Mid-Career MPA Program Session

Hello, we will begin in just a minute, but um do a little tech check for us. If you can hear me. Please type in the chat bar, so we know that our audio is working.

Hello and welcome to this virtual session for the Midcareer MBA Program at Harvard. Kennedy School just a little bit of housekeeping before we get into the content you can submit questions at anytime during the presentation in the chat section. When you're posing the question here try to remember that this might be your only chance to hear from students currently enrolled in the program. I'll be available for questions by email or Phone. After this session and so will the rest of the MP 18. The admissions office so take advantage of this chance to hear about our students experiences.

Will start this presentation by answering some questions that we get asked most often about the maker program and afterwards will pause for a second while I bring in a group of current students to respond to questions that you've submitted and if we don't get to your question you can always follow up with either the MPA team or the admissions team and if you miss any part of this hour. You can find a recording available on the admissions website in about a week.

So I'll start by introducing the MPA team up and just out of the gate. I want to say that the MPA Program Team. Taken together has about 20 years of combined experience working with MPA students at the Kennedy School. So there's very little. We haven't seen I'll start with me. My name is Kate leg. You I've been at HKS for about 3 years and I've worked with graduate students in graduate programs.

Both here in United States and abroad for over 10 years.

I'm Anna Heffren, I'm MPA programs director I've been here at HKS for just about 8 years and Kate is making me feel old, but I've been working with graduate students for almost 20 years.

We also have an R teams Suzanne Shende. She is the associate director of MPA programs. An also the director of the Mason program. She started with the MP 18, shortly after I landed and we're very lucky also that we welcome Taylor Pelletier to our program team this summer. She's our program assistant so even though she's almost junior among us. She has volunteered with presidential campaigns, United States. She has a lot of really interesting an excellent experience.

So, together, we advise Oregon run programming for all MP students in both the mid career program and the two year MBA program.

So this is Emma on during this presentation. We're going to run through some of our FAQ So what are the degree requirements for meeker MPA program? What is the summer program you? Tell me a little bit about my classmates? Can I cross register for courses outside of HPS? What about life outside of the classroom? Are there opportunities for my spouse partner children at HPS? Can I work while I'm enrolled in the mid current program and How do I apply and then after we run through all this we are going to bring in a panel of our current students, the paneled experts.

And they'll talk a little bit more about their experiences.

OK, so jumping right in what are the degree requirements so one of the features that might have attracted you to this program is the flexibility that it offers the requirements are that you successfully complete 32 credits so each full semester course here at HPS is 4 credits and our module or half semester forces are 2 credits. There is no core curriculum in the program. But you have to take and fulfill our distribution requirements, so that is taking one course in each of 3 areas economics and quantitative analysis.

Management and leadership and public ethics and political institutions.

One thing uh we kind of like to mention here on this slide about degree requirements is reading and research, so that's the HKS version of an independent study so sometimes students find that they want to go into more depth on a particular topic. So you find a professor that you want to work with and that's willing to work with you and you design A semester long project and the outcome is typically a long paper. We get into a lot of depth on degree requirements during the summer program and really even before you get here, so in the months leading up to that summer program, we send.

Nails on a wide range of topics to get you thinking about and further defining your goals and purpose for coming to HPS and then during that summer program. We do more goal setting we covered the distribution requirements. All of the details. Of course selection and registration an much, much more during the summer program. You also get a list of the courses that meet the distribution requirements, so really within that requirement. There's also flexibility so you're choosing from a list of courses.

And then Mister MPs students get a lot of support from us and choosing courses. So we wouldn't want to send you into the flexibility without the kind of guidance and guide rails to help you make those choices. We also encourage students to set up a mentor network or a student described it recently as their board of directors, which I also kind of liked to kind of help. You make the most of your time here and then before the start of the semester. You'll also selected academic advisor, so that's another person that's going to help you navigate the requirements.

So you may be wondering What is this maker summer program the midcareer MPA degree starts with a five week long summer program designed to prepare students for the academic year. Basically get students back in the classroom after 710, maybe 2084 years, will get you ready to select courses for the fall and most importantly, we do a lot of work to create the mid career cohort for that year.

