Rose

I called the applyyourself people on Wednesday because apparently the entire server went down (read: 3 of my applications deleted or inaccessible) and they said it was a systemic problem and they and the schools were aware of it, and are working to fix it as quickly as possible. I had trouble uploading a pdf to another applyyourself application even after that one was back up and running and found that it worked after I opened and closed the popup box a few times--not super scientific I know.

Thanks guys--that makes alot of sense. I'm doing some field hopping (interdisciplinary bachelor's --> professional master's --> PhD in comparative politics) so I think generally I have a lot of anxiety about engineering a precise sense of fit for the discipline. These suggestions make sense though--looks like I'll have to get editing!

So I'm still putting together materials for applications and feel that things are going along pretty well...except on the writing sample front. The schools I managed to pick have drastically different guidelines for length (5-15, <25, <10, etc.) so it seems like choosing the same piece for all applications might be impossible (or at least would be a big time-suck). I'm in a somewhat unique situation in that I don't have a wealth of 20-ish page seminar papers to submit. And I'm on the verge of insanity trying to figure out the next best option. Maybe others in this situation (or in a better one) could offer thoughts? What I do have: --a 50+ page bachelor's thesis on a topic unrelated to my proposed field (comparative) --4-5 shorter papers (10-13 pages) related to comparative topics but using only secondary literature and case studies [assignments from classes] What I will hopefully have in another 2 weeks: --one seminar paper that's probably overly ambitious and may flop, but is directly related to a component part of my interests as per applications (also 20 pages) --one seminar paper that's really only tangentially related to my interests (also 20 pages) --a working paper that will be the basis of one section for my master's thesis, based on original research (this may take longer than 2 weeks) Granted these descriptions are vague, but I guess the overarching question is--what to do if you don't have a paper right in the ballpark length range? Go with a shorter one? Lengthen a shorter one? Cut a longer but unrelated one? Anything?

I didn't read the above-referenced post on Cyburbia so this may be redundant, but for what it's worth: I helped my SO in researching programs and had her bounce ideas off me at the beginning of this year's app process, and we were looking at similar things: combining international relations/urban planning/design and infrastructure development. I would really think about and/or do my best to work my way into MIT's International Development Group. I've heard that some of the other concentrations for the MCP program there are technically stronger, but from what I saw, theirs is pretty specifically what you want. They have international studios as well. Another thing to consider might be doing a joint degree. Columbia's GSAPP offers a joint degree option with their School of International and Public Affairs (which also has a concentration in Urban Studies for both their MPA and MIA degrees). I'd warn ahead of time that this program option is probably *pretty* expensive. Another option in the NYC area might also be NYU--their Wagner school has an urban planning option but they also have coursework and break-time workshops on international issues. I don't know how well they integrate them, though. Yet another joint option might be at Tufts--their Fletcher school has an internationally-focused curriculum with options for learning about development, while they also have a MA in Urban and Environmental Planning that may suit your more technical needs. My understanding is that Tufts and state schools might be a little more forthcoming with funding, although I've also heard nice things about Penn being generous. Ultimately I think the $$ part of this might boil down to your need-based aid and any scholarship/fellowship essay applications you do. That's my 2 cents anyway.

I also have less than one year of work experience--8 months post-grad, to be precise, and it wasn't 100% relevant (law firm). BUT what I will say are 2 things: 1) It is significantly less safe to do it this way. You will always have a stronger application with at least 3 years of WE; and you definitely will be more eligible for funding with more/better work experience. I had one summer college internship and worked 20 hours a week during my undergrad. Honestly I think one of the things that saved me was that I had alot of leadership experience in undergrad organizations and took a separate volunteer leadership position in a very well-known nonprofit in addition to my job. 2) WE gives you alot of things that you just can't get in school. Many people in these programs would probably not be super excited about the prospect of "learning" from 21 year old advocates with limited exposure to the workings of the world--think about how that might impact your networking capacities at school and your ability to really engage deeply with the coursework. I won't lecture you because I'm obviously in a similar boat, but I will say that some part of me thinks I'm not really done living yet and ready to do this. If I had given myself ~3 years I would've potentially had some better experience and a narrower conception (and a more realistic one) of what I want to accomplish and which schools/programs to apply to; and it's possible I wouldn't be staring $120k in debt in the face. Just my two cents.

