Kaneisha Grayson's Blog, page 8

Dual Degrees, Dual Masters, and Double Degrees

Sometimes the career path you want to pursue would be well served by pursuing not just one graduate degree but two Masters degrees. When you get double degrees at the same time, this is called a dual degree.

Alternative names for a dual degree are:

concurrent degreecombined degreesjoint degreedouble Mastersdual Masters

Throughout this article, we will use these terms interchangeably. Keep reading to learn more about a dual degree.

What Is Meant by a Dual Degree?

A dual degree refers to an academic program that includes two different fields. While you can pursue a dual degree in college, for the purposes of this article, we will focus on graduate-level dual degrees. 

Most dual degree programs will involve courses from more than one school or discipline within your larger university. For example, a combined MBA and JD degree is one example of a dual degree. Other examples of dual Masters degrees are the following:

MPP/MBAMD/MBAMPH/MDJD/MSWJD/PhDIs a Dual Degree the Same as Two Degrees?

A dual degree is one way to earn two degrees. However, for two degrees to count as a dual degree, they need to be pursued at the same time. For example, you may earn an MBA and a JD during your graduate studies. However, you can earn two degrees in other ways.

First, maybe you earn a master’s degree and then follow it up with a doctoral or professional degree. You’d eventually have two degrees, but that doesn’t mean you’ll have a dual degree.

Another option is to earn a master’s degree in one field. After taking time off, you may choose to earn a second master’s to prepare for professional school. Since you earned the degrees separately, you would have two degrees but not a dual degree.

Is It Worth Taking a Dual Degree?

Pursuing a dual degree for graduate school often requires being in school longer than pursuing just a single degree. For example, an MPP/MBA will require three years of schooling, whereas an MPP or an MBA on its own would only be two years of school. 

However, a concurrent degree can be well worth it for many students. Double degrees can help you stand out in the job market due to having experience and skills in multiple domains.

Your dual degree will give you access to more courses, internships, and other opportunities that students in your first major might not have. For example, you may be able to pursue a summer internship in corporate law as an MBA/JD student. Your dual degree can give you an advantage over students only pursuing a JD.

Depending on the dual degree you pursue, you may get more relevant experience for your dream job. If you want to become a doctor and own your own practice, an MBA can teach you the management, operation, and leadership skills you need to start a business.

Pursuing a dual degree can also help get all of your schooling out of the way. You won’t have to worry about balancing a degree program with a job if you later realize you want further education.

Finally, you’ll be able to explore two of your biggest professional interests. After graduation, you can combine those interests in your career or find a job in one field or the other.

What Are the Disadvantages of a Dual Degree?

One of the most significant disadvantages of a dual degree is the time commitment. While most students complete a single degree in four years, a dual degree can take up to six years.

At the graduate level, you can also expect to add another year or two to your studies.

The extra time in school can increase the costs related to graduate school. Not only will you have to pay for more tuition, but you’ll also have to pay for room and board and other living expenses. Spending more time in school also carries with it the opportunity cost of not working full-time during the time you are in school.

Depending on how many courses you take each semester, you may be taking more classes at one time than someone pursuing a single degree. That means you’ll need to spend more time studying and completing coursework.

Is a Dual Degree Legal?

Dual degrees are legal, and many colleges and universities have specific dual degree programs in place. For example, Columbia Law School offers an MBA dual degree for law students: the Columbia JD/MBA.

Even if you attend a university without a dual degree program, you may still be able to pursue two degrees at once. Be sure to speak with an advisor or counselor early in the application process to ask via email if your desired dual degree is an option.

Why Do People Get Dual Degrees?

People get dual degrees for many reasons. For some, the reason is as simple as the desire to study more than one field in graduate school.

Another fantastic reason to pursue a dual degree is to increase your job options after graduation. You can apply to jobs that require just one of the degrees that you received. Having a dual degree can even make you more employable than candidates with a single degree.

While you can go to school twice, some people obtain a dual degree to save time. In some dual master’s programs, for example, you may find the coursework overlaps. That way, you’ll only have to take a few extra classes to earn the second degree.

Do Dual Degrees Make More Money?

Cambridge University Press released a study saying that a dual degree in business and STEM can expect to earn more than their peers with single degrees.

Unfortunately, the same study found that a dual major between business or STEM and liberal arts won’t offer the same results. The same is true of a dual degree where the fields of study are too similar to each other.

If you want to pursue a dual degree to increase your earning potential, choose a major in business and a major in STEM. Then, you’ll have the best chance of earning a higher salary right out of school.

Which Dual Degree Is Best?

The best dual degree depends on you and your professional goals. Some of the most popular dual graduate degrees include:

Master of Business Administration (MBA) / Master of Public Health (MPH)Masters in Management Information Systems (MIS) / Master of Business Administration (MBA)Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) / Master of Business Administration (MBA)Master of Science in Criminal Justice (CJ) / Master of Public Administration (MPA)Master of Social Work (MSW) / Juris Doctorate (JD)Master of Business Administration (MBA) / Juris Doctorate (JD)Is a Dual Degree Hard?

Pursuing a dual degree can be difficult, depending on the course of study and how the dual degree program is structured. Every dual degree program is different. In general, the more formalized and organized the dual degree program is (versus you fashioning a custom dual degree yourself), the less difficult it will be to earn both degrees. 

With a self-created dual degree that isn’t a formal dual degree offered by your university, you may have more courses to balance, even if you don’t have to take more of them in a single semester. The increase in coursework can make it harder to participate in extracurricular activities or maintain a part-time job.

Do Dual Degrees Take Longer?

Earning a dual degree usually takes longer than earning a single degree. However, it also won’t typically take twice as long. At the graduate level, a dual degree may add another year or two to the normal course of study.

For example, at Harvard Kennedy School, earning an MPP on its own takes two years. At Harvard Business School, earning an MBA on its own takes two years. However, the Harvard MPP/MBA does not take four years to complete; it takes three years to complete.

Similarly, the MPA2 at Harvard Kennedy School takes two years, and the MBA at MIT Sloan, Dartmouth Tuck, and Stanford GSB takes two years. However the MPA/MBA dual degree between MIT, Dartmouth, or Stanford and HKS only takes three years to complete.

Is a Dual Degree for Grad School Harder Than a Double Major in College?

A dual degree can be more difficult than a double major due to the structure of the program. With a double major in college, you’re earning a single degree in two fields, such as a BA or BS. In that case, many of the general education requirements will apply to both programs.

However, a dual degree for graduate school may involve more general education requirements. It can also be harder to juggle two programs in different schools. You may have less flexibility in your schedule so that you can take classes with only one or two sections per semester.

How Stressful Is a Double Degree?

A double degree can be quite stressful for some students. You have to manage two course loads and study for both of your areas of study.

Double degree students need to be good at time management and organization. If you have those skills, you can succeed when studying two different fields in school.

However, the stress levels you’ll experience depends on you and the degree in question. If you’re naturally good at one or both of your chosen subjects, you may not need to study as much. On the other hand, you might need more prep time if you decide to study difficult subjects.

Is a Double Degree Harder Than a Single Degree?

A double degree is usually harder than a single degree. The increased workload and the longer degree completion time can make it more difficult.

However, it could also depend on the subjects you decide to study and your experience with those subjects. For example, a double degree in English and business could be easy for some students.

Those same students might struggle if they pursue a single degree in chemistry or another more technical subject.

Do Employers Care About Double Majors?

Employers may or may not care about a double major or dual degree. Most employers want to know if you can do the job well. In some industries, that means having a degree in a relevant field, and you can fulfill that with a dual degree.

However, other companies might not care as much about you having two degrees. If you don’t have the time or money for a dual degree, you don’t have to pursue one. You can always go back to school later for further education in the form of a single course, a certificate, or executive education if you decide you need to learn new skills.

Will You Pursue a Dual Degree?

A dual degree can be an excellent tool to help you learn multiple things. Depending on your career goals, the program could even help you stand out when applying to jobs.

Be sure to consider some of the most common graduate dual degrees that we listed above. Then, you can decide which path you should pursue.

Don’t be afraid of applying for dual degree programs if your career goals align with earning two Masters degrees rather than one. 

The post Dual Degrees, Dual Masters, and Double Degrees appeared first on The Art of Applying®.

Is Harvard’s Public Leadership Credential Right for You?

What is the Public Leadership Credential?

The Harvard Kennedy School Public Leadership Credential (PLC) is a fully online program that provides professionals from across the world with the skills and knowledge to address some of the most pressing public policy challenges. 

HKS refers to students enrolled in the PLC as “learners,” possibly to emphasize the program’s focus on continuous learning and recognize that it is a credentialing program. The credential program consists of six courses, all developed by Harvard Faculty, in three focus areas: Evidence for Decisions, Policy Design and Delivery, and Leadership and Ethics. 

As stated on the HKS admissions website, the virtual program consists of modules, case studies, and structured group activities to help you develop as a public leader.

Learners engage in both asynchronous work with weekly deadlines and small group conversations over the weekend. 

At the end of the program, learners complete a Capstone, a cumulative learning experience where learners apply their new skill sets to complete the final project. 

Each class is graded on a “Pass/No Pass” basis. This allows learners to focus on their learning rather than worrying about their grades or competing with their fellow classmates. 

After finishing the required courses, participant’s Public Leadership Credential will be conferred in the form of a digital certificate and will join the PLC Alumni Community. 

Learners can enroll in courses at their own pace to complete Public Leadership Credential. The credential can be completed in as little as 11 months, but must be completed within three years of the learner’s enrollment date. 

PLC learners participate from around the globe with:

62% of participants are from Canada4% fromLatin America & Caribbean5% from Africa4% from the Middle East & North Africa9% from Europe and Central Asia6% South Asia10% from East Asia. 

Learners range from ages 21-78. This allows learners to to engage in intergenerational learning and makes the learning environment suitable for people at different stages of their careers. 

What requirements are there to enroll in the Public Leadership Credential?

According to the HKS admissions website, in order to enroll in PLC program, learners must meet the following requirements:

They have completed a bachelor’s degree.They have at least five years of work experience.They are proficient in English.They are available to commit an estimated 10 to 12 hours per week to coursework, including a required weekly live video conference with other enrolled learners around the world.

There are no standardized test requirements, including the GRE and TOEFL, needed to enroll in the Public Leadership Credential. 

Harvard PLC vs Harvard Mid-Career MPA 

Harvard PLC learners receive a certificate that can be listed on their resume. The credential showcases your employer that you have attained valuable skills in public policy, ethics, leadership, and decision-making. However, it is not a diploma equivalent to a masters degree. With that said, Harvard Kennedy School offers a one year Mid-Career Masters in Public Administration (MC/MPA) for established professionals. 

In order to apply for the MC/MPA, you must have a minimum of 7 years of full-time work experience by the year you would enroll in the program. With that said, competitive candidates for the Mid-Career MPA usually have approximately 12 years of professional experience. 

The MC/MPA is a full-time graduate degree that requires you to attend Harvard Kennedy School in-person. The program begins with an immersive five-week summer program followed by two semesters at the Kennedy School totaling 32 credits. 

Many professionals looking to go back to school find the Mid-Career MPA appealing because of its flexibility. Mid-Career learners have the opportunity to build their own study plan and choose from a large range of courses to develop the skills they need to take the next steps in their careers. 

One of the major benefits of the PLC is it serves as a pathway to the MC/MPA Masters Program. If accepted to the MC/MPA program through the PLC pathway, PLC courses can be counted towards three of the eight required courses to complete the Masters program. This means a Mid-Career student will have the option to complete the program’s mandatory summer program and then decide to spend the Fall or Spring Semester on campus completing their degree. Although this means the student will spend less time on campus, the total tuition cost is less than the traditional MC/MPA pathway.

How much is the Harvard Public Leadership credential?

Tuition for the PLC program is $6,470. This includes all six core courses ($995 each) and the required capstone course ($500). It is important to note that Harvard Kennedy School does not provide financial aid, scholarships, discounts, or payment plans for PLC courses. Additionally, HKS does not provide federal student aid or GI Bill benefits for PLC.

As mentioned prior, one of the major benefits of the Public Leadership Credential is that it allows you to apply for an accelerated version of the Mid-Career Master in Public Administration. As a result, tuition cost for the MC/MPA program via the PLC pathway is less than the traditional pathway. There is also a PLC pathway to enrolling in Harvard Extension School’s Master of Liberal Arts in the government program.

Who is a good fit for the Public Leadership Credential?

The Public Leadership Credential is a good fit for anyone looking to grow their skill set in public policy, leadership, and data analysis in order to advance public good and make an immediate impact in their community. According to the Harvard PLC website, learners and alumni come from a variety of backgrounds, but some of the most popular professions include program directors, city managers, policy analyst, analyst. 

The credential is designed for busy professionals, so the program is a particularly good fit for individuals looking to continue working a full-time job or those who may not have the ability to attend classes in-person on Havard’s Cambridge Campus. 

The PLC is also a great opportunity for potential Mid-Career Master in Public Administration applicants who want to use the PLC pathway to reduce their time on campus as a Mid-Career student (often due to family or financial responsibilities) or reduce the cost of attaining their master’s degree.

