Revolution

It would be a bad idea to discuss this in your SOP; that is not what it's used for. Such weaknesses are usually addressed in an optional essay, but SAIS doesn't offer one, so you should let it go and hope the other parts of the application will make up for it. I'm doing SAIS and HKS, along with mba programs, and in my case i used the optional to address a VERY bad last semester in college. I have neither econ courses but have years of finance experience in trading and did well on the GMAT and GRE.

I think policy programs care a lot about GRE quant, especially HKS and SAIS, due to the nature of their programs. Don't think it's the decisive factor in admissions, but for students with lower gpa or lack of quant coursework, a 90%+ GRE quant score can go a long way. And it could affect funding on the margins, but for a program such as HKS MPA2, I'm pretty sure work experience trumps all.

From what i've heard from friends at HKS, MPP is 20%, MPA is 25%, and MPA-ID is 15%.

Yes, my interest is in investment research (bonds, currencies) focusing on asia; I'm also open to world bank/IMF/NY Fed, but i'm less sanguine about those options due to the heavy bureaucratic red tape at those institutions. I applied to SAIS, HKS MPA2, and a number of top MBA programs.

Interesting. I applied to MBA programs as well as policy programs at HKS and SAIS. Although I won't know the results for another few months, I've been asking myself what I would do if i only got into SAIS and HKS but dinged at the MBA programs. Most of my work experience is in finance, and i hope to stay in that arena but shift focus to a different area within finance.

With your GRE scores i just don't see you getting into HKS or LSE. I don't know much about the other programs, but i imagine you will have a hard time there as well. You really should get 155+ on both sections of the GRE.

You can apply to both schools simultaneously, but if you get into both, you would need to choose one and only one since a joint degree is not possible.

Every year people get into top programs with subpar scores, but they make up for it in other ways. Hard to say without more information. I mean it's worth applying if you think you have something to offer and can write a strong application.

Yeah no way peterson's is right. I'll be shocked if the MPA2 has an acceptance rate of higher than 25%. It's supposedly more selective than MPP. I think the mid-career and mason programs though are pretty easy to get into. Maybe peterson's 61% rate is those programs.

According to the site, MPA accepts 61%, which obviously can't be right.

I know MPP is around 20%. No idea on MPA2 though. Either way, the application has been submitted so totally out of my hands. Just curious though since i don't think i've seen the number.

Yikes. Is HKS admissions rolling? I'm probably submitting right at the deadline or before since i'm also working on MBA applications, which have a higher priority for me.

Question about the main HKS essay for MPA. I wonder how much of my essay should be used to describe my academic and career path, and how much should be for discussing my future goals and how i can "improve the world through public service." As of now, it looks like a 70/30 split but seems a bit too uneven. I've had a nontraditional path, so I needed the extra space to describe why I made the choices I made.

Can you be more specific on your career goals? Do you want to work in government first and then switch over to private? If so, are you interested in consulting? With your work experience, getting into a top 15 MBA program will be extremely difficult. You could get into SIPA if you do well on the GMAT and write good essays. SIPA does ok in some areas of finance, but their career services is pretty much useless, so you're on your own.

In my case I am definitely using this. I had a consistent gpa until last semester of college when I had some personal problems and didn't act responsibly. GPA dropped significantly as a result. In your case, a couple of B-'s are not a big issue, especially if there has been an upward trajectory.

Do finance and consulting firms come to SAIS to recruit, or are these students getting these jobs through their own networking and off-campus search?

GRE: 165 quant, 162 verbal, 5.5 writing GMAT: 740 total, 48 quant, 44 verbal, still waiting on writing and ir scores.

Thanks for the response. For MBA, I'm waiting for my GMAT score before i finally decide where to apply. I'm still researching programs as well. As of now, I'm considering, wharton, sloan, columbia, tuck, stern, haas, london business, booth's part-time program. Obviously i won't apply to all of them but some combination thereof. HKS and SAIS are much smaller than SIPA, and their career services are better structured. Also from talking to multiple people, the consensus is that SIPA is regarded as mediocre, one tier below HKS and SAIS.

Hey guys. It's my first time posting here. I'm currently in the midst of studying for my GMAT and GRE and applying to mba and policy programs. I graduated college in 2003, so i'm an older applicant. I have about 7 years of work experience in trading, mostly in equities. I want to do a joint mba/policy and go into NY Fed/World Bank or sovereign debt/currency research at a major investment firm. Basically I want to work in the intersection of policy, macroeconomics, and financial markets. I've been talking to a lot of people and am very interested in hearing from people which programs would be a good fit for me. As of now I'm looking at HKS MPA2, Columbia SIPA (international economics and finance track) and johns hopkins SAIS. I've heard pros and cons of various programs. For instance, people have said that HKS is not good for private sector and that SAIS is ideal for my goals due to its strong focus on international economics. I have heard mixed reviews on SIPA, ranging from good to downright negative.