Me too! I was a little disappointed by the presentation on IGA at the admitted students' day, so I'm hoping that overall it won't make me regret choosing HKS despite more prolific coursework offered elsewhere. Did you get the impression that the program might be a little hodge-podge with the people interested in environment, security, human rights, etc. all rolled into one concentration? Or does that just make it that much more synergistic? Also, do we know definitively who all is leaving for Washington/has already left?

I think which schools you apply to depends on a couple of different factors--do you want mostly policy analysis skills, mostly management skills, mostly science-oriented/science-informed skills, or an even combination? Also, I would think about whether $$ is a big factor for you. Seeing some of the posts this year (and from my own experience), I find that WE and GRE and GPA #s alone probably won't make or break your application and acceptance, but they *definitely* will impact the kind of funding you get (or don't get). Given that, I would think about a matrix of your desired program attributes and other softer factors (location, funding, etc.) and go from there. I would also suggest looking into Carnegie Mellon's program--they have a concentration in environmental policy and being a tech school, they also have alot of science-oriented resources to tap into. And from what I hear/see on this forum, they also are a little more open with funding.

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Top 10 university, non-ivy Previous Degrees and GPA's: BA, International Studies (Honors, GPA 3.7; major GPA 3.9) GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): V 700 Q 680 AW 6 Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 8 months unrelated + volunteer experience and some internships Math/Econ Background: Calculus, Micro and Macro Foreign Language Background: 1 European (fluent), 1 Asian (competent) Intended Field of Study in Grad School: international affairs, human rights Long Term Professional Goals: work internationally in nonprofits or an intergovernmental organization Schools Applied to & Results: WWS (rejected); HKS (accepted, $0); SIPA (accepted, $0); GSPP (accepted, $0); Fletcher (accepted, little$); NYU Wagner (accepted, $0), UMich MPP (rejected); Georgetown MSFS (rejected) Ultimate Decision & Why: Going to HKS. My major choice was between SIPA and HKS--SIPA's super strong in international affairs preparation and even has a concentration in human rights. It's in the perfect location, too, it seemed. But ultimately, several things: -My SO is going to be in Boston -I have limited WE, so I felt I could use the chance to do the PAE/spring exercise in order to market myself post-graduation (whereas at SIPA, the human rights concentration doesn't currently offer its own exclusive workshop) -Even though neither school gave me $$, HKS has alot of resources for summer internship funding and research funding; when I crunched the numbers in terms of debt load, it ended up otherwise even between the schools since NYC is such an expensive place to live by myself -I wanted to get some more quant focus than I had had in undergrad

I also went to the open house this past week and I have to say, I was rather underwhelmed. Maybe I just had super high expectations (it being Harvard and all), but after sitting in on a few classes I came away kind of perplexed by the student body, and the commentary by student representatives at the panel for admitted students left me even more confused (particularly the emphasis on getting away with not doing work--I come from an undergrad and a general disposition where it's good to do work, and lots of it; granted it's not always possible to do 100% of the readings for class, but it struck me like some of the students on the panel actually reveled in not doing work). I also got some impressions talking to students later in the day who literally advised that they did *not* come to HKS "for the books" but instead for the networking opportunities. I'm a little stuck. I feel as though, if I'm paying this much for an education, I'd like to get the education more than the networking perhaps. The IGA presentation worried me a little too, since it seemed like alot of faculty were leaving for DC and wouldn't be around next year. I got the feeling that the IGA concentration was also very strong in domestically oriented policy toward foreign countries and in national security policy, but not so much in the policy of other nations or in global policy. Did anyone else get different impressions in their discussions? Is anyone else feeling slightly confused/stuck/uncertain?? Also--to the "mountain of debt" : I spoke with a financial aid rep on Friday and he confirmed that there is NOT merit/fellowship aid generally available for people in the 2nd year (what you get at admission is pretty much what you get). Students also said that you *can* get TAships ("CA-ships") but they pay some nominal amount (about $5k/semester) that isn't really meant to defray the cost of tuition.

