HKS 2017

[kevin_hks]

Hks is notorious for its stinginess

[Nonprofitguy]

1 hour ago, vananhdo said:

So how do you compare a non-Harvard top 10 - 20 MBA vs. HKS degree for private sector jobs? Looking at this amount of loan, I regret that I didn't apply for MBA this year. 

Do you have 3-5 yrs of good work experience (in eyes of b-school AdCom)? Otherwise you're not getting into a top MBA program. 

[vananhdo]

20 minutes ago, Nonprofitguy said:

Do you have 3-5 yrs of good work experience (in eyes of b-school AdCom)? Otherwise you're not getting into a top MBA program. 

I have some leadership experiences, won 2 prestigious awards, international experiences in 2 countries (people who were with me at that time got MBA at UC Berkeley and Ross - but they have other experiences that's different with mine) unfortunately I come from non-profit background so I am not sure whether business schools like me. I am stuck now because I don't have a back up plan if I am not coming to HKS this year. Btw, I have full ride with some lower ranked MPPs but I am thinking they're not worth my 2 years as I already have a MSc. 

Edited April 1, 2017 by vananhdo

[Nonprofitguy]

4 minutes ago, vananhdo said:

I have some leadership experiences, won 2 prestigious awards, international experiences in 2 countries (people who were with me at that time got MBA at UC Berkeley and Ross - but they have other experiences that's different with mine) unfortunately I come from non-profit background so I am not sure whether business schools like me. I am stuck now because I don't have a back up plan if I am not coming to HKS this year. 

So I come from nonprofit background and got into several M7 schools and will be attending one of H/S/W this coming Fall so that's not necessarily the pitfall. Applied using GRE scores too. 

You can always try deferring a year and applying R1 to business schools. That being said, you're really going to have to work at your application essays because from your brief profile, it's a bit difficult to figure out why you need an MBA.

[kevin_hks]

11 minutes ago, Nonprofitguy said:

So I come from nonprofit background and got into several M7 schools and will be attending one of H/S/W this coming Fall so that's not necessarily the pitfall. Applied using GRE scores too. 

You can always try deferring a year and applying R1 to business schools. That being said, you're really going to have to work at your application essays because from your brief profile, it's a bit difficult to figure out why you need an MBA.

A very good suggestion

[vananhdo]

10 minutes ago, Nonprofitguy said:

So I come from nonprofit background and got into several M7 schools and will be attending one of H/S/W this coming Fall so that's not necessarily the pitfall. Applied using GRE scores too. 

You can always try deferring a year and applying R1 to business schools. That being said, you're really going to have to work at your application essays because from your brief profile, it's a bit difficult to figure out why you need an MBA.

Yes but I already secured 70k for this year only, that's what I can't defer. Very tough decision to make. 

[kevin_hks]

11 minutes ago, Nonprofitguy said:

So I come from nonprofit background and got into several M7 schools and will be attending one of H/S/W this coming Fall so that's not necessarily the pitfall. Applied using GRE scores too. 

You can always try deferring a year and applying R1 to business schools. That being said, you're really going to have to work at your application essays because from your brief profile, it's a bit difficult to figure out why you need an MBA.

 

5 minutes ago, vananhdo said:

Yes but I already secured 70k for this year only, that's what I can't defer. Very tough decision to make. 

Did u get the 70K scholarship from HKS？

[vananhdo]

Just now, kevin_hks said:

 

Did u get the 70K scholarship from HKS？

no

[kevin_hks]

4 minutes ago, vananhdo said:

no

How did u secure this funding？if it comes from your personal savings，you can still defer it

[vananhdo]

2 minutes ago, kevin_hks said:

How did u secure this funding？if it comes from your personal savings，you can still defer it

Of course not - so I am losing 70k if I am not coming to HKS or other lower ranked MPPs this year. Not feeling comfortable with that thought though. 

[kbui]

1 hour ago, kevin_hks said:

Hks is notorious for its stinginess

HKS is getting a bad reputation on this forum so far. The Kennedy School actually tries its best to connect prospective students with as many external and internal resources as they can [1] [2], but it is the responsibility of the applicant to apply to them concurrently with their programs. It is not fair to say that HKS gives very little funding to their students because it's simply not true.

[kevin_hks]

54 minutes ago, vananhdo said:

Of course not - so I am losing 70k if I am not coming to HKS or other lower ranked MPPs this year. Not feeling comfortable with that thought though. 

I cannot quite follow your logic

[kevin_hks]

1 hour ago, vananhdo said:

Of course not - so I am losing 70k if I am not coming to HKS or other lower ranked MPPs this year. Not feeling comfortable with that thought though. 

I cannot quite follow your logic

[drumroll]

They say in pretty much EVERYWHERE to not rely solely on HKS funds. They are completely transparent about it.

Harvard is an expensive private school. To learn at Kennedy School, to interact with the minds who teach there and who come to talk there and who come to study there, that is what matters. To see HKS as a... diminished business school? It is actually offensive for those of us who actually care about working in public service. It is disgusting.

I'm out.

 

 

[kevin_hks]

The sad thing is that no matter how high the tuition is，HKS could recruit enough students.the office of admission reminded us that there is a long long waiting list of students if we were to decline the offers，so there are no shortage of cash machines for them. 