The summer program is made up of required quantitative methods and economics classes in the mornings. An then optional courses in the afternoon. Those range from seminar style small group workshops. We have simulations. We have case studies. Basically, it's an opportunity to get some exposure not just to our faculty, but also the different pedagogies at HPS.

Um naturally we also cover all of the orientation topics that you would need to start the academic year. How to think about your goals. An course selection and making the most of every year at HPS and all of this is complemented by networking opportunities so lunch is where we randomize small groups to get students a chance to meet as many people daily coffee breaks weekly quorum calls which is an HPSG tradition and kind of code for a reception.

And I just want to pause here to emphasize that this summer program really is fantastic. It is a highly of the mid career year. It is it is a highlight. I think of the MPA teams here. It's because it's during the summer. There's no one else here, so that made careers really have a run of the school and it really does have kind of a magical field to it. I know that sounds silly, but it's true.

So how about your classmates who are you going to be ruling campus with in July and August when you get here for the summer program. You're going to find yourself in very good company. The typical classes usually about 200 students. Coming from over 60 countries with 40% being here. From here in the USA and 60% being from outside the USA. This includes about 90 Mason Fellows, an that's a cohort within the midcareer class and these are applicants. Coming from developing newly industrialized and transitional economy countries.

They applied to make your program as Neeson Fellows nations have a Co curricular program that runs alongside the mid career year.

Make her NP students come with a program with a very wide mix of sectors and backgrounds and applicants tent need to have a minimum of 7 years work experience, but you probably already know, but the average is more like 13 to 15.

And at HKS more broadly once this semester in Yakima here begins you'll find an even richer range of backgrounds. You'll find your experience enriched by fitting class or listening to it. Speaker participating on student government or having lunch in the cafe with students from all of our degree programs.

This is Emma back to talk about cross registration, so as you're looking through the course listings on HP S website and thinking about what kinds of things you might take you may have also seen noted that you can cross register for courses outside of the Kennedy school so before I talk about all the cross registration options. There's really so much available here, so you should definitely if you haven't already take a look at the course offerings on HP S website when you look there. You'll see that you can even see the syllabi and that's going to give you a good sense of this sort of course, is workload.

That kind of range that's available here. In addition to everything that is available at HPSU can crusher to share for one course for each semester that you're in residence, so for this one year program that's 2 cross registered courses or 8 credits but not to get too into the weeds. There, some of the schools at which you can cross register include the schools at Harvard. So the Business School. The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The Divinity School Law School School of Public Health.

Graduate School of Education and then schools outside of Harvard. So the Fletcher School at Tufts, an MIT so can you can imagine if you're looking at course selection ATS once you look at all the cross registered options it's thousands of course, is to choose from.

So, In addition to the thousands of course, is uh? What about what students get up to outside of the classroom and you'll hear this over and over again no matter who you talk too. But HKS is an incredibly busy and thriving community every day here. There are speakers events lunches workshops and programs that are open to the HPS community so much so that every day, we get an email.

Called HPS today that list everything that's happening at the school and it's an incredible selection ranges from speakers in our forum, which is sort of our marquee space. You can get a sense of the kinds of speakers that come to the forum on the Institute of politics website.

Um they tend to list all those speakers on their pages. I know recently. We had a forum event about what it means to be conservative in 21st century and we had some Washington Post opinion writer. We had former senator. These are where you'll see are sort of biggest names. But we also have these same people engaged Brown bag, Brown bag lunch discussions held through the research centers.

Uh we have about 13 research centers at HBS that cover a pretty wide range of topics and there are a number of ways to connect while you're a student HKS and one way is to take advantage of the speakers. They bring to campus and some of the fellows that are in residence at various centers that really is a huge advantage of coming to HKS the level of talent and the breath of individuals that are research centers are able to attract a campus that you can then take advantage of is really unparalleled.

And then of course, there's social activities their opportunities to meet students in other programs and connect them or social level, with your classmates student government. For example, organizes a number of events both big and small throughout the year.

I really can actually be hard to keep up with everything that's happening because In addition to all this, There's also events in programs that are designed for or by mid career students. There's weekly seminar time on Thursdays. So we reserve the room space and time are premium at HPS, but we take care of that and then we hand it off to the class to organize class pass classes have used a seminar to tell their stories put together a panel discussions of students with expertise in various topics hold networking sessions professional development sessions.