Cah101-- I think you might be right. I read it as "fellowship" and somehow in my head that automatically conflated with "assistantship" which wouldn't be quite merit based. So I definitely will doublecheck that.

Thanks zourah for all your insight! I guess I want to make sure that I have skills and expertise that would be applicable to a range of areas that intersect with my interest in human rights; ultimately I will need to feed myself and pay off loans after graduation. I definitely will probe the capstone projects at both programs though--I've heard major downsides to both (SIPA--200 students applying to work in big groups on a handful of preselected projects in EPD; HKS--everyone fends for themselves in recruiting a client and gets no support, some people have to pay their own way to do the field research the project requires).

Linden-- Yes, living with (and sharing all the pre-bought items we have) with my SO is one of the factors in my cost decision. On the other hand, I have a few friends living in NYC so at least apartment-wise it would be fairly equal. And you're also right about HKS saying that on their financial aid website. Specifically, though, they seem to say that people will not be eligible for any *merit* aid in their 2nd year, which I believe is also the case with SIPA. The financial aid website at HKS does not discuss at all the possibility of getting a teaching assistantship or graduate assistantship from a professor, or even if funds are available for those kinds of things (I've noticed that they have some money floating around for research projects that could be undertaken during the school year, but haven't probed whether those could be used for tuition remission). Ultimately, though, it's not as though it's a sure shot that I would get 2nd year funding from SIPA either. That's one of the reasons I'm largely leaving the $ issue aside as a smaller consideration and worrying more about the programs themselves at this point--ultimately I'm going to have to borrow a buttload of money no matter what I do.

I could really use some help. I've been agonizing about this decision on my own for a while now and, even though I plan to attend visit days, I still feel as though the time between now and mid-April is nowhere near long enough. I feel really privileged to be so spoiled for choice here, but somehow I think this is making it even harder. I'm ultimately making my final decision between: HKS--the MPP program, concentrating in IGA; $0, $120k+ in loans SIPA--the MIA program, concentrating in either EPD or Human Rights; $0, slightly less in loans because I got work study for the first year I have an end-goal of working in an IGO/UN/NGO focusing on international human rights (yes, I realize I'm one of millions). I think the name recognition difference is marginal between the two, right? Money isn't exactly a deciding factor for me since neither gave me any, really; the only thing to contemplate with that is, would I be able to get more $ from one or the other in my second year? Some of you already know that my SO will most likely be in Boston, too, and while that's important it's also not helping me decide with so much money going into this decision too. The real point of contention for me is which is most preparatory for an international career. My impressions (gathered from websites, talking to a SIPA student, looking at promo materials) are that SIPA is significantly better for this than HKS; but that HKS is much better at producing people with serious analytical skills and networking capacities. The other big issue is that I'm pretty young--not quite one year of work experience. I don't want to graduate with a Master's and be "top heavy" so that I can't find a job because I'm academically overqualified but have 0 experience. I think it's more possible to get term-time internships at SIPA to make up for this, but don't know about HKS. So, can anyone offer their impressions from meeting with/talking to HKS students [i missed my congrats phone call, it went to vm]? Or from visiting either place? Or from what they know from being "in the field"?

Also, am I completely dense or does this not add up: Correct me if I'm wrong, but the admit letter says you need to make a decision about your admission offer by April 24th. The financial aid website says: "The deadline to accept or decline assistance is April 18th, 2009 for students admitted to two-year programs." ??

