels of debt (even with a fellowship), but I'm comforted by the federal loans which if you go into public service or non profit, you pay back as a percentage of your salary and only for 10 years, at which time it is forgiven. Definitely go ahead and make appts with their financial aid advisors, it is what they are there for!

I used your terse format for the enrollment counselor. For the professors I met with personally, I sent them a tiny bit more information. One of them even admitted that another school I was accepted to was stronger in my area of concentration, but I didn't want them to think that was the reason I was declining. Profs. X, Y, Z, Thank you so much for meeting with me and allowing me to attend your classes when I visited a couple weeks ago. I left with an extremely good impression of the school and have been recommending the program to my fellow applicants. Unfortunately, I was not offered any funding at your school so I have declined my offer of admission. Sincerely, Me

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Washington University in St. Louis Previous Degrees and GPA's: BA in Architecture, 3.5 GPA GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 650/750/4 Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 2.5 years, community redevelopment and microfinance Math/Econ Background: 2 semesters each of Calculus and Statistics in high school (community college), no Econ Foreign Language Background: not fluent in anything, but learning Haitian Creole Intended Field of Study in Grad School: MPP- Policy Analysis or Urban Policy Long Term Professional Goals: City Revitalization- govt consulting or think tank? Schools Applied to & Results: Princeton, UC Berkeley: rejected, GSPIA, Michigan: accepted, no $ Harvard: accepted, 50% funded Ultimate Decision & Why: Harvard, MPP in Urban Policy, Fellowship in State and Local Govt. Barring a full fellowship offer from Michigan that is still being decided, my choice is extremely obvious. Harvard values my experience, commitment to service, and research interests, and has lots of classes co-taught by HKS and GSD (Planning). I felt extremely welcomed by many students, faculty, and staff, and have received an email almost every day from the school. In contrast, Pittsburgh sent me some follow up emails, and Michigan, almost none. Any advice to Future Applicants? I gotta admit, I find my results a little confusing, so I don't even know what advice to give. I had a strong narrative tying together all my experiences and how public policy school would enhance my ability to serve communities, which I delivered to all of my LORs so they could bring evidence to support that. Honestly, I felt pretty low pretty often throughout the application process, receiving all my rejections first. If I could take my own advice: Take the praise personally, and the lack of it, impersonally. Either a school gets you, or it doesn't.

Sent an inquiry to an enrollment counselor: "At this time all first-round awards have been sent out. If you did not receive an email, it means you were not selected as a first round recipient. April 15 is the tuition deposit deadline for scholarship recipients. After April 15 we will assess our budget to see if we have any additional funding to offer. If you are selected as a second-round recipient you will be notified via email in late April." No longer considering this school because I did not get an email. Funding is weird.

Ugh, yeah. I still have to borrow a lot too since it is not a full fellowship with a stipend or anything like that. They suggest we need $25k a year for living expenses.. F THAT I am going to bring a crock pot and have no furniture! FYI I am looking for roommates, I can't afford to live in Harvard housing.

I have the same thing. I'm going to click it!! In my Messages tab there was some info about the Taubman Center Fellowship, so I'm hoping that is what I got! UPDATE: YEEEES. TAUBMAN CENTER FELLOWSHIP! Click it and it will outline what you have got, you accept it later.

Thanks for the heads up, but I probably still won't be able to get any work done today!

Chillax. I scored lower than you on all aspects. 2.5 yrs work experience. Law School should help you with HKS since they like dual degree peeps.

YES, you should wait. Give yourself a real shot at the application process. I thinking waiting a year is worth the chance to pay 10,000s less. You already have debt, don't drown. It's a real concern that will weigh down your whole life if you let it get away from you.

April 1 is tomorrow. I'm guessing you will be able to see your award then.

No email in my inbox yet either!

You should send an email or call the career services or admissions at both schools, they keep stats at where their graduates are employed.