I'm not really that time really is what you make of it.

Students have also organized dinners for 6 informal gatherings around areas of interest. There's usually someone who takes the lead on sort of a social chair. I know that last weekend. I made career class went. Apple picking and Orchard very quick central New England so there is no shortage of things to do outside of your coursework.

So 1 question, we also get a lot is are there opportunities for my spouse partner children at HPS an many midcareer MPA students come to HPS with their partners and their families and there are many ways for them to get connected and become part of HTS community as well as really forming their own community and making their own connections, so during the summer program. We have a couple of sessions, designed for spouses and partners and one for student parents. We also invite them to the weekly receptions and how long games and things like that in our courtyard.

Have a lot of little kids running around, but the sessions are designed to help families learn about available resources and to really start to get connected in these sessions talk about how your spouse or partner in your family can make the most of their time in each case, while you're making the most of yours as a student and we have some kind of like tips and best practices of sort of how to make this year work and how to really take advantage of it while you're here with your family over the past years I've worked with groups of spouses to organize and partners groups.

This years, so this year, there's been a lot of activity in WhatsApp Group and it's been just amazing to see so it ranges from you know, I have to take a midterm an my child care fell through. Can someone hang out with my kid for an hour too. You know where do we find best winter boots for kids or how? Do we find schools or? What's everyone doing this weekend and where can we all get together and just a lot of I don't know a lot of community? Yeah, exactly like this wonderful Energe Ann.

Community building with the families and then once the school year get started so after the summer program. There are many events and lectures at each chaos around Harvard that are open to the public and so of course. They're open cheer spells. Her partner another perk partner sometimes interested in is the option to audit or sit in on classes so this is very casual at HPS. There's no official process for auditing. It's at the discretion of the faculty member but a number of spouses over the past few years have really had success in finding a class or 2 that they sit in on an participate in during the year.

The year while it can be challenging to balance. We talked about balance. A lot here with our students. Well, it can be difficult to balance chat school work and family responsibilities. It can really be an amazing experience for families and partners. I know we have at least one student who's here with.

A child coming in so if you have specific questions on that definitely ask those with the students come in. I often talk to me curse. Students who moved Cambridge with their family and maybe have a child, who's not totally on board. With this big move and change that. Inevitably the family and the kid really ends up talking about how valuable this year has been for them.

OK, we get this question a lot an I work while I'm a student in the mid career program and I'm going to say it again. It's about balance and we're here to help you think about how to make the most of your time at HPS. You're here for 2 semesters. And this program is designed to be a full time program. There are so many things that are happening at HPS and so many opportunities to get involved in some organizations and study groups and attend lectures and events.

Um that can feel like a full time program, plus a full time and a half and we have found that if you're not really able to fully commit to the program. You're likely to find that you're missing out on things so to whatever extent it is possible to bracket off this year for you and your development and the time that you're putting into it, you will get more out of it that way.

So if after all, of this, you're thinking. This sounds great. How do I apply and be a part of this year? I'm going to run through some details but just a note here that the admissions office covers this in much more depth on the website and on the admissions blogs and if you haven't already signed up for the admissions blog and taking a look through it. I really encourage you to do so. The director of admissions posts all the time I don't even know how he does it and the archive of posts this amazing resource full of application tips student and alumni stories and much more.

The blog is also going to remind you of important dates and deadlines as you go through the process. So this year's deadline is December 3rd and all of the required materials must be included with the application and submitted by this date so we have a list here of all the pieces and you can find more information on those pieces on the website and again on the blog. But I really want to talk. Instead, about how you might think about the application and how you tell your story to the Admissions Committee.

So that admissions committee looks carefully and Holistic Lee at your application. We're looking for evidence of leadership commitment to public service and we look for clarity in your story in your goals and your purpose. We want you to be genuine authentic and totally honest. We want your passion to come through as you kind of walk us through your background and your goals and we want to use all the pieces of your application to show us and reinforce your leadership experience your good ideas impact and innovation in your commitment to public service.

