2018 Results

[pasale]

Program Applied To: (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP/MPA, MPA/MAIR, MPP, MGA
Schools Applied To: HKS, Maxwell, Ford, WWS, Keough, Vanderbilt GPED, Korbel 
Schools Admitted To: HKS (0), Maxwell ($$$$), Ford (0), Keough ($$$$$), Vanderbilt GPED ($$), Korbel ($$)
Rejected: WWS

Undergraduate institution:  regional liberal arts college 
Undergraduate GPA:  3.51                                                                                                                                                                                

Undergraduate Majors:  Business
GRE Quantitative Score:  163
GRE Verbal Score:  160
GRE AW Score:  4.5
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  2
Years of Work Experience:  2 years full-time directly relevant, research assistant during undergrad. 
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Schools Admitted To: Teaching and mentoring low-income and underachieving students at a public high school (under a non-profit and city department of education). Raised thousands of $ for a socially driven startup.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Very strong. Talked about my multicultural background, my solid commitment and impact in low-income communities I have made so far. 
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Amazing. Two from very close professors who are highly ranked in college. One from director of the non-profit that works with the high school.
Other: I had solid quant background. Took some courses in college. Led a startup, so the social entrepreneur background was a game changer in my application. Have a lot of diverse background as well - research assistant in college, editorial intern at a magazine company, sustainability advocate etc. 

Decision: Notre Dame's Keough. 1) DEBT FREE! Full tuition with stipend for all like WWS, making it relatively competitive than other programs. 2) the small class means intimate learning and the program resources will be focused on you. 3) The program looks amazing - strong faculty and will get to partner with an org (depends on your specialization) and fieldwork 2-5 months with them. 

 

Edited April 10, 2018 by pasale

[tropisk_winter]

To all future applicants, I hope this is as helpful to you as previous GradCafe posts were to me!

Program Applied To: (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.)  MPP, MPA, MEM (Masters of Environmental Management)
Schools Applied To:  HKS, SIPA (MPA-ESP), Yale FES,  UC Berkeley GSPP, UW Evans, Georgetown McCourt
Schools Admitted To:   All – HKS (full funding), SIPA ($30k), Yale FES ($12k/yr), UC Berkeley GSPP (no funding), UW Evans (~$15k stipend + in-state tuition rate), Georgetown McCourt ($20k/year)
Schools Rejected From:   None (I’m still in shock but really happy!)
Still Waiting:  N/A
Undergraduate institution:  Top 30 University
Undergraduate GPA:  3.54
Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable):  3.76  (worth calculating if you have not—schools like to see an upward trend. I had some rough intro science classes freshman year)
Undergraduate Major:  Biology, Environmental Studies, & Political Science
GRE Quantitative Score:  161
GRE Verbal Score:  166
GRE AW Score:  5.5
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  4 (3 at the time of applying)
Years of Work Experience:  4 (3 at the time of applying) – this is full time, not including a bunch of part-time relevant internships I held in college
Describe Relevant Work Experience:  analyst in the environmental policy and economics branch of a consulting firm working with federal/state/local government agencies

Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Strong—I have had one policy area of interest since before high school (environmental policy), and almost everything I did throughout college and after was related to the environment. In my SOPs, I told the story of why I needed this degree to take the next step in my environmental career. I stated my goals very explicitly (within the first paragraph, I made sure to include a sentence saying “My goal is to X”). I then gave a brief explanation of what I’ve been up to at work, and then specific examples of career goals (the exact agencies I want to work for the roles I want to hold and WHY). Then I wrapped up each essay with a paragraph or two about the specific offerings at each school (professors, names of courses, final projects, etc.) and named names so that they knew I’d done my research.

I realize this is a fairly unique situation and most people have changing interests or less defined interests—my advice is to still just pick one specific policy area to focus your SOP on, even if you know that you’ll explore other interests in the program. Being as specific as possible will help you tell a convincing story, and will show that you have thought about how this degree is part of your overall story. For example, within the broad category of environmental policy, I focused my essays on how I want to work within state government on emissions trading programs that meet the goals of the Paris Accord.

I think the toughest but most important part of the SOP process is picking this specific problem that you want to solve. Also, I kept a notepad on my phone of ideas for my SOP that popped into my head on the bus, in the grocery store, wherever. That way I had them all in one place when I sat down to write! ?

I highly HIGHLY recommend reading the book Graduate Admissions Essays by Donald Asher. I made sure to already have a draft before I read any of the sample essays so that I wasn’t intimidated by or influenced by other people’s work. That said, the intro sections gave me the extra push I needed to get my essay into shape! I found the book super comforting when I felt stuck or lost.

