Harvard Kennedy School Admissions

[scared_MPA]

Hello,

 

Any current MPA-ID students using this forum who would be willing to share their experiences/answer questions as we anxiously wait for the results? 

 

Thanks!

[soaps]

Thank you. And that'll give you full tuition waiver?

 

No... you get an hourly rate. http://www.hks.harvard.edu/degrees/teaching-courses/catf

[plenum123]

Yeah I'm sure. I mean at Harvard the HBS students are the kings of the hill, the alpha males, and the HKS students get no respect at all.

 

Did you apply to HBS and HKS?

Dude, I think you are too much into MBA program. I believe you applied to some MBA programs before and got rejected. Did you even get a chance to interview or get feedback from them though? If not, you are shooting in the dark again I am telling you.

[rz922]

that was my thought too...i hope so. i was fine. now im dying from the wait. i just wanna know.

[gatsby8724]

As a brief distraction from obsessively checking my Inbox, I checked out the HKS Admissions blog archive for March 2012.  They did a breakdown of the three decision types around the same time and then on March 13, posted this:

 

Decision Release Update

This is a quick update on the release of admission decisions.  Remember, decisions are communicated by email and will be sent to the email address applicants used when applying. 

Today we will be releasing decisions for the following programs:

• Master in Public Policy (MPP)
• Master in Public Administration/International Development (MPA-ID)...

I assume the same will be true this year.  Fingers crossed we have a decision by this time next week.

 

BEST OF LUCK EVERYONE!!

[soaps]

No blog update yet.   

[Tom-MPP]

No blog update yet.   

 

Starting to get the feeling that HKS is really lame. I mean look at the other schools, they have later app deadlines, and they are able to send out notifications earlier.

 

Honestly, if HKS would not have the H in front of its name, I wouldn't have even bothered to apply. The quality of its admin seems not very H like to say the least.

[pete-mc]

Funny statement by an HKS student about his school debt. (Trying to pass the time while waiting for the admissions decisions..)

 

http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k85113&pageid=icb.page493825

[pete-mc]

And for those readers who were obsessing about HBS vs. HKS, here is another interesting article posted by an actual student.

 

http://sarahdillard.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/hbs-hks-or-both/

[Reasonablyterrified]

I really like The HKS admissions blog (wish everyone did something like that). That said, the admissions deadline was pretty early for them to be one of the last to send out decisions.

[pete-mc]

This is another post by an HBS/HKS joint grad, who in my view I would have never thought had a realistic chance of getting in, but she did.

 

http://www.vault.com/wps/portal/usa/vcm/detail/Career-Advice/Education-Advice/The-Accidental-MBA:-My-Unconventional-Journey-to-Harvard-Business-School?id=60992&filter_type=0&filter_id=0

[pete-mc]

An HBS/HKS analysis by an admissions consultant (who herself went to HBS/HKS - Revolution, this may interest you).

 

http://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/waitlist-quandry-hks-hbs-joint-program-t9808.html

[pete-mc]

Internal critique from Harvard's Government Dept. vs. HKS:

 

...The school still has vocal critics in the other disciplines, notably in the Government Department, who have long resented the resources poured into the behemoth across the square. ''They're trying to teach people government without philosophy, theory, history and ethics,'' says Prof. Stanley Hoffmann. ''They're telling them how to be good bureaucrats and write memos. Frankly, it's a pretty limited science they've got down there.'' Samuel H. Beer, a professor emeritus of government, worries about the economists' dominance at the school. ''Economists are brilliant people with blinders on,'' he says. ''You can't let economists run anything.''...

 

Full article: http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/12/magazine/harvard-s-kennedy-school-is-competence-enough.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

[soaps]

Internal critique from Harvard's Government Dept. vs. HKS:

 

...The school still has vocal critics in the other disciplines, notably in the Government Department, who have long resented the resources poured into the behemoth across the square. ''They're trying to teach people government without philosophy, theory, history and ethics,'' says Prof. Stanley Hoffmann. ''They're telling them how to be good bureaucrats and write memos. Frankly, it's a pretty limited science they've got down there.'' Samuel H. Beer, a professor emeritus of government, worries about the economists' dominance at the school. ''Economists are brilliant people with blinders on,'' he says. ''You can't let economists run anything.''...

 

Full article: http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/12/magazine/harvard-s-kennedy-school-is-competence-enough.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

 

The HKS curriculum seems very much geared to teach the philosophy, theory, history, and ethics of government. That article is from 1989, so maybe things have changed. 

[ridofme]

Funny statement by an HKS student about his school debt. (Trying to pass the time while waiting for the admissions decisions..)

 

http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k85113&pageid=icb.page493825

 

 

This pretty much sums up my feelings on taking out 100k loans for a public policy degree.

[ridofme]

The HKS curriculum seems very much geared to teach the philosophy, theory, history, and ethics of government. That article is from 1989, so maybe things have changed. 

 

Yes, considering that some people posting on this forum were not even born when this article was published, I'm not sure we can assume 100% relevance to present-day HKS!

[adollarninetynine]

Maybe this article will be more relevant then. Some of the points this article makes is untrue since HKS has improved a lot since then, but it does make some other fair points about the history of HKS and how that affects the experience even today.

 

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2006/05/the-crimson-blues/

[Tom-MPP]

Maybe this article will be more relevant then. Some of the points this article makes is untrue since HKS has improved a lot since then, but it does make some other fair points about the history of HKS and how that affects the experience even today.