So I replied to you on another thread, I'll do so in more detail here. I actually visited all the schools I was accepted to March 14-17, awkward timing considering I was traveling as I was waiting to be admitted. I was even admitted in person at one school. I was able to visit all my schools very close together which I think helps me to compare. The key is to research professors, leaders of student organizations, and administrators (admissions, program directors, and career services) to email 3-5 of them a week prior to your tentative visit. Introduce yourself as an ACCEPTED student. Tip #1: Go during a weekday so you can sit in on a class. Even better, get the class schedule from Admissions and send an email to a few professors to ask if you can sit in on their class. For those whose classes you are unable to attend, ask if you can speak with them during their office hours. It always helps to say, "Your class sounds so fascinating to me because I have a background or longstanding interest in..." Tip #2: Ask professors not only about the classes they teach, but also about research or applied research opportunities and if they have kept in touch with any of their former students. That way you can learn if they are a good mentor, if their classes seem to influence the professional direction of students, and if they actually get to know students as individuals. Also, always ask if there is anyone else you can talk to about your interests, I received several direct introductions this way to other professors and importantly, STUDENTS. Tip #3: I have no problem interrupting professors or administrators, but I admit I get a little more nervous approaching students who may or may not be in the program. A good trick is to ask directions to a place for coffee, the library, etc and add in, "Are you an MPP student here? I also had a "specific question about..." That way it's like 1 minute of their time and you have an easy get away if they are not helpful (rare). Obviously, have a list of q's prepared. (1) What's your favorite class? (2) What class are you looking forward to? (3) Where do students tend to live and how do I get there from here? (4) Do you have an internship lined up for this summer yet? Tip #4: Spend some time just sitting around to get a general vibe of the place. Like with a cup of coffee while you are reading a syllabus a professor gave you earlier. Doodle on the campus map some notes. Hope that helps somebody!

I'll see you there, I'm going to the HKS Open House over the Ford Open House.

Good article from The Hairpin today! "FRIEND: I haven't gotten into any of the grad schools I applied to and I'm waiting to hear from two more, but I'm pretty sure they are going to be rejections..." http://thehairpin.com/2011/03/dont-do-this-no-2-validating-with-purpose#more

I lived in St. Louis for 6 years in a variety of places, including Quadrangle. I LOVEEED IT. The most affordable city with so many parks and free cultural events. Quadrangle Housing is convenient but you can do much better with a little research. I lived on Demun, Clayton above a coffeeshop, 20 minute pleasant walk, 10 minutes biking. 2 bedroom was $750/month. I walked 20 minutes to the grocery store too regularly. I briefly lived on the outskirts of CWE in a studio sublet for $300/month and I needed my car. After I started working at the Medical campus I moved to South City above another coffeeshop into an enormous 2 bedroom/2 master bath/wifi/laundry in unit/modern kitchen for $800/month. I alternated taking a bus/Metro combo and driving. I never had any problems. Wonderful parks: Forest Park, Tower Grove Park, Shaw Park.

1I decided on MPP even later than you (August 2010) and really only had a few weeks to research where I was actually going to apply since I was moving to a new country, finishing up a job, etc. I looked at two main criteria: ranked in the top 25 in my specialty of interest (policy analysis, urban policy), and location since I like to be engaged in my local community. After that I looked at every single program's website and eliminated those that didn't spark my interest. What ended up exciting me were (1) interdisciplinary curriculum and opportunities to cross-register and dual degree, (2) strong research centers or faculty interests in either planning, poverty, or disaster management, (3) strong quantitative training. I ended up with a list of 5 schools, and I definitely didn't over research. I also had a 3.5 GPA, with strong need for funding, and got into GSPIA, Ford, and HKS. Still waiting on funding though! You might have an even easier time narrowing down schools if you look closely at MPP/JD dual degree programs. Princeton is a no brainer to try for because of their funding.

I am twiddling my thumbs over here so I've been thinking about housing options and familiarizing myself with the craigslist marketplace. I thought about putting this in the Boston thread, but it is information that is Harvard Kennedy specific sooo.... A current student told me, "There should be some kind of listserve for new admits across the university to meet up and figure out housing. I don't know what it is, but I bet you'll hear about it closer to the beginning of the year. Or check the new admit web page--it may already be listed." I'm pretty sure this listserv is not up yet, not at least until after April 15. I will definitely be haunting it though! Other thoughts while we all wait for April 1: I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of emails I have gotten from Ambassadors, Diversity committees, etc. Way more contact than the other schools I was accepted by. Anyone else feel this way?

Yes, I just visited all the schools who accepted me last week so I could meet with professors, administrators, and current students, as well as go to a few classes. I was able to do so at every school, even when one was on Spring Break. I even got some honest feedback from professors on the weaknesses and strengths of each program compared to the others I was accepted. Email all the people you are interested in meeting a week or two before your visit! The accepted students weekends for all these schools is on the same day, so this will definitely help me make my decision.

I can't possibly decide until April 1, when Harvard's funding comes out. Also waiting on a later fellowship for Michigan. WWS people have it relatively easy since it is a great school with great funding!