You see the note on their of these standardized test scores so perspective. Applicants often ask us about the GRA. Gmat scores for many of you. We know that taking those tests can feel very intimidating. We may have been out of school for a while and not in the test taking mode or you may not have looked at some of those concepts in a number of years, but we will encourage you not to let the test be that barrier that keeps you from applying so keep in mind that the test scores are just one part of the application and we look at each application in a holistic way and again in canine both said it already but it's about balance.

So we want you to be successful here and we're looking for evidence that an applicant can handle the coursework, so if you're concerned about your quantitative abilities for example.

Think about how you might demonstrate proficiency and comfort with analytical skills. This could be in one of your essays or by choosing a recommender that can speak to your strengths and handling a certain project at work that required a quantitative analysis and on that topic of recommendations. We also get the question of who should write these letters so the most important thing I can say is that the best letters of recommendations are from Recommenders, who really know you so sometimes applicants choose a recommender because of the person's title or credentials. But the recommender doesn't really know the applicant.

And then ideally we'd like a mix so 1 academic is possible at least one person who supervised your work and we know that sometimes it academic recommendation isn't possible, or realistic for maker applicants and that is OK.

OK, so I know that was a lot. We're going to take a short pause here. The students are ready to come in and we will transition to the student panel and we will have them talk about their experience and then answer your questions will be right back.

And we are back with our panel of experts were going to start getting your questions in just a second, but we're going to start by letting them introduce themselves.

Hello Maria, Gilbert I am a mid career before this program was started in NYPD. I'm still. It started an NYPD and I my last unit was I worked for the office of Equal Employment Opportunity Equity and inclusion.

Good afternoon, I'm Zach daily. I'm probably the Midcareer as working for the State Department for 10 years as a foreign service officer. I moved to Cambridge with my wife and 2 year old daughter was working in the private sector private too. Young here 23 years in the private sector.

And I came here with my wife and 3 children.

Hello my name's Jeff. I'm super still have supervisory special agent with FBI running a kind of terrorism cyber as well.

I am Don McCoy, I before arriving in ATS that was in the United States Army Special Operations and I moved to Cambridge with my fiance.

Hello hello, I'm French. I live in trono Canada and moved here with my wife and 2 year old daughter. Prior to that. I was a consultant entrepreneur and basically in Tech. Thank you guys very much before we get into the weeds with these questions. I'd love to hear from you a little bit about your experience like let's kind of go through the year. What was the summer program like for you guys.

Ladies first I actually really enjoyed it. I called the like math boot camp because for someone who's not been in an academic setting for about 15 years. It was very helpful and it gave me a perfect opportunity to actually get to know my classmates and bond with them on a more personal level.

I found it really useful in terms of I was a little bit rusty in the Madden. The console getting up to sleep was very helpful, but also I agree that to mingle with a cohort in a different setting was really helpful as well.

OK, I thought it was awesome, not only was it refreshment, Matheny con like everybody, said he gave you a chance to bond with your classmates, which I think the mid careers are.

A little bit more uh.

Cohesive as a group in the rest of the student body is might be just my personal bias to say that and despite what you may think when you're sitting in the room. The first week, the security guards are not going to come ask you to leave.

Yeah, no that's true. I just was enjoying hearing them say how much they left it. What about once we get into the academic year. Can you guys talk a little bit about your course selection strategies? How do you narrow it down from approximately 7 trillion to 5?

I'll start.

So I think a good way that I found was recommendation from the staff about hitting your requirements early on. There's 3 requirements, so as far as my course selection. I targeted those but also mixing in stuff that's personally interesting to Maine and focused on diplomatic affairs. Foreign affairs, so I look for classes that I could learn more about my craft, plus some kind of soft skills, including negotiations.

Yeah, I think for Maine alot of it was speaking to my fellow classmates in the cohort to you all the stuff. Some of the faculty about kind of how my class selection would support my objectives professionally personally so when I started.

Into that, so that was really key having conversations with the cohort and with the family members about how a certain skill set might fit into?

Uh my plan for that was very helpful is probably 2 classes that retained from my original 100 classes that would never thought that I would be interested in I'm really loving the new classes that went through aligned with.

When I leave.

