Sroek, in response to this:
"I'm hoping that the odds of getting accepted into Harvard increase a tad by opting for the IGA program and hopefully there weren't too many people applying for that particular program. I'm curious to know how many of you did apply for the program. I specifically mentioned that my academic focus and area of interest was IGA in relation to international security in my personal statement. In fact, my public policy essay was on gangs since it relates to national security. So I built my whole package to bank on the IGA program. Let me know your thoughts. Who is interested in security studies? Who applied specifically for the IGA program? And do you think the odds are slightly better if you did?"
I applied to the IGA concentration, and it seems as though a number of people on this board applied there as well. So no, I don't think it will increase our odds of getting into HKS. I, also, built my package around the IGA program folding in previous Fulbright experience working in the warring slums of Jamaica, direct service w/Muslim victims of domestic abuse, and my current position at UNICEF ---> projecting to my interest in international mediation through shifts in gender policy/added investment in gender-focused civil society organizations. So, not security studies per se. I think that IGA might be more competitive than the other concentrations, and that it's attracted a whole new brand of MPP applicants (myself included) who might not have otherwise applied to the program.
Accepted: Yale (MA in IR), SIPA (MIA)
Waiting: HKS
Rejected: not so far....
