Harvard Kennedy MPP 2021

[MPA2023]

2 hours ago, AnoIchi said:

Last year, HKS did the unprecedented and allowed unconditional deferrals. You guys should have seen the outrage among the selected students in the days leading to this decision. We had multiple zoom webinars (180-200) where we discussed stuff like tuition reduction (10/30/50%) and transparency w.r.t. how classes will be conducted, compensation for a lack on in-person experience etc. We filled out a bunch of google forms and submitted letters to HKS. 

As deferrals were unconditional, Harvard received a deluge of requests. So they announced the following: some will get a 1 year deferral and others will get a 2 year deferral. And the distribution was lopsided. I believe I am one of the few students who had been given a 1 year deferral( the last time I checked the sheet filled by admitted students, the split was 85%(2y) to 15%(1y). HKS proposed the deferral policy in early June and announced the result around mid July.

I heard about that for HSB. I didn't know HKS did the same thing. Thanks for the insight. 

 

Any additional insight into the how the 15% is split between MPA and Non-MPA?

Edited March 16, 2021 by MPA2023

[Cecy]

Has anyone heard back from admissions?? I've been accepted to Ford, Heinz, and Harris but I'm still waiting to hear back from Kennedy to decide!!

[CAKHKS79]

6 hours ago, AnoIchi said:

Last year, HKS did the unprecedented and allowed unconditional deferrals. You guys should have seen the outrage among the selected students in the days leading to this decision. We had multiple zoom webinars (180-200) where we discussed stuff like tuition reduction (10/30/50%) and transparency w.r.t. how classes will be conducted, compensation for a lack on in-person experience etc. We filled out a bunch of google forms and submitted letters to HKS. 

As deferrals were unconditional, Harvard received a deluge of requests. So they announced the following: some will get a 1 year deferral and others will get a 2 year deferral. And the distribution was lopsided. I believe I am one of the few students who had been given a 1 year deferral( the last time I checked the sheet filled by admitted students, the split was 85%(2y) to 15%(1y). HKS proposed the deferral policy in early June and announced the result around mid July.

That's a wonderful mention. Proud of you as an Indian . This would give a lot of insight to everyone . THEN A SIMPLE QUESTION ARISE ...as students deferred so this might have an impact on new admitted students number in this 2021 and 2022 session as well. what you think about that ? and what was your scholarship amount in last year?

[Cecy]

On 3/15/2021 at 1:18 PM, William_1982 said:

I would say no harm in asking, but also very little to gain. I simply cannot imagine a scenario in which someone’s admission status changes because they sent a friendly email inquiring about the announcement date. That being said, do we really think they know the date and whoever is monitoring the inbox is going to respond with the exact date and time of the announcement to some random applicant who just happened to ask? 

Hey! What if I got accepted to three other schools and I don't want to decide until I know I've been admitted or rejected to Kennedy?

[CAKHKS79]

Just now, Cecy said:

Hey! What if I got accepted to three other schools and I don't want to decide until I know I've been admitted or rejected to Kennedy?

Result would come tomorrow most probably 

[PotatoChips]

1 minute ago, CAKHKS79 said:

Result would come tomorrow most probably 

why?

[CAKHKS79]

4 minutes ago, PotatoChips said:

why?

NO WHY NO BUT NO IF.... RESULT WILL COME TOMORROW 18 MARCH BY 1 PM . THATS ALL GET READY

[EscapingBrexit]

It is extremely unlikely that results will come out tomorrow. There is no evidence to suggest that. You can keep updated with the results process by following the admissions blog here: https://hksadmissionblog.tumblr.com/

They usually do a series of posts leading up to the big day. The blog says late March. 

[PotatoChips]

1 minute ago, CAKHKS79 said:

NO WHY NO BUT NO IF.... RESULT WILL COME TOMORROW 18 MARCH BY 1 PM . THATS ALL GET READY

Tomorrow is the 17th, oh boy

[CAKHKS79]

Just now, PotatoChips said:

Tomorrow is the 17th, oh boy

WORLD IS MULTIPOLAR . TOMORROW IS 18 TOO 

[lisbonb]

19 minutes ago, Cecy said:

Hey! What if I got accepted to three other schools and I don't want to decide until I know I've been admitted or rejected to Kennedy?

Congratulations on your acceptances thus far! I'd recommend you request an extension until end of March from your current top choice school choice. Alternatively, you could put down a deposit at your current top choice school and consider your deposit a sunk cost if you're accepted to HKS and decide to attend! 

[nkrish21]

30 minutes ago, CAKHKS79 said:

NO WHY NO BUT NO IF.... RESULT WILL COME TOMORROW 18 MARCH BY 1 PM . THATS ALL GET READY

love THY spirit.. I am going to believe in you fellow Indian.  I don't necessarily subscribe to the view on blog post series. Princeton typically does too, but there was none this year. Since most schools have announced, Its possible that HKS is under some pressure to as well.

Worst case it wouldn't come out tomorrow and we'll know we have to wait another week or 2. In the larger scheme of things one week is a breeze, right guys?

[2021mpamppwait]

Anyone with experience/ has done some research in comparing HKS MPP vs. SIPA MPA? I got in SIPA with very generous funding (I am aware how privileged the choice I have to make is) but is HKS —possibly on less aid than SIPA— still make sense? Or am I crazy for considering shutting HKS down, and go for SIPA?

