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November 19, 2021

Harvard Kennedy School MPP and MPA2 Application Essay Tips [2021 – 2022]

The essays discussed below are for the  MPP and the two-year MPA  applications. (The MPA/ID and the MC/MPA and Mason’s program have different prompts.)

HKS seeks accomplished, well-rounded master’s students – people with proven academic success, strong leadership and career potential, and “commitment to advancing the public interest.” 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 significant contributor during the program and later in your career. Most important, use the essays to weave together these elements into a coherent story and presentation – one that clarifies your path to your public interest goals.

Further, HKS seeks students who embrace change. The website notes, “Our programs will change you. They are changing the world through the outstanding leaders and dynamic ideas that come out of HKS.” This “change” theme is echoed in the mandatory essay questions. Keep this emphasis on change on your radar as you work through your essays. Showing you can change and grow strengthens your credibility for goals that involve driving change externally – i.e., you are not just talking the talk, but walking the walk.

Harvard Kennedy School 2021-2022 MPP & MPA application essay questions

Mpp and mpa mandatory personal history essay.

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 is a lovely opportunity to round out your profile and to show unique and distinctive aspects of your life experience – approach this essay with pride and passion. It has potential to give deeper color to the whole application.

I’ll start with some don’ts: Don’t write a mini autobiography. Don’t talk about your love of travel. Don’t fear to present topics that are often considered no-no’s, like religion and politics (there is of course a right way and a wrong way to discuss such things). Don’t drench the discussion in buzz words and abstractions (the topic of “diversity” has a tendency to bring these out).

Select your topics – anywhere from one to three, as more than that will be too many for meaningful discussion – and root each one in anecdote and example. Consider topics that will  both   expand and enhance your profile  and   support (directly or indirectly) your “case” for admission delivered in the other essays. Add a brief reflection about the contribution, as it’s not the fact that you have a certain type of diversity; it’s the insight and perspective you’ve gained from it that ultimately make it meaningful to the adcom and future classmates.

MPP and MPA expectations essay

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

The adcom is clearly seeking out people who are able to grow and change – in this case, in response to a failure of some sort. That requires understanding one’s shortcomings related to not meeting expectations. Choose a specific example/story (if well in the past, make sure it’s weighty to justify the distance) and tell the story. And, whose expectations? It could be someone from any realm: a friend, a colleague or work superior, a professor, etc. – or you. “How it changed you” can be part of the story – ideally include some action taken as a result of the change, not just “realized” or “understood” or “broadened perspective.” 

MPP and MPA perspectives essay

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)

There’s that word again – change. This time, it’s about a time you changed in response to an experience or interactions (expanding your point of view is also a form of change). And, again, approach the essay straightforwardly, as a story, narrating what happened and your growth as a result of it. If possible, include some action taken as a result of the change, beyond “merely” increasing your understanding in some way. 

MPP and MPA JFK 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)

This is essentially a vision-and-goals question. I suggest a professional focus, though in some cases it could also include non-work plans. Three keys to making this essay work:

• In describing your plans/goals, clarify what “positive change” means to you – it’s easy to forget that it means different things to different people. (I see a lot of drafts of these and other essays talking about making change without any clear idea of what constructive change means to that person.) And cite specific impacts you intend to deliver through your service.  Make it concrete.  These results need not be comprehensive, “save the world” level changes – it’s more realistic, more credible, and probably more interesting to the reader to discuss changes to a given corner of the world, or segment of population, or issue. Show your engagement with and knowledge of the region or issue by employing anecdote and detail.
• Discuss practical aspects – how you envision executing those plans in real terms, focusing on your anticipated leadership and sense of service. Of course, you needn’t have all the answers – that’s part of what the program will help you with.
• Since the question asks you to portray how you’ll do the above “through your public leadership and service,” root the plans in your experience to lend credibility to what you say you will do in the future. Weave in brief examples of public leadership and/or service as a basis for your future efforts.

