{"id":25765,"date":"2014-10-02T15:56:28","date_gmt":"2014-10-02T22:56:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=25765"},"modified":"2014-10-02T15:57:37","modified_gmt":"2014-10-02T22:57:37","slug":"harvard-kennedy-school-2015-application-essay-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/harvard-kennedy-school-2015-application-essay-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Harvard Kennedy School 2015 Application Essay Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Harvard_Khariv_Oksana\"<\/a>The HKS application serves applicants to the MPP and the various MPA programs (PhD applicants use the Harvard GSAS application). The essays discussed below are for the MPP<\/strong> and the two-year MPA<\/strong> applications (essay questions are different for the MPA\/ID and mid-career MPA applications).<\/span><\/p>\n

HKS seeks well-rounded master\u2019s students \u2013 people with proven academic success, strong leadership<\/a> and career potential, and \u201ccommitment to advancing the public interest\u201d (quoting the dean). The school also wants the student body to be diverse. Your application overall will address these factors; the essays provide a valuable opportunity to underscore through specific detail how you meet these criteria and will be a unique contributor. Perhaps more important, use the essays to weave together these elements into a coherent story\/presentation.<\/span><\/p>\n

My tips are in blue below.<\/span> <\/em><\/p>\n

The Harvard Kennedy School motto, echoing the President for whom the School is named, is \u201cAsk what you can do.\u201d Please share with the Admissions Committee your plans to create positive change through your leadership and service. (500 word limit)<\/em><\/p>\n

This is in essence a goals question. I suggest a professional focus, though it could also include non-work plans. Three keys to making this essay work: (1) In describing your plans\/goals, clarify what \u201cpositive change\u201d looks like to you \u2013 it\u2019s easy to forget that it looks different to different people. (2) Discuss practical aspects \u2013 how<\/em> you\u2019ll execute those plans, focusing on your anticipated leadership and sense of service. (3) Root the plans in your experience, to lend credibility to what you say you will <\/em>do in the future<\/a> (easy to say, after all, but much more believable if you have a relevant track record).<\/span><\/p>\n

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

The adcom is clearly looking for applicants who will use this degree productively to make a difference. In a nutshell, in this essay, explain how you\u2019ll do that. Go with the concept inferred by the word \u201cpathway\u201d \u2013 a way to get where you want to go. Resist the common (and understandable) impulse to list everything wonderful about the program. Rather, discuss a few or several elements that are most important to you and will, in practical terms<\/strong>, help you to pursue your goals. <\/span><\/p>\n

(Optional)<\/strong> If you have any concerns about your prior academic background, or if you believe the Admissions Committee may have concerns, please give a brief explanation of your performance in college, or your standardized test scores. (750 word limit)<\/em><\/p>\n

This optional essay question<\/a> specifically instructs you to write the optional essay only if there are potential concerns about your prior academic or test performance. If you do need to use it for that purpose, write a succinct, straightforward explanation \u2013 although they give you 750 words, a paragraph will often suffice. Don\u2019t be defensive or evasive, just tell it straight. If you have evidence that the under-performance does not reflect your true ability, add a sentence or two stating that point with the evidence<\/strong> (e.g., maybe you did poorly overall in college, but in your last semester earned straight A\u2019s in advanced courses).<\/span><\/p>\n

Deadline:<\/strong> December 2, 2014<\/p>\n

\"Grad<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Cindy<\/a> By Cindy Tokumitsu<\/a>, author and co-author of numerous ebooks, articles, and special reports, including <\/em><\/em>Why MBA<\/a> and <\/em><\/em>Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Selecting the Right One<\/a>. Cindy has advised hundreds of successful applicants in her fifteen years with Accepted.com.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Related Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Leadership in Admissions<\/a>
\n\u2022 4 Ways to Show How You\u2019ll Contribute in the Future<\/a>
\n\u2022 How to Prove Character Traits in Essays<\/a><\/p>\n

Accepted.com's experienced admissions consultants<\/a> can help you create the most impressive application possible with comprehensive packages<\/a>, <\/i><\/b>or provide targeted assistance from picking perfect programs<\/a> to designing a dazzling resume<\/a>, constructing engaging essays<\/a>, or preparing for intense interview<\/a>s<\/a>\u2026and more! Accepted.com has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top MBA programs since 1994 \u2013 we know what works and what doesn't, so contact us<\/a> to get started now!<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on the Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog<\/a>, the official blog of Accepted.com.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The HKS application serves applicants to the MPP and the various MPA programs (PhD applicants use the Harvard GSAS application). The essays discussed below are for the MPP and the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,6,1,939,775,113,243],"tags":[812,844,90,621,267,1046,262,811,100,1280],"class_list":["post-25765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-current-events","category-uncategorized","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-applications","category-blog","tag-advice","tag-application-deadlines","tag-application-essay","tag-application-essays","tag-deadlines","tag-essay-advice","tag-essay-questions","tag-essay-tips","tag-harvard","tag-how-to-write-an-applications-essay","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25765"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25767,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25765\/revisions\/25767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}