HKS 2016

[shrimps]

The HKS blog just put up a reading and decision post this morning that said, among other things:

"Speaking of discussions, we still have many meetings ahead of us and you do not need to check your email account compulsively for a message regarding your decision. I know all those who have applied are waiting anxiously for a decision, and I am anxious to get all of the decisions out. This blog is your number one resource regarding the release of decisions and the next few posts in this series will elaborate upon the categories of decision."

Le sigh... early March still seems horribly far away. I do really appreciate how transparent they are about the whole process, though!

Edited February 25, 2016 by shrimps

[marco_p]

last year the decisions were released on 11th of March, so it's likely that there are still 2 weeks ahead of us

[HKS hopeful]

Dreamt twice this week I received a rejection. Almost bought a pint Haagen Dazs today. Decided to hold off until results are released.

 

[monocle]

22 minutes ago, HKS hopeful said:

Dreamt twice this week I received a rejection. Almost bought a pint Haagen Dazs today. Decided to hold off until results are released.

 

I've had the dreams, too.. but I dreamt I got in. Which frankly made it hurt the next morning hahaha and probably again in a couple weeks

 

[HKS hopeful]

I was optimistic until this week. however, the more I read the hks blog, I discover there are numerous grounds to reject my application. No plans to reapply so this is it if I'm rejected.  This has been a 4 year process.

 

 

[quietman]

1 hour ago, marco_p said:

1 hour ago, shrimps said:

The HKS blog just put up a reading and decision post this morning that said, among other things:

"Speaking of discussions, we still have many meetings ahead of us and you do not need to check your email account compulsively for a message regarding your decision. I know all those who have applied are waiting anxiously for a decision, and I am anxious to get all of the decisions out. This blog is your number one resource regarding the release of decisions and the next few posts in this series will elaborate upon the categories of decision."

Le sigh... early March still seems horribly far away. I do really appreciate how transparent they are about the whole process, though!

last year the decisions were released on 11th of March, so it's likely that there are still 2 weeks ahead of us

Ya, I suspect that it will be the second week of March that we hear back. The 11th was a Wednesday last year, so could it be Wednesday the 9th this year?

[edpolicy2015]

Cheers to everyone who submitted fellowship applications yesterday! Now we just wait!

 

[loveglove]

21 hours ago, HKS hopeful said:

I was optimistic until this week. however, the more I read the hks blog, I discover there are numerous grounds to reject my application. No plans to reapply so this is it if I'm rejected.  This has been a 4 year process.

 

 

Oh no! Fingers crossed for you. Is there anything in particular that made you nervous? I'm starting to get nervous as well.

9 hours ago, edpolicy2015 said:

Cheers to everyone who submitted fellowship applications yesterday! Now we just wait!

 

Cheers and good luck to everyone!

[HKS hopeful]

6 hours ago, loveglove said:

Oh no! Fingers crossed for you. Is there anything in particular that made you nervous? I'm starting to get nervous as well.

Cheers and good luck to everyone!

Check your PM! ;-)

[Damis]

On 2/26/2016 at 3:28 PM, HKS hopeful said:

Check your PM! ;-)

I'm starting the process now to apply for Fall 2017. You mind sharing with me as well?

To the general group, any initial advice that you've submitted the application and, for some, Fellowships?

Best of luck!

[quietman]

Getting started early helped me avoid last minute stress and sloppy, rushed essays. I was able to apply for several fellowships with time to spare and feel that by starting early my essays were stronger than they have been in the past when I didn't start working until deadlines were soon approaching. If you haven't written the GRE I'd also advise you to leave enough time for a retake prior to submitting your application.

Additionally, if you have a low quant score I'd recommend taking supplementary courses (e.g. quantitative research in political science/economics; statistics) to show that you can handle quantitative material. My biggest regret is not signing up for courses like this until after the admissions deadline passed and my application could not be updated to reflect that I was enrolled in statistics courses (I was used to law school admissions, where application updates could be made throughout the admissions cycle).

Oh, and tomorrow is the first day of early March....get ready to start the constant email checking!

Edited February 29, 2016 by quietman

[Damis]

1 hour ago, quietman said:

Getting started early helped me avoid last minute stress and sloppy, rushed essays. I was able to apply for several fellowships with time to spare and feel that by starting early my essays were stronger than they have been in the past when I didn't start working until deadlines were soon approaching. If you haven't written the GRE I'd also advise you to leave enough time for a retake prior to submitting your application.

Additionally, if you have a low quant score I'd recommend taking supplementary courses (e.g. quantitative research in political science/economics; statistics) to show that you can handle quantitative material. My biggest regret is not signing up for courses like this until after the admissions deadline passed and my application could not be updated to reflect that I was enrolled in statistics courses (I was used to law school admissions, where application updates could be made throughout the admissions cycle).

