Revolution

I'm really worried about what I should do if I get dinged at all the mba programs but get into HKS MPA. I'm worried that i won't get the job i want coming out and that people won't take me seriously.

Plenty of people applied to both mba programs and hks, including myself. There are people who are NOT interested in public sector who apply to these programs. I agree that it's bad, but this is the general culture at harvard. Not saying that I like it or condone it but just reporting what my friends have told me and what I have witnessed when I visited my buddies at HBS.

Basing it upon talking to a lot of friends who went to harvard, including hbs, hls, hks, and undergrad. There is definitely a hierarchy of sorts at Harvard. The HBS students are revered and envied by everyone.

Yeah I'm sure. I mean at Harvard the HBS students are the kings of the hill, the alpha males, and the HKS students get no respect at all. Did you apply to HBS and HKS?

Ugh. HKS has such a huge inferiority complex to HBS. Seems like almost everyone at HKS wants to be at HBS.

Any idea what SAIS acceptance rate is? I heard it's around 30%.

All the HKS program decisions will be out in mid-March.

BUMP. Would be interested to hear others' thoughts on this.

I will send you a private message with the information. Don't feel comfortable posting this on a public forum. Thanks.

My test scores and work experience are fine. My recs, extracurriculars, and essays were rock solid as well. A few trusted sources including a good friend at a top b-school read my essays and thought they were awesome. They are all stunned at my admission results thus far. I still have a few mba programs to hear back from as well as hks and sais. We'll see what happens then. I wish I knew more about private sector placement out of hks and sais but not much info on that front.

Yes, I'm aware of that. Not planning on applying to HBS. My career goals are macro investment research or world bank/ny fed type of econ policy jobs. A joint degree would have been great, but top mba admissions is brutal. I'm very worried though about doing just a policy degree since I might have a very tough time getting a job coming out, especially in the areas i'm interested in.

This year I applied to top MBA programs as well as SAIS and HKS. It looks like judging from the results so far, MBA will not work out for me this year. If I'm lucky enough to get into sais or hks, i wonder if being a first-year there will help my MBA chances if i decide to re-apply? Has anyone had experience with this?

Very few HLS/HBS students would get dinged at HKS (exception is the mpa-id due to its rigorous quantiative requirements). The MC/MPA is for much older applicants, and the acceptance rate is pretty high. I applied to HKS, along with top mba programs and would be happy to go to any of the schools i get into. Let me make this clear: HKS is a GREAT school. But there's no denying that HKS gets a lower caliber of applicants/students than top business or law schools. I don't see how this is debatable.

The HBS students are like demi-gods on not just the harvard campus but boston in general. My single friends there told me some sick stories about their social lives and how the girls in the city respond to them when they find out they're HBS students. But that's a different topic altogether.

This is exactly right. There is a HUGE difference in caliber of students between HKS and HBS; it's not even comparable. Being at HKS will do almost nothing to help you get into YLS/HLS/HBS. Do NOT go to HKS just to use it as a backdoor into a more prestigious program because most likely it won't work out. And yes, the HBS and HLS students, along with Harvard undergrads, look down on and make fun of HKS students. It's just not that well respected among harvard students.

In general, any top 15 mba program is more selective than HKS (with the exception of mpa/id) because they get a higher caliber of applicants. The people who did ivy undergrad, worked in top finance/consulting firms, are applying to mba programs.

Which mba programs are you applying to? I think mc/mpa and masons have like 50% acceptance rates. They're very high.

Are you applying to mba programs as well?

MPP is about 20%, MPA is about 25%, MPA-ID is around 15%. MC/MPA and mason are pretty high.

I think SAIS is now around 25%, Kennedy MPP is 18%, and SIPA is 35%. The first 2 programs have gotten a lot more selective in the past few eyars.

Thanks. So 1 minute before 1/8, eastern time. Any idea where I can find this online? It's nowhere on the SAIS website or admissions blog.

I know it's due on January 7th but any idea exactly what time it's due? I can't find that info anywhere online.

Any idea what the MPA2 acceptance rate is?

I wonder if HKS talks to other b-schools aside from HBS if one is a joint degree applicant (ie, sloan, tuck, wharton, stanford)

I recently talked to a SAIS alum who is currently a 2nd year student at a top b-school. He said that he learned a ton at SAIS and enjoyed the school overall but was dismayed at how bad the career services was. In his words, SAIS is "good at teaching you important skillsets but can't help get you a job, which is ultimately what matters." I'm applying to both mba and policy programs, in hopes of doing a joint degree. If SAIS is the only program I get into, I'm wondering if it will be worth even going, given the state of their career services. I already have finance experience and is looking to stay in finance but in a different type of role.