Essay for MPP applicants

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)  

You’ve delineated your career vision and plant in the JFK essay. Based on these goals, what are your relevant distinctive abilities and your skills gaps? Don’t just cite these facts; provide brief examples or anecdotes of at least some and make specific how they relate to your goals. It’s an opportunity to strategically showcase some of your experience. Finally, describe how the MPP program will enhance your existing abilities and fill in the gaps – always in the context of your goals, keeping in mind the practical nature of the program: how it will help you leverage your strengths and gain requisite skills/knowledge to effect desired change.

Essay for two-year MPA applicants

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)

Here too, your goals cited in the JFK essay will be the starting point: they create the need to learn certain things and the conditions to benefit from certain opportunities. So, first, identify the gaps in learning that you must fill to realize your goals and also the opportunities that would be helpful in realizing your goals (such as access to certain types of people or challenge to move past reflexive thinking). Then  detail how the HKS program meets these needs and offers these opportunities . This “how” can include all manner of things about the program, depending on your needs: curriculum structure and/or content, professors, special programs, classmates, extracurricular clubs/programs, partner groups/programs, etc. The key is to be specific and to link the elements you cite to your goals, learning needs, and/or broader professional growth and development.

Optional essay question (MPP & MPA)

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)

This optional essay question specifically instructs you to write the essay only if there are concerns about your background. If you do need to use it, write a succinct, straightforward explanation. If you have evidence that academic under-performance does not reflect your true ability, add a sentence stating that point with the evidence (e.g., maybe you did poorly overall in college, but in your last semester earned straight A’s).

Harvard Kennedy School 2021-2022 MPP & MPA2 application deadline

Source: Harvard Kennedy School website

***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions and deadlines.***

Related Resources:

• 5 Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Grad School Statement of Purpose , a free guide
• Harvard Kennedy School: An Interview with Admissions Director Matt Clemons , a podcast episode
• Different Dimensions of Diversity , a podcast episode

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The Art of Applying®

MBA Admissions Consulting | MPP & MPA Admissions Consulting | Harvard Application Advice

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

posted on November 16, 2022

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.

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.

What is the Harvard Kennedy School 2022 deadline?

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

Which essays are required for each HKS degree application?

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.

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 rate
• Having 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 class
• Coming 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 disabled
• Being a queer person
• Being trans or having a non-conforming gender identity
• Being a person of color
• Having experienced homelessness or food insecurity during your lifetime
• Growing up low-income
• Growing up very wealthy
• Growing up closely related to a person of prominence, fame, or a public figure
• Having served in public office
• Having achieved outstanding business accomplishments
• Having competed in athletics, chess, or related activities on a national or global level
• Having a neurodivergence such as ADHD, autism, epilepsy, Tourette Syndrome (TS), or OCD—whether diagnosed in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood
• Growing up in a single-parent household
• Growing up as an adopted child or foster child
• Growing up with adopted siblings or foster siblings
• Growing up with siblings with special needs
• Growing up with a parent who is an addict 
• Growing up with a parent who has serious mental health issues
• Acknowledging and overcoming addiction
• Discovering and navigating mental health issues
• Growing up across different states and/or countries
• Being a conservative person who plans to attend a liberal- and progressive-leaning school—or vice versa
• Navigating grief after the loss of a loved one
• Being 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 Contents

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

• Who had the expectation of you?
• (optional) How was the expectation communicated to you?
• What were the internal obstacles to meeting the expectation? 
• What were the external obstacles to meeting the expectation?
• 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 work
• Letting down your partner, family member, or friend in your personal life
• Not meeting your own expectations at work, school, or toward a personal goal

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 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?
• 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?

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.
• 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:

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:

• Spend 1-3 sentences discussing each of the factors that led you to HKS.
• What kind of organization would you like to work at?
• What will you learn here?
• What will you contribute here?
• State the specific skills and/or subject matter learnings you would gain in those classes that would help you achieve your career goals.

Additional tips for the HKS Career Goals Essay:

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.

What is the prompt for the Biographical Profile?

In 150 words or fewer, provide a biographical profile. Your résumé 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 résumé 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…)

• 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.