[EscapingBrexit]

Are deferments likely to be a thing this year, or was that just specific to the challenges of last year?

Edited March 17, 2021 by EscapingBrexit

[MBAngineer]

13 minutes ago, EscapingBrexit said:

Are deferments likely to be a thing this year, or was that just specific to the challenges of last year?

Not sure, but I think this year is less likely to have deferments than the last year. COVID and remote education were relatively new then than they are now - also, I think that people are more in peace with it all than they were before. Let's see how that goes this time...

[AnoIchi]

15 hours ago, MPA2023 said:

I heard about that for HSB. I didn't know HKS did the same thing. Thanks for the insight. 

 

Any additional insight into the how the 15% is split between MPA and Non-MPA?

No idea about the MPA program, tbh. Sorry! But if I had to guess, it wouldn't be a whole lot different. 

HKS came under great pressure especially because HBS rolled out the unconditional deferrals earlier. 

[EscapingBrexit]

6 minutes ago, MBAngineer said:

Not sure, but I think this year is less likely to have deferments than the last year. COVID and remote education were relatively new then than they are now - also, I think that people are more in peace with it all than they were before. Let's see how that goes this time...

So curious to see how it all works this year, even if I don't get in! I'd be open to deferring for a year if needed, but I can only imagine how that went down last year! 

[AnoIchi]

11 hours ago, CAKHKS79 said:

That's a wonderful mention. Proud of you as an Indian . This would give a lot of insight to everyone . THEN A SIMPLE QUESTION ARISE ...as students deferred so this might have an impact on new admitted students number in this 2021 and 2022 session as well. what you think about that ? and what was your scholarship amount in last year?

I do believe that the deferrals will have an impact. I do not have an idea as to why the 2021 vs 2022 split was so uneven. 

I did not get any scholarships from HKS last year. Hence waiting for the scholarship results which come out right after the admission results. 

[Snoo12345]

w 

Edited March 17, 2021 by Snoo12345

[AnoIchi]

27 minutes ago, EscapingBrexit said:

Are deferments likely to be a thing this year, or was that just specific to the challenges of last year?

Deferrals normally would happen under exceptional circumstances. Family/personal emergency or medical issues. This time, I guess deferrals will go back to being the normal way. Very few people get deferrals in the first place. 2020 would probably be the only year in history with so many deferrals. But the year itself was one of a kind, so it makes perfect sense.

[sd9000]

They continuously stated that the deferrals from 2020 would not affect decisions for 2021, but I just do not see how that could be possible. I suppose they could increase the overall class size with the expectation that some international students may have to do the first year remotely, and could accommodate more students by combining zoom and in-person instruction. 

[MPA2023]

6 minutes ago, sd9000 said:

They continuously stated that the deferrals from 2020 would not affect decisions for 2021, but I just do not see how that could be possible. I suppose they could increase the overall class size with the expectation that some international students may have to do the first year remotely, and could accommodate more students by combining zoom and in-person instruction. 

Is there written proof of them saying that deferrals will not impact decisions? I have a hard time believing that too. 

[AnoIchi]

10 hours ago, nkrish21 said:

love THY spirit.. I am going to believe in you fellow Indian.  I don't necessarily subscribe to the view on blog post series. Princeton typically does too, but there was none this year. Since most schools have announced, Its possible that HKS is under some pressure to as well.

Worst case it wouldn't come out tomorrow and we'll know we have to wait another week or 2. In the larger scheme of things one week is a breeze, right guys?

Interestingly, Princeton and Harvard usually come out with their results not too far apart. In the policy world, these two are truly considered in a league of their own. What makes it tricky is that a Princeton offer comes with the full ride (incredible, every time I think about it!), but that's not the case necessarily with Harvard. And Harvard knows that very well. There is a case of not letting the other school get away with the creme de la creme. Princeton usually comes first, so the folks wait to hear from Harvard. And since the no. of full rides at Harvard aren't a lot (as far as I know), most of the common folks (between the two) go for Princeton. There have been exceptions, though.

[2021mpamppwait]

16 minutes ago, Snoo12345 said:

 

Exploring the same, though didn't get a VERY generous offer. ~25% of the cost of tuition + living for both years.

70% from my end for SIPA.. any thoughts on HKS?

[nkrish21]

17 minutes ago, AnoIchi said:

Interestingly, Princeton and Harvard usually come out with their results not too far apart. In the policy world, these two are truly considered in a league of their own. What makes it tricky is that a Princeton offer comes with the full ride (incredible, every time I think about it!), but that's not the case necessarily with Harvard. And Harvard knows that very well. There is a case of not letting the other school get away with the creme de la creme. Princeton usually comes first, so the folks wait to hear from Harvard. And since the no. of full rides at Harvard aren't a lot (as far as I know), most of the common folks (between the two) go for Princeton. There have been exceptions, though.

would you say those with a Princeton offer will most likely to get a HKS offer? I mean the odds that one who gets into the 20 (Princeton MPP) does not make it to the HKS 200 is pretty bleak right? Also Do you happen know of any who chose Princeton OVER HKS?