What are the pros and cons of the Public Leadership Credential?Pros of the Harvard PLC: New skills to serve your community and grow professionally: PLC’s curriculum provides learners with a tangible skill set in decision-making, ethics, and leadership that can help you move to the next level in your career as a public leader. A Harvard credential on your resume: Although it is a certificate, the PLC credential will serve as an asset on your resume. The credential can be attractive to employers and a great conversation starter to discuss the unique skill set you bring to your team.A taste of the HKS curriculum: PLC allows you to try out the HKS curriculum before committing to a full-time in-person masters degree program. Many of our clients expressed that the Public Leadership Credential curriculum reaffirmed their desire to pursue a Masters in Public Administration at HKS.A pathway to Mid-Career Program: As mentioned earlier, the PLC can serve as an accelerated and more affordable pathway to attaining your Mid-Career Masters in Public Administration at Harvard Kennedy School.Continue your education while working full-time: Not everyone can take off a year from work and relocate to Cambridge to attend Harvard Kennedy School. The PLC program is fully-online and designed for busy professionals. By enrolling in the PLC, you can learn from HKS faculty and develop your public policy skills from the comfort of your own home. A global community of current learners and alumni: Group discussions and activities are a core part of the PLC curriculum. The program will allow you to meet leaders from across the globe and grow your network. In addition, once you complete the PLC, you will become a part of a large alumni network. Alumni have access to a variety of HKS alumni events, shared interest groups, a monthly newsletter, support from The HKS Office of Career Services, eligibility to serve on the HKS Alumni Board, and additional professional learning opportunities. Cons of the Harvard PLC: Cost of the program: The program is nearly $7,000. This could be a lot of money for an individual working in public service, the targeted audience of the program. As mentioned earlier, HKS does not provide financial aid or payment plans for the program which could serve as a barrier for some people. Some PLC enrollees receive funding from their employers for continuing education or a professional development stipend to supplement all or some of the program’s cost. If you are considering the credential, it is worth asking your employer about continuing education benefits. Ultimately, it is important to weigh the cost and benefit of the PLC for your individual situation.Significant time commitment: Although the PLC program is designed for busy, working professionals, it is still a significant time commitment. The program requires approximately 10-12 hours of coursework and studying per week. This is equivalent to a part-time job and could be difficult to balance with other life responsibilities. Before enrolling in a program, you should consider whether the time commitment is feasible with your current professional and personal life. PLC is not a diploma: It is important to recognize it is not a diploma or equivalent to a masters degree. The future of work is changing and more workplaces are understanding the values of certificates and credentials. However, some workplaces may not see the inherent value of a credential in the same way they view a formal master’s degree. For this reason, if you are considering the PLC, it is important to think about how it fits into your career trajectory and how you plan to market the credential to employers in your field.Is the Public Leadership Credential worth it?

Choosing to pursue the Public Leadership Credential at Harvard Kennedy School is a very personal decision. The program helps professionals gain valuable skills in public policy and learn from Harvard faculty from anywhere in the world. It can also serve as a pathway to the full-time masters program at HKS.  With that said, it is a time commitment and a financial investment. 

As you decide whether to pursue the Public Leadership Credential and other graduate programs, The Art of Applying® is here to help you develop a game plan for admission to your dream school. Tell us about yourself and your application process here.

The post Is Harvard’s Public Leadership Credential Right for You? appeared first on The Art of Applying®.

Harvard Kennedy School 2022-2023 Essay Advice: MPP, MPA, MPA/MC, MPA-ID

Welcome to the ultimate guide to writing outstanding Harvard Kennedy School essays! Below you’ll find advice for every HKS application essay prompt for the 2022-2023 application cycle.

Table of Contents

Introduction

HKS 2022 Application Deadline

Top 10 Mistakes I See in Harvard Kennedy School Essays

Table of Required Essays by Degree

Personal History Essay Advice

Optional Statement Essay Advice

Joint or Concurrent Degree Essay Advice

Reapplication Essay Advice

JFK Essay Advice

MPP Essay Advice

Expectations Essay Advice

Perspectives Essay Advice

Two-Year MPA Essay Advice

Career Goals Essay Advice

Professional Contribution Essay Advice

Biographical Profile vs. Background Summary Statement

International Development Essay Advice

Public Policy Essay

Introduction

Hey there! I’m Kaneisha Grayson, the author of this article and the founder of The Art of Applying��.

I started The Art of Applying�� in 2010 while a joint degree student at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School. Since then, my team and I have helped hundreds of applicants successfully apply to Harvard Kennedy School through our paid services, blog posts, and Youtube videos.

This blog post has the most up to date advice for the most difficult to write Harvard Kennedy School essays based on what my team and I have seen work for our clients.

If you find a mistake or a needed update in this article, let us know so we can correct it. Our 7000+ loyal email newsletter subscribers and visitors to our website help us keep our advice up to date and helpful for everyone.

If you’d like my team to help you with your Harvard Kennedy School application, contact us for more information.

Table of Contents

What is the Harvard Kennedy School 2022 deadline?

The HKS 2022 application deadline is Thursday, December 1, 2022 at 3 pm Eastern Time.

Table of Contents

Which essays are required for each HKS degree application?Essay TitleWord LimitMPPMPA2MPA-IDMPA/MCOptional Statement250xxxxPersonal History Essay250xxxxJFK Essay500xxMPP Essay500xExpectations Essay250xxxPerspectives Essay250xxxTwo-Year MPA Essay500xCareer Goals Essay500xProfessional Contribution Essay500xInternational Development Essay750xLeadership Experience Essay750xPublic Policy Essay750xEnglish Language Statement
(if required)500xxReapplication Essay250xxxxMPP Analytical and Quantitative ResumeN/AxMPA Quantitative Statement1 pagexxrequired essays by HKS degree

Table of Contents

Don’t make these mistakes in your Harvard Kennedy School application

Sometimes, it���s easier to know what NOT to do. Use this checklist to make sure you don���t make these common mistakes in your Harvard Kennedy School application essays.

Do not wait several sentences or paragraphs to clearly answer the question the prompt is asking.

I know it feels creative and whimsical to start your essay with a story. Or to take the reader on a journey with a big reveal at the end of your essay. And I’m not saying you can’t do that. However, if you are not a strong creative writer, I would advise you to be as straightforward with answering the essay prompts as possible.

Imagine that your essays are policy memos that the U.S. President needs to read before an important meeting.

Do not start your personal statements or application essays with a quote.

The one exception would be if your quote is from one of the ���characters��� in the story you are telling. Then, a quote could be a compelling way to start the essay. However, what my team of consultants and I see most often are essays that start with quotes from a famous person or public figure. Don���t do that.

You have limited words with which to express yourself. Don���t waste even one sentence on a trite, overused phrase as a shortcut for seeming profound, heartfelt or unique.

Do not write essays that are simply your resume accomplishments in prose format. 

Your resume is the place where you can succinctly summarize the accomplishments and results you have achieved, using numbers as often as possible to quantify the results of your efforts. Your essays are the place where you tell your story, make your case, and communicate your fit with the school and degree program by directly addressing the prompt(s) you���ve been given.

Do not use trite phrases like ���I want to change the world.��� 

Vague phrases like the one above don���t actually tell the reader anything specific about you as an individual, leader, and team member.

 If you think about it, every human that has ever lived changed the world just by having lived here, right? They made their impact on the world, even if it was a teeny tiny impact. Rather than relying on empty platitudes, be as specific as possible about the type of impact you hope to have.

Do not accidentally mention the wrong school name. 

Nearly every season, we receive materials for editing, where the applicant mentions the wrong school name. It doesn���t mean that your application will automatically be thrown in the trash if you use the wrong school name. However, it shows a lack of proofreading one���s materials. It can also make you look insincere about your commitment to attending that particular school.

Do not submit materials that are over the word limit. 

I know you have a lot you want to share with the HKS admissions committee, but word limits are in place for a reason. When you submit materials that are over the word limit, you annoy the AdCom and make it clear that you disregard directions. By submitting essays that are within the required word limit, you are forced to express yourself in a clear, concise way. This is a skill that you will need as a student at Harvard Kennedy School as well as in your post-HKS career, whether in the public, private, or nonprofit sectors. 

But, Kaneisha, can I submit an essay that is just a few words over the word limit? Like���just give me 20 words extra. Pretty please? Nein! You are applying alongside hundreds of other highly qualified applicants. Do not frustrate, annoy, or disrespect the AdCom���s time by not taking the time to edit your essay down to the word count.

Do not wait until the last minute to write and revise your essays.

HKS takes a holistic view of your entire application. I know that sounds like marketing speak from the Admissions Office, but it���s true. It���s not just about your grades or your test score.

In 2021, I had a client who we helped get into Harvard Kennedy School with a GPA below 2.5. He worked with our team on strengthening his applicant profile and his essays for ten months: from January 2021 until November 2021.

Your essays are the most important part of your application. The earlier you can start on them, the better. Use the previous year���s prompts as your jumping off point.

How likely is it that the Harvard Kennedy School essay prompts from last year will be different this year?

It is highly unlikely that the the prompts you see on the Harvard Kennedy School website for the prior application season will change substantially in this upcoming application season. In the 12+ years I���ve been in business, I���ve only seen the essays change twice. So the essay prompts change about every 4 years or so.

Optional Do Not���s for your Harvard Kennedy School Essays & Resume

The don���ts below are based on my personal preference and aren���t as important as the ���do not���s above.

Do not use ���justified alignment��� for your essays. 

It creates strange spacing within your sentences. While it may look more polished to you that all of your lines take up the full line, it is a less pleasant reading experience forr the reader.

Do not include your photo on your resume or CV. 

While this is a common practice in some nations outside of the US, it is not common practice in the US.

Do not use ���interesting��� design elements on your CV.

I prefer a black and white CV with no color, no ���interesting��� bullet point shapes like diamonds, starts, etc.���just plain filled-in bullets or open bullets. I don���t even really like those horizontal separating lines on CV. I like just words and bullet points on resumes with a good amount of white space, so my eyes can rest and I���m not looking at a wall of text.

Table of Contents

Personal History Essay Advice

Diversity of all kinds (race and ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, physical abilities, political philosophy, intellectual focus, socioeconomic status, geographic and many others) is important to enriching the educational experience at the Kennedy School.  Please share with us anything in your background or life experience that has shaped your perspectives and how that would contribute to the classroom and community at HKS. (250 word limit)

This essay may feel overwhelming, especially if you feel like you aren���t ���different,��� ���special,��� or ���diverse��� enough. The key with this essay is to remember that everyone adds diversity to the class���not just people you think of as traditionally underrepresented.

The key here is to not worry about if what makes you ���you��� is special or different enough. It���s to become aware of the intersecting identities that make up your particular identity, and then to choose which of those aspects would benefit your classmates through the sharing of your experiences and perspectives with your classmates.

One area of diversity that may apply to you is being a member of an underrepresented group within a well-represented racial or ethnic group. For example, while Asian-American students are well represented among top universities, southeast Asians, Pacific Islanders, and low-income Asian-American students are very underrepresented. Similarly, white students are well represented, but low-income white students or white students from rural areas are underrepresented.

Another area gaining traction in the cultural zeitgeist is neurodivergence and/or neurodiversity. In fact, after a decade-plus of suspecting I might have ADHD (and being told by my friends that I have ADHD), I (Kaneisha, the founder of The Art of Applying��), got evaluated and diagnosed with ADHD-Combined Type in April 2022.

Imagine my shock���after getting two Masters from Harvard, paying off $150,000 in student loans in seven years as a writer and entrepreneur, growing a business from scratch to a million dollars in revenue, and starting a podcast���learning that I have a brain condition that is considered a disability! 

I���m learning more each day how much my life has been affected by having undiagnosed and untreated ADHD: the challenges I have overcome as well as the benefits of having a brain that works quite differently than most people���s. 

If you fall into the category of being neurodivergent (some examples are ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and OCD), you could write about the ways in which navigating your personal, professional, and academic life have been affected by having a ���different��� kind of brain.

If I were writing this essay, I would write about these areas of diversity that apply to me:

Growing up in a low-income high crime neighborhood with a high teen pregnancy rateHaving undiagnosed ADHD for most of my life, and my experiences being ���twice exceptional��� (both gifted and challenged)Being one of few Black students in my college graduating classComing from an extended family that is heavily affected by the prison-industrial complex

Don���t let my list intimidate you; just use it as a list to help you reflect on what makes you different and/or special. 

Here are examples of areas of diversity and/or adversity you could write about in your diversity statement and/or personal history statement:Being physically challenged or disabledBeing a queer personBeing trans or having a non-conforming gender identityBeing a person of colorHaving experienced homelessness or food insecurity during your lifetimeGrowing up low-incomeGrowing up very wealthyGrowing up closely related to a person of prominence, fame, or a public figureHaving served in public officeHaving achieved outstanding business accomplishmentsHaving competed in athletics, chess, or related activities on a national or global levelHaving a neurodivergence such as ADHD, autism, epilepsy, Tourette Syndrome (TS), or OCD���whether diagnosed in childhood, adolescence, or adulthoodGrowing up in a single-parent householdGrowing up as an adopted child or foster childGrowing up with adopted siblings or foster siblingsGrowing up with siblings with special needsGrowing up with a parent who is an addict Growing up with a parent who has serious mental health issuesAcknowledging and overcoming addictionDiscovering and navigating mental health issuesGrowing up across different states and/or countriesBeing a conservative person who plans to attend a liberal- and progressive-leaning school���or vice versaNavigating grief after the loss of a loved oneBeing a survivor of trauma (you don’t have to share in detail about your trauma unless you feel comfortable doing so. Be sure to include a content warning.)

Table of ContentsOptional Statement Essay Advice

If you have any concerns about your prior academic, professional, or personal background that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee, please provide an explanation. (250 word limit) 

Who should write the Harvard Kennedy School Optional Statement?

Even though this essay is titled as an optional statement, I recommend that most applicants to Harvard Kennedy School write the optional essay. The optional statement is your opportunity to raise your hand and say, ���Well, actually������ when one of the readers is raising doubts about the strength of your applicant profile and whether you should be given one of the seats in the class.