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 Sentence
• Discuss 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 Sentence

On 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.

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:

• What were the requirements of you in this role?
• What were the 1-4 positive impacts you were able to have in this role?
• 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.

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:

• Financing 
• Managing limited resources
• Optimizing processes to maximize limited resources
• Decreasing costs
• Increasing output
• Decreasing negative externalities
• Increasing positive externalities

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. 

Yes! We are accepting HKS application materials for Rush Editing.

Review Deadlines & Turnaround Times: Click Here

Good News! We’re still accepting materials for editing with a quick turnaround for December 1–15 deadlines.

Important: The final deadline to submit materials is Tuesday, November 29, at 9 PM CT.

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Application FAQs: Essays

Essays are a critical component of your application. They allow you to tell the Admissions Committee more about your personal history and experiences, professional aspirations, and commitment to public service. We want to know who you are and why you are interested in pursuing a master’s degree at Harvard Kennedy School—and essays are the best way for us to gather this information.

Below, you’ll find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions we receive about essays.

What essays are required as part of the application for admission?

If you are applying to a joint or concurrent degree program, you will need to submit essays for the HKS degree program you are applying to, as well as the joint or concurrent degree program essay .

How strict are the word limits?

Our application will not prevent you from submitting essays that surpass the stated word limits, but we strongly recommend that you stay as close to the word limits as possible. Being concise is important in policy writing, and this is an opportunity to demonstrate that ability to the Admissions Committee.  

Is there a particular format I should follow?

Essays should be typed, uploaded, and labeled with the appropriate topic. We advise that you upload all documents as PDFs. We don’t have a font preference, but your essays should be easy to read.

Are there any sample essays I can review as I prepare to write my essays?

We want to ensure that the essays you are submitting are wholly your own and authentic to your experiences. For that reason, we do not have sample essays to provide you. We encourage you to:

• Be authentic and use your own voice.
• Don’t wait until the last minute to start working on your essays—allow plenty of time for thorough editing and proofreading.
• Answer the question that is being asked.

Can I use an AI tool to assist in writing my essays?

All essays must be truthful and based on authentic, firsthand experiences, without the use of generative AI.

Can an admissions representative from HKS proofread my essay for me?

No, we are unable to review essays before the formal application review process.

Should I submit an optional essay?

On the Essay section of the application, you will see an opportunity to upload an optional essay. If there is anything you would like the Admissions Committee to know about your academic, professional, or personal background that is not otherwise addressed in your application, you can use the optional essay to provide this context.

The optional essay is helpful to address:

• Gaps in your résumé or professional background
• Major changes in your career trajectory
• Inconsistent academic performance
• Perceived weaknesses in your application

If you are submitting an optional essay, be careful not to make excuses but instead provide context and focus on growth and learning.

Most applicants do not submit an optional essay, so do not feel obligated to submit an optional essay if there is nothing you feel needs to be addressed.

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Messages and replies, applicant notifications, global notifications, harvard kennedy school mpp & mpa2 application essay tips.

By accepted.com - Oct 11 , 09:30 AM Comments [0]

The essays discussed below are for the MPP and the two-year MPA applications.

HKS seeks well-rounded master’s students – people with proven academic success, strong leadership and career potential, and “commitment to advancing the public interest” (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. Most important, use the essays to weave together these elements into a coherent story and presentation – one that clarifies your path to your public interest goals.

Question 1 for both programs: 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. (600 word limit)

This is essentially a future-focused goals question. I suggest a professional focus, though in some cases it could also include non-work plans. Three keys to making this essay work:

1. In describing your plans/goals, clarify what “positive change” means to you – it’s easy to forget that it means different things to different people. (I see a lot of drafts of these and other essays talking about making change without any specific idea of what that means to that person.) And cite specific changes (impacts) you intend to deliver through your service. Make it concrete. These changes need not be comprehensive, “save the world” level changes – it’s more realistic, more credible, and probably more interesting to the reader to discuss changes to a given corner of the world, or segment of population, or focused concern. Show your engagement with and knowledge of the region or issue by employing anecdote and detail.