Also, whether or not you are applying to HKS, you should check out the HKS Admissions Blog. I found a ton of helpful tips there for not only my HKS application, but all of my applications. Go through the posts where they discuss old applications—I read through those after I wrote my first draft and made sure I hit all the “good” points that HKS discussed, and reworked anything they’d said they don’t like to see in an essay.

Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Strong, I had my primary manager at work who has been close with me for ~4 years, my former boss from an undergraduate position who I kept in touch with (also relevant to MPP work), and a professor. After I got accepted, two of my letter writers voluntarily shared their letters with me, and I was so honored at what they had written and the time and effort they spent.

I decided who to ask around the end of June. I invited them each out for coffee once in July to let them know more about my plans. I did not ask at that time, because I wanted to gauge their level of interest and support of my grad school aspirations. I asked them around early-August to give them more than enough time to plan. Once they said yes, I gave them a packet of information that they could use to write the letter. The packet contained a basic cover letter (essentially an early draft of my SOP) explaining why I wanted to go to grad school; my resume/CV; samples of work (from the professor’s class), and a sheet listing my specific goals for each school as well as what each school is looking for. For example, I want to go to HKS because I am looking to work with Professor X and take Course Y and I want to do this specific extracurricular. All of them really loved the sheet because it allowed them to easily personalize each letter for each school.

Other:

Even though I took stats and econ in college, I decided to brush up on both subjects by taking online classes at my local community college. Because these classes counted for credit/had transcripts, I think it helped show the schools that I was still serious about classroom learning and willing to dive into quant work on day one. It was an expense though—if you can’t afford to take a credit class, maybe take a free online course and mention it in your resume.

Some schools (SIPA, HKS) asked for a quantitative resume and I spent a lot of time making sure that I hit most of the skillsets they are looking for. I gave specific examples of projects I’ve done at work.

I got in touch with professors at my top choice schools and asked them about certain classes, etc., and where possible I sat in on their classes. I also tried to visit as many campuses as I could before applying. This was tricky for those that were super far away, but by planning ahead I was able to visit my top choices. I found it helpful to talk with admissions officers and current students, and referenced what I learned from those conversations in my SOP.

You can do this!!! ? It takes a lot of planning and time management, and everyone has a slightly different approach. Do what feels right to you, and don’t compare yourself to anyone else if you can help it. Seriously consider if you would be happy at each school. Consider things like curriculum and job placement and professors’ interests, but also consider city/location and the vibe of the student body and proximity to family/friends if that is important to you. It’s important that you can see yourself being happy everywhere you apply!

Good luck!

[invincible49]

On 16/04/2018 at 5:41 AM, tropisk_winter said:

Schools Admitted To:   All – HKS (full funding), SIPA ($30k), Yale FES ($12k/yr), UC Berkeley GSPP (no funding), UW Evans (~$15k stipend + in-state tuition rate), Georgetown McCourt ($20k/year)

Hello @tropisk_winter,

Congrats on all your admissions. Just one question – for HKS, did the school waive the tuition off or did you apply for an external scholarship? It would be extremely helpful if you could shed some light on that.

[Prester John]

Program Applied To: MPA/MPP
Schools Applied To:  WWS, HKS, SIPA, Harris, Graduate Institute and LKY
Schools Admitted To:  WWS(full ride), HKS (Full tuition), SIPA($80,000), Harris ($20,000) and LKY (external funding)
Schools Rejected From:  Graduate Institute
Still Waiting:  none
Undergraduate institution: International student. Reputed engineeirng college
Undergraduate GPA:  3.4
Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable):  
Undergraduate Major:   Electronics and Communication
GRE Quantitative Score:  169
GRE Verbal Score:  165
GRE AW Score:  5.0
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  8
Years of Work Experience:  7
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Career civil servant holding top level, decision making positions in the Government of a state in a developing country.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  My work experience was both a strength and a weakness while writing the SoP. Although I had done cutting-edge public affairs work, I stood a risk of not being specific due to the multiple sectors I had worked in. This really showed up in the initial drafts too. Finally, I decided on focusing on one area of my work that I was really passionate about and which I had focussed throughout all my assignments. I think that really changed the feel and power of the SoP. Went through multiple drafts and merciless reviews from 2-3 friends.  Was really reluctant to re write after a few drafts but kept on working on it. I think that really helped in the end.

Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):   One from undergrad professor, one from my professor from the civil services college (who is know with an IFI and who keeps track of my work) and one from my former boss (civil servant). A HKS alumni wrote from HKS. We had collaborated professionally.

 

[tropisk_winter]

On 4/17/2018 at 12:54 AM, invincible49 said:

Just one question – for HKS, did the school waive the tuition off or did you apply for an external scholarship? It would be extremely helpful if you could shed some light on that.

Sure! The scholarship is from an HKS center, so it is not an external scholarship but isn't exactly a tuition waiver either. HKS has a separate financial aid application process that is only made available to you once you submit your application for admission in early December. Unlike any of the other schools I applied to, HKS required separate essays for some scholarships. These were due in early February. I ended up receiving one of the scholarships for which an extra essay was required. There are some that don't require extra essays, too, just submission of the financial aid form by the deadline.

You can search both Harvard-based and external funding opportunities here: https://apps.hks.harvard.edu/scholarship/ . You might be able to get a sense of the types of funding Harvard offers in your area of interest or for someone with your specific background.

Hope that helps!

[invincible49]

It certainly does. Thank you so much!

Also you say "These were due in early February. I ended up receiving one of the scholarships for which an extra essay was required. There are some that don't require extra essays, too, just submission of the financial aid form by the deadline."

So as I understand it, you applied for many scholarships is that right? Sorry if i'm bothering you but I intend to apply this year so I just want to make sure I don't miss out on anything!

@tropisk_winter

Edited April 22, 2018 by invincible49

[Prester John]

There are usually 2-3 fellowships that match ones profile. You can apply to all those. The portals for financial aid opens after you submit your application.

i am just curious to know the conditions of CPL fellowship. Does it give full tuition plus stipend? 

[Damis]

6 hours ago, Prester John said:

There are usually 2-3 fellowships that match ones profile. You can apply to all those. The portals for financial aid opens after you submit your application.

i am just curious to know the conditions of CPL fellowship. Does it give full tuition plus stipend? 

I'll jump in here, because I interviewed for a CPL Fellowship as well. It depends with CPL. Most offer a stipend, but not all. The levels of stipend also vary. HKS can add on top of that to give you a full ride (so a total of $83k instead of $65ishk) at their discretion, but after talking to many CPL Fellows they typically don't do that. 

I didn't receive CPL, but I did receive extra scholarship funds from the Presidential Scholarship pot. I have no idea how that system works other than it appears someone liked either my essays or interview well enough that they decided to forward me on to her desk. I had external scholarship funds too (which, if you have, you should report. They are serious about reducing awards.) No catch neither. I'm mentioning this in order to implore folks to apply for the CPL Fellowships. There's funding not necessarily tied to anything you may fall into. 

. 

[Prester John]

52 minutes ago, Damis said:

I'll jump in here, because I interviewed for a CPL Fellowship as well. It depends with CPL. Most offer a stipend, but not all. The levels of stipend also vary. HKS can add on top of that to give you a full ride (so a total of $83k instead of $65ishk) at their discretion, but after talking to many CPL Fellows they typically don't do that. 

I didn't receive CPL, but I did receive extra scholarship funds from the Presidential Scholarship pot. I have no idea how that system works other than it appears someone liked either my essays or interview well enough that they decided to forward me on to her desk. I had external scholarship funds too (which, if you have, you should report. They are serious about reducing awards.) No catch neither. I'm mentioning this in order to implore folks to apply for the CPL Fellowships. There's funding not necessarily tied to anything you may fall into. 

. 

So 83k per year? And how do they disburse it? The first credit towards tuition and the rest as stipend?

[tropisk_winter]

16 hours ago, invincible49 said:

Also you say "These were due in early February. I ended up receiving one of the scholarships for which an extra essay was required. There are some that don't require extra essays, too, just submission of the financial aid form by the deadline."

So as I understand it, you applied for many scholarships is that right? Sorry if i'm bothering you but I intend to apply this year so I just want to make sure I don't miss out on anything!

No problem! Hopefully this is helpful to others applying this fall as well. Yep, I applied to 4 separate HKS fellowships with 4 separate (but very similar) essays. That's probably on the high end but all 4 fit my background (science-policy). I personally wouldn't recommend spending time applying to lots of fellowships that are poor matches for your interests--it's better to put a lot of time into just a few. 

It can't hurt to browse the HKS financial aid website to get an idea of what opportunities are out there, but you won't be able to apply to any HKS fellowships until you submit your admission application, so you have tons of time. A good way to make sure you don't miss out on anything is to follow the HKS admissions blog. Sign up for email delivery so you see it in your inbox every morning! 