I thought the shopping period was very helpful also because I came to this school and there was this buffet of so many classes and he wanted to take each and every one of them, but sometimes he's sitting in the shopping period. This is MSR and jump in tell them what's happening before shopping period is like you got to sample the courses for about 1/2 an hour where you go in the professor will.

Give me a brief overview of what the class would be about an you just got to see the professor in action and I was able to say no, I don't want to listen to you for a semester and then there were classes. Like I don't know what you're teaching, but I wanted. This listen to you, or a semester. So I felt like that period was very helpful and it helped me narrow down my course selection.

So from here, we said that the best approach is one to follow your passion so if there's one course that you came to Harvard for of course, take that one and then obviously as I said, like go through the requirements and try to get those ticked but then, when I would really advise people to do is go to the shopping and go to classes that you don't really think going to take or go to things are not familiar with and fill the rest of your calendar with those you just have a lot of variety and in my case, initially thought it would drop a lot of the classes and I haven't because I like them all.

So I think going wild with shopping is really useful otherwise. We'll end up doing what you already know you kind of know any won't discover all the hidden gems.

What does a typical day look like for you guys? Is there such thing as a typical day?

I will take that ones Marissa from Mexico and now there's no typical day. It is jobing balls to balance your life between the academic then all the activities that are going on in the in the University is you have to be very selective.

And also like I said, Before, I came here with three kids and a wife so it's very hard to accommodate all these throughout the day I have a 10 year old boy 8 year old daughter and a 3 year old, baby boy 8 family. So we tried to make things work to take them to school to go to University.

It's very different each day and the classes. Barry between I would say Monday Wednesday and Tuesday. Thursday schedule is very different so there is no typical day whatsoever, but it's really a wonderful experience in terms of each day is different unique, but very challenging and interesting.

Does he have to think anyways it's over days question you have to try and make it though you have to try and set like blocks of time that you set aside for yourself. Otherwise, you get overwhelmed. Yeah can you say more about that, like I live outside the city in Quinsy, which is about a 30 minute drive in if you get up before 6 AM 6:00 AM. It's about an hour and a half drive in so.

I get up about 4:30 in the morning go to the gym at my little morning time could get breakfast and then go to Class I had a gym routine, but before coming here, but I think.

The you know the abundance of resources and opportunities and like this week. James Madison Secretary matters is going to be here and one time same day they represented my garage is here at Braxton was here and then like to. I'd like it's insane and professor Cornell W is just last minute, having something so like you always. In addition to your class is an assignment. You have to do this all these opportunities to have people for some of us who are like people that we've been reading about for years and like they're like here like we can talk then.

So gently 9 office hours and it's just like so you might have a schedule. But when you think you might want to do for this week and then someone like yesterday. I almost missed I would've been so sad. I didn't know about the Secretary Mattis and like for people like right now, I guess I'm doing this on Thursday because I had these other plans. I'm going to go to this now, so it happens. Every day where there's something new. Another Harvard School or HKS or a class. You couldn't get into that. You want your friends into and they were taking.

Into coffee one common like yeah, so now that's my priority for today. Because I want to get some FaceTime with her because I was able to get a class I don't know if there's a typical day, which is which is good something that people said there is no typical typical day, but it's very important to block out time for yourself, self care is crucial if you need to take a nap take a nap. It's OK, you will miss that speaker it's fine.

But self care is most important I'm sorry. I just have to jump in. I just got a text from another midcareer asking if it would be OK for her to take a nap in my office.

Don't tell my boss there was a question that kind of builds on what Mauricio saying. Maybe also ran and Zac if you can talk a little bit about being here with your family and what that experience has been like there's usually we talked a little bit about it before you guys came in, but there's usually a range of ages within Mcgrew program and it's good here. We have that represented so it's a littler kids. Some kids were in school. We can talk a little bit about that my partners and yeah, exactly yeah.

Any of you, yeah, so experiences may be unusual come along with my 2 year old daughter during the week, but basically like to piggyback on what you said it's full. It's like I have a mini shabbaton evening, so from like 6 when I pick her up from childcare to like 7:38 PM when she goes to bed. I'm forced to disconnect so that it can be more efficient at night. But it's doable. It's not ideal, but it's doable and this child care through Harvard probably not enough, but there is.

