Hertie School MPP

[pedropabloerr]

Hello everyone, 

I've been offered admission to the Hertie School of Governance MPP class of 2019, and I'm very excited about it. For over a year I had thought about studying abroad, and for many reasons (being Berlin one of them) I opted for this program as my first choice. 

Now that I've been admitted final doubts come to my mind, mostly because of the expensive tuition (maybe lower than in other countries, but very expensive compared to the rest of Germany). I've read a bit about the School's reputation in past posts, but if I could get some updated insights I'd pretty much appreciate it. 

If anyone knows, what about the students? If I finally enroll, I'll turn 32 just a bit after starting the course. Will I be too old? I know that Europeans go into graduate school younger than we do, for instance, here in SouthAmerica, and sometimes without work experience. 

I've also read about the increasing reputation of the School in the international field, but do you think it will limit my work opportunities outside from Europe, compared to other similar programs? 

Finally, in some reviews I've read that it is really good if you are into EU policies. I'm actually very interested, but I wouldn't like to feel that I skipped learning from what's going on in other regions...

These are my doubts, but I'm actually very determined to pursue the program. I just want to be as sure as possible of the final decision I make. I had the chance of visiting the school about two months ago, and I liked it a lot. It felt very different from where I got my undergraduate degree (big public university), but that made it even more appealing as an experience. 

If there are other possible members of the same class say hi!

Cheers, 
Pedro

[CakeTea]

Hi Pedro,

Congratulations on your Hertie admission and you must be delighted. Hertie's strength is in governance and EU policies. There are some smaller scale electives. Due to its small faculty, some areas are not well covered. So it really depends on your interests and goals. For Governance and EU, Hertie offers opps while other areas may be a mismatch. Students: More on the younger side and less seasoning compared to US schools. Most come straight out of undergrad or have 1-2 yrs experience. If you look at student bios, very few in late 20s and early 30s. I spoke to some current students and they are articulate and bright with an avid interest in international affairs.

 

So you know the central neighbourhood from your visit. There are pros and cons of its size. It is only one building and the intake is rather small, students know each other. The teaching methods are flexible with lecture, case study, group project, capstone with Berlin based organisations. Good mix of theory and problem solving practice. Some international students confirmed Hertie's academic rigour with US schools. A prof is even on sabbatical to run a major German think tank. On the other hand, Hertie has some shortcomings in terms of small library stocks and opening hours. Few student run clubs and events. Some room of improvement for professional development workshops and career service. Hertie is an English taught programme, but one needs some German to leverage internships, capstone, networking and manage German bureaucracy. 

 

You are correct that tuition is prohibitive by German standard, but there are not many MPP programmes in Germany. I guess Hertie's  tuition is set in same bracket as other top European programmes at LSE and Sciences Po.

Good luck.

 

[pedropabloerr]

Thank you so much for your response. Are you a student/former student? 

As for speaking German, in your experience do foreign students learn it during their 2 years in Berlin?

Thank you!!

PP

[CakeTea]

Hertie  offers German language classes. Some students start from scratch and manage to achieve working knowledge within 2 years. I think it depends on the effort one invests in and the level of interaction with locals versus living in an expat bubble. Other students have some basic to intermediate German upon their arrival.

[aidenspektor]

I was recently admitted to the 2017 intake as well, and would be interested to hear other perspectives. I like Hertie for the ability to focus on applied quant skills. For context, I'm a 25-year-old American who has been working in places like Iraq and Afghanistan since graduating and want to focus more on policy research and policy advocacy. The school is pretty high on my list, but I am very wary of an over-emphasis on EU policy and politics, which, for a variety of reasons, do not interest me greatly when taken in isolation. Does anyone else have any more direct experience they can share?

Pedro, I'd also be happy to discuss with you further! I've gotten lots of outside perspective from people who have done a Master's in the past, but it's always good to commiserate over decision-making with people who are going through it in the moment.

[Torrid]

On 12/24/2016 at 6:45 PM, aidenspektor said:

I was recently admitted to the 2017 intake as well, and would be interested to hear other perspectives. I like Hertie for the ability to focus on applied quant skills. For context, I'm a 25-year-old American who has been working in places like Iraq and Afghanistan since graduating and want to focus more on policy research and policy advocacy. The school is pretty high on my list, but I am very wary of an over-emphasis on EU policy and politics, which, for a variety of reasons, do not interest me greatly when taken in isolation. Does anyone else have any more direct experience they can share?

Hi - I am an American second year student at Hertie. I do not think there is an excessive emphasis placed on the EU and its accompanying policies and politics. There is still a great deal of attention paid to the American system -- too much at times, I think. I would not be worried about this. 

[pedropabloerr]

Hi guys, thank you a lot for the insights. Aiden, I sent you an inbox message. 

I've been talking to other current students, and every time I seem more eager to join Hertie. 

