Harris 2018

[yoh_rrg]

Has anyone been following this story? Or think it will have any impact on Harris course offerings in the next couple of years? It seems like several of the global development classes would be negatively affected if this lawsuit holds any weight. Also interesting to see this isn't the first time the Pearson foundation has sued a university for not managing the money exactly as it would have liked.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-university-of-chicago-donation-lawsuit-20180305-story.html

[heyitsme]

Very strange. So they're basing their lawsuit on:

• The institute not appointing a director, and then circumventing the issue by simply changing the title of an existing staff member;
• The institute leaving 1 out of 4 promised professorships vacant;
• A disapproval of the hiring of Christ Blattman and Oeindrila Dube, who they say have backgrounds that are beneath the university (could this be a political thing? Ideological disagreement? Not sure how to interpret this);
• Use of funds for operating expenses for Harris as a whole, rather than for the institute specifically; and
• The institute failing to develop what they would consider an adequate curriculum (again, what are their criteria for this, I wonder?).

Right now the lawsuit hasn't been settled either way, so who's to say what would happen. Previous lawsuits involving the Pearson foundation disputing the use of its donations to universities were dismissed, however. Wondering if any current students at Harris have opinions on this, or have a better idea of how the institute is working from the inside.

Edited March 10, 2018 by heyitsme

[ChicagoanMPP]

Has anyone submitted am Application for Review of their Scholarship Award and heard back? I received 10k initially. Just heard back and received 5k more to 15k. Has anymore received what they asked for/more than 5k? Wondering if I should try to negotiate more to get to at least 20k. Thoughts? 

[policyapplicant]

2 hours ago, ChicagoanMPP said:

Has anyone submitted am Application for Review of their Scholarship Award and heard back? I received 10k initially. Just heard back and received 5k more to 15k. Has anymore received what they asked for/more than 5k? Wondering if I should try to negotiate more to get to at least 20k. Thoughts? 

One thought: I think it’s still pretty early for people to decline Harris (and other schools). For instance, I’m waiting to decline Harris until after I visit Princeton early next month. I imagine more $$ will be opening up as some people decline for various reasons.  That won’t happen until closer to the deadline. 

[wanderlust_0]

When negotiating with Harris, does anyone have any suggestions as to whether it is better to ask for the highest amount of another offer (which for me is ~$20K/year more than Harris) or a more reasonable amount that Harris might actually be likely to give you ($5-10K?)

[wittgensteinsbladder]

Does anyone have experience negotiating with Harris with an HKS acceptance in hand? I’m trying to decide how high my request should be with $15k from Harris now.

[PolicyPol]

I got nothing from Harris...what's the maximum I can ask for w/o being unrealistic? If I don't get a decent amount that would enable me to attend), I will probably go to LBJ which I heard great things of and got a full ride.

[pubpol123]

Honestly, I would just ask for how much you would need to be offered for you to realistically consider the school. Even if it's a really high amount, worst-case scenario is that they'll just offer you less money. I ended up asking for $20K more a year ($40K total) which is exactly how much I'd need for it to be worth it for me to go there (waiting to hear back from them though).

[ChicagoanMPP]

Thanks @pubpol123 ! Keep us updated on your status! 

 

[pubpol123]

On 3/26/2018 at 2:57 PM, ChicagoanMPP said:

Thanks @pubpol123 ! Keep us updated on your status! 

 

FYI--I just heard back. I had 15K per year, and requested 20K more per year. I ended up getting 10K more per year, for a total of 25K per year. I will say I gave them both a job update (I was recently promoted), as well as an update of the other schools I was considering. Hope this helps!

[policyapplicant]

@pubpol123 That's great! A good bump up. 

[juanlisa]

I applied for MS-CAPP, and was just admitted to MPP yesterday. There's no aid letter yet; should I assume that there's no funding? Or did an aid letter come later for some applicants?

[buff_hamster]

I don't know if this applies to the MPP program as well, but I've heard from others who have spoken with the admissions office that $30k/year is pretty much the max they'll give for the MSCAPP. Based on the interactions I've had with them and what I've heard from others, it's probably better to make a reasonable request rather than a hopeful one - that way they'll know you're serious about attending and have given it serious thought. It also shows that you understand and appreciate the cost (and therefore value) of the program, which can only reflect positively on you.