Since HKS doesn���t have interviews, you don���t have a chance to clarify anything that may be confusing or concerning to the AdCom. The optional statement is your opportunity to stand up for yourself, clarify anything that looks confusing, and reassure the admissions committee that any challenges that held you back in the past won���t keep you from being successful at HKS.

You should write the Harvard Kennedy School Optional Statement if:You have C���s, D���s, F���s, W���s, or I���s on your transcript that you want to explain to the AdCom.You are applying to the Harvard Kennedy School MC/MPA with 7-9 years of work experience.You are applying to the MPP, MPA-ID, or MPA2 with fewer than two years of work experience.You are applying to Harvard Kennedy School without a traditional undergraduate degree.You are applying to Harvard Kennedy School with a GPA below 3.4.You have a gap on your resume of longer than six months.You don’t show a clear demonstrated interest in public service from your work experiences and/or volunteer work.What should your Harvard Kennedy School Optional Statement include?

Your HKS optional essay should answer the following questions:

What areas of your profile might the admissions committee be concerned about?Why did those issues occur?How have you since resolved those issues?What did you learn about yourself as a result of navigating those issues?What will you do if those issues arise while you are at Harvard Kennedy School?

Since you only have 250 words, you can aim to answer each of the above questions in one sentence. That will give your optional essay structure and communicate the essential information the HKS admissions committee members need.

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Joint or Concurrent Degree Essay Advice

Harvard Kennedy School���s mission is to improve public policy and leadership across the United States and around the world, so people can lead safer, freer, and more prosperous lives. How will a joint/concurrent degree enhance your pursuit of this mission? (400 word limit)

Here is the catch with this essay. According to my understanding, this essay will only be read by Harvard Kennedy School admissions committee���not the other school to which you are applying. (Someone contact me and correct me with written proof or a screenshot if I���m mistaken. I want to make sure I���m providing the most accurate information.) So the key to this essay is to focus on how your Harvard Kennedy School degree will complement your other degree.

What do I mean by that? Well, contrary to what you may think, this essay is not supposed to be where you gush about HBS, HLS, Tuck, or Sloan. Don���t spend a lot of time talking about how amazing the non-HKS school is. The joint/concurrent degree essay is where you talk about how you won���t get everything you need from just a degree from Harvard Business School, Harvard Law School, Dartmouth Tuck, or MIT Sloan for your personal and professional goals.

The most effective joint/concurrent degree essays will be written the opposite of how most people will write this essay. Most people will write this essay focusing on how amazing the resources, classes, and clubs are at the other school. But you want to focus on, say, 4-6 specific things you will get from your non-HKS school, and then write in just as much detail how your HKS degree will complement and supplement those 4-6 specific things. 

Questions to help you write your Harvard Kennedy School joint / current degree essay:What will you learn in the classroom at HKS that you won���t learn at all or as much in the other classroom?What clubs are specific to HKS that you are eager to join that don���t exist at the other school?What will the HKS alumni network provide you that you can���t get if you only do just the one degree at the other school?What personal experiences might you have, and what kinds of people might you meet as a joint / concurrent degree student that you wouldn���t meet if you only did the other school���s degree?

Make sure to not write this essay as if going to HKS alone is not enough of an education. This essay is about showing how going to the other school alone would not be enough of an education for your personal, professional, and academic goals.

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JFK Essay Advice

The Harvard Kennedy School motto, echoing the President for whom the School is named, is ���Ask what you can do.��� Please share with the Admissions Committee your plans to create positive change through your public leadership and service. (500 word limit)  

Okay, y���all for this essay, I���m just going to dump a list of the biggest mistakes I see with this essay, and then give you a bunch of questions that you should make sure your JFK essay answers as specifically as possible. 

In general, this is a ���career goals��� essay. The HKS AdCom wants to know what your ultimate career goal is, and the career journey you could imagine yourself embarking upon to get there.

The biggest mistakes I see with the Harvard Kennedy School JFK essay are:Do not bury your career goal several paragraphs in or wait until the last paragraph to clearly answer the question. Do not make the AdCom guess what your plans are. Answer the question upfront in the first 1-2 sentences.Do not state a career goal that is too vague.Do not state a career goal that is too ambitious with no clear plan to get there. It is not too ambitious to say you want to be the Head of State, but you need to clearly map out the short-term, medium term, and long-term career path to get there.Do not state a career goal with no explanation of why that career is driven by your values.Do not overly use words like ���hope��� when discussing your plans: ���I hope to take on a career in management consulting at a firm like BCG, Bain, or McKinsey.��� No. Use clear, confident words like ���plan,��� ���will,��� and ���intend to.��� Because you totally got this! You don���t have to hope.

If you answer all of the following questions, you���ll be well on your way to writing this essay better than half of the people applying to HKS (who aren���t our clients or didn���t find this blog post in time).

Sample Outline for the Harvard Kennedy School JFK essay:Opening sentence: What is your ultimate long-term career goal? Be as specific as possible and state this upfront. Do not make your essay a scavenger hunt where the AdCom has to sift through several paragraphs to figure out the answer to the question they have posed to you.When it comes to your career goal, what specific 1-3 issues will you work to have a positive impact? On what specific geographic area and/or specific population do you plan to have a positive impact? Access to water in South Asia, equity in education in the Southern US, trans rights in Latin America, voting rights and access in sub-Saharan Africa, the US childcare epidemic, etc. Notice how I���m not just saying vague things like ���sustainability,��� ���microenterprise,��� ���venture philanthropy,��� or ���impact investing.��� I am listing specific issues, geographies, and populations. This makes your goal realistic, measurable, and ambitious at the same time rather than wishy-washy wishful thinking.What is your immediate career goal after HKS? What role do you want to have? What will you learn in that role? What will you contribute to the organization in that role?What is your mid-term career goal after HKS, such as 10 years after graduation? What will you learn in that role? What will you contribute to the organization in that role?Concluding sentence: Reiterate your enthusiasm to attend HKS and contribute your particular public service and leadership to the world.

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MPP Essay Advice

The MPP curriculum is designed to broaden students��� perspective and sharpen skills necessary for a successful career in public service through a rigorous set of courses that draw on the social sciences but are adapted for action. Please describe how the MPP curriculum at HKS would leverage your distinctive abilities and/or fill gaps in your skill set as you equip yourself to achieve your career goals. (500 word limit)

The HKS MPP Essay can feel tricky, because it���s asking you to cover so many different elements. I prefer to answer the question directly within the first sentence, and then to provide more details throughout the essay. 

Within the first 1-2 sentences of this essay, briefly restate your career goal. Restating your career goal provides a clear context for the reader for the rest of your essay. You can even restate your career goal as a part of a sentence that is mostly about something else. 

Here is a sample starting sentence for the HKS MPP Essay that clearly answers the question while restating the career goal and providing clear context for the rest of the essay:

In order to pursue my career goal of being Head of Communications for an equity-focused education nonprofit such as Teach for America, I will need to improve my existing skills in persuasion, public speaking, and written communication. I will also need to gain skills in negotiation, managing and developing team members, budgeting, and quantitative analysis.

Sample Outline for the Harvard Kennedy School MPP Essay:Briefly remind the HKS Admissions Committee of your career goal.List 2-3 relevant skills that you already have that you���d like to strengthen at HKS.List 2-3 relevant skills you���d like to gain as an MPP student at Harvard Kennedy School.Discuss 2-3 specific classes you would take that would enhance your skills. State the specific skills and/or subject matter learnings you would gain in those classes.Discuss 2-3 classes in which you would be a strong contributor to your classmates��� learnings and for which you already have strong skills.Discuss 1-3 student clubs that would play to your strengths and/or fill in gaps.Discuss 1-3 Resource Centers at HKS that would enhance your strengths and/or help you improve in developmental areas.Conclude your essay Additional tips for the HKS MPP Essay:Make sure that you aren���t only listing classes taught by men. This is a common oversight among applicants.The classes you mention don���t have to be currently taught or scheduled to be taught in the upcoming year. As long as the class has been offered at some point in the last five years, it���s fine.When discussing classes that will fill in your skills gaps, list at least one required course and at least one elective.When discussing classes that will play to your strengths, it is okay to primarily focus on electives.If you are short on space, you can list fewer classes related to your strengths. Focus more on the specific classes you���ll take that will fill in your gaps.If you are short on space, you can eliminate discussing student clubs and resource centers.

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Expectations Essay Advice

Describe a time when you did not meet expectations and elaborate on how the experience changed you. (250 word limit) 

I love this question! Even though it can be tough to figure out what to write about, if you choose a genuine topic, and write this essay well, you will easily stand out in the applicant pool. The most straightforward way to respond to this prompt is to write about a time when you did not meet someone���s reasonable expectations. 

However, you can also write about a time when you did not meet what you believe were unreasonable expectations. It���s much more difficult to successfully tackle the second type of essay without coming off as trying to turn an essay discussing a weakness into a strength. If you write about a time when you did not meet unreasonable expectations, then you will need to discuss why you did not speak up about the expectations being unreasonable; you can���t just simply say that someone burdened you with unreasonable expectations. You have to take some responsibility for those unreasonable expectations existing and for you being accountable for meeting them.

You can write about a time when you did not meet expectations in your personal, professional, or academic life.

Outline for HKS Expectations Essay:What was the expectation of you?Who had the expectation of you?(optional) How was the expectation communicated to you?Why did you not meet the expectation?What were the internal obstacles to meeting the expectation? What were the external obstacles to meeting the expectation?What did you learn from this experience?What did you learn about how to manage the expectations of the person who you let down?What did you learn about yourself in not meeting this expectation?What lessons can you apply to the future when faced with similar expectations?Examples of what you could write about for the HKS Expectations Essay:Letting your boss, team, or a direct report down at workLetting down your partner, family member, or friend in your personal lifeNot meeting your own expectations at work, school, or toward a personal goal

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Perspectives Essay Advice

Describe a time when interactions with others and/or an experience caused you to change your mind or expanded your point of view. (250 word limit)  

This essay shows that you are open to influence, open-minded, able to change your mind in the face of new information, and/or willing to admit when you were wrong.

Sample Outline for HKS Perspectives Essay:What was your opinion or perspective on the issue at hand at first?What was the interaction with others and/or the experience that caused you to change your mind or expand your perspective?What made you realize that your opinion or perspective might have been limited or outright wrong?What about the interaction or experience in particular helped you be open to changing your mind or expanding your perspective?What did your opinion change to or what did it expand to include?Optional questions:What did you learn about yourself from this experience?What did you learn about the other person from this experience?What lessons can you apply to the future when faced with similar experiences, interactions, or opportunities?

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Two-Year MPA Essay Advice

There are many pathways one can pursue in order to make a difference in the world. Why is the MPA Program at HKS an appropriate pathway to achieving your goals? (500 word limit)  

Sample Outline for the Harvard Kennedy School Two-Year MPA Essay:Briefly remind the HKS Admissions Committee of your career goals within the first two sentences of your essay.Discuss 3-4 specific classes you would take that would enhance your skills. State the specific skills and/or subject matter learnings you would gain in those classes that would help you achieve your career goals.Discuss 2-3 student clubs that would help you achieve your career goals. You don���t have to be the leader of the club; simply being a member is enough.Are there any treks you could attend or help plan that would help you achieve your career goals?Discuss 1-3 Resource Centers at HKS that would help you achieve your career goals.What is it about the HKS culture that will help you achieve your career goals?What elements of the HKS alumni experience and network will help you achieve your career goals?Conclude your essay restating your enthusiasm to attend HKS for the MPA2.Additional tips for the HKS Two-Year MPA Essay:Make sure that you aren���t only listing classes taught by men. This is a common oversight among applicants.The classes you mention don���t have to be currently taught or scheduled to be taught in the upcoming year. As long as the class has been offered at some point in the last five years, it���s fine.If you are short on space, you can eliminate discussing student clubs and resource centers.

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Career Goals Essay Advice

Submit a statement that discusses your career goals, as well as the factors that led you to select the Mid-Career MPA program as a means of furthering your personal and professional goals. Be as specific as possible in describing how your expected course of study will enable you to build on your prior professional experience and achieve those goals. (500 word limit)  

Sample Outline for the Harvard Kennedy School Career Goals Essay:Write an introductory sentence briefly stating your ultimate career goal and the 2-4 factors that led you to apply to HKS.Spend 1-3 sentences discussing each of the factors that led you to HKS.State your immediate career goal after HKS.What kind of organization would you like to work at?What will you learn here?What will you contribute here?State your mid-term career goal after HKS.What kind of organization would you like to work at?What will you learn here?What will you contribute here?State your ultimate career goal after HKS.What kind of organization would you like to work at?What will you learn here?What will you contribute here?Discuss 3-4 specific classes you would take that would build on your prior professional experience.State the specific skills and/or subject matter learnings you would gain in those classes that would help you achieve your career goals.Discuss 2-3 student clubs that would help you achieve your career goals. You don���t have to be the leader of the club; simply being a member is enough.Are there any treks you could attend or help plan that would help you achieve your career goals?Discuss 1-3 Resource Centers at HKS that would help you achieve your career goals.What is it about the HKS culture that will help you achieve your career goals?What elements of the HKS alumni experience and network will help you achieve your career goals?Conclude your essay restating your enthusiasm to attend HKS for the MPA2.Additional tips for the HKS Career Goals Essay:Make sure that you aren���t only listing classes taught by men. This is a common oversight among applicants.The classes you mention don���t have to be currently taught or scheduled to be taught in the upcoming year. As long as the class has been offered at some point in the last five years, it���s fine.

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Biographical Profile vs. Background Summary Statement

The prompts for these two short answer questions are so similar that I think there may have actually been a mistake in the Harvard Kennedy School application to ask them both.