And yeah, I just want to clarify I hate to have to do this. But the child care through Harvard. You're talking out of Harvard. Affiliated yes, it's not like subsidized by hardware formed a lot of my decisions prior to coming here, especially where I was living.

We kind of found a preschool and then based ourselves around that.

And my wife works.

Part time, but also necessity because of the preschool is not not full day. But I've been really enjoying this is the first time. My daughter lived in the USA and it's been a really good experience for her to go library. And there's all these activities and stuff, she wouldn't be able to do other places so from that angle. It's been it's really been nice as a family, but juggling at all is been a challenge for sure.

I will only have this movie show that I have seen my children grow so much through this months that it's almost as important for me as hard working to see him grow because I mean, speaking very well. English they're learning new things. They're asking questions. They never never thought they would ask so I think it's a very enriching experience for the whole family.

Yeah.

OK let's see.

Can you talk about the midcareer cohort experienced on Unix from starting to get into this but how tight the classes? Can you tell can you speak to like the connections you made in the class both personal or professional or how do you see that playing role in your life at HPSN beyond?

I I mean every day. You're in the summer program. You meet some other incredible individual and your humble to be there.

That's how I felt the whole time, every day, I get home right now. I don't know Beyoncé, Oh yeah, you gotta meet this person incredible. You know, I can't believe you know, I'm in class with this person and it's it's very humbling.

It's amazing experience.

I mean, I came into the program this summer program ran into 2 people that I work with 10 years ago, just tell I hadn't seen him in 10 years, which is pretty amazing. I think that kind of reaffirmed our bond and I think that's going to carry us through to help for the next 10 years older, you know, we make our time so each other before that, but

Like John said the people in the in the group are amazing. They each have.

Bring something special to the group and I definitely see in the future. This is a great network that you can leverage into professionally or personally or whatever it's going to be imagine the WhatsApp group will live in something over the next technology looking forward to that.

Actually met my twin sister, I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that I met someone that was born on the same day as me, so I thought that was pretty cool. I'm like everyone else has said that I've made great bonds that I think I hope that will last a lifetime.

Yeah, speaking, too 'cause we take a lot of classes with the MPs and that's one thing good consistent theme that I've seen and now we've been some of the makers have been joking. About is that some of the missing like can you all adopt this because, like you all classes so tight and not this crucial type and they say that we take care of each other and then we help each other out, and specially with our friends with kids. Some of these kids up or while they take an exam. There will take their kids with us to class and it's just like we like super super tight and even then you talk about the networking.

We have everyone from every facet of private industry public industry and we've had. Unfortunately, some emergencies, but also some good things where people have used to contact to help somebody's family member out back home, or help someone out here and so that just further solidifies. The bond and I don't want to set the bar so high for the next class but you know this. Cayden you all did a great job so let everybody says there's something special about class and I'm sure this summer.

Probably had a lot to do with that 'cause there's no one else here and it's just us. But like a lot of MPs have said that and you see them hanging out with us. Now we see you see more and more of them at like the events at peoples houses because I like you all just like so warming like the thing that they all say that we see that you take care of each other. You lookout for each other and obviously we lookout for them as well. And so it's not just us, saying that yeah, we really tight. It's it's demonstrated people other people observed to the bond that.

That are covered.

And I don't I don't want to diminish that because it's totally true but at the same time, like if you're sitting here listening to this anything like Oh man like I wish I was part of this cohort somehow this magic happens every year. Somehow, this magic happens where we bring in 200 people and it's so hard to make friends as adults, like some ready made 200 person friend group close friends, the friends so if you're listening to this session.

I just I want to assure you that, like you have if you decide you get in and you decide to come here there's some assurance that you'll have that same level of bond and support this way. It's really an amazing thing to say, and get access to this because if you say. Hey, Kate do you know anybody FBI anybody in my PD nobody you know? Yeah, I do now, you automatically have access to this incredible network. So it's not something that's exclusive. I guess if you decide to come here. This will be part of the family and that's one of the beauty kind of.

I think what you all are trying to nurture here with regard to the HKS family. I guess I have to say that regarding that last year when I was listening. I was sitting on the other side and I was fixing and I heard. This precisely a similar question and everybody was saying well how special discovered was I would think to myself if that will happen again, and knowledge that you guys do a great job in selecting and these as part of.