In response to the question about fellowships, the message tab says this: Message If you applied for a fellowship and were selected as a recipient, the fellowship will be reflected on the MYFAID awards tab. All fellowship decisions have been made. Therefore, if you do not see a fellowship on the awards tab you were not selected as a recipient.

undersec-- I'm curious about your comparison of the MPA-ID/MPP. Outside the realm of quantitative rigor, do you think that or could you assume that both degrees are equally worth the money if your interests are internationally based? WWS seems to offer a stronger international leaning whereas the HKS MPP leans more domestically; the MPA-ID might make up for the domestic lean, but can the MPP folks compete with WWS for international jobs too? Also, could the somewhat smaller networking capacity of WWS be at all mitigated by taking a gap year in between program years? When I still had a little glimmer of hope for WWS I remember seeing on their website that a good number of students took one year to do fellowships or internships with organizations abroad--this is something I'm not sure HKS' alumni network can match in terms of real experiential connections internationally.

I agree with Stephen33. I would pick WWS hands down for IR, regardless of $ from HKS. The opportunity to be in a smaller class of people, plus funding, plus great faculty...you just can't lose. Congrats, though--I'm sure you'll choose well no matter what you choose.

Spartaca- I see your point. If we went for the 3-hour distance option, we'd be commuting but by public transport (train, most likely, since neither of us owns a car), which would dispense with the idea of living halfway in-between in large part. Commuting 1.5 hours to campus seems incredibly unfeasible. I'm trying to see ways in which a 3 hour distance in manageable for a program that will only be 2 years (for a PhD I would find this too big of a pain, but a Master's I don't think is as big of an issue). Our current thought is that we'd take turns commuting on weekends to visit each other. My only worry there is that grad school is obviously time- and work- intensive and that could easily get in the way of visitation plans. And I definitely see what you mean about the VT issue--that wasn't a problem we encountered, mostly because the programs we were both looking at kind of required a large city setting, which just lent itself to having multiple universities for us each to choose from in each city. We also were heavily attracted to the east coast, since even 3 states away seems to only be a few hours commute. I am a little concerned though, that I'm too comfortable with the theoretical idea of being apart, and that actually executing it would be a surprise burden even after I thought I'd made peace with it. We've done long-distance before, but only for 3-4 month periods (although one of those was an international long-distance). On the bright side, this will really force me to audition programs seriously and really make some of them work to prove that they're worth it. Michelley262003-- This is also something I've thought about. My SO and I are going on 2 years together, which is hardly a 10-year-haul, but we're also still quite young and are very committed to each other. No discussion or consideration of a relationship separation is happening for us; it's more a function of how we will continue to be able to physically and emotionally support each other across geographic distance and what implications it might have for our future together in picking job locations, determining salaries and if whose job is taking precendence if one does, when to get married (legally or otherwise), etc.

Spartaca-- I'm also in a same-sex relationship and it's something I'm taking very seriously in this process. After my original post, I did end up getting into 2 schools in Boston, where my SO also has acceptances. I've been leaning back and forth between NYC and Boston--neither city really has shortcomings in liberalness that would make it less attractive. But one of the things I've been looking at specifically is what approach the schools are taking to students in committed, but unmarried, relationships and to their general LGBTQQIA populations. I've been disturbed to discover how little information there is on school websites nowadays about the kind of support they offer for queer students and partnerships; some of the schools I'm considering don't even appear to have active student organizations or services for queer students, and I'm going to be paying alot of money for relatively little support. This would be even more problematic, I believe, if my SO and I end up being separated by a few hours on the east coast (a definite possibility). Recognition of a relationship is hard enough to come by when you're together; being apart is a whole other ballgame. Beyond those hypotheticals, I have caught some talk by word of mouth about issues with just plain civility and tolerance at some programs, and this is something I would scrutinize particularly highly if my SO and I ended up being apart. I unfortunately don't have all the advantages you do in terms of negotiating this process. As I said above, my SO and I applied to different programs and are both set on going to school, which means that some of the compromises we make could have implications beyond the next 2 years as you cited. I think for us this is an even bigger issue since we applied to professional programs, and the networking opportunities, internship options, and job markets for the different things that we're interested in is vastly different dependent upon the school or program we choose. Compromise on either of our parts could mean alot more than a 2 year sacrifice, although our "compromise" options aren't honestly that bad. We were, like you, both involved in each other's school choices, but some of the acceptances and rejections have caught us by surprise. I'd be interested to hear from you and others too, if you think it makes sense to be "apart" when the "long distance" is a 3 hour commute or if even then it's preferable to try to stay together?

