HKS 2016

[Danbrenn]

I requested and was denied a travel stipend as well.  I'm also thinking that might not bode well for funding, but it also could have to do with how much money you said your travel will cost.  They might not have funded anyone who thought it would cost below a specific threshold.  

[loveglove]

1 hour ago, kbui said:

@loveglove Did you request a travel stipend? They had an option on the portal for you to type in your name. And I wouldn't be too quick to think that this means no money in terms of tuition.

 

1 hour ago, Danbrenn said:

I requested and was denied a travel stipend as well.  I'm also thinking that might not bode well for funding, but it also could have to do with how much money you said your travel will cost.  They might not have funded anyone who thought it would cost below a specific threshold.  

I requested it and was denied. I live in Asia so the tickets were expensive. Maybe they only support people with middle-range tickets (not too cheap but not too expensive)?

[Danbrenn]

No clue.  I want to read into that and the fact that I never got a personalized email/official acceptance letter, but I think it's probably best to just chill out and wait until April.  

[PolicySchool2016]

Did anyone else's MYFINAID page change? Now I just have a home page that says welcome, but it doesn't have any of the tabs that were there previously.

[loveglove]

1 hour ago, PolicySchool2016 said:

Did anyone else's MYFINAID page change? Now I just have a home page that says welcome, but it doesn't have any of the tabs that were there previously.

Yes, I noticed that. The "apply online" page now says that decisions will be out on April 1st

 

Edited March 29, 2016 by loveglove

[kbui]

The anticipation is killing me. 

[PolicySchool2016]

23 minutes ago, kbui said:

The anticipation is killing me. 

me too kbui. I think we'll hear something tomorrow, but that's just a guess.

[PolicySchool2016]

Last year, awards came out today in the early afternoon (East Coast time), so I'm hoping we'll have more clarity today.

[ag89]

27 minutes ago, naso said:

Financial aid information is out. Got nothing...

same here. nothing. 

Does a 6 digit loan for MPA make sense? Of course, then work in pvt. sector upon graduation to pay it off (for few years :/ )

[NekoAtsume]

Nothing for me eiether - I'm with you ag89 I really don't know if I can justify that kind of a loan for an MPP, especially when Goldman is so much cheaper and has options of working to offset the costs dramatically...

[Danbrenn]

Nothing here either.  I'm lucky to have some veterans benefits and some savings from deployments, but it'll still be the better part of 100k in loans more than likely.  Honestly, I'm thinking that it may be worth it, but I'm not yet positive.  I have a feeling that I would regret not going and that it may open 60-70k worth of doors over a lifetime.  The wife has a successful private sector career and we don't have kids, so I'm not too terrified of making payments after graduation.  Not complaining.  This is a great problem to have.  

[kbui]

To folks who are considering taking on almost $100K in debt for a Master in Public Policy, I ask for you to first do a cost-benefit analysis that we (hopefully) will learn how to do in depth at HKS.

Is the name worth it? And if it is, I would recommend going to the Harvard Extension School where after spending only $28,800, at the end, you'll even get a degree that says Harvard on it! You can put it on your resume and proudly show it to everyone who wants to see it.

If you're in it to gain skills, then there are plenty of quality programs out there at public schools that will teach you those skills (e.g. econometrics, statistics, research, policy analysis). If you're in it for the network, try to really think about if that network is worth an upwards of $100K.

I want all of us to make decisions free from passion because this is a critical time for all of us. One bad decision and it can haunt us for life.

[Olympicpuregold]

Please help me guys!! I am really confused with my choice between HKS (without funding) and SIPA ( half tuition covered). HKS has been my dream since childhood, however SIPA offers me a generous funding. I have very limited knowledge of SIPA and for that matter, how it compares to HKS when it comes to job perspectives in Asia (esp Singapore- I am not from Singapore) where I plan to secure a job. I am an international student with a limited experience in the U.S and in desperate need of advice. I might also defer my admission from HKS until next year in case my plan for a loan becomes unsuccessful. I am also worried if it would be a legitimate reason for a deferral.  

My choice of program is 2 year MPAs for both schools and I am set and stone on specializing in international finance/East Asia studies. 