2. Discuss practical aspects – how you envision executing those plans in real terms, focusing on your anticipated leadership and sense of service. Of course, you needn’t have all the answers – that’s part of what the program will help you with.

3. Since the question asks you to portray how you’ll do the above “through your public leadership and service,” root the plans in your experience to lend credibility to what you say you will do in the future. Weave in brief examples of public leadership and/or service as a basis for your future efforts.

Question 2 for the MPP program: Describe an event or episode that either gave you a chance to use personal strengths, and/or revealed personal weaknesses. Then explain specifically how the MPP curriculum at HKS would leverage your distinctive abilities and/or fill gaps in your skill set as you equip yourself for your career goals. (600 word limit)

This is a behavioral question (asking about past experience/behavior) blended with a why-HKS question. In addressing the latter element, be consistent with learning needs and other factors relating to your goals (discussed in essay 1).

In choosing an experience to present (the event or episode), be strategic: use a story that shows you in an interesting and relatively high stakes situation that is relevant to your goals and also reflects an aspect of your experience, character, skill sets, etc. not highlighted elsewhere in the application. Also, ideally it would be fairly recent.

I suggest a simple structure: tell the story without a “fanfare” introduction – just jump into the narrative. As you write it, include your thoughts, concerns, and decisions at pivotal points, not just I-did-this-I-did-that. Then identify the strength(s) and/or weakness(es) this experience revealed and discuss how the HKS program will either leverage this strength or fill gaps in skills in a way that will prepare you for the goals cited above in essay 1. In this part, refer to specific elements and components of the program, and relate them to specific learning needs or strengths you want to develop further. Show your familiarity with the details and the mission of the program.

Do not shortchange the second part. I suggest somewhere between fifty-fifty story and why-HKS to two-third story and one-third why-HKS.

Question 2 for MPA2 program: 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? (600 word limit)

This is a pure why-HKS-MPA question. Your goals will be the starting point: they create the need to learn certain things and the conditions to benefit from certain opportunities. So, first, identify the gaps in learning that you must fill to realize your goals and also the opportunities that would be helpful in realizing your goals (such as access to certain types of people or challenge to move past reflexive thinking). Then detail how the HKS program meets these needs and offers these opportunities. This “how” can include all manner of things about the program, depending on your needs: curriculum structure and/or content, professors, special programs, classmates, extracurricular clubs/programs, partner groups/programs, etc. The key is to be specific and to link the things you cite to your goals, learning needs, and/or broader professional growth and development.

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

This optional essay question specifically instructs you to write the optional essay only if there are concerns about your background. If you do need to use it, write a succinct, straightforward explanation. If you have evidence that academic under-performance does not reflect your true ability, add a sentence stating that point with the evidence (e.g., maybe you did poorly overall in college, but in your last semester earned straight A’s).

Personal History Essay (optional for both programs): Diversity of all kinds (geographic, ideological, race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and many others) is important to enriching the educational experience at the Kennedy School. Please share with us anything in your background or life experiences that has shaped your perspectives and how that would contribute to the classroom and community at HKS. (400 word limit)

It’s almost impossible to imagine how someone wouldn’t have something interesting and relevant to discuss in this essay, considering how broadly the question describes diversity. It’s a wonderful opportunity to enliven the lens onto your candidacy. I suggest identifying one or at most two aspects of diversity you’ll bring, and discuss them through anecdote and example. Ground them in experience. Add a brief reflection; it’s not the fact that you have or bring a certain type of diversity; it’s the insight and perspective and perhaps growth you’ve gained from it that ultimately make it meaningful to the adcom and future classmates.

DEADLINE: December 4, 2017

Related Resources:

• 5 Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Grad School Statement of Purpose , a free guide • 3 Tips for Showing Strengths in Your Application Essays • Different Dimensions of Diversity , a podcast episode

The post Harvard Kennedy School MPP & MPA2 Application Essay Tips appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog .

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