In prior years, the MPP application asked for the Biographical Profile, and the MPA/MC application asked for the Background Summary Statement. This year, the MC/MPA application (and perhaps for other degrees) is asking for both of these extremely similar statements.

I’m here to provide as much clarification as I can. Understand that this is my guidance as an admissions consultant, but I am not a member of the HKS Admissions / Enrollment team. I would suggest some of you write to HKS admissions to clarify this requirement, because it really seems like a mistake to me to require both.

I think that what happened is that one question or the other should show up based on which degree you choose (this is called a “conditional form element”), but that for some reason, the condition wasn’t input into the system correctly, so both questions are showing.

screenshot of harvard kennedy school application asking for a biographical statement and a background summary statement for the mc/mpa applicationWhat is the prompt for the Biographical Profile?

In 150 words or fewer, provide a biographical profile. Your r��sum�� will contain detailed information on your academic history, professional/internship/volunteer positions held and specific accomplishments. What we seek here is a concise description of your academic/professional journey, career exploration, and areas of interest. Please type your biographical statement in the paragraph box below.

In this statement, focus on answering the exact things they have asked for:

What was your schooling like from high school, to university, to now? Since they will know where you went to school from your resume, you could focus on what type of school(s) you attended (public, private, elite, prestigious, underfunded, under-resourced, etc.) and how that impacted your career.Quickly walk the reader through your career from start to mid-point to present day.State 1-3 areas of career and academic interests.

In the Biographical Profile, spend half the essay discussing your academic and professional past, and half the essay discussing your career and academic future interests you plan to explore at HKS and after HKS.

What is the prompt for the Background Summary Statement?

In 300 words or less, summarize your professional profile/background. Your r��sum�� will contain information on titles, positions held, and specific accomplishments, what we seek here is a concise description of your professional journey, career progression and areas of expertise/experience. Specific information on the level of responsibility and impact/scale of work performed to provide context is encouraged.

Think of the Background Summary Statement as a narration of your resume in an easy-to-understand way for someone who may not be familiar with your industry.

Another way to think of the Background Summary Statement is the short introduction that would be given about you before giving a TED talk or graduation speech. It helps the reader / listener contextualize everything else they are going to learn about you.

You can write the Background Summary Statement in the first person (I have worked…) or the third person (Kaneisha Grayson has worked…)

In this statement, focus on answering the exact things they have asked for:

Once again, walk the reader through your professional journey. Don’t just say where you worked. Tell the reader what you learned and accomplished in your career so far. Think of this as the interview question, “Walk me through your resume.”HKS also wants to know about your career progression. How does one job lead into the next? How are your responsibilities increasing and building upon one another? This is especially helpful if career progression and promotions aren’t evident from the job titles on your resume.Discuss your areas of expertise and experience, both academically and professionally. You can focus on hard skills, soft skills, and domain expertise. If you aren’t sure what hard skills are versus soft skills, a quick online search for those phrases will give you lots of examples. If you aren’t sure what I mean by “domain expertise,” think of a domain as a subject area, a topic that one can study or research at HKS or in the real world.

The Background Summary Statement should be completely focused on the past, whereas the Biographical Profile is a blend of the past and the future.

But I still think this is actually an error in the HKS application.

Reapplication Essay Advice

Please explain what has changed since your last application. (250) 

What is the Harvard Kennedy School Reapplication Essay supposed to convey?

The HKS Reapplication Essay is supposed to convey that you as an applicant understand that it’s not helpful to simply resubmit the exact sample application as the exact same candidate you were last time. They want you to succinctly tell them what has changed about you personally, professionally, and/or academically since your prior application.

The Harvard Kennedy School Reapplication Essay is your opportunity to help the HKS admissions committee understand that, while you were not previously admitted, you are now even more prepared for the HKS classroom, and even more of a fit for the HKS degree program to which you are applying.

How should I start my Harvard Kennedy School Reapplication Essay?

You only have 250 words for this essay, so you need to get directly to the point. I would start this essay out with a simple sentence that lists the changes in your applicant profile since your prior HKS application. Here is an example:

Since my prior application in 2018, I have taken supplementary coursework, received a higher score on the GRE, gained further clarity on my career goals, and engaged in more volunteer work.

How should I structure the HKS Reapplication Essay? What content should I include?

Here is an outline you can use for your Harvard Kennedy School Reapplication Essay:

Introductory SentenceDiscuss any supplementary coursework you have taken.Discuss any improved test scores you have to share.Discuss any accomplishments, promotions, or changes in your professional experience.Discuss any personal accomplishments and/or updates.Concluding SentenceOn what note should I end the Harvard Kennedy School Reapplication Essay?

You have so few words for this essay that you can consider not including a concluding sentence. If you have room for a concluding sentence, you can reiterate your enthusiasm for attending Harvard Kennedy School or your hope that the updates you’ve provided are helpful.

Here is a sample concluding sentence for your HKS Reapplication Essay:

I hope that these updates will help the Admissions Committee in the reconsideration of my application.

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Professional Contribution Essay Advice

The Harvard Kennedy School motto, echoing the President for whom the School is named, is ���Ask what you can do.��� Please share with the Admissions Committee���how you have created positive change thus far in your���most substantial professional leadership and/or public service role. (500 word limit)

Most applicants will mess up this essay by trying to cram too many stories and roles into this essay. You will write a much stronger essay if you focus on one overarching role in which you were able to create positive change in one big way or multiple smaller, interconnected ways. What I don���t suggest you try and do is write about multiple roles. The prompt is asking for your most substantial professional leadership and/or public service role. That means you should choose one role.

Sample Outline for the Harvard Kennedy School Professional Contribution Essay:Clearly state what your most substantial professional leadership and/or public service role was.What were the requirements of you in this role?What were the 1-4 positive impacts you were able to have in this role?For each positive impact you had, answer these questions:Clearly state the positive impact you were hoping to achieve.What challenges, obstacles, and limitations did you and your team face when trying to achieve your goals?How did you and your team overcome the obstacles that you faced?Clearly state the positive impact you were able to achieve.Conclude the essay reiterating your enthusiasm to attend HKS and continue creating positive change.

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International Development Essay Advice

Discuss your decision to choose international development as your professional career. Also, explain how developing your analytic skills relates to your career in development. (750 word limit) 

For the MPA-ID International Development Essay, you can use the outline and tips I gave for the Career Goals Essay. However, you need to make sure that you also discuss the importance of having strong analytical skills relates to your career in development.

Examples of how analytical skills relates to a career in development:BudgetingFinancing Managing limited resourcesOptimizing processes to maximize limited resourcesDecreasing costsIncreasing outputDecreasing negative externalitiesIncreasing positive externalities

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Public Policy Essay

Describe a public policy or public management problem related to international development and analyze a range of solutions. (750 word limit) 

The Harvard Kennedy School Public Policy Essay is similar to the Princeton SPIA Policy Memo, except that you get 750 words rather than four double-spaced pages (about 1000 words).

Sample Outline for the Harvard Kennedy School Public Policy Essay or Princeton SPIA Policy Memo:

Introductory Paragraph: Tell the reader what specific issue you are going to explore, and 3-4 solutions you will analyze.

Background Information: Provide 2-4 sentences providing background information on the issue at hand. What would the reader need to know about the issue you are going to discuss in order to understand your analysis of the possible solutions?

Discuss 3-4 possible solutions. For each of your 3-4 proposed solutions, answer the following questions:

Clearly state the proposed solution.Where, if anywhere, is this solution already being implemented? How is it working?What are the hoped for and actual benefits of this solution?What are the challenges, obstacles, and limitations of this solution?

Concluding Paragraph: Here is where you can make a recommendation on what should be done now to address the issue (based on your analysis above), and where you can make a recommendation on what could be explored in the future. You should state the solution that has the most potential to address the issue at hand. Propose possible further areas of inquiry. 

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The post Harvard Kennedy School 2022-2023 Essay Advice: MPP, MPA, MPA/MC, MPA-ID appeared first on The Art of Applying��.

What is the Harvard Kennedy School letter of recommendation (LOR) prompt?

To the best of my knowledge, below is what your recommender will be asked by Harvard Kennedy School when you submit them as your recommender. If you want to be 100% sure what prompt they will receive, you will need to ask your recommender directly. If anyone has corrections to this information, please email a screenshot to us, and we will thank you with some sort of useful gift!

Harvard Kennedy School Letter of Recommendation Prompt

Please submit a recommendation letter about the candidate. Brief information on your background for context is also welcome. We are interested in admitting candidates with outstanding intellectual promise who can participate successfully in a rigorous professional Master’s degree program and who have a history of commitment to public service and demonstrated leadership abilities. Comments about the strengths and weaknesses of the candidate will be helpful in our evaluation. Our general guidance on recommendation letter length is around 500 words; however, you are welcome to use your own judgment. We do appreciate double-spacing as it makes the letter easier to read in our system. You may compose your letter in a language other than English and have it translated, but it cannot be translated by the applicant. The translator should include their contact information (name, phone number, and email address) with the translated letter.

Please note that applicants to HKS sometimes fill out separate applications for fellowships/scholarships and your letter of recommendation may be shared with those evaluating candidates for fellowship/scholarship funding. You are welcome to compose your letter any way you wish, however the following questions/prompts might be useful to consider when writing your letter.

What are the applicant’s strengths?Describe an activity or program in which the applicant was involved that illustrates his or her special abilities, and/or leadership skills or potential.What do you consider to be the applicant’s weaknesses?What do you feel would be the applicant’s greatest difficulty in an intensive graduate professional course of study? This would be an area where the applicant ought to receive additional preparation if admitted.Make any additional comments about the applicant’s potential or personal qualities which you feel would be helpful to the Admissions Committee. We are especially interested in anything you might add that would not otherwise be apparent in the candidate’s record, i.e., evidence of character, values, a point of interest or concern about which the applicant is particularly enthusiastic, and any special talent or quality he or she possesses. For a Mid-Career applicant, comment on his/her potential career path and your projection of his/her future success.

We advise uploading your document as a PDF.

Ratings Matrix for Harvard Kennedy School Letter of Recommendation

On the Harvard Kennedy School website, it says that your letter of recommendation writer will be asked to fill out a form and rate you on the following areas:

Intellectual abilityAnalytic frame of mindProblem-solving orientationQuality of oral expression in EnglishQuality of written expression in EnglishMotivation and energyLeadershipOrganizational abilityEmotional maturityAbility to meet a deadlineAbility to work with othersCommitment to public serviceTime is running out for us to help with your Harvard Kennedy School application!

The deadline for HKS applicants to sign up for our Editing Services is
Monday, November 21 at 5 pm Central Time.

Materials will be returned by Tue, Nov 29 at 5 pm Central Time.

Learn more about our Editing Services.

The post What is the Harvard Kennedy School letter of recommendation (LOR) prompt? appeared first on The Art of Applying®.

Harvard Kennedy School Essay Advice: MPP, MPA, MPA/MC, MPA-ID for 2022

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Introduction

Don’t make these mistakes in your Harvard Kennedy School application.

Personal History Essay Advice

Optional Statement Essay Advice

Joint or Concurrent Degree Essay Advice

JFK Essay Advice

Introduction

Hey there! I’m Kaneisha Grayson, the author of this article and the founder of The Art of Applying®.

I started The Art of Applying® in 2010 while a joint degree student at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School. Since then, my team and I have helped hundreds of applicants successfully apply to Harvard Kennedy School through our paid services, blog posts, and Youtube videos.

This blog post has the most up to date advice for your Harvard Kennedy School essays based on what my team and I have seen work for our clients.

Please be sure to return to this blog post daily as you write your Harvard Kennedy School essays as I add specific, actionable advice for each essay.

If you find a mistake or a needed update in this article, let us know so we can correct it. Our 7000+ loyal email newsletter subscribers and visitors to our website help us keep our advice up to date and helpful for everyone.

If you’d like my team to help you with your Harvard Kennedy School application, contact us for more information.

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Time is running out for us to help with your Harvard Kennedy School application!

The deadline for HKS applicants to sign up for our Editing Services is
Monday, November 21 at 5 pm Central Time.

Materials will be returned by Tue, Nov 29 at 5 pm Central Time.

Learn more about our Editing Services.Don’t make these mistakes in your Harvard Kennedy School application

Sometimes, it’s easier to know what NOT to do. Use this checklist to make sure you don’t make these common mistakes in your Harvard Kennedy School application essays.

Do not wait several sentences or paragraphs to clearly answer the question the prompt is asking.

I know it feels creative and whimsical to start your essay with a story. Or to take the reader on a journey with a big reveal at the end of your essay. And I’m not saying you can’t do that. However, if you are not a strong creative writer, I would advise you to be as straightforward with answering the essay prompts as possible.

Imagine that your essays are policy memos that the U.S. President needs to read before an important meeting.

Do not start your personal statements or application essays with a quote.

The one exception would be if your quote is from one of the “characters” in the story you are telling. Then, a quote could be a compelling way to start the essay. However, what my team of consultants and I see most often are essays that start with quotes from a famous person or public figure. Don’t do that.

You have limited words with which to express yourself. Don’t waste even one sentence on a trite, overused phrase as a shortcut for seeming profound, heartfelt or unique.

Do not write essays that are simply your resume accomplishments in prose format. 

Your resume is the place where you can succinctly summarize the accomplishments and results you have achieved, using numbers as often as possible to quantify the results of your efforts. Your essays are the place where you tell your story, make your case, and communicate your fit with the school and degree program by directly addressing the prompt(s) you’ve been given.

Do not use trite phrases like “I want to change the world.” 

Vague phrases like the one above don’t actually tell the reader anything specific about you as an individual, leader, and team member.