[Damis]

11 hours ago, Prester John said:

So 83k per year? And how do they disburse it? The first credit towards tuition and the rest as stipend?

Oops. That's right. $83k per year. 

Now, I have no idea how they disperse funds, as I'm just starting. I'll ask around though, because that'd be useful to know. :P

[yellina122]

14 hours ago, Damis said:

Oops. That's right. $83k per year. 

Now, I have no idea how they disperse funds, as I'm just starting. I'll ask around though, because that'd be useful to know. :P

I suspect that it'd be just that- they pay off whatever needs to be paid of for your tuition and then the school sends you a check for whatever is left. That's how all the federal support works, but a specific fellowship might be different!

[Damis]

17 minutes ago, yellina122 said:

I suspect that it'd be just that- they pay off whatever needs to be paid of for your tuition and then the school sends you a check for whatever is left. That's how all the federal support works, but a specific fellowship might be different!

Thank you, Yellina! Congratulations to you, by the way! 

[RealMowgli]

Program Applied To: MPP
Schools Applied To:  HKS MPP
Schools Admitted To:  HKS ($0)
Undergraduate institution: Large state public engineering school
Undergraduate GPA:  3.6
Undergraduate Major:   Political Science + Philosophy
GRE Quantitative Score:  164
GRE Verbal Score:  160
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable):  5
Years of Work Experience:  5
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Two years working in government at federal foreign assistance agency; three years working as a management consultant in the Digital Government practice area
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  My biggest strength was that I had only worked for government/consulted for government in D.C. for five years - it was easy to convey that public service runs through my veins  I think I also had good breadth in terms of the number of federal agencies I've worked with, and the depth of a digital technology on the cutting edge. 

Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc):   I had 3 letters of reccs from former bosses who I liked working under, and liked as people. I did provide 'talking points' in a 'LOR Packet' for recommenders to make it as easy as possible. 

Other:  You really have to know for yourself, I'm talking multiple years confirming your decision, deep down that you want to go to a public policy grad school. There is no clear return on investment, in many cases you don't 'need' an MPP, and in some cases you can grow quicker outside of taking time off. You should be very picky about the applicants you fire off as well - I found each policy school is significantly different than the others and can't be switched out (rural vs urban, domestic focus vs intl focus, big cohorts vs small independent learners) I chose to go because I love learning, I want to expand in my interests, learn from the very best, develop a stronger network, and explore different ways people are serving the public. Harvard is a school, not a brand. And the admissions committee does an excellent job of weeding out people who are just 'trying out' policy, or looking for a check mark on their resume. 

[Doug]

Program Applied To: (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.)  MS-DSPP
Schools Applied To:  McCourt
Schools Admitted To:  McCourt ($3750/semester)
Schools Rejected From:  N/A
Still Waiting:  N/A
Undergraduate institution: Yale 
Undergraduate GPA:  3.09 
Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable):  Not sure, but likely slightly less than 3.09
Undergraduate Major:  Mathematics and Philosophy
GRE Quantitative Score:  166
GRE Verbal Score:  167
GRE AW Score:  4.0
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 9  
Years of Work Experience:  10
Describe Relevant Work Experience: In approximate order, with some overlap: 5 years of acting and tech directing at a non-profit theater, 3 years of directing a tutoring center, 1.5 years of Actuarial exams (passed the first two), 2 years of Admissions Counselor for Berkeley's Data Science program, and 10 years of high school math/science tutoring, which overlapped everything. 
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc):  Having worked for Berkeley's Master of Information and Data Science program, which included me reading hundreds of SOPs, I believe my SOP was quite strong. I tied together the disparate work experiences above with an intimate understanding of the myriad ways data science can be applied, all within the context of criminal justice reform. I mentioned a PAC that I'd like to work for as well as the overdose death of my closest friend in January, and how his passing helped bring my aspirations into focus. 
Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): At least two out of the three were quite strong. Since I've been out of school a while, all three were professional recs. The first was the owner of the tutoring company that promoted me to his position of running the company when he took another job. The second was my boss at Berkeley admissions; he's written tons of letters, so knew how to present me well. The third was the owner of the current tutoring firm I work for. I've only known him about 9 months, but he was a Georgetown Alum, so that likely helped. Overall, all three letters presented me as fiercely intelligent, but with a strong inner drive to do work I find meaningful. 

[iamokay666]

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