 

Please help me on deciding which school! Thank you so much

[ag89]

On 4/6/2016 at 1:07 PM, Olympicpuregold said:

Please help me guys!! I am really confused with my choice between HKS (without funding) and SIPA ( half tuition covered). HKS has been my dream since childhood, however SIPA offers me a generous funding. I have very limited knowledge of SIPA and for that matter, how it compares to HKS when it comes to job perspectives in Asia (esp Singapore- I am not from Singapore) where I plan to secure a job. I am an international student with a limited experience in the U.S and in desperate need of advice. I might also defer my admission from HKS until next year in case my plan for a loan becomes unsuccessful. I am also worried if it would be a legitimate reason for a deferral.  

My choice of program is 2 year MPAs for both schools and I am set and stone on specializing in international finance/East Asia studies. 

 

Please help me on deciding which school! Thank you so much

Can't answer this for you. I don't have funding from either school, so my decision is quite clear. But here is what I felt from my search on both schools- HKS has the greater brand, but SIPA courses are outstanding! (not that HKS's courses are not). It's one of the few schools to have such a vast array (really vast) of courses, at least in local and state finance and political management (what I am interested in). So would recommend you compare what you want to study and recognise people you want to work with at SIPA. There are lot many more students at SIPA than HKS, but then there are also many more instructors/professors you can work with. 

On Salaries, the pay is lesser (by few $'s) at SIPA after graduation, but with half the loan as HKS, it will hurt you lesser. I am sure career progression will depend on where and how you work post-graduation, rather than just the school brand. 

[Olympicpuregold]

On 4/8/2016 at 6:50 PM, ag89 said:

Can't answer this for you. I don't have funding from either school, so my decision is quite clear. But here is what I felt from my search on both schools- HKS has the greater brand, but SIPA courses are outstanding! (not that HKS's courses are not). It's one of the few schools to have such a vast array (really vast) of courses, at least in local and state finance and political management (what I am interested in). So would recommend you compare what you want to study and recognise people you want to work with at SIPA. There are lot many more students at SIPA than HKS, but then there are also many more instructors/professors you can work with. 

On Salaries, the pay is lesser (by few $'s) at SIPA after graduation, but with half the loan as HKS, it will hurt you lesser. I am sure career progression will depend on where and how you work post-graduation, rather than just the school brand. 

Thank you so much ag89! Sounds like what I have imagined

[loveglove]

How was admitted students day? Anyone go?

[kbui]

The New Admit Day was fun. It was somewhat typical of any other school's admit day, but there were some things that stood out for me:

• We were able to eat some good food for breakfast and lunch, and at the table there were a good number of people with a wide variety of interests so we were able to make small talk rather easily. There was a bingo activity where the boxes had descriptions in them like, "Can speak four or more languages" and then you would have to find someone to sign off on it. You have to fill up the entire sheet, and I don't think anybody was able to do so because there was one box that said, "Has held elected office," that nobody could sign.
• Some people were just not having it and were not excited to be there--some students were also like, "I'm not going here next year." I was going to follow-up with a question like, "Then why did you come all the way from [insert state]?" But then they probably have their reasons and it's not my job to really ask.
• The student panel was very impressive. They were doing great things in the school, and a couple of them were doing MBA joint programs.
• The Black Policy Conference's opening was on the same day, so the Mayor of Flint came to talk in the Forum. I was able to meet an old friend from my university back at home, so that was especially memorable for me.
• There were a couple receptions afterwards with food and drinks, so that was also fun. The best one was the Diversity reception where students who were editors for the various journals and leaders of the many caucuses came to speak.
• The HKS buildings seemed cramped to me, but it surrounds some great restaurants and shops. They are also doing construction for a new building that will open in 2018, so that hinders the overall feeling of the setting being really polished.

Overall I really enjoyed my experience there, and will definitely attend this fall.

[loveglove]

59 minutes ago, kbui said:

The New Admit Day was fun. It was somewhat typical of any other school's admit day, but there were some things that stood out for me:

• We were able to eat some good food for breakfast and lunch, and at the table there were a good number of people with a wide variety of interests so we were able to make small talk rather easily. There was a bingo activity where the boxes had descriptions in them like, "Can speak four or more languages" and then you would have to find someone to sign off on it. You have to fill up the entire sheet, and I don't think anybody was able to do so because there was one box that said, "Has held elected office," that nobody could sign.
• Some people were just not having it and were not excited to be there--some students were also like, "I'm not going here next year." I was going to follow-up with a question like, "Then why did you come all the way from [insert state]?" But then they probably have their reasons and it's not my job to really ask.
• The student panel was very impressive. They were doing great things in the school, and a couple of them were doing MBA joint programs.
• The Black Policy Conference's opening was on the same day, so the Mayor of Flint came to talk in the Forum. I was able to meet an old friend from my university back at home, so that was especially memorable for me.
• There were a couple receptions afterwards with food and drinks, so that was also fun. The best one was the Diversity reception where students who were editors for the various journals and leaders of the many caucuses came to speak.
• The HKS buildings seemed cramped to me, but it surrounds some great restaurants and shops. They are also doing construction for a new building that will open in 2018, so that hinders the overall feeling of the setting being really polished.