 If you think about it, every human that has ever lived changed the world just by having lived here, right? They made their impact on the world, even if it was a teeny tiny impact. Rather than relying on empty platitudes, be as specific as possible about the type of impact you hope to have.

Do not accidentally mention the wrong school name. 

Nearly every season, we receive materials for editing, where the applicant mentions the wrong school name. It doesn’t mean that your application will automatically be thrown in the trash if you use the wrong school name. However, it shows a lack of proofreading one’s materials. It can also make you look insincere about your commitment to attending that particular school.

Do not submit materials that are over the word limit. 

I know you have a lot you want to share with the HKS admissions committee, but word limits are in place for a reason. When you submit materials that are over the word limit, you annoy the AdCom and make it clear that you disregard directions. By submitting essays that are within the required word limit, you are forced to express yourself in a clear, concise way. This is a skill that you will need as a student at Harvard Kennedy School as well as in your post-HKS career, whether in the public, private, or nonprofit sectors. 

But, Kaneisha, can I submit an essay that is just a few words over the word limit? Like…just give me 20 words extra. Pretty please? Nein! You are applying alongside hundreds of other highly qualified applicants. Do not frustrate, annoy, or disrespect the AdCom’s time by not taking the time to edit your essay down to the word count.

Do not wait until the last minute to write and revise your essays.

HKS takes a holistic view of your entire application. I know that sounds like marketing speak from the Admissions Office, but it’s true. It’s not just about your grades or your test score.

In 2021, I had a client who we helped get into Harvard Kennedy School with a GPA below 2.5. He worked with our team on strengthening his applicant profile and his essays for ten months: from January 2021 until November 2021.

Your essays are the most important part of your application. The earlier you can start on them, the better. Use the previous year’s prompts as your jumping off point.

How likely is it that the Harvard Kennedy School essay prompts from last year will be different this year?

It is highly unlikely that the the prompts you see on the Harvard Kennedy School website for the prior application season will change substantially in this upcoming application season. In the 12+ years I’ve been in business, I’ve only seen the essays change twice. So the essay prompts change about every 4 years or so.

Optional Do Not’s for your Harvard Kennedy School Essays & Resume

The don’ts below are based on my personal preference and aren’t as important as the “do not”s above.

Do not use “justified alignment” for your essays. 

It creates strange spacing within your sentences. While it may look more polished to you that all of your lines take up the full line, it is a less pleasant reading experience forr the reader.

Do not include your photo on your resume or CV. 

While this is a common practice in some nations outside of the US, it is not common practice in the US.

Do not use “interesting” design elements on your CV.

I prefer a black and white CV with no color, no “interesting” bullet point shapes like diamonds, starts, etc.—just plain filled-in bullets or open bullets. I don’t even really like those horizontal separating lines on CV. I like just words and bullet points on resumes with a good amount of white space, so my eyes can rest and I’m not looking at a wall of text.

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Time is running out for us to help with your Harvard Kennedy School application!

The deadline for HKS applicants to sign up for our Editing Services is
Monday, November 21 at 5 pm Central Time.

Materials will be returned by Tue, Nov 29 at 5 pm Central Time.

Learn more about our Editing Services.Harvard Kennedy School Personal History Essay Advice

Diversity of all kinds (race and ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, physical abilities, political philosophy, intellectual focus, socioeconomic status, geographic and many others) is important to enriching the educational experience at the Kennedy School.  Please share with us anything in your background or life experience that has shaped your perspectives and how that would contribute to the classroom and community at HKS. (250 word limit)

This essay may feel overwhelming, especially if you feel like you aren’t “different,” “special,” or “diverse” enough. The key with this essay is to remember that everyone adds diversity to the class—not just people you think of as traditionally underrepresented.

The key here is to not worry about if what makes you “you” is special or different enough. It’s to become aware of the intersecting identities that make up your particular identity, and then to choose which of those aspects would benefit your classmates through the sharing of your experiences and perspectives with your classmates.

One area of diversity that may apply to you is being a member of an underrepresented group within a well-represented racial or ethnic group. For example, while Asian-American students are well represented among top universities, southeast Asians, Pacific Islanders, and low-income Asian-American students are very underrepresented. Similarly, white students are well represented, but low-income white students or white students from rural areas are underrepresented.

Another area gaining traction in the cultural zeitgeist is neurodivergence and/or neurodiversity. In fact, after a decade-plus of suspecting I might have ADHD (and being told by my friends that I have ADHD), I (Kaneisha, the founder of The Art of Applying®), got evaluated and diagnosed with ADHD-Combined Type in April 2022.

Imagine my shock—after getting two Masters from Harvard, paying off $150,000 in student loans in seven years as a writer and entrepreneur, growing a business from scratch to a million dollars in revenue, and starting a podcast—learning that I have a brain condition that is considered a disability! 

I’m learning more each day how much my life has been affected by having undiagnosed and untreated ADHD: the challenges I have overcome as well as the benefits of having a brain that works quite differently than most people’s. 

If you fall into the category of being neurodivergent (some examples are ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and OCD), you could write about the ways in which navigating your personal, professional, and academic life have been affected by having a “different” kind of brain.

If I were writing this essay, I would write about these areas of diversity that apply to me:

Growing up in a low-income high crime neighborhood with a high teen pregnancy rateHaving undiagnosed ADHD for most of my life, and my experiences being “twice exceptional” (both gifted and challenged)Being one of few Black students in my college graduating classComing from an extended family that is heavily affected by the prison-industrial complex

Don’t let my list intimidate you; just use it as a list to help you reflect on what makes you different and/or special. 

Here are examples of areas of diversity and/or adversity you could write about in your diversity statement and/or personal history statement:Being physically challenged or disabledBeing a queer personBeing trans or having a non-conforming gender identityBeing a person of colorHaving experienced homelessness or food insecurity during your lifetimeGrowing up low-incomeGrowing up very wealthyGrowing up closely related to a person of prominence, fame, or a public figureHaving served in public officeHaving achieved outstanding business accomplishmentsHaving competed in athletics, chess, or related activities on a national or global levelHaving a neurodivergence such as ADHD, autism, epilepsy, Tourette Syndrome (TS), or OCD—whether diagnosed in childhood, adolescence, or adulthoodGrowing up in a single-parent householdGrowing up as an adopted child or foster childGrowing up with adopted siblings or foster siblingsGrowing up with siblings with special needsGrowing up with a parent who is an addict Growing up with a parent who has serious mental health issuesAcknowledging and overcoming addictionDiscovering and navigating mental health issuesGrowing up across different states and/or countriesBeing a conservative person who plans to attend a liberal- and progressive-leaning school—or vice versaNavigating grief after the loss of a loved oneBeing a survivor of trauma (you don’t have to share in detail about your trauma unless you feel comfortable doing so. Be sure to include a content warning.)

Table of ContentsTime is running out for us to help with your Harvard Kennedy School application!

The deadline for HKS applicants to sign up for our Editing Services is
Monday, November 21 at 5 pm Central Time.

Materials will be returned by Tue, Nov 29 at 5 pm Central Time.

Learn more about our Editing Services.Optional Statement Essay Advice

If you have any concerns about your prior academic, professional, or personal background that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee, please provide an explanation. (250 word limit) 

Who should write the Harvard Kennedy School Optional Statement?

Even though this essay is titled as an optional statement, I recommend that most applicants to Harvard Kennedy School write the optional essay. The optional statement is your opportunity to raise your hand and say, “Well, actually…” when one of the readers is raising doubts about the strength of your applicant profile and whether you should be given one of the seats in the class.

Since HKS doesn’t have interviews, you don’t have a chance to clarify anything that may be confusing or concerning to the AdCom. The optional statement is your opportunity to stand up for yourself, clarify anything that looks confusing, and reassure the admissions committee that any challenges that held you back in the past won’t keep you from being successful at HKS.

You should write the Harvard Kennedy School Optional Statement if:You have C’s, D’s, F’s, W’s, or I’s on your transcript that you want to explain to the AdCom.You are applying to the Harvard Kennedy School MC/MPA with 7-9 years of work experience.You are applying to the MPP, MPA-ID, or MPA2 with fewer than two years of work experience.You are applying to Harvard Kennedy School without a traditional undergraduate degree.You are applying to Harvard Kennedy School with a GPA below 3.4.You have a gap on your resume of longer than six months.You don’t show a clear demonstrated interest in public service from your work experiences and/or volunteer work.What should your Harvard Kennedy School Optional Statement include?

Your HKS optional essay should answer the following questions:

What areas of your profile might the admissions committee be concerned about?Why did those issues occur?How have you since resolved those issues?What did you learn about yourself as a result of navigating those issues?What will you do if those issues arise while you are at Harvard Kennedy School?

Since you only have 250 words, you can aim to answer each of the above questions in one sentence. That will give your optional essay structure and communicate the essential information the HKS admissions committee members need.

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Time is running out for us to help with your Harvard Kennedy School application!

The deadline for HKS applicants to sign up for our Editing Services is
Monday, November 21 at 5 pm Central Time.

Materials will be returned by Tue, Nov 29 at 5 pm Central Time.

Learn more about our Editing Services.Joint or Concurrent Degree Essay AdviceJoint or Concurrent Degree Program Essay  

Harvard Kennedy School’s mission is to improve public policy and leadership across the United States and around the world, so people can lead safer, freer, and more prosperous lives. How will a joint/concurrent degree enhance your pursuit of this mission? (400 word limit)

Here is the catch with this essay. According to my understanding, this essay will only be read by Harvard Kennedy School admissions committee—not the other school to which you are applying. (Someone contact me and correct me with written proof or a screenshot if I’m mistaken. I want to make sure I’m providing the most accurate information.) So the key to this essay is to focus on how your Harvard Kennedy School degree will complement your other degree.

What do I mean by that? Well, contrary to what you may think, this essay is not supposed to be where you gush about HBS, HLS, Tuck, or Sloan. Don’t spend a lot of time talking about how amazing the non-HKS school is. The joint/concurrent degree essay is where you talk about how you won’t get everything you need from just a degree from Harvard Business School, Harvard Law School, Dartmouth Tuck, or MIT Sloan for your personal and professional goals.

The most effective joint/concurrent degree essays will be written the opposite of how most people will write this essay. Most people will write this essay focusing on how amazing the resources, classes, and clubs are at the other school. But you want to focus on, say, 4-6 specific things you will get from your non-HKS school, and then write in just as much detail how your HKS degree will complement and supplement those 4-6 specific things. 

Questions to help you write your Harvard Kennedy School joint / current degree essay:What will you learn in the classroom at HKS that you won’t learn at all or as much in the other classroom?What clubs are specific to HKS that you are eager to join that don’t exist at the other school?What will the HKS alumni network provide you that you can’t get if you only do just the one degree at the other school?What personal experiences might you have, and what kinds of people might you meet as a joint / concurrent degree student that you wouldn’t meet if you only did the other school’s degree?

Make sure to not write this essay as if going to HKS alone is not enough of an education. This essay is about showing how going to the other school alone would not be enough of an education for your personal, professional, and academic goals.

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Time is running out for us to help with your Harvard Kennedy School application!

The deadline for HKS applicants to sign up for our Editing Services is
Monday, November 21 at 5 pm Central Time.

Materials will be returned by Tue, Nov 29 at 5 pm Central Time.

Learn more about our Editing Services.JFK Essay AdviceJFK Essay

The Harvard Kennedy School motto, echoing the President for whom the School is named, is “Ask what you can do.” Please share with the Admissions Committee your plans to create positive change through your public leadership and service. (500 word limit)  

Okay, y’all for this essay, I’m just going to dump a list of the biggest mistakes I see with this essay, and then give you a bunch of questions that you should make sure your JFK essay essay answers as specifically as possible. 

In general, this is a “career goals” essay. The HKS AdCom wants to know what your ultimate career goal is, and the career journey you could imagine yourself embarking upon to get there.

The biggest mistakes I see with the Harvard Kennedy School JFK essay are:Do not bury your career goal several paragraphs in or wait until the last paragraph to clearly answer the question. Do not make the AdCom guess what your plans are. Answer the question upfront in the first 1-2 sentences.Do not state a career goal that is too vague.Do not state a career goal that is too ambitious with no clear plan to get there. It is not too ambitious to say you want to be the Head of State, but you need to clearly map out the short-term, medium term, and long-term career path to get there.Do not state a career goal with no explanation of why that career is driven by your values.Do not overly use words like “hope” when discussing your plans: “I hope to take on a career in management consulting at a firm like BCG, Bain, or McKinsey.” No. Use clear, confident words like “plan,” “will,” and “intend to.” Because you totally got this! You don’t have to hope.

If you answer all of the following questions, you’ll be well on your way to writing this essay better than half of the people applying to HKS (who aren’t our clients or didn’t find this blog post in time).

Make sure you answer these questions in your Harvard Kennedy School JFK essay:Opening sentence: What is your ultimate long-term career goal? Be as specific as possible and state this upfront. Do not make your essay a scavenger hunt where the AdCom has to sift through several paragraphs to figure out the answer to the question they have posed to you.When it comes to your career goal, what specific 1-3 issues will you work to have a positive impact? On what specific geographic area and/or specific population do you plan to have a positive impact? Access to water in South Asia, equity in education in the Southern US, trans rights in Latin America, voting rights and access in sub-Saharan Africa, the US childcare epidemic, etc. Notice how I’m not just saying vague things like “sustainability,” “microenterprise,” “venture philanthropy,” or “impact investing.” I am listing specific issues, geographies, and populations. This makes your goal realistic, measurable, and ambitious at the same time rather than wishy-washy wishful thinking.What is your immediate career goal after HKS? What role do you want to have? What will you learn in that role? What will you contribute to the organization in that role?What is your mid-term career goal after HKS, such as 10 years after graduation? What will you learn in that role? What will you contribute to the organization in that role?Concluding sentence: Reiterate your enthusiasm to attend HKS and contribute your particular public service and leadership to the world.

