Harvard Kennedy MPP 2021

[Billy2324]

On 3/19/2021 at 5:03 AM, Hina said:

Got into the MC/MPA program and still in a state of shock. I keep looking at the admission letter just to make sure I read it correctly  

Any other MC/MPAers here? Would love to connect! 

Hi Hina, 

I also got into the MC/MPA we should definitely connect. I do know the average age for MC/MPA is 39, but I'm still in my 20's...I'm wondering if I'll be the youngest in the class? 

[hopeful_sloth]

Is anyone on the admitted students Zoom? Mine is saying 'please wait the meeting host will let you in soon."

[Mpa-aspiration]

5 hours ago, Mpp2021 said:

Did we ever figure out if the mysterious magazine deliveries actually correlated with acceptance? Can anyone who received a magazine and didnt get admitted let us know by posting? Curious to know if we can add it to the repository of information for future HKS aspirants to pore over.

I'm also waitlisted and got the magazine.  I live in the states

[Think Tanker]

Just now, hopeful_sloth said:

Is anyone on the admitted students Zoom? Mine is saying 'please wait the meeting host will let you in soon."

Same--guess they're running a bit late in starting.

[haroldhar]

9 hours ago, Mpp2021 said:

Did we ever figure out if the mysterious magazine deliveries actually correlated with acceptance? Can anyone who received a magazine and didnt get admitted let us know by posting? Curious to know if we can add it to the repository of information for future HKS aspirants to pore over.

Rejected MC/MPA. Magazine WAS received.

[wildchartermage]

9 hours ago, Mpp2021 said:

Did we ever figure out if the mysterious magazine deliveries actually correlated with acceptance? Can anyone who received a magazine and didnt get admitted let us know by posting? Curious to know if we can add it to the repository of information for future HKS aspirants to pore over.

I'm in Italy and I didn't get any magazine. I got into HKS and got a CPL fellowship.

[columbia09]

30 minutes ago, haroldhar said:

Rejected MC/MPA. Magazine WAS received.

Do you mind sharing your background such as gpa, gres (if submitted), years of work experience, undergrad major, etc ?

[aspiringmpp]

Have any students who were admitted without funding been able to negotiate aid from HKS? I have funding from SIPA (33%), UChicago (50%), Wagner (50%) and McCourt (50%) for leverage.

[Zeppelin17]

26 minutes ago, aspiringmpp said:

Have any students who were admitted without funding been able to negotiate aid from HKS? I have funding from SIPA (33%), UChicago (50%), Wagner (50%) and McCourt (50%) for leverage.

I tried, but they said there is nothing more that they can offer...

[GradSchoolGrad]

1 hour ago, aspiringmpp said:

Have any students who were admitted without funding been able to negotiate aid from HKS? I have funding from SIPA (33%), UChicago (50%), Wagner (50%) and McCourt (50%) for leverage.

My friends who went to HKS were not able to negotiate for leverage in prior years. With this year being crazy competitive, I doubt you could do so either. 

[aspiringmpp]

13 minutes ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

My friends who went to HKS were not able to negotiate for leverage in prior years. With this year being crazy competitive, I doubt you could do so either. 

 

1 hour ago, Zeppelin17 said:

I tried, but they said there is nothing more that they can offer...

Thanks all! Disappointing, but understandable. I’ll need to do some number-crunching to decide which program makes the most sense for someone interested in domestic health policy given my funding options. 

[GradSchoolGrad]

10 minutes ago, aspiringmpp said:

 

Thanks all! Disappointing, but understandable. I’ll need to do some number-crunching to decide which program makes the most sense for someone interested in domestic health policy given my funding options. 

you are in the best situation because there are lots of jobs for it but not enough people want to go into domestic health policy. That being said, it helps to go to a University where there is MPH program you can collaborate with. 

[sd9000]

17 minutes ago, aspiringmpp said:

 

Thanks all! Disappointing, but understandable. I’ll need to do some number-crunching to decide which program makes the most sense for someone interested in domestic health policy given my funding options. 

Echoing GradSchoolGrad, if you want good intersection with the public health folks, Columbia has an excellent MPH program and they are very forward facing. Lots of opportunities to intersect with them at SIPA. Just an addition to your thought process as a Columbia alum!

[Ind]

I applied to HKS this year but was not admitted. Given the number of applicants applying every year to HKS for admission and the high quality of the applicants, this is something to be expected. But what came as a great surprise is the way in which the candidates are being treated by the University. Why they are giving MYFAID login to every applicant. It is written there.....For newly admitted candidates...then  Admission ID is there and then you have to spare your valuable time to create your account and all these efforts are going to come to nought only, which University knows, but your poor soul does not. I was one of the applicants for PEPG, the University sent me mail to apply for the same. After almost 20 days of applying I got a mail in which it was written your application material is received and accepted...After all, the application material was a letter of intent....The entire process is callous and it is very surprising that in a litigant society like USA's the University is getting away with its ways with no one suing them for the mental agony suffered. I am writing this for candidates in coming years so that they can wait for the results without pinning hope on any bait thrown at them by the University, even though it is hope alone which sustains such a long wait.

 

BTW all the best for all friends on the forum who got admitted, friends who are waitlisted and also the friends who are not admitted,. Let the good fortune smile on everyone.

[Nysha]

On 3/22/2021 at 7:25 AM, William_1982 said:

Got the magazine and got waitlisted. 

 

On 3/22/2021 at 4:56 AM, Mpp2021 said:

Did we ever figure out if the mysterious magazine deliveries actually correlated with acceptance? Can anyone who received a magazine and didnt get admitted let us know by posting? Curious to know if we can add it to the repository of information for future HKS aspirants to pore over.

Got the magazine and got rejected. So I guess mystery solved. Getting magazine doesn't mean anything.