Oh, and tomorrow is the first day of early March....get ready to start the constant email checking!

Thank you very much! I was taking a gander at the site and saw that there is now an analytic/quantitative resume requirement. I saw the example. It's extremely detailed. How much of a time investment is it, if you don't mind my asking?

[ASHEN910]

Public Policy PHD decisions are out.

[6speed!]

7 hours ago, Damis said:

I'm starting the process now to apply for Fall 2017. You mind sharing with me as well?

To the general group, any initial advice that you've submitted the application and, for some, Fellowships?

Best of luck!

I've applied for Fall 2016 MPP, and I gave myself plenty of time by starting the essays in July 2015. I applied to eight schools and consequently had quite a few essays to put together! I put in many hours of work each week, and if you are applying to numerous programs like I did I can't recommend enough the value of having ample time to write, edit and re-edit your essays. It keeps you sane and results in significantly higher quality work! This may seem obvious, but its easy to underestimate just how many revisions the essays and statements of purpose end up requiring as you go along the application process, and the worst thing you can do is rush yourself. 

[quietman]

3 hours ago, Damis said:

Thank you very much! I was taking a gander at the site and saw that there is now an analytic/quantitative resume requirement. I saw the example. It's extremely detailed. How much of a time investment is it, if you don't mind my asking?

 

No problem!

The analytic resume didn't take me too long and certainly not longer than the typical application essay or resume. I used the formatting of one of their sample resumes, copied and pasted the 'official' course descriptions of the relevant courses that I listed, and elaborated on stuff that was mostly already in my CV.

It's good that you're starting early!

Edited February 29, 2016 by quietman

[6speed!]

4 minutes ago, quietman said:

 

No problem!

The analytic resume didn't take me too long and certainly not longer than the typical application essay or resume. I used the formatting of one of their sample resumes, copied and pasted the 'official' course descriptions of the relevant courses that I listed, and elaborated on stuff that was mostly already in my CV.

Agreed. I would say it took less time than my standard resume or a typical app essay, but like you I made sure to follow their sample formatting and include as many pertinent details from course descriptions and related materials as possible. 

[kbui]

Still so far away. I was reading some of the fellowships and some of them were really applicable to me. However, I am really trying to get a couple other fellowships and so I didn't apply to any at HKS specifically this year. Good luck to other people who applied though!

[Ejc5ys]

Do we think there's any chance decisions go up on Friday? Given yesterday's blog post/last year's pattern, I'm trying to decide when to start going crazy!

[quietman]

Well, it was indicated in an email that they were aiming for early March, so I suppose they could come at any point now if the early March target is met. I think, however, that it's most likely that decisions are released next week, and my prediction is Wednesday the 9th (it was Wednesday the 11th last year I believe).

[obrien_blue]

It said on the fellowships page that they would be letting people know about interviews on March 11 (unless I invented this fact in my mind...possible). So I assume we'll know about admissions by then.

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, when it was still February, I wasn't going crazy. Today, I'm a lunatic. 

[monocle]

2 hours ago, Ejc5ys said:

Do we think there's any chance decisions go up on Friday? Given yesterday's blog post/last year's pattern, I'm trying to decide when to start going crazy!

Not likely based on the previous years' data. Don't start freaking out til the 10th or 11th. My prediction [not based on a lot of evidence] is that they go out in the middle of the week between the 13-17. Based on the AdComm's desire to keep people updated, I think there will be a blog post that comes out a day or two beforehand though saying "decisions to be out this week" so really don't start freaking out til you see something like that.

[HRC2016]

I called the Admissions office and they said they're hoping to release decisions by "mid-to-late March". The person on the phone clarified by saying they hope to send it out by mid-March. I know, a bit ambiguous. 

[quietman]

Well that's a bummer given that an email we got a couple weeks ago indicated that they were aiming for early March. Considering that goal, and the fact that decisions were released on the 11th last year, I would be surprised if they didn't come out until late in the month (maybe the person on the phone was just being cautious? Better to give yourself more time than not enough).

Thanks for letting us know!

Edited March 1, 2016 by quietman

[Ejc5ys]

Maybe it depends on the program? If this year parallels last year at all (given blog post updates, that's all I have to go by), next week makes sense to me. Can't imagine late March after that email either...

[kbui]

On 2/25/2016 at 11:54 AM, HKS hopeful said:

I was optimistic until this week. however, the more I read the hks blog, I discover there are numerous grounds to reject my application. No plans to reapply so this is it if I'm rejected.  This has been a 4 year process.

FOUR YEARS?! Wow. That's dedication! I hope the admissions committee sees that. Did you mention it in your application?