 

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2006/05/the-crimson-blues/

 

Did you know this about David Gergen? Interview with Alex Jones

 

[soaps]

Maybe this article will be more relevant then. Some of the points this article makes is untrue since HKS has improved a lot since then, but it does make some other fair points about the history of HKS and how that affects the experience even today.

 

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2006/05/the-crimson-blues/

 

HKS also isn't as easy to get into as it was in 2004, and public policy schools have seemingly increased in value and relevance in a post-Bush, post-financial crisis, Obama era. It's as hard to get into the MPP program at HKS as many T14 law schools according to their 2010 acceptance rate. Not to mention, some of the same criticisms in this article can be launched at business schools in terms of the qualitative, intrinsic value of an MBA... it's purely a brand name you're paying for. The most valuable companies in the world were started by college dropouts, and the market is oversaturated with MBAs and JDs. The career advice the guy quipped about--going to law school--is rather laughable today unless you are at a place like HLS.

 

The alumni of HKS are pretty damn extraordinary, so I'm skeptical that the school imparts no value to its graduates. Some of you are stuck in a pre-2008 mindset and are forming false impressions, I think. You may also be forgetting that not having a graduate degree is a barrier to entry for many public sector jobs, so despite the egregious cost, it puts you in a much better place than just having a BA.

Edited March 10, 2013 by soapwater

[cunninlynguist]

Maybe this article will be more relevant then. Some of the points this article makes is untrue since HKS has improved a lot since then, but it does make some other fair points about the history of HKS and how that affects the experience even today.

 

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2006/05/the-crimson-blues/

 

Interesting read, if a bit slanted. One of the HBS/HKS students interviewed clearly shows her disdain for the Kennedy School, but if you look her up on LinkedIn, all of her work experience is in the private sector. Perhaps HKS is not entirely culplable when students decide to enroll there without a genuine interest in public service. She didn't do her research beforehand and blamed the school; based on a cursory look at her employment history, she wasn't a good fit for HKS.

 

However, the points you've been making all along are also mentioned in the article. Public sector jobs aren't usually "prestigious" and don't usually require a "prestigious degree" to advance and find a fulfilling position. So, in spite of the high cost, low financial support, and legitimate issues regarding the rigor of the program, why is HKS so popular? And that's when the allure of the Harvard name comes into the equation. It's scary to think of dropping six-figure debt on mostly a name and possible networking for a public service career.

 

A lot of these discussions are still anecdotal, as was the prevailing tone of the article. Framing the usefulness of HKS in the view of how often a random HBS student "thinks about" reads like high school journalism.

[adollarninetynine]

Yeah I agree regarding the slant of the anecdotal interviews. I was mainly focused on how cash strapped HKS is, and how that affects its ability to provide a quality experience. An institution's ability to get donations and funds is a great predictor of its ability to provide for its students. It is disappointing that HKS struggles in this area and that they take so many dual/joint degree students in an attempt to bolster the HKS brand.

Edited March 10, 2013 by adollarninetynine

[Tom-MPP]

This is an older post here on the forum:

 

Posted 14 April 2011 - 03:47 PM

JAubrey,

I’m glad to hear that you know anecdotes of people doingwell. At no point did I say people in the HKS MPP are not bright or that the educationisn’t fantastic. But it is just reckless to ignore the stats that HKS puts outitself. These are not my numbers. Look at the settled rate (http://harvardcitize...ring-recession/)and the employment report (http://www.hks.harva...entOverview.pdf).They are terrible. I don’t know of any other degree program at HKS, Harvard, orany other university that requires you to incur so much debt (because of thelack of Financial Aid and the high costs of tuition) and then gives you solittle earning potential. The return on investment is by far the worst I’veseen. MPAs and MPA-IDs incur the same debt but have higher earning potentials.That’s a fact; which means employers generally consider MPPs less valuable totheir organizations. Denying that is nonsense. If you get an MPP from HKS you should probably plan ongetting another master’s degree as well. Shouldn’t potential students be awarethat they are getting the master degree with the least earning potential fromany of the 4 major professional schools at Harvard? And know that they are gettingsometimes even more debt than other programs (because of the lack of financialaid at HKS)? MPPs have low earning potential, high debt, and carry a sign thatsays “less than MPA”. Who cares if MPAs look down on you or not? I never saidthat. What I said is that you accumulate the same debt and get paid less. Anyone can get thehint of what it means to get paid less. No one needs to go to Harvard to serve.

And in regards to brand power, HKS already doesnt carry the same "wow" factor as the other professional schools at Harvard, such as HBS, HLS, and HMS (ask anyone who went to the other professional schools), and on top of that, the MPP has the least "wow" factor from all the HKS programs. People should have the opportunity to know that and weigh that in their balances when choosing what school to go to and how much debt is it really worth.

[adollarninetynine]

Just to add to that, most of the people who land the jobs that are high paying as part of the employment statistics are dual degree candidates.

[Tom-MPP]

After reading the comparatively more negative than positive things about HKS, I am pretty sure that I won't attend unless I get substantial funding.

 

It simply doesn't seem to be worth the time and money invested. Public policy school is probably more of a scam than what I thought from before.

[Revolution]

Great stuff. A joint mba/mpa at hks and a top b-school would be an intellectual and social feast, a truly mind blowing experience.

 

 

And for those readers who were obsessing about HBS vs. HKS, here is another interesting article posted by an actual student.

 

http://sarahdillard.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/hbs-hks-or-both/