HKS MPP Admissions Stats

[sliced cheesecake]

Hi all, have any of you heard about the admission stats (applicants up from last year? how many are they taking for this year?) for this year yet?

[ThinkingAboutPhd]

I was wondering about 2010 admit stats as well. Also, does anyone know their anticipated notification day for admission decisions? Am dying to know...

[wcasey5]

I was wondering about 2010 admit stats as well. Also, does anyone know their anticipated notification day for admission decisions? Am dying to know...

I went to their info session in DC on December 10th... The admissions rep said their applications were up somewhere around 20% from that point in the process last year... But that was almost a month before the deadline.

[sliced cheesecake]

The open house for HKS is on April 5 this year, so decisions will likely go out next week. Last year, decisions came out around March 22, so possibly March 21 this year.

[aren]

The open house for HKS is on April 5 this year, so decisions will likely go out next week. Last year, decisions came out around March 22, so possibly March 21 this year.

Interesting. Where'd you find out the open house is April 5?

[Batignolles]

The open house for HKS is on April 5 this year, so decisions will likely go out next week. Last year, decisions came out around March 22, so possibly March 21 this year.

It's a little weird to send out decisions on a Sunday, no? Wouldn't the 22nd or 19th be more logical choices?

Edited March 12, 2010 by Batignolles

[sliced cheesecake]

It's a little weird to send out decisions on a Sunday, no? Wouldn't the 22nd or 19th be more logical choices?

Last year decisions went out on Sunday, I believe. Someone from HKS told me about the open house date.

[mh7777]

Last year decisions went out on Sunday, I believe. Someone from HKS told me about the open house date.

Looks like they went out on Friday two years ago, FWIW.

[ThinkingAboutPhd]

Last year they did send out a bunch of decisions on the 22nd even though it was a Sunday - if you search the results page you can see.

[jndaven]

What was the acceptance rate last year? For some reason I have 28% in my grad school research notes, but I find that a bit high and I didn't write down the source. Let's assume there are more apps than ever, as has been the case with other schools in the government/IR fields (I blame a popular president+bad economy), and that this rate is now 20-22%. I'm thinking since I (or a hypothetical you) couldn't get waitlisted at WWS, which has a similar applicant pool, that means I was not in the top 13% of applicants ([85+37]/891)--but am I good enough for the top 20% for HKS?!? HKS is the only school I want to go to right now, I'd have to make a serious mental shift towards another place if I get rejected...um and actually get in somewhere, I'm waiting on 3. I need to stop thinking about this.

[Batignolles]

What was the acceptance rate last year? For some reason I have 28% in my grad school research notes, but I find that a bit high and I didn't write down the source. Let's assume there are more apps than ever, as has been the case with other schools in the government/IR fields (I blame a popular president+bad economy), and that this rate is now 20-22%. I'm thinking since I (or a hypothetical you) couldn't get waitlisted at WWS, which has a similar applicant pool, that means I was not in the top 13% of applicants ([85+37]/891)--but am I good enough for the top 20% for HKS?!? HKS is the only school I want to go to right now, I'd have to make a serious mental shift towards another place if I get rejected...um and actually get in somewhere, I'm waiting on 3. I need to stop thinking about this.

jndaven, I'm not sure that school admission works like that. I don't think that every school is gunning for the exact same applicant profile. I think that each school has different strengths and weaknesses, and is looking for candidates that fit best with what they have to offer. Princeton is a very public-service oriented program, with a significant US focus - just because you didn't match with that doesn't mean that you wouldn't be a great candidate (possibly with a scholarship) at a school with a very different focus. I was dinged by Princeton, but got one of Fletcher's top scholarships - probably because, as I knew when I applied, I'm a much better fit for Fletcher than for WWS.

So on that note, it's likely that HKS is as good a school as Princeton (some rankings would say better), and will be perhaps almost as competitive this year, but it has a very different student body and very different program goals. I imagine sometimes they're giving top scholarships to the same people that got into Princeton, but not always. So I don't think you can deduce your chances at HKS just by looking at how you've done at Princeton. Which is another way of saying that you should hold out hope until you hear otherwise. It ain't over 'til it's over!

Edited March 13, 2010 by Batignolles

[peregrin]

What was the acceptance rate last year? For some reason I have 28% in my grad school research notes, but I find that a bit high and I didn't write down the source.

I think 28% is a valid estimate. HKS's admissions rate for the MPP program hovers around 25-30% annually. The specific admissions rate is anybody's guess since HKS doesn't publish admissions statistics. Last year, there was a 34% increase in applications for the MPP program (http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2009/3/4/hks-notices-obama-effect-administrators-at/), which administrators attributed to an 'Obama Effect'. I don't know what the numbers are for this year, but I doubt they are as high as last year's (the economy is improving and President Obama is less popular than he once was). Our admissions letter came on the 23rd of March last year. We had to wait until April for funding information.