[shmcewen]

I have a draft ready for the scholarship reconsideration form. I originally was awarded $10K and I'm hoping to get at least $20K as I'm quitting my job to focus on Harris.

Does anyone know what the turn-around time is from submitting the form?

[elizabethrs]

@shmcewen they said to wait at least two weeks, so you should submit soon. I got $10k more by asking, so you should definitely ask for at least that. Also I’m probably going to turn it down, so there might be some more funding after April 15 as well. 

[shmcewen]

@elizabethrs thanks for the input!

[Ellen123]

Does anyone know if Harris uses the cohort model for core classes? 

Also, how do people feel about Harris' rapid growth? It seems like they've been slow to scale up student support services, especially career services. I'm concerned that I won't get as much individualized or in-depth attention from support services at Harris v. other programs I'm considering.

[wanderlust_0]

Hi all! i'm really struggling with my decision here as i'm choosing between three fairly different programs - the MSCAPP at Harris, vs Yale's MEM and Duke's MPP program. I do want to focus on enviro policy after graduation so I am worried about Harris' relative lack of environmental networks. The skills that the CAPP program develops is exactly what I am looking for, although im not sure if they will actually be useful in the field afterwards. Does anyone have any insights into Harris' environmental network and whether networks should be weighed in more heavily than skills?

[buff_hamster]

On 4/14/2018 at 2:25 PM, wanderlust_0 said:

Hi all! i'm really struggling with my decision here as i'm choosing between three fairly different programs - the MSCAPP at Harris, vs Yale's MEM and Duke's MPP program. I do want to focus on enviro policy after graduation so I am worried about Harris' relative lack of environmental networks. The skills that the CAPP program develops is exactly what I am looking for, although im not sure if they will actually be useful in the field afterwards. Does anyone have any insights into Harris' environmental network and whether networks should be weighed in more heavily than skills?

As a committed incoming CAPP student I may be biased, but it would be a no-brainer for me - do CAPP. If the computational skills are what you're looking for then there's really no other option, and you have a lot of leeway in the second year to take literally any Harris elective (and tons from outside of Harris, too) so you can fill up on enviro classes if that's what you're looking for. I don't really get the logic of rejecting a school based on the perceived strength of its network in a given area. If you're competent and have the skills - which Harris will ensure - you will get a job.

[publicpolicy2019]

Hi am an international student and need some advise, either from present Harris MPP students or students from previous batches at Harris.

I am a deferred MPP from last year at Harris. Harris is giving me pretty solid financial aid (70-75% of tuition), but I also have competing offers presently from SIPA (MPA in Economic and Political Development concentration, financial aid decision to be released) and Georgetown McCourt's MIDP program (with similar financial aid as Harris). My questions:

1. I have ~4 years of work ex in international development, and would like to focus my studies on international issues. I have heard from scattered sources that Harris' curriculum can be a bit domestic focused. Has this been the experience of other international students/international development enthusiasts?

2. I may want to stay back and work in a DC institution for a couple of years after graduating before returning to international settings/my home country, and that would involve visa sponsorship from a potential recruiter. Would you say Harris is at a disadvantage when it comes to professional opportunities and networking outside of Chicago when compared to SIPA and Georgetown, especially for international students? Has the career development office gotten better at Harris (I heard some reports from the 2015-2016 threads that that was a weak link for the school)?

3. I do also have longer term interest in pursuing research, preferably in the political economy of development. For this, I believe Harris has a very strong department especially with the new faculty that have moved there and the Pearson Institute, but I am still unsure whether that compensates for the lack of international focus in the classroom. Is Harris a better pedestal into a PhD program in public policy/political econ. than the other policy schools I mentioned?

4. Does anyone know why the class size at Harris has gotten so much bigger recently and whether that has diluted the classroom experience for students? That was one of the biggest factors against SIPA in my mind, but it looks like Harris is not too far behind in terms of class size. In this regard, Georgetown MIDP has a small classroom of  about 25 students focused on international development work.

Overall, I'm pretty confused about what program to pick. I would love if anyone has any thoughts about any of these points, thanks in advance!

Edited February 28, 2019 by publicpolicy2019