riz1

out. and i really thought i had a shot. for all those who have been rejected by Ms Alexandra Martinez -- if you want to get any feedback whatsoever on your application, my AdComm friend recommends waiting a couple of weeks, maybe even until after April 15, to call and ask for details on your candidate file. best of luck to everybody with your decisions.

just keeping this thread alive (and hoping that it won't be too long now before people come looking for it!).

two words for you, africagirl. Condoleezza. Rice. i kid. no but seriously, i think she's given the school a lot of street cred, simply because she went to school at DU for undergrad and learned from ol' man Korbel himself.

so how is HKS for food security? i'm familiar with the research centers at Kennedy, but i didn't know there was anything solid for agricultural-oriented studies there.

there is the *slight* possibility that whatever decisions haven't been processed by tonight will be done early in the week and decisions will still be sent out during Harvard's spring break week. like somebody else mentioned, the office will (or at least should) still be working next week. personally, i think decisions will be out the 24th. that's my over/under.

hm. never really thought about the security aspect of my daily nourishment. that's interesting! IGA is a hot focus at HKS. multidisciplinary -- which is what i'm sure attracted a lot of us to IR in the first place -- and getting a lot of attention right now. there is also an internship program that offers funding exclusively for IGA concentrators through the Belfer Center at HKS (http://www.hks.harvard.edu/degrees/mast ... nternships).

i have a friend at HKS who's on the adcomm, and last i spoke with her (about 2 weeks ago), we discussed exactly these things. i'll pass on her words now. many of you, i'm sure, already know this, but for those who have questions this will hopefully shed some light on the matter: [*:3ayxtcjp]there is no minimum, no cutoff, but both V and Q scores are important. with that said, a higher Q score of 700+ is more critical; remember that GRE scores have percentages, and more people do well on the Q than on the V. for example, a V score of 700 might put you in the 96th percentile, while a 700 on the Q might put you in the 70th percentile. [*:3ayxtcjp]there is a holistic approach taken to judging a candidate's eligibility, so a candidate who's been out of undergrad for a while and has more work experience will need to worry less about GRE scores than someone who completed his/her bachelor's degree in the past few years. [*:3ayxtcjp]on a slightly unrelated note, this year the HKS adcomm has looked for applicants who clearly indicated their sincere desire to get into the public/government/nonprofit sector. in the past few years, a disproportionate amount of MPP grads (i want to say between 30 and 40%) have ended up in the private sector. while this is understandable, considering how expensive grad school can be, the administration has taken on aid/debt as a primary concern. i think jmoney referred to this earlier, maybe in this thread or another one. i hope this helps!

1. Spanish since the age of 7 -- professional fluency 2. Kutchi (native tongue, Indian dialect, my first language even before English but of course totally useless for IR purposes) 3. Arabic for the last 2.5 years of undergrad -- very basic grasp so far

selected "business." 2 years cumulative in undergrad doing co-ops for BofA, then a year and a half so far with IT consulting firm, including a six-month stint right out of undergrad in India with said company. great experience there that, while completely unrelated to public policy, is what ultimately ignited my passion in this field. of course highlighted that in my applications. so all in all, no sustained direct govt/nonprofit/research W/E leading me to my choice of study, but something to be said for transferable skills and life-changing experiences.

I'm nervous as hell. I applied to school this year because I realized what I wanted to do after 11/26 [Mumbai]. So lining up all my ducks and setting everything straight was difficult when deadlines were around New Year's or mid-Jan. I've been in the private sector for a while, but my job was neither what I went to undergrad for nor what I really wanted to do. It was just a way to sustain myself while I figured out what really drives me. Now I know what that passion is, and I've tried to act upon it by researching schools and applying to the programs that have the most to offer me, but I'm afraid that if I don't get into school this year, I'll be in for a LONG and nerve-wracking year before I can apply again. To compound my anxiety, my company just went through a round of layoffs and although I barely escaped this one, I don't think I'll be so lucky at the start of Q3. Does anyone have any sage words of wisdom they can share to help me calm my nerves? And no, a cigarette won't do the trick :wink: Thanks!