[AnoIchi]

People, there is still a chance for some to get a scholarship from Harvard. For folks who turn down offers, some scholarships are awarded to other candidates. There is precedent for this, just back in 2018. I checked the HKS 2018 forum and found a person who got the PSF ($100K) in mid April, out of the blue. One reason this happens quite a few times is that candidates who get a significant aid from Harvard have probably also gotten the full ride at Princeton. And most go for the $160K bumper rather than Harvard's $60-100K. (If it's a Harvard full ride, then it's a different matter; but even then we had one of our forum members declining it this very year.)

The chances are slim, but you never know. Try to stay positive and expect to get lucky! I keep telling myself that.

[Boolakanaka]

12 hours ago, Ind said:

I applied to HKS this year but was not admitted. Given the number of applicants applying every year to HKS for admission and the high quality of the applicants, this is something to be expected. But what came as a great surprise is the way in which the candidates are being treated by the University. Why they are giving MYFAID login to every applicant. It is written there.....For newly admitted candidates...then  Admission ID is there and then you have to spare your valuable time to create your account and all these efforts are going to come to nought only, which University knows, but your poor soul does not. I was one of the applicants for PEPG, the University sent me mail to apply for the same. After almost 20 days of applying I got a mail in which it was written your application material is received and accepted...After all, the application material was a letter of intent....The entire process is callous and it is very surprising that in a litigant society like USA's the University is getting away with its ways with no one suing them for the mental agony suffered. I am writing this for candidates in coming years so that they can wait for the results without pinning hope on any bait thrown at them by the University, even though it is hope alone which sustains such a long wait.

 

BTW all the best for all friends on the forum who got admitted, friends who are waitlisted and also the friends who are not admitted,. Let the good fortune smile on everyone.

While certainly cumbersome and probably not the most efficient, I doubt that these remotely approaches the threshold of being something that can be litigated.

 

[lesliserables]

On 3/22/2021 at 4:56 AM, Mpp2021 said:

Did we ever figure out if the mysterious magazine deliveries actually correlated with acceptance? Can anyone who received a magazine and didnt get admitted let us know by posting? Curious to know if we can add it to the repository of information for future HKS aspirants to pore over.

Got the magazine, was rejected

[lesliserables]

On 3/19/2021 at 7:38 PM, bruyeres said:

I'm wondering the same thing. I have an okay scholarship at Georgetown, which would mean I only need about $60k loan (Canadian) but it was at the bottom of my list and I'm pretty sure I'd regret going there knowing that I got accepted to my top choice schools even if I didn't get funding at them. Going to Harvard would mean about $150k CAD loan, but the way I'm thinking about it is that I currently have a good job as a public sector consultant at $100k-$110k/year, and the range of projects I've worked on is definitely what got me accepted to the MPP and would help me get a job afterwards. So I figure that absolute worst case is getting the same job after school for the same pay as I have now, and $100k salary with $150k debt doesn't sound too scary (but I could be wrong). If I were coming from a different job or straight from undergrad I'd be more worried since employers may still be hesitant to take a risk on someone who hasn't proven themselves in the workforce (Harvard degree or not), but I'm feeling somewhat confident that I'll be doing alright when I graduate.

Hey I'm also based in Toronto and was eyeing many of the same schools as you. Wondering how you've gotten into public sector consulting at that salary band without a master's degree? Mind if I DM you?

[Boolakanaka]

4 hours ago, lesliserables said:

Hey I'm also based in Toronto and was eyeing many of the same schools as you. Wondering how you've gotten into public sector consulting at that salary band without a master's degree? Mind if I DM you?

Both Bain and Boston are starting recently minted undergrads with comp at about 90kplus.  Thus, within two-three years, six figures is an easy lift.

[intlapplicant]

18 hours ago, AnoIchi said:

People, there is still a chance for some to get a scholarship from Harvard. For folks who turn down offers, some scholarships are awarded to other candidates. There is precedent for this, just back in 2018. I checked the HKS 2018 forum and found a person who got the PSF ($100K) in mid April, out of the blue. One reason this happens quite a few times is that candidates who get a significant aid from Harvard have probably also gotten the full ride at Princeton. And most go for the $160K bumper rather than Harvard's $60-100K. (If it's a Harvard full ride, then it's a different matter; but even then we had one of our forum members declining it this very year.)

The chances are slim, but you never know. Try to stay positive and expect to get lucky! I keep telling myself that.

Just wanted to thank you for this message!!! I didn't get much funding from HKS but I'm holding on to this possibility of more scholarships becoming available before we have to accept/decline our offers. If anyone hears back about this, please let us know!

[StudentUSA]

3 hours ago, Boolakanaka said:

Both Bain and Boston are starting recently minted undergrads with comp at about 90kplus.  Thus, within two-three years, six figures is an easy lift.

Im also curious how to get into public sector consulting. Do you have to study those case books like preparing for management consulting interviews? 

[Boolakanaka]

4 minutes ago, StudentUSA said:

Im also curious how to get into public sector consulting. Do you have to study those case books like preparing for management consulting interviews? 

Hmmmn, I can’t speak to every organization (I did previously work for Boston Consulting) but if you are coming out of undergrad, much of it is limited to the school you attended. Thus, places like Yale, Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, etc....are part of the usual suspects. More  than a few of these are not STEM or from the business side; so there is an appreciable deference to the quality of the undergrad education.

[StudentUSA]

7 hours ago, lesliserables said:

Got the magazine, was rejected

So the magazine really didn't mean anything... Which program did you apply to? Could you share with us your background? 

[StudentUSA]

In case we reapply in the future, do we have to rewrite all essays? That was a lot. Or just updating our resume would be enough? 

Edited March 24, 2021 by StudentUSA