Best of luck, jndaven!

[sliced cheesecake]

Does anyone know how many fellowships HKS gives out usually? How does HKS fare in terms of financial assistance to students?

[ThinkingAboutPhd]

Does anyone know how many fellowships HKS gives out usually? How does HKS fare in terms of financial assistance to students?

Harvard is known for giving out money to those that have financial need. They don't want to lose quality students because they can't afford it. As far as fellowships go, I think they have a fixed number. You had to apply for most of them, they were listed on their scholarships/financial aid website. The deadline is passed if you have not already done it.

[nahamah]

I called the admissions office, and they told me that the open house is April 9th (rather than April 5th as sliced_cheesecake reported - if you spoke to another admissions rep, I'm not sure who to believe).

They also said that they will send decisions "sometime between this week and the first week in April."

[mppapplicant]

I called the admissions office, and they told me that the open house is April 9th (rather than April 5th as sliced_cheesecake reported - if you spoke to another admissions rep, I'm not sure who to believe).

They also said that they will send decisions "sometime between this week and the first week in April."

Thanks for letting us know nahamah; I sincerely hope it will be this week because I can't stand checking my email all the time! The waiting is literally killing me; even though I am aware of my slim chances of acceptance, I want to KNOW!!

[Batignolles]

They also said that they will send decisions "sometime between this week and the first week in April."

Well, I certainly hope it will be by the first week in April - if the open house is on the 9th, they really have to give people at least a week to plan! So I'm betting on the 29th as the last reasonable date for giving us an answer giving the open house timing. MPA vs. mid-career vs. MPP probably has different decision release dates, though - I'm not sure they send them all out at once.

The key question for me is when the funding news comes. Last year, acceptances came out on March 22nd or so, but funding came out around April 3rd. To be honest, giving a good funding offer from Fletcher, which is a great school, I'm not sure I'll be so jazzed about a HKS acceptance unless I know can afford to go on as competitive a financial basis as Fletcher. So for me the key deadline is when we get the FA news...

Not that I'm not keen on HKS overall - I cross-enrolled in a course there as an undergrad, and really liked the experience. Once we hear from HKS, I'm happy to share my experiences and thoughts on strengths / weaknesses of the program.

[sliced cheesecake]

You're probably right about the 9th for open house then. I vaguely remember it being April something, and I thought I had heard 5th.

Good luck everyone! For those of you who applied for the Dubin fellowship, it seems like you may get to find out tomorrow whether you made it to the interviews according to the website http://content.ksg.harvard.edu/leadership/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=613&Itemid=162

[pjb2105]

I am confused why Harvard is taking so long, since WWS, Maxwell, SIPA and so many others have given notice already. I know that Maxwell and WWS have a deadline of April 15 to accept their offers. Why would HKS give people so little time to make a decision?

[alrosy]

Why are you sliced cheesecake? I am trying to figure out your nickname’s relationship with your education and life aspirations… but I can’t. Please enlighten us.

[alrosy]

Now back to the HKS topic… I think the MPA/ID decision will be out by Friday and the MPP will be out by next Monday. What do you guys say?

I am waiting for the MPA/ID email… I also applied for the Dubin Fellowship, the Reynolds Fellowship, and the Joint Japan/World Bank Scholarship. Do you know when those decisions will be out? Also, does anyone know how many students are chosen for each of those fellowships?

[Putoots]

I am confused why Harvard is taking so long, since WWS, Maxwell, SIPA and so many others have given notice already. I know that Maxwell and WWS have a deadline of April 15 to accept their offers. Why would HKS give people so little time to make a decision?

This is just a guess, but it could be the fact that they get such a high volume of applications, coupled with the fact that you had to write so many essays. (I submitted all five -- purpose statement, policy analysis, leadership, optional, and CV).

I didn't have to do that much work for any other application other than SIPA. I also remember Fletcher had a couple of essays as well...but by that time I was out of gas and dropped my application. @_@

[bluberries]

I called the admissions office, and they told me that the open house is April 9th (rather than April 5th as sliced_cheesecake reported - if you spoke to another admissions rep, I'm not sure who to believe).

They also said that they will send decisions "sometime between this week and the first week in April."

Thank you so much for the information. Just a quick question, IF ADMITTED, are we all required to attend the open house? What will be the disadvantages if we don't make it to the admitted students' day?

[greendiplomat]

Thank you so much for the information. Just a quick question, IF ADMITTED, are we all required to attend the open house? What will be the disadvantages if we don't make it to the admitted students' day?

No, Open Houses are designed by the respective schools to showcase what they have to offer, with the aim to increase the likelihood that admitted students will attend (i.e. to increase their yield). It's their last chance to "sell" the school, not a required event.

[2010Applicant]

Anyone knows if the financial aid news come together with the scholarship news? i.e. are the results of the Dean's fellow / Kennedy fellow going to be released together with the financial aid decisions, or together with the admissions results? Thanks!