Overall I really enjoyed my experience there, and will definitely attend this fall.

That sounds great! Glad you enjoyed it. It's too bad the building won't get finished until 2018.

[HKS hopeful]

"Some people were just not having it and were not excited to be there--some students were also like, "I'm not going here next year." I was going to follow-up with a question like, "Then why did you come all the way from [insert state]?" But then they probably have their reasons and it's not my job to really ask"

 

I'm guessing most saying this were MPPs?  By the way, were there Mason Mid-Career MPA candidates in attendance.. possibly making the above comment? ;-) I doubt it since most Mason candidates are likely overseas.

Happy to hear you had a great time. :-)

 

[loveglove]

35 minutes ago, naso said:

I was one of those. I made travel plans before finding out about financial aid. Harvard had offered me a travel stipend to go to Admit Day, so I decided to stick to my travel plans, as I was going to visit another school in the East Coast.

By the way, I also went to the Diversity reception. I thought diversity at HKS in terms of underrepresented US minorities was abysmal. 

That's too bad naso, can you tell us more about your impressions on diversity/admit day?

[NekoAtsume]

I did not have a good impression at all - especially the career services/student panel. A student asked why we hadn't heard anything about race/inequality/social justice issues all day. The students responded that "ya, that's not a very big thing here..." Another student on the panel also made the comment that "I'm not interested in policy/statistical analysis or writing memos, so I just skated by in those classes..." 

All day they talked about the "access" HKS gives you, but didn't talk about how they invest in you. It made me feel like they just expect people to go 100K+ in debt to get their name and "access" and should feel oh so lucky to be there. Overall, it felt like I was at an MBA admit day and not an MPP. Not impressed.

[dandylion]

The admitted students day was a mixed bag for me. Generally, I got excited about the curriculum and the opportunities at HKS to nerd out about policy, but the admitted students day didn't dissuade my worries about the culture of an elite academic institution. Coming from a liberal, social justice oriented background, I want a classroom where students understand and are open to talking about systems of power, oppression, and privilege, and how we can redefine policy to balance scales. It was hard for me to get a sense of how many admitted and current students engage with these concepts. I'm wary of coming into a student body as an educator in these areas, which I don't feel qualified to do, instead of as a participant in the conversation. I would greatly appreciate the thoughts of any current/admitted students on this! 

Personal highlights from the day: 

• Nerding out. Professor Christopher Robichaud gave a mini-lecture on Ethics and Public Policy in Emergency Decision-Making to the MPPs where he discussed the trolley problem, related it to a real life case, and turned the session into a mini classroom. I enjoyed this a lot - this topic area appeals to me, and it was interesting to hear the perspectives of other admits. Students seemed genuine and forthright in their responses, and Robichuad did a good job of picking apart arguments quickly yet respectfully. You can tell he's a good professor. 
• Supportive career services. The Office of Career Advancement (OCA) seems like they work really hard to help students find internships and jobs in their field of interest. I met with Amanda Peters at the OCA, and she guided me on a path to finding potential internship opportunities in my field of interest.
• Diverse professional backgrounds. The range of backgrounds from the MPPs was interesting and telling -  I met people who work in DC at various research centers, a labor union organizer, several ex-military/Marine members, World Food Programme officers working abroad, teachers, corporate consultants, research analysts from think tanks, etc. One of the students who works as a corporate consultant said something to the effect of "Geez, I feel like everyone else here is out like saving the world or something, and I'm just working for the man". Heh.  
• Cohort throughout the core. The student panel and the speech from the student government president stressed the community and the caring friendships you build at HKS, particularly with the cohort of 60 students that you take all your courses with in the first year. Okay, to be honest, they didn't sell the cynic in me on the rainbows and butterflies, but the idea of taking all first year courses with the same 60 people and getting to know them well does appeal to me. 
• "Theater Camp". One of the students on the panel talked about her favorite courses (US Congress, Making of a Politician) which all involved role play, like mimicking an actual congress, complete with lobbyists that can give out money during the semester, or running for president within the class, where they put you through a full presidential campaign, complete with a horrific scandal that you are guilty of and must handle. This sounded hilarious, and the excitement with which the students talked about the courses excited me. It seemed students got a lot out of the courses beyond acting skills, even if acting/bs-ing is most of what you need to go into politics, right?  