Out of curiosity (because I forget whether you wrote this in the posts on other boards)--what are you hoping to do with the MCP? My SO is similarly scrutinizing programs and we were looking at Planetizen's pamphlet, which led me at least to question/wonder about the "international" rigor of the MCP, whereas other programs seem to do better in that regard (Berkeley's MPP program may not be as helpful aspect, either). Although I will say that the stats for grads from MIT's program seem to be less regionally placed than Berkeley's. As far as economics go, I would investigate your options for cross-registering absolutely. My impression of MIT's policy analysis courses and urban economics are that they are useful for planning careers in particular; whereas Berkeley's courses might be useful in policy positions and also applicable to a planning career. On the other hand, for people not "in the know" about the DUSP, I have to wonder if MIT doesn't just have a helpful aura of mathematical rigor

Thanks hope4ful. I'm actually interested in similar issues related to migration. I'm planning to attend both visit days, and your points are well taken--those are precisely the conclusions that I was starting to come to. I guess my more underlying concern is if concentrating in "human rights" explicitly is beneficial for the job market as opposed to it being more peripheral to analytical training. I'm sure you'll go far with a good education; it sounds like you really know what you want --congrats on SIPA!

I have the same questions. I got accepted yesterday and am now uncertain between HKS and SIPA, of all places. I'm interested in public service in the form of IGOs/NGOs, but am also considering the value of a PhD in the future (of uncertain subject). I have a deadset interest in studying human rights critically and seriously and definitely want a strong international focus and preparation. My sticking points are: --Harvard seems better regarded than Columbia, but I don't know if that really only applies to the MPA-ID for int'l foci --Columbia is more expensive than HKS, even if I have to borrow 100% at both --HKS seems to only have ~3 classes about human rights-type int'l issues; the rest seem to be about US foreign policy/security studies/democracy in general --I feel that I need quant classes (badly, given my GRE score), and SIPA doesn't seem to have as much in this dept. as HKS --Location, location, location: NYC trumps Boston, but SO in Boston might trump NYC loneliness Does anyone else have insight?? I know alot of people find downsides to SIPA...

I'm also in this boat and it's really starting to eat away at me. My SO and I applied to different programs, a few with overlap, mostly in the same cities. The problem is, we've been admitted at a variety of places but the selectivity of our programs in each city was slightly different. My SO has already been admitted to her top choices (both in Boston) and I'm still waiting anxiously to hear. The distance, I think, would weigh even more heavily when I'm stressed out about school projects and living on my own. Not to mention the logistics of creating a separate living space (bed, furniture, kitchen supplies, food) when we've been sharing all that for 2 years and I'm already going to go into debt for the programs I want.

I'm 90% sure I saw some email or something on the website that says something to the effect of, "Applicants will only be notified by postal service"...

anxiouslywaiting-- I am equally confused. My SO just got into Harvard and MIT today (for a different program), and I'm crushed to not know where I stand. We've been trying to end up in the same city, but now I don't even know. I think that my rejects had something to do with my WE, but my essays varied significantly and my efforts were as concerted as possible so I can't be sure if it was any one particular aspect or just my overall "fit" that determined things. I have absolutely no idea what to think.