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Time is running out for us to help with your Harvard Kennedy School application!

The deadline for HKS applicants to sign up for our Editing Services is
Monday, November 21 at 5 pm Central Time.

Materials will be returned by Tue, Nov 29 at 5 pm Central Time.

Learn more about our Editing Services.

The post Harvard Kennedy School Essay Advice: MPP, MPA, MPA/MC, MPA-ID for 2022 appeared first on The Art of Applying®.

Harvard Kennedy School Application Advice

updated October 19, 2022 | originally written July 13, 2011

Hey there! I’m Kaneisha Grayson. I’m an MPA/MBA alumna of Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School. Since founding this business from my HBS on-campus apartment in 2010, I have spent 12+ years leading a consultant team that has helped 100+ paid clients successfully apply to Harvard Kennedy School.

Below is some clear, actionable advice to help guide you as you work on your 2022 Harvard Kennedy School application.

Time is running out for us to help with your Harvard Kennedy School application!

Hourly Coaching closes to new clients with Dec 1 deadlines on
Monday, October 24, 2022.

Editing Services closes to new clients with Dec 1 deadlines on
Monday, November 14, 2022.

Book a free 15-minute Quick Call with our team to see how we can help.

Book a free Quick CallTable of Contents:What is the required GPA for Harvard Kennedy School?
What is the required GMAT or GRE score for Harvard Kennedy School?
What are the prerequisites for applying to Harvard Kennedy School?
Harvard Kennedy School letters of recommendation
What personal and professional qualities should I highlight in my Harvard Kennedy School application?
Which degree program should I apply to at Harvard Kennedy School?
Quick Overview of Harvard Kennedy School degree programs
Frame your story well.
Writing about your career goals and career accomplishments in your Harvard Kennedy School essays
Show that you have researched Harvard Kennedy School well.
Attend live and virtual Harvard Kennedy School admissions events.
Apply by the 2022 Harvard Kennedy School application deadline
Be sure to apply for Harvard Kennedy School scholarships and fellowships.
Reach out to The Art of Applying® for help with your HKS application.What is the required GPA for Harvard Kennedy School?

Harvard Kennedy School does not have a minimum required GPA for admission.

The most competitive applicants to Harvard Kennedy School have an undergraduate GPA of 3.6 or above.

If your undergraduate GPA is 3.4 or below, or if you have several C’s, D’s, F’s, or W’s, I suggest you write the optional essay to explain your low grades and reassure the Harvard Kennedy School admissions committee that you are prepared for the rigors of the Harvard Kennedy School classroom.

Among our paying clients who were admitted to Harvard Kennedy School, the lowest GPA of an admitted applicant was slightly below 2.5. That client worked with us for the 2021 application season.

Click here to read our articles on writing the Harvard Kennedy School optional essay:

Tips for Writing the Harvard Kennedy School Optional Essay

How to Structure the Optional Essay for Harvard Kennedy School

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What is the required GRE or GMAT score for Harvard Kennedy School?

There is no required GRE or GMAT score for Harvard Kennedy School.

The GRE nor the GMAT is required for the Mid-Career MPA program. However, the GRE or the GMAT is required for all of the two-year programs such as the MPP, MPA-ID, and two-year MPA program.

Read our post about GRE scores of some of our clients who were admitted to Harvard Kennedy School.

Check out our Reviews and Testimonials page. You can see the GRE and GMAT scores of our clients who were admitted to Harvard Kennedy School.

How we help if you are a client:

For each of our Application Accelerator® and Hourly Coaching clients, we give them a customized test score to aim for based on their particular demographic, academic, and professional profile. That way, they know the minimum score they should aim for and don’t waste time trying to get a sky-high score if they don’t need one.

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What are the prerequisites for applying to Harvard Kennedy School?

Each degree program has its own list of prerequisites for admission. For example, for the MPP the pre-requisites are a Bachelor’s degree and some knowledge of college-level economics, statistics, and calculus is preferred. They also prefer 2-3 years of full-time professional work experience, but there’s no hard line saying that you absolutely must have full-time professional work experience.

If you are currently in college and think you may want to pursue a policy or business degree in the future, I suggest you take Statistics, Microeconomics, and Calculus while you are still in college.

If you have already finished college, you can take supplemental courses online or at your local community college before applying.

The prerequisites for the other degree programs are more detailed, so be sure to know what they are and give yourself enough time to meet them.

Click here for a list of prerequisites for Harvard Kennedy School degrees.

How we help if you are a client:

Even if you’ve met the official prerequisites for Harvard Kennedy School, there may still be specific actions you can take to strengthen your particular academic profile. Each client in our Application Accelerator® and Hourly Coaching programs has a Game Plan Call where we suggest specific supplemental courses they should take to strengthen their profile. We don’t just tell you which courses to take; we tell you when to take them as well, so that you can balance which courses to take before you apply, and which courses you can take after you apply.

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Choose your Harvard Kennedy School recommenders wisely.

Choose your three recommenders wisely and make sure they are prepared to write you stellar recommendations.

For MPP applicants, I recommend you having 1-2 professional recommendations, an academic recommendation, and perhaps a recommendation from someone who has supervised you in a public service / volunteer / nonprofit capacity.

Make sure your recommenders know what your degree program is, what qualities HKS is looking for in a candidate, and that they are able to cite specific examples and stories to back up their recommendations of you.

How we help if you are a client:

We are available to edit letters of recommendation if your recommender wants their letter edited or if you have been put in the position of having to write your own letter of recommendation. We do not write letters of recommendation for clients.

During the Game Plan Call (first call after you are a paying client), your Game Plan Coach will help you choose the three best people to serve as recommenders for you. Application Accelerator® and Hourly Coaching clients have access to a recommender packet template and sample letters or recommendation.

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What personal and professional qualities should I highlight in my Harvard Kennedy School application?

You want your essays, resume, short answer responses, and letters of recommendation to highlight the personal, professional, and academic qualities that Harvard Kennedy School values in its applicants.

The qualities that Harvard Kennedy School would like to see highlighted in your application are the following:

demonstrated leadership abilities (at work, school, and in community service)experience working on and leading teamsexperience living and/or working abroada demonstrated commitment to public service (in your full-time job and/or extracurricular/out-of-work activities)openness to providing and receiving feedbackability to handle challenging courseworkthe ability to analyze a problem or situation and draw conclusions and make decisionsa high degree of ethics and integrity

How we help if you are a client:

Potential Application Accelerator® and Hourly Coaching clients are invited to an hour-long Breakthrough Call after their Quick Call.

During the Breakthrough Call, our Breakthrough Coach team will ask you in-depth questions about your personal, academic, and professional background.

The Breakthrough Coach will then verbally summarize their understanding of your profile and your story in a 4-minute recap.

They then pass the recording of that recap on to your dedicated consultant so that your consultant has that context to help you highlight your strengths and your full personal, professional, and academic story throughout your application.

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Which degree program should I apply to at Harvard Kennedy School?

It can be a little confusing keeping all of HKS’ degree programs straight. There’s the MPP, MPA, MC/MPA, MC/MPA Mason Fellows, MPA-ID, and PhDs.

Then, there are all the joint degrees and concurrent degrees to keep track of as well!

While at Harvard Kennedy School, I had friends in every program, and while we are all students at the same school with access to almost all of the same courses, you can have very different academic experiences depending on your degree program.

How we help if you are a client:

Our clients usually know which degree at HKS they want to apply to. However, if there is any confusion about which degree you should apply to, you can ask your dedicated consultant for their advice, submit the question during a group coaching call, or submit it to our private clients-only Q&A Vault.

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How to figure out if you should apply to the MPP, MPA, or MPA-ID program at Harvard Kennedy School:

Some helpful hints on figuring out if you should apply to the MPP or MPA progam at HKS:

If you have 0-7 years of work experience, you should probably apply to the MPP.If you have 0-7 years of work experience and you’re applying to a joint degree at Harvard, you are likely an MPP applicant.If you have 0-7 years of work experience and you’re applying to a joint degree at another school, you might be an MPA applicant.If you have 7 or more years of work experience, you are eligible for the Mid-Career MPA program. However, you’ll be most competitive with around 14 years of full-time professional work experience.If you are an economics genius, look into the MPA-ID (I kid, I kid, but know that it is hard).

Obviously, you should read up on each of the degree programs yourself, speak to current students, have informational interviews with recent alumni, attend admissions events, and decide which Harvard Kennedy School degree is the right for your profile and goals.

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Quick Overview of Harvard Kennedy School Degree ProgramsWhat is the Harvard Kennedy School MPP degree?

The Harvard Kennedy School MPP is the Master in Public Policy degree. The MPP is the most popular degree at Harvard Kennedy School. The HKS MPP has the largest graduating class size of all the degree programs. It is a two-year program with one full year of core classes (one elective each semester) and then all electives the second year.

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What is the Harvard Kennedy School MPA degree?

The MPA (the HKS degree that I have) is the Master in Public Administration. It is also a 2-year program, but is all electives. The MPA is now primarily for non-Harvard concurrent degree students (such as Wharton MBAs, Tuck MBAs, and MIT MBAs) and/or established professionals who already have a Masters in a field that closely resembles MPP coursework.

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What is the Harvard Kennedy School Mid-Career MPA?

The Harvard Kennedy School Mid-Career MPA is an all-elective one-year program for professionals with extensive work experience. You must have at least seven years of full-time work experience, but the most competitive applicants usually have 14 years or more of full-time work experience.

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What is the Harvard Kennedy School Mid-Career MPA Mason Fellows program?

The Mid-Career MPA Mason Fellows program is for established professionals from developing and transitional economies.

You might be unsure if you should apply via the standard Mid-Career MPA or the Mason Fellows program. You aren’t alone!

Read our article “Which Countries Qualify for the Harvard Kennedy School Mid-Career MPA Mason Fellows Program?” to learn more.

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What is the Harvard Kennedy School MPA-ID / MPA in International Development?

The Harvard Kennedy School MPA-ID is intense and highly focused on (you guessed it) international development and economics. Applicants should pay close attention that they fully meet all of the prerequisites for the HKS MPA-ID.

In my company’s experience helping people apply to various degrees, it can be more difficult for a highly competitive applicant to get into the HKS MPA-ID than to even be admitted to Harvard Business School.

Story Time: On several occasions, I have advised joint degree applicants to apply to the MPP rather than the MPA-ID, and they have been admitted to the MBA at HBS but not to the MPA-ID at HKS. I don’t share this to discourage interested and eligible applicants from applying to the MPA-ID. I just urge you to not simply look at the phrase “international development,” and think, “I would love to spend two years focused on international development. That must be the degree for me,” and put yourself at a disadvantage if you are not a strong fit for the program.

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How do I frame my story for the Harvard Kennedy School Admissions Committee?

In your essays and resume, make it very easy for the Adcom to understand why HKS is a great fit for you academically, personally, and professionally.

Connect your academic background to the specific coursework you’ll take at HKS.

Explain the preparation you’ve had thus far that will help you be successful at HKS, the gaps in your education that you plan to fill at HKS, and cite specific courses at HKS that you plan on taking to gain the knowledge you need to move forward in your career.

HKS has a collegial and tight-knit culture. Research the extracurricular activities of the school, and learn about some of the activities you plan to engage in (especially if you plan to be a leader in one of the clubs), and discuss how those will be an important part of your experience if admitted.

Most importantly, discuss your professional experiences thus far and how they have prepared you for making the most of your time at HKS.

How we help if you are a client:

Whether you are an Application Accelerator®, Hourly Coaching, or Editing Services client, our team will help you figure out which of your stories are the most compelling to the Admissions Committee. Then, once you have a first draft, we will help you polish that draft from good to great over several rounds of revision.

Application Accelerator® and Hourly Coaching clients have access to 100+ sample essays and resumes. They can also have their materials live edited during group coaching calls, and learn from the editing and coaching other clients receive during those group coaching calls.

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How do I write about my career goals and career accomplishments in my Harvard Kennedy School application?

Harvard Kennedy School is a professional school. This means that its primary purpose is to prepare people to be leaders in their respective professional fields. The goal is not to pump out a bunch of academics (besides the PhD candidates). Therefore, you need to be able to articulate clearly why you need to attend HKS at this time to achieve your immediate, mid-term, and long-term professional goals. You need to have a clear vision for your career and a map for how HKS can help you achieve that vision. If the Adcom can’t figure out the specific, measurable impact you plan to achieve after leaving HKS, it’s hard for them to give you one of the spots in the class.

How we help if you are a client:

We stress test the stated career goals of all of our clients. We help make sure that our clients’ career goals are clearly articulated rather than vague and trite. We also make sure that our clients’ career paths are sufficiently ambitious while also being realistic and compelling to the Admissions Committee.

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Show that you have researched Harvard Kennedy School well.

Read about the research centers, classes, extracurricular activities, leadership programs, and fellowship programs. SO FEW PEOPLE DO A GOOD JOB OF THIS. If you take the time to read about and understand the various research centers, career resources, courses, and extracurricular activities available at HKS, and then identify the ones that are good fits for you in your application, connecting them all together with your career vision, and your past experiences, you will present a compelling and cohesive case for why you should be admitted.

How we help if you are a client:

You often don’t know what you don’t know. Your dedicated consultant can give you insight into their own experience at Harvard Kennedy School, answer questions you have about what it’s like to be an HKS student and alum, and make suggestions of things you should research further. By having a dedicated consultant who went to Harvard Kennedy School and has helped other applicants such as yourself get into HKS, you can shortcut the extensive process of researching the school from scratch.