Areas for concern(?) 

• Debt. Many of the students I talked to were worried about the cost of HKS. These were also students who received admission to other very reputable schools with better $$, such as Berkeley's GSPP or Princeton's WWS. When I spoke with the financial aid counselor, Dan Rossi, he said that the average in loans is $60k, but many students take out the entire thing in loans, which is just bananas to me! His advice was to determine whether HKS could provide us with something beyond our other options, and if the difference is worth the cost. 
• Racial/socioeconomic diversity. I had to leave early and didn't get to attend the diversity reception, but I've heard from a current student that representation from minorities is low. Among the admitted MPPs, it looked like about 20% were students of color, but with the lack of financial aid I'm wary that the percentage will drop significantly. 

  17 hours ago, NekoAtsume said:

  I did not have a good impression at all - especially the career services/student panel. A student asked why we hadn't heard anything about race/inequality/social justice issues all day. The students responded that "ya, that's not a very big thing here..."

  If I remember correctly, this question was about diversity amongst faculty, which the students did say something to the effect of "It's a work in progress..." Like many elite universities, diversity is pretty dismal, and the general shrug of the shoulders towards the issue disappoints and worries me. A current student I spoke with did say that the diversity caucuses are working with the admissions committees to look at how they can better recruit and support students of color. 
• The core curriculum. The student panel expressed that the core curriculum is flawed, but gave caveats that it's hard to please everyone with a standardized curriculum. From another student, I heard people really disliked Policy Analysis, but loved Negotiation. The administration is constantly tweaking the curriculum according to student feedback.
• Rigor. 

  17 hours ago, NekoAtsume said:

  Another student on the panel also made the comment that "I'm not interested in policy/statistical analysis or writing memos, so I just skated by in those classes..." 

  This was interesting because a friend of mine from undergrad (a very rigorous, intensely academic school) said HKS was just as intense and difficult. However, I think this depends on how much you care about your grades, like if you're aiming for a future PhD program. Another student did tell me it's hard to do poorly, and, echoing the student panel, that she did skate by in courses she didn't enjoy as much. Of course, we don't really know what "skate by" means - it could mean still working at 85% and getting a B instead of working to get an A. 

Let me know of any questions! Would also love to hear from other students who went, particularly from those who attended the diversity reception. 

[NekoAtsume]

I also come from a liberal undergraduate school and a social justice background. Just to clarify becuase I do think it is important..

There were actually two different questions around the idea of race and social justice. The first question asked was about the diversity of faculty to which one student replied the professors there were "technocratic," which I first looked up the definition of and then thought it a very unhelpful and irrelevant response to an important question. 

Then there was a second question brought up that noted social justice/race/inequality issue hadn't seemed to come up that day. That was when 2 or 3 of the students on the panel commented that "it wasn't a big thing" at the school.

I have friends that work in policy and I have heard HKS has a reputation in the policy community for letting students slide on the the hard curriculum (econ/stats) - that's why I noted the answers to the core curriculum question because it aligned with rumors I have heard about the program.

I had attended Goldman's admit day on Monday where race/social justice/and inequality came up right away and continued to be important points of discussion throughout the entire day. I was really thrown off by the lack of it at Harvard and the apparent apathy from the students I interacted with. 

That said, I am sure there are people at the Kennedy school who care about these issues, of course 6 students on a panel cannot be assumed to be representative of the entire program. I am sure that if you do go the HKS you will find a community of people that align with your values. Kennedy is a tremendous network and, if you can afford the debt or got funding, I can understand the appeal.

 

Edited April 13, 2016 by NekoAtsume
spelling

[PeterQuince]

Hello and congratulations on reaching the decision-making stage.

I am an MPP1 at HKS, and probably saw some of you around the school on Thursday and Friday. It was great to meet those of you with whom I was able to speak.

As a current student, I thought it could be helpful to offer some responses to some common themes on this thread (albeit speaking only for myself). I'm happy to respond to very specific questions over a private message or on the New Admit student boards under my real name. Additional disclosure: I am not a student of color but am active in diversity issues on campus and was also in attendance at the Diversity Reception in a semi-official non-speaking capacity. Maybe we met! I was not wildly enthusiastic about HKS following my own admitted students day, but that actually helped make the decision to attend easier because I knew I wasn't responding to emotion or sentiment alone. I was stressed about making the right decision, as was, I suspect, everyone else, which made the day less-than-enjoyable in some respects. The same was probably true this year. I am confident I made the right choice to attend, and I hope this post is useful.