[kevin_hks]

4 hours ago, drumroll said:

no funding.

But I agree with the view that HKS probably does not have too much to offer to begin with. But I also think they have to reconcile many policies from the University, the Kennedy School, the Centers and from the endowments themselves. So I wouldn't take their decision as some sort of implication on how qualified you are.

It does seem odd to me, though, that there are so many people from the private sector for a school so focused on public value.

 

Here Harvard brand works！?? Harvard boasts the best economics，political science and the sociology departments however that only refers to their FAS，but not HKS for sure. HKS only has the faculty equivalent to the social sciences devisions of a second class universities. As for the financial aid policy that it is the same: Harvard is the most generous University for his undergraduates and a PhD's which have full ride scholarships. However hks is an exception like a second class university

[vananhdo]

16 minutes ago, kevin_hks said:

I cannot quite follow your logic

What I meant is I secured external funding for my study this year that I cannot defer. I have to choose to study at one of the MPPs that I get admission to. 

[Nonprofitguy]

7 minutes ago, kevin_hks said:

Here Harvard brand works！?? Harvard boasts the best economics，political science and the sociology departments however that only refers to their FAS，but not HKS for sure. HKS only has the faculty equivalent to the social sciences devisions of a second class universities. As for the financial aid policy that it is the same: Harvard is the most generous University for his undergraduates and a PhD's which have full ride scholarships. However hks is an exception like a second class university

Is your whole schtick complaining about HKS funding?

1 minute ago, vananhdo said:

What I meant is I secured external funding for my study this year that I cannot defer. I have to choose to study at one of the MPPs that I get admission to. 

If you are genuinely thinking about pursuing an MBA and still want to get an MPP/MPA from HKS, you can go to HKS for the first year and apply to the partnering schools (Stanford GSB, UPenn Wharton, MIT Sloan, Dartmouth Tuck). Note that these are 4 of the top business schools in the world and incredibly difficult to get into. My 2 cents: frankly it doesn't seem you've actually thought through why you want to pursue an MBA and the b-school AdCom will sniff it out. 

[kevin_hks]

7 minutes ago, vananhdo said:

What I meant is I secured external funding for my study this year that I cannot defer. I have to choose to study at one of the MPPs that I get admission to. 

That would be fine. go for it

[ana1331]

No funding either  HKS is my dream school. I don't know what to do. Scholarship programs and loans in my country could barely scratch the cost since our currency recently dipped against the USD. What a nightmare!

[easteregg]

I'm not an HKS applicant but I've worked across the university and don't understand the claims from your post, @kevin_hks...

50 minutes ago, kevin_hks said:

HKS only has the faculty equivalent to the social sciences devisions of a second class universities.

Many HKS faculty have joint appointments at the College, HBS, HGSE, HLS... Even Harvard's former President, Larry Summers has an appointment at HKS. I don't see how this is considered "second class". College (and other grad students at Harvard) often are taking classes under the same faculty or sometimes cross registering into HKS classes.

50 minutes ago, kevin_hks said:

As for the financial aid policy that it is the same: Harvard is the most generous University for his undergraduates and a PhD's which have full ride scholarships. However hks is an exception like a second class university

This is also not really true, HKS is not an exception. Undergraduates and PhDs are both under the Faculty of Arts & Sciences (College and GSAS). The Divinity School is the only other Harvard school I can think of that is generous with funding; that's 3 schools out of Harvard's 12 that offer good funding. So HKS is actually with the majority that do not always offer a ton of funding for the master's equivalent (HKS, HBS, HGSE, HLS, GSD, HMS, HSPH, etc, etc).

[kevin_hks]

HKS is definitely one of the three "super-easy graduate school under big names"!

The other two are Johns Hopkins University (Carey Business School) and Columbia University- Teacher's College!!!!

[hksMPA]

2 hours ago, kevin_hks said:

HKS is definitely one of the three "super-easy graduate school under big names"!

The other two are Johns Hopkins University (Carey Business School) and Columbia University- Teacher's College!!!!

This is pure evil to say! It is not super-easy graduate school!! I know many highly qualified people who did not get in.

[Nonprofitguy]

2 hours ago, kevin_hks said:

HKS is definitely one of the three "super-easy graduate school under big names"!

The other two are Johns Hopkins University (Carey Business School) and Columbia University- Teacher's College!!!!

Very salty about not getting any funding. Strange - how you have such negative opinions about HKS but 1) include HKS in your username; and 2) apply in the first place

I sincerely hope you're in your early 20s because otherwise it would be quite alarming to see someone more established in a professional career to put this much weight into rankings & prestige. 

[kevin_hks]

13 hours ago, Nonprofitguy said:

Very salty about not getting any funding. Strange - how you have such negative opinions about HKS but 1) include HKS in your username; and 2) apply in the first place

I sincerely hope you're in your early 20s because otherwise it would be quite alarming to see someone more established in a professional career to put this much weight into rankings & prestige. 

That is true! At least for the two-year MPP Program at HKS which I applied, more than 40 percent of the applicants from India got admitted!! I am 24.