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For example, below is a little information about my specific experience at HKS. Each HKS-specific resource is highlighted in bold. The excerpt written below is included to show how many resources there are at HKS to motivate you to do some research, and to demonstrate how specific you should be in your application essays in terms of the ways that the HKS degree will benefit you.

Sample Essay Excerpt about my time at Harvard Kennedy School

While at HKS, I was involved with a number of extracurricular activities and really loved my classes. Some of my favorite classes were Arts of Communication, Agribusiness, Entrepreneurship in the Social Sector, Public Narrative, and Followership. While I was not required to do a thesis to graduate, I did complete a Reading and Research project about Black women and digital entrepreneurship which also tied in nicely with my course Leadership for a Networked World. I was a Women in the Oval Office program participant, which was offered by the Women and Public Policy Program. I also learned a tremendous amount and really enjoyed being a George Leadership Fellow, which is a part of the Center for Public Leadership. I was active in the African and African Diaspora Collaborative (AADC), and attended many of the speeches held in The Forum by the Institute of Politics.

That’s just a taste of the many, many resources at HKS. Show the Adcom that you really intend to go to HKS if admitted, and let them know about the kinds of things you’ll be involved in.

How we help if you are a client:

When editing your essays, our team will ask you lots of probing questions to make sure that you never waste an opportunity to show how strong of a fit for HKS you are. We remove extraneous information that eats up valuable word count of your essay, and help make sure that every word of your essay counts.

Application Accelerator® and Hourly Coaching clients have access to 100+ sample essays and resumes. They can also have their materials live edited during group coaching calls, and learn from the editing and coaching other clients receive during those group coaching calls.

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What courses can I take at Harvard Kennedy School?

Here is a list of HKS courses.

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What are the research centers at Harvard Kennedy School?

Here is a link to the many centers and programs at HKS.

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Attend the Harvard Kennedy School admissions events.

Throughout the year, HKS admissions officers will travel around the country providing information about the school and the application process. Now that we live in a post-pandemic world, there are a plethora of online admissions events as well.

Check to see when the Harvard Kennedy School admissions representatives are coming to your area and be sure to attend the events. The Adcom members do remember people that they meet and interact with at these events. Attending these events provides an opportunity to make an impression, get some great information, and meet other people in your area who are applying.

Attending virtual events are an excellent and convenient way to learn more, connect with the admissions committee, and ask your questions.

Here is the calendar for the admissions events.

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Submit your application by the Harvard Kennedy School application deadline.

You can’t get into a school if you miss the deadline! Make sure that you are 100% clear on when the application for your degree program and any fellowships to which you are applying are due.

The HKS deadline is usually in early December, but it has been as early as late November in some years.

The Harvard Kennedy School application deadline is Thursday, December 1, 2022 at 3 pm Eastern Time.

How we help if you are a client:

Our dedicated consultants help our Application Accelerator® and Hourly Coaching clients stay on track with all the moving parts of the application process. Each client has a private client portal where they can assign themselves to-dos with deadlines and notes, and exchange messages with their consultant.

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What materials are required for the Harvard Kennedy School application?

Having missing materials is not only annoying to the Adcom, it could mean the kiss of death for your application. Get organized and make sure you have all the necessary parts of the application.

The requirements fall into the following categories (hyperlinked to the official Harvard Kennedy School admissions website with the exact information you need):

a submitted online application,payment of the $100 application fee,resume and essaysthree letters of recommendation,official academic transcripts, andstandardized tests: GRE, GMAT, English Proficiency Tests (requirements vary; see online application instructions for details).

Go back to the Table of Contents.

Research and apply for financial aid and fellowships.

Harvard Kennedy School has lots of fellowship money available, but lots of people get admitted with only loans as their financial aid. You can keep your student debt as low as possible by applying for as many fellowships as possible that you are a good fit for.

Here is the website for Harvard Kennedy School financial aid for incoming students.

The Center for Public Leadership has lots of full scholarships that are highly competitive and require a separate application.

How we help if you are a client:

We don’t search for scholarships and fellowships for our clients. However, we help our clients apply to the dozens of Harvard Kennedy School fellowships for which they are eligible by editing their essays to make sure they don’t give their scholarship applications less than their best effort. It can be exhausting to write and revise lots of scholarship essays after completing the entire HKS application, but it’s important to persist!

Go back to the Table of Contents.

Let’s make your grad school dreams come true!

Book a 15-minute Quick Call with our team to see how we can help.

Book your Quick CallReach out to The Art of Applying® for help with your Harvard Kennedy School application.

My team and I would love to help you with your Harvard Kennedy School application. Our Editing Services are available to help with:

essay editing resume editingletters of recommendation editingshort answer editingscholarship essay editing

If you sign up as an Application Accelerator® or Hourly Coaching client, we can help with all of the above and questions like:

Should I apply for a joint degree? If so, which one and to which schools?Which supplemental courses should I take to strengthen my profile? When should I take the courses?Should I choose this recommender or this other one?Which of the following stories would be best to address this essay prompt?

Be sure to return to this post as you work on your Harvard Kennedy School application. My team and I will update this article with more tips, advice, and guidance as we approach the application deadline.

Go back to the Table of Contents.

Time is running out for us to help with your Harvard Kennedy School application!

Hourly Coaching closes to new clients with Dec 1 deadlines on
Monday, October 24, 2022.

Editing Services closes to new clients with Dec 1 deadlines on
Monday, November 14, 2022.

Book a free 15-minute Quick Call with our team to see how we can help.

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Harvard Kennedy School Application Advice for 2022

Note: As of October 18, 2022, the content in this article is currently being updated by Kaneisha Grayson.
originally written July 13, 2011

As the founder of The Art of Applying® and an MPA/MBA alumna of Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, I have spent 12+ years leading a consultant team that has helped 100+ paid clients successfully apply to Harvard Kennedy School.

Below is some clear, actionable advice to help guide you as you work on your 2022 Harvard Kennedy School application for the MPP, MPA, MPA Mid-Career, MPA/MC Mason Fellow, MPA-ID, and the MPP/MBA, MPA/MBA, and MPA-ID/MBA joint degree applications.

Be sure to return to this post as you work on your HKS application. My team and I will update this article with more tips, advice, and guidance as we approach the application deadline.

Want our expert guidance with your
Harvard Kennedy School application?

Hourly Coaching closes to new clients with Dec 1 deadlines on
Monday, October 24, 2022.

Editing Services closes to new clients with Dec 1 deadlines on
Monday, November 14, 2022.

Book a free 15-minute Quick Call with our team to see how we can help.

Book a free Quick CallSkip to the Harvard Kennedy School application advice that matters most to you:What is the required GPA for Harvard Kennedy School?What personal and professional qualities should I highlight in my Harvard Kennedy School application?Which degree program should I apply to at Harvard Kennedy School?When is the 2022 Harvard Kennedy School application deadline?What is the required GPA for Harvard Kennedy School?

Harvard Kennedy School does not have a minimum required GPA for admission.

The most competitive applicants to Harvard Kennedy School have an undergraduate GPA of 3.6 or above.

If your undergraduate GPA is 3.4 or below, or if you have several C’s, D’s, F’s, or W’s, I suggest you write the optional essay to explain your low grades and reassure the Harvard Kennedy School admissions committee that you are prepared for the rigors of the Harvard Kennedy School classroom.

Among our paying clients who were admitted to Harvard Kennedy School, the lowest GPA of an admitted applicant was slightly below 2.5. That client worked with us for the 2021 application season.

Click here to read our articles on writing the Harvard Kennedy School optional essay:

Tips for Writing the Harvard Kennedy School Optional Essay

How to Structure the Optional Essay for Harvard Kennedy School

What personal and professional qualities should I highlight in my Harvard Kennedy School application?

You want your essays, resume, short answer responses, and letters of recommendation to highlight the personal, professional, and academic qualities that Harvard Kennedy School values in its applicants.

The qualities that Harvard Kennedy School would like to see highlighted in your application are the following:

demonstrated leadership abilities (at work, school, and in community service)experience working on and leading teamsexperience living and/or working abroada demonstrated commitment to public service (in your full-time job and/or extracurricular/out-of-work activities)openness to providing and receiving feedbackability to handle challenging courseworkthe ability to analyze a problem or situation and draw conclusions and make decisionsa high degree of ethics and integrityWhich degree program should I apply to at Harvard Kennedy School?

It can be a little confusing keeping all of HKS’ degree programs straight. There’s the MPP, MPA, MC/MPA, MC/MPA Mason Fellows, MPA-ID, and PhDs.

Then, there are all the joint degrees and concurrent degrees to keep track of as well!

While at Harvard Kennedy School, I had friends in every program, and while we are all students at the same school with access to almost all of the same courses, you can have very different academic experiences depending on your degree program.

How to figure out if you should apply to the MPP, MPA, or MPA-ID program at Harvard Kennedy School:

Some helpful hints on figuring out if you should apply to the MPP or MPA progam at HKS:

If you have 0-7 years of work experience, you’re probably looking at the MPP.If you have 0-7 years of work experience and you’re applying to a joint degree at Harvard, you’re probably an MPP applicant.If you have 0-7 years of work experience and you’re applying to a joint degree at another school, you might be an MPA applicant.If you have 7 or more years of work experience, look into the Mid-Career MPA program.If you are an economics genius, look into the MPA-ID (I kid, I kid, but know that it is hard).

Obviously, you should read up on each of the degree programs yourself, speak to current students, have informational interviews with recent alumni, attend admissions events, and decide which Harvard Kennedy School degree is the right for your profile and goals.

What is the Harvard Kennedy School MPP degree?

The Harvard Kennedy School MPP is the Master in Public Policy degree. The MPP is the most popular degree at Harvard Kennedy School. The HKS MPP has the largest graduating class size of all the degree programs. It is a two-year program with one full year of core classes (one elective each semester) and then all electives the second year.

What is the Harvard Kennedy School MPA degree?

The MPA (the HKS degree that I have) is the Master in Public Administration. It is also a 2-year program, but is all electives. The MPA is now primarily for non-Harvard concurrent degree students (such as Wharton MBAs, Tuck MBAs, and MIT MBAs) and/or established professionals who already have a Masters in a field that closely resembles MPP coursework.

What is the Harvard Kennedy School Mid-Career MPA?

The Harvard Kennedy School Mid-Career MPA is an all-elective one-year program for professionals with extensive work experience. You must have at least seven years of full-time work experience, but the most competitive applicants usually have 14 years or more of full-time work experience.

What is the Harvard Kennedy School Mid-Career MPA Mason Fellows program?

The Mid-Career MPA Mason Fellows program is for established professionals from developing and transitional economies.

You might be unsure if you should apply via the standard Mid-Career MPA or the Mason Fellows program. You aren’t alone!

Read our article “Which Countries Qualify for the Harvard Kennedy School Mid-Career MPA Mason Fellows Program?” to learn more.

What is the Harvard Kennedy School MPA-ID / MPA in International Development?

The Harvard Kennedy School MPA-ID is intense and highly focused on (you guessed it) international development and economics. Applicants should pay close attention that they fully meet all of the prerequisites for the HKS MPA-ID.

In my company’s experience helping people apply to various degrees, it can be more difficult for a highly competitive applicant to get into the HKS MPA-ID than to even be admitted to Harvard Business School.

Story Time: On several occasions, I have advised joint degree applicants to apply to the MPP rather than the MPA-ID, and they have been admitted to the MBA at HBS but not to the MPA-ID at HKS. I don’t share this to discourage interested and eligible applicants from applying to the MPA-ID. I just urge you to not simply look at the phrase “international development,” and think, “I would love to spend two years focused on international development. That must be the degree for me,” and put yourself at a disadvantage if you are not a strong fit for the program.

Know and meet the prerequisites.

Each degree program has its own list of prerequisites for admission. For example, for the MPP the pre-requisites are a Bachelor’s degree and some knowledge of college-level economics, statistics, and calculus is preferred. They also prefer 2-3 years of full-time professional work experience, but there’s no hard line saying that you absolutely must have full-time professional work experience. If you are currently in college and think you want to pursue an MPP in the future, I suggest you take the aforementioned classes. If you have already finished college, you can take supplemental courses online or at your local community college before applying. The prerequisites for the other degree programs are more detailed, so be sure to know what they are and give yourself enough time to meet them. Click here for a list of prerequisites for Harvard Kennedy School degrees.

Submit all required materials.

Having missing materials is not only annoying to the Adcom, it could mean the kiss of death. Get organized and make sure you have all the necessary parts of the application. The requirements for all applicants to HKS are:

a submitted online application,payment of the application fee,essays,three letters of recommendation,official academic transcripts, andstandardized tests: GRE, GMAT, TOEFL (requirements vary; see online application instructions for details).

Pitch yourself to the Admissions Committee.

In your essays and resume, make it very easy for the Adcom to understand why HKS is a great fit for you academically, personally, and professionally. Connect your academic background to the coursework you’ll take at HKS. Explain the preparation you’ve had thus far that will help you be successful at HKS, the gaps in your education that you plan to fill at HKS, and cite specific courses at HKS that you plan on taking to gain the knowledge you need to move forward in your career. HKS has a collegial and tight-knit culture. Research the extracurricular activities of the school, and learn about some of the activities you plan to engage in (especially if you plan to be a leader in one of the clubs), and discuss how those will be an important part of your experience if admitted. Most importantly, discuss your professional experiences thus far and how they have prepared you for making the most of your time at HKS.

Have a clear and compelling vision for your career.