The first year core is a work in progress, but is generally better every year with thoughtful, incremental improvements, driven in part by student advocacy. As someone who came to HKS from a social justice background, I have often found the holes in the curriculum to be personally challenging. What's worth remembering is the purpose of the core is primarily the instruction of skills -- how to think, rather than what to think -- and that the flexibility and freedom of the second year provides ample opportunity to take classes at HKS and across Harvard that harness those skills for just purposes. The larger challenge, I think, is less about the instruction in the core for people already wired to think about issues of systemic oppression, etc., and more for the students who have had the exposure to discussions of those topics. Certain classes are moving in that direction and it is a work in progress with a lot of thoughtful people engaged. 

With respect to rigor, it's difficult to do very poorly here (although some people do struggle) and courses are graded on a curve, but ultimately your education here or at any professional graduate school program your learning matters more than your grades. Even if you you want to be a consultant or a PhD, your learning still matters more. Saying "grades don't matter" is silly and reduces the meaning of hard effort, but at the same time whether you earn a B+ or an A- in any given course doesn't actually matter very much, and that's probably the way it should be.

Building on that point, learning happens inside and out of the classroom here in what I have found to be an incredibly dynamic environment. It's up to you to decide where and how you will learn the most during your two years at HKS. What I value about this school is the breadth and depth of the experiences people bring, and I have sought out opportunities to learn from the experiences of my peers. HKS is a generalist school in that it prepares people to conduct economic analysis for the IMF or to manage municipal transit systems, and everything in between. Between topical study groups with experts, lectures, panels, student-run journals, student-run conferences, research and practice based at the various centers, affinity and social groups (and coursework), HKS can be a bit of a carnival and it's up to each student to seek out opportunities, but professors and staff are excited to work with students and there is surprisingly easy access to funding for student initiatives. I see all of this as a strength and a key contributor to the vitality of the school, but if you're looking for a more intimate or narrowly-focused program there may be better options. If you're lucky enough to have options, go to the school that is the best match for what you want to do and how you need to learn.

Finally, graduate school is expensive, and only you can decide if it's the right choice to make to attend now, in the future, or not at all. I can say that my graduating friends are getting jobs and getting jobs they're excited about with the opportunity to make a difference. As an "older" MPP with a substantial scholarship and a working spouse I'll be able to graduate without debt (just nonexistent savings), but that's not necessarily everyone's experience and I don't know if I would have felt comfortable attending HKS without the grant-based financial support. That said, I am incredibly glad that I am here.

[kbui]

To respond to the diversity aspect of New Admit Day, I personally cover a number of "diversity" and I found HKS to be quite intentional in welcoming me. I was able to meet Natara, the Coordinator for Student Diversity and Inclusion Office, and she made the extra effort to reach out to me during the application process and to have candid conversations with me about HKS. The student population at HKS isn't as diverse in terms of all the ethnicities that are present in America, but this also very much the case at my private Catholic undergrad back in Minnesota, so this issue didn't bother me too much because I'm so used to it. I also have conversations around race, ethnicity, gender identity, and immigration stories quite often with my close group of friends, and so I don't feel a "need" to go to a school that also cultivates the same type of conversations--at least not at this moment. If anything, we can start those conversations ourselves and purposefully weave it into our work.

As for academic rigor, I also believe that the HKS core curriculum can be more intensive. Because of this, I'm planning to take at least one elective course and cross-registering at another graduate school every semester to expand on the generalist skills that the core courses will prepare us for. The curriculum really also is what we make of it. I studied biology in undergrad, and all the professors did in the first and second year was to push us beyond our limits (in a semi-good/semi-negative way) and a lot of students were weeded out, and I ended up not absorbing as much material while trying to survive since it was like drinking water from a fire hose. In the upper-level courses it became less intense and "out to get you," and that was when I was able to process the information and where I was able to better retain what I learned. If we want to make the experience intensive, I'm sure there are multitudes of ways to do so.

Loans are scary, for sure. I was talking to the fellow admits, and some definitely did not want to think about it. $140K is a lot. One of the best advice given to me by the graduate school admissions director at Yale was that, "Graduate school will always be there. It's not going anywhere, so you should really be sure that you want it before going."