HKS /SIPA/JHU and GRE

[Douracell]

Hi everybody,

I am new on this forum and I find the posts very interesting. I am an international professional (originally from Africa) and have been living in France for the last 3 years. I have quite an extensive international experience (speak 3 languages, lived in several different countries...) I have been working in banking for the last three years. I intend to apply for a public policy program and i d like to apply to HKS, JHU and SIPA. However, I think that my GRE score isn't high enough: V 550, Q 690.

Do u think that I should retake it?

Thx for your advice.

[riz1]

While on one hand I would encourage you to retake the GRE, especially to boost your quant score for SAIS, I think it would depend on how long ago you completed your bachelor's degree. You've been living in France for the past three years; does that mean you finished university 3 years ago? Or has it been longer?

[Douracell]

thank you for your answer. I finished university in 2005. I completed a Master's degree in Management (option Finance) from a french business school.

Also good to know, I took the test 3 times and scored Q 670 the first two times.

[greendiplomat]

thank you for your answer. I finished university in 2005. I completed a Master's degree in Management (option Finance) from a french business school.

Also good to know, I took the test 3 times and scored Q 670 the first two times.

I would avoid retaking the GRE unless you're certain that you can raise your quantitative score above your first 3 attempts this time around. Considering that you have a finance background, you absolutely need to prove your quantitative ability, and reaffirming those scores won't really help (I'm not necessarily saying it'll do you bad, but, if anything, taking the GRE isn't cheap...).

[Politicalgeek]

HKS grad here. I'm not intimately familiar with their admissions criteria, but from your quick description, you sound like a really solid candidate. Your international background will help a LOT, especially as there aren't a lot of African students at HKS (at least compared to Europe, Asia, South America). I would play up your finance background, your personal story and paint a big, bold picture of what you plan to do with your degree.

[Douracell]

Thank you for this encouraging message. did you already graduate from the MPA/ID.

[Politicalgeek]

Sorry, I should have clarified - I did the MPP and my response was based on that experience. The MPA/ID is extremely quant-heavy, as I'm sure you know. I have no idea how your experience and education would balance out your GRE score, but you may want to retake before you apply.

[Douracell]

Thank you. Is there a big difference between the 2 programs?

[greendiplomat]

I feel like your question would be better answered by HKS itself (i'm assuming there's a length limit to these posts!). Here's the page from which you can access the various master's programs offered: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/degrees/masters

[Politicalgeek]

Definitely look at the HKS page. Briefly, I will say that there is an enormous difference between the two programs. The MPA/ID is solely focussed on economic development. Many of the graduates go on to work for the World Bank, IDB, etc or for their home finance ministries, and the majority are international students from developing nations. It is a great program if that's your goal. The MPP is a broader degree and its graduates end up lots of different places - some of my former classmates are in the White House, some in consulting, I work for a nonprofit advocacy organization.

[Douracell]

Indeed that's what I wanted to know, where students end up. Thank you very much for this information.

[Julieng]

Just out of curiosity, from which french business school did you graduate ?

[Douracell]

CERAM

[Douracell]

Politicalgeek,

do you know any of your classmate from teh MPP working at teh World bank or something similar?

[Politicalgeek]

Douracell,

Yes, several of my classmates are working or have worked for the Bank, the Interamerican Development Bank, etc. Those jobs are pretty hard to get, as I'm sure you know, but MPPs do get them.