[Harmanp]

Hi all, 

I'm from India and have been accepted for the MPP course at Hertie. However, I have not been offered any scholarships/funding. 

Is there a possibility to defer admission by citing the lack of scholarship and asking for time to gather the funds? 

[pedropabloerr]

Hi all, 

I just transferred the first tuition deposit and sent the agreements by post. I'll be waiting for the acceptance letter, but I guess I'm officially enrolled. 

Good luck to everybody!

[MelodyBloom]

Hey guys, @pedropabloerr here I am :), I have just sent out my application out and am waiting for the results. Since I am pretty set on going to Hertie, I'm dying to get an answer! Let's see how long I'll have to wait... 

[peterpan]

Hi MelodyBloom, have you heard back from Hertie yet? I submitted my application on January 23 but my application was only completed on January 31. So that means we'll probably hear back from Hertie around the same time!

To those who have already gotten accepted, how long did it take to hear back about the admission decision and financial aid? 

Good luck to everyone who's still awaiting their decision  

[CakeTea]

It depends on required documentation, foreign translated and certified docs need longer verification. On average, Hertie needs 3 weeks. But the fastest admission decision I heard of is 5 working days (!) from a German applicant with first class degree and internship with int. orgs.

[MelodyBloom]

It's been nearly 4 weeks for me! It's really driving me crazy

@CakeTea do you think I should give them a call or just be patient? A friend of mine was actually told it would take 4-6 weeks.

 

Edited February 19, 2017 by MelodyBloom

[CakeTea]

44 minutes ago, MelodyBloom said:

It's been nearly 4 weeks for me! It's really driving me crazy

@CakeTea do you think I should give them a call or just be patient? A friend of mine was actually told it would take 4-6 weeks.

 

I heard that with the addition of MIA and rising applications in recent years, Hertie may now need 4-6 weeks. Your waiting time is still on the lower range. Maybe reach out to adcoms in week 6. Just make sure that all your required documents are complete. Normally Hertie's adcom has vast experience with applications from US students. Is Hertie your only application? Single focus makes wait more intense as you have only one egg in the basket. With rolling application, there is a drip of admission decisions rather a single wave. I am sure you have a strong profile and would be a good fit for Hertie. Some other poster told me that he checks his email three times a day. Good luck.

[peterpan]

@MelodyBloom I think you should give them a little more than 4 weeks and then you could reach out. I'm sure they got a ton of applications before the priority deadline and are super busy right now. 

 

[MelodyBloom]

@CakeTea well I definitely have a different profile. No fancy internships or universities but a very unique and colorful CV and I think Hertie likes unique and colorful? At least that's what I've been telling myself  well for now it's my only egg but I have a Plan B which I'd apply to if Hertie doesn't want me. 

[peterpan]

For those wondering, according to the Hertie admissions office the next round of tuition waiver decisions are scheduled to be released by the end of next week (early March)! Good luck to everyone  

[alternik]

Hi everyone! 

Great to find this post. I've been accepted to Hertie's MPP as well. Their response came a week after all my references were sent.

Waiting on the funding decision still. Good to see @peterpan's information here. Thanks! 

 

 

[nahuja32]

Hey guys, I got my acceptance letter too! Waiting for the decision on financial aid. 

[MelodyBloom]

Guys don't forget to post you acceptance in the survey http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=hertie  

Getting close to waiting for 6 weeks now 

[heathrowintl]

Hello, all! Happy to have found my way to this thread.

@peterpan - your intel was spot-on. Received acceptances for both the MPP and MIA on Friday, along with funding decisions! For reference, I'd submitted my application on Feb 1, but my final recommendation didn't come through until Feb 27. 

While I'm still waiting on other decisions later this month, I am strongly leaning towards Hertie. I'm wondering if anyone else here considered or is choosing between the MIA or MPP? If so, would love to chat! 

Good luck to everyone still awaiting decisions!

[Zoe123]

Hey everyone! I got admitted to the MPP programme too and I'm also really excited about this! 

But I'm still waiting for the scholarships decisions... did anyone hear something about tuition waivers yet?

[nahuja32]

Congratulations! You should receive a notification within a week. I have received a 25% tuition waiver. 

[Zoe123]

3 hours ago, nahuja32 said:

Congratulations! You should receive a notification within a week. I have received a 25% tuition waiver. 

Does Hertie also notify you if they decided they cannot give you any financial aid? I think scholarship decisions can take up to 3-4 weeks after the admission offer. I'm nervous as a lot of you already got 25% tuition waivers... also I thought, there would be more people who get higher financial aid.

[nahuja32]

@Zoe123, my initial email mentioned that I'd receive and email about financial aid in a week. Does your offer letter say that as well? 

I don't know if applying early has an advantage when it comes to aid. I highly doubt it does. 

Either way, best of luck. I hope you do receive aid as well.