HKS is a professional school. This means that its primary purpose is to prepare people to be leaders in their respective professional fields. The goal is not to pump out a bunch of academics (besides the PhD candidates). Therefore, you need to be able to articulate clearly why you need to attend HKS at this time to achieve your professional goals. You need to have a clear vision for your career and a map for how HKS can help you achieve that vision. If the Adcom can’t figure out what you want to be after leaving HKS, it’s hard for them to give you one of the spots in the class.

Show that you have done your research on the school.

Read about the research centers, classes, extracurricular activities, leadership programs, and fellowship programs. SO FEW PEOPLE DO A GOOD JOB OF THIS. If you take the time to read about and understand the various research centers, career resources, courses, and extracurricular activities available at HKS, and then identify the ones that are good fits for you in your application, connecting them all together with your career vision, and your past experiences, you will present a compelling and cohesive case for why you should be admitted. For example, below is a little information about my specific experience at HKS. Each HKS-specific resource is highlighted in bold. (Note: This is NOT a sample essay or anything like that. I am just showing how many resources there are at HKS to motivate you to do some research.)

While at HKS, I was involved with a number of extracurricular activities and really loved my classes. Some of my favorite classes were Arts of Communication, Agribusiness, Entrepreneurship in the Social Sector, Public Narrative, and Followership. While I was not required to do a thesis to graduate, I did complete a Reading and Research project about Black women and digital entrepreneurship which also tied in nicely with my course Leadership for a Networked World. I was a Women in the Oval Office program participant, which was offered by the Women and Public Policy Program. I also learned a tremendous amount and really enjoyed being a George Leadership Fellow, which is a part of the Center for Public Leadership. I was active in the African and African Diaspora Collaborative (AADC), and attended many of the speeches held in The Forum by the Institute of Politics.

That’s just a taste of the many, many resources at HKS. Show the Adcom that you really intend to go to HKS if admitted, and let them know about the kinds of things you’ll be involved in. Here is a list of HKS courses. Here is a link to the many centers and programs at HKS.

Choose your recommenders wisely and make sure they are prepared to write you great recommendations. Make sure your three recommenders are well-equipped to write you a stellar recommendation. For MPP applicants, I recommend you having 1-2 professional recommendations, an academic recommendation, and perhaps a recommendation from someone who has supervised you in a public service / volunteer / nonprofit capacity. Make sure your recommenders know what your degree program is, what qualities HKS is looking for in a candidate, and that they are able to cite specific examples and stories to back up their recommendations of you.

Attend an admissions event.

Throughout the year, HKS admissions officers will travel around the country providing information about the school and the application process. Check to see when they are coming to your area and be sure to attend. The Adcom members do remember people, and it’s an opportunity to make an impression, get some great information, and meet other people in your area who are applying. Here is the calendar for the admissions events.

Submit your application by the Harvard Kennedy School application deadline.

You can’t get into a school if you miss the deadline! Make sure that you are 100% clear on when the application for your degree program and any fellowships to which you are applying are due.

The HKS deadline is usually in early December, but it has been as early as late November in some years.

The Harvard Kennedy School application deadline is Thursday, December 1, 2022 at 3 pm Eastern Time.

Research and apply for financial aid and fellowships.

Graduate school is expensive! HKS has lots of fellowship money available, but lots of people get admitted with only loans as their financial aid. Make sure you keep your student debt as low as possible by applying for as many fellowships as possible that you are a good fit for. Here is the website for Harvard Kennedy School financial aid for incoming students. Whether you’re working through the process alone, with a friend, or with a consultant, you want to be well prepared in putting together your application to Harvard Kennedy School.

The post Harvard Kennedy School Application Advice for 2022 appeared first on The Art of Applying®.

How many grad schools should I apply to?

The grad school application process can be complex and confusing. Accordingly, one of the earliest questions applicants grapple with is how many grad schools to apply to.

Why it’s important to know how many grad schools to apply to

Whether you are applying to business school, policy school, law school, or a different graduate degree, it’s important that you not apply to too few schools nor too many schools.

For example, if you apply to too few grad schools, you risk not being accepted anywhere. On the other hand, if you apply to too many grad schools, you risk exhausting yourself, and wasting time and money. Furthermore, when you apply to too many schools, you also have a high chance of submitting low quality applications just to get them all done.

We advise our clients on how many grad schools to apply to.

At The Art of Applying®, we have a proprietary calculator that we built in-house. It gives each of our clients a customized number of schools that we recommend they apply to. This number is based on their target degree, professional goals, GPA, practice or real test scores (if available), age, and other demographic factors.

Having this clear number of recommended schools helps our clients feel secure that if they submit high quality applications to the recommended number of schools, they have a strong chance of being admitted to at least one of their target grad schools.

But what if you aren’t one of our clients, or you want a rough idea of how many schools to apply to before you are a client? 

Use the quick and handy guide below as a starting point.

Factors that should make you consider applying to more grad schools

Before we jump into the guide, I wanted to provide a few notes on how to understand the ranges presented.

The recommended range of applications for each graduate degree is affected by several factors.

The more reach or dream grad schools on your list, the more schools you may want to apply to. You should balance out the competitive schools with lower acceptance rates with schools that are match schools for you, schools at which your GPA and test scores are in line with the median figures for admitted students.

Furthermore, the lower your GPA and/or your test scores, the higher the number of schools I recommend you apply to.

Therefore, choose a number of schools to apply to from within the range based on the number of highly competitive schools you plan to apply to, and the competitiveness of your profile for the schools to which you are applying.

Guideline for # of Grad Schools to Apply to:

I’ve included guidelines for various degrees. If you don’t see your degree below, you can choose the most similar degree. You can also leave us a comment below the post, so we can advise.

Education (M.Ed and similar degrees): 4-7

Policy School (MPP, MPA, and similar degrees):  4-7

Policy School Executive / Mid-Career (MPA/MC, EMPA, and similar degrees): 2-4

Business School (MBA): 6-10

Business School (EMBA): 2-5

Law School (JD): 8-14

PhD: 8-14

Joint Degree: 7 – 14 (counting each application separately)

What if I’m applying to a joint degree?

It’s common for our clients to combine two degrees for a joint degree or concurrent degree. In that case, I recommend you choose a number from each degree. Then, add the two numbers together. After that, subtract 2 to 3 schools from the list.

For example, let’s say I have a low GPA, and I’m applying to highly competitive MBA and MPP programs.

I’d take the highest number from each range: 7 for policy school, and 10 from business school. That’s 17 total.

For just about any degree, 17 schools is too many to apply to. Therefore, I’d subtract 3 schools, and end up with 14 schools total.

We can help you figure out how many schools to apply to.

The method and guidelines above are nowhere near as precise as the calculator we use in-house with our clients. We can give you precise, expert, and encouraging guidance on how many schools to apply to, as well as which schools to apply to, what to write about, how to tell your story, and more.

So far this season, we are working with clients from all over the world — from South Korea to San Francisco.

Some of our clients are applying to just three or four schools. Others have a long list of 15+ schools they are interested in that we are helping them narrow down.

We’d love to add you to The Art of Applying community of dreamers, doers, and changemakers by working with you on your applications to business school, policy school, law school, and more.

If you’d like to explore becoming one of our clients, we’d love to have you complete a quick 5-minute Applicant Profile to tell us about yourself, so we can invite you to a free 15-minute Quick Call.

Click here to get started.

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When to submit the Scholarship Reconsideration Letter to Chicago Harris and Harvard Kennedy School

Need help negotiating financial aid for your policy degree? We’ve got you covered! Our client was admitted to U. Chicago Harris and wanted help sending financial aid appeal / scholarship reconsideration letters. Watch the video to see our expert consultants’ replies!

Book a Quick Call to see how we can help you with your grad school admissions journey!

In this video:

0:00 Intro

0:51 Applicant asks: When should you apply for financial aid?

2:17 Advice: Wait for the other offers first

02:59 Consider these things when building your negotiations argument

03:42 About U. Chicago Harris’ scholarship reconsideration form

05:05 Next steps in the process for the applicant

Looking for more answers to your grad school application questions? Book a 15-minute Quick Call with our team to see if we can help!

Other videos you will find useful:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWjhkMI3gQNmhjvq3hsKkgg04wifEGLLG 

Don’t miss out on valuable information to help you with your application process! Subscribe to The Art of Applying®’s YouTube channel!

Let’s make your grad school dreams come true!

Book a 15-minute Quick Call with our team to see how we can help.

Book your Quick Call

The post When to submit the Scholarship Reconsideration Letter to Chicago Harris and Harvard Kennedy School appeared first on The Art of Applying.

Client Case Study: Abi

Columbia Business School Merit Fellow ($120k) with a 2.8 GPA | Get into Columbia MBA with a Low GPA

After graduating from an Ivy League university, our client Abi* (*name changed for anonymity) started her career in the social impact space.  With a network of peers who had attended or wanted to attend MBA programs, Abi knew that she eventually wanted to go to business school too. When she decided to start her application process at 30 years old, she felt behind and was concerned that her 2.8 undergrad GPA would hold her back—even though it was from a prestigious school.

Abi was involved with some pre-MBA programs when something happened that changed her entire application experience. Abi shared, “Three months into these [pre-MBA] programs I was involved in, the pandemic hit and so everything went virtual. I just had no idea how I was going to apply to business school in a pandemic, without being able to visit any of the schools and narrow down my choices. I was just feeling stressed. I was feeling out of my element.” 

Having come across The Art of Applying® on social media years before and kept up with us through our blog and emails, Abi knew where to turn for help. When the time came, she signed up for a Breakthrough Call with our team. 

Abi shared some perspective on her Breakthrough Call experience. “It really was great to be pushed to think about those critical questions about where I am but at the same time I didn’t feel like I was being told, ‘Oh, you’re definitely not going to get in.’ I was encouraged, supported, and I was given tools to think about how to get myself ready to apply.”

After her Breakthrough Call, Abi knew she was ready to sign up for an Application Intervention®. An Application Intervention® is a 1-on-1, live-editing session with our CEO and founder, Kaneisha Grayson. Abi signed up for a 90-minute session in which she received live feedback on her essays and application materials. With Kaneisha’s feedback, she reworked her materials and confidently sent off her applications.

With her edited materials, Abi was invited to interview with 6 of the 7 schools that she applied to! Abi was so happy with her Application Intervention® experience that she decided to sign up for Hourly Coaching to help her prepare for interviews at her top two choices. One of the interviews that we helped her with was Columbia University and that decision certainly paid off. Abi is now celebrating not only an acceptance to Columbia but a $120,000 scholarship, and we couldn’t be happier for her!

Regarding her time working with us, Abi shared, “I would not be where I am without the support that [Kaneisha] and [the] team gave me, so I just want to thank you so much. It’s been an amazing journey.”

Start Date: December 2020 | End Date: June 2021

Applicant InformationAge: 30Background: African descentGPA: 2.8GMAT: 690Work experience: 10 years in social impactUndergraduate: Ivy League

Acceptances

Columbia Business School

Scholarships

Columbia Business School: $120,000Notable Quotes

Abi shares her concerns about making the most of her Application Intervention® call:

“I actually was nervous about the timing, because I knew I wanted to have it early enough compared to when the deadline was. My fears were actually more [like], ‘Will I be able to maximize this 90 minutes? Am I close enough to a good enough draft so that [Kaneisha] could give me the best feedback I needed to be able to finish my application?’ From a financial standpoint, my parents are not supporting me through any of this; it’s all my own money. So I was just like what has to go [from my budget] in order for me to be able to afford to pay for this? I had to do that calculation, and so there was a stress there around what am I not gonna be able to do for the next couple of months.”

Abi reflects on the perspective her 90-minute Application Intervention® gave her:

“Understanding what I needed to do to improve my essays. Watching [Kaneisha] live edit with me and seeing [her] say, ‘This is what is going to resonate with the ad comms teams. Phrase it like this.’ Watching an essay go from like ‘ehhhh’ to ‘Oh, that really POPS! That stands out, that’s going to really capture their attention.’ I needed my essays to do that to balance everything else out. So just literally seeing a transformation of my written content in the time we were working together was so significant that it gave me confidence… Literally [I was] seeing the improvements in real-time.”

Abi shares her thought process on signing up for Hourly Coaching to get additional help with preparing for interviews:

“Once I got interviews I knew that I just wanted to get some support for the [two interviews] that I really wanted to hone in on in particular. One of the two was Columbia. There was a really exciting opportunity just to prepare for that given the timing that I had for when it was scheduled. I wanted to just get some coaching and feedback on how to prepare, practice, and get live feedback [on things like] how long were my answers, do they make sense, was I being organized. That was the kind of feedback I was getting in real time.”

What Abi would say to people who are waiting until they achieve the perfect GMAT score before reaching out for application help:

“I would say, please don’t wait until your test is ready to reach out. Please don’t do that. It is so important to be multitasking in the business school application process… The business school application process is holistic. It takes into account your essays, they are really important. It’s not just about the GMAT. They’re not just looking for GMAT robots who can spit out a perfect score. If you can’t interview well or you can’t convey why that school or you can’t share why you want to get an MBA in the first place and what your goals are afterwards, and how are you going to leverage it [it will hurt your chances]. If you don’t spend the time to balance studying with preparing for those other aspects you really short-change your opportunity to show yourself as a holistically strong applicant. Balance both and allow for the coaching and the time that it takes to build an overall really solid application.”

Want to have a success story like Abi’s?
Whether you’re concerned about a low GPA like Abi was or just need some perspective on your chances of getting into your dream school, we can help you perfect your application. Learn more by booking a Quick Call with our team.

Let’s make your grad school dreams come true!

Book a 15-minute Quick Call with our team to see how we can help.

Book your Quick Call

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