As important as the faculty is the guys and girls, you're willing the class.

And the quality of the conversation is just fantastic. I really enjoy just talking to a lot of people just because of different backgrounds. Different expertise and you get so much other just randomly talking to people in the class and being curious.

It's very valuable.

I'm going to pin it a little bit because we've gotten a couple of questions about career career trajectory professional development. So it's obviously earlier in the year and I don't want to scare any of you out of the room, but have you. Have you made use of the office of career advancement? Have you been thinking about? How this year? Will impact your career enhancer, thinking changed since you've been here.

So you made them nervous that goes on Forever 3 aspects. One is there's a few career fairs. I've been to them, so either Harvard or MIT. Cousin Crossroads at MIT. So when your cursor just said. You can go to the Gary fares less useful great coaching 1 on one coaching very valuable with people who really know what they're talking about.

Uh there was one of the big surprise eggs. Big busted surprised at Harvard. The quality of the coaching at the sea and also the Oh so that's radio. CAC Office for Curie advancement, so that people who help you find jobs and the organized 50 minutes lot with a noise from a lot of different backgrounds and industries and that was very valuable as well, I probably have done.

608. So I've talked about the way you've structured your year and so even the way you've selected courses has been thinking about careers and leaving space in the spring to do job searches and so that that sort of work is woven into everything that we're doing here. So I can talk about the way I thought about the class is going to sound like a complete.

Psychopath so I had 4 big buckets in mind. One is all the leadership thing so leadership is obviously delicious places, but also negotiation learning? How to express yourself with written words. In early so that's my leadership bucket. I had a data science. Analytics bucket, trying to make decisions based on data. So it's not a bug. It had a bug that around policy, making and understanding to Mexico for the private sector, mostly so understanding the public sector, which is why I was covered in school.

And then the final bucket was the crazy future or just different type of classes again, too big to have wide horizons and.

It I really used those buckets when I talk to companies when I think about my future carriers. I think every single out those buckets or something to break and the MIT as well like they make it brand is useful on Top of harmony.

Thank you.

Anyone else karere thoughts early preliminary not so much 'cause. They don't just help with jobs right. It's it's also maybe providing skills development for being better in your current job so the design thinking workshop. They put on the LinkedIn which for me coming from intelligence community don't even think about.

So uh the workshop, they provided on that and just a lot of other skill development for not just necessary looking for a new job. But maybe getting better being more effective at your current job so I think that without even thinking about.

Building you know is something that has been very, very useful and it's free. It's like it doesn't. I got something close. My mind, like this is free. I can still see them whenever an Tasha or somewhere. In addition to paying for books in class. This is like a service that is available whenever whenever I need it. So yeah, I think it would be great.

I will only this movies are very briefly emphasize are also you get someone from faculty that will help you throughout the year and that has been very helpful to me in the sense that you're able to pick the right courses, but also he or she asked the right questions in terms of what we want to do after and how this is going to help you and then that has proved to be a lot of help. So you have this advisor that would walk with you throughout the year, which has been also felt.

Alright, we have just about 10 minutes left and I want to talk a little bit about the application process.

I'm not in any kind of specific detail but I'm wondering if you had any.

Methodology that you used in approaching the application. Obviously, you were successful in getting through that process. What's the what's your secret?

I would say the hardest part is how many people down to get the recommendation so try to get that out of the way 1st and be persistent. They want to do it, but just you know be persistent with it because people are busy.

I'll sleep more structure 'cause you're all like us working your jobs already working. Maybe 10 twelve 14 hours a day so I think for me, I probably would have liked to have been more structured in my approach just because there are some, like the recommendation letters. The essays and just go through crazy processes to get your transcripts and just kind of like having to schedule an kind of plan for how you're going to.

Uh and sure that you're not missing anything because it's hard ontop of the work. You're already doing so. I would just say make sure you have a really well structured plan about how you're going to Attack Attack that I definitely created more stress than I probably needed to buy more.

For those of you on the Phone who speak foreign be very careful with that awful find it very, very challenging which I didn't expect you get. I think you can speak English very well and understand English very well and still find it challenging so take it seriously, and maybe do it a few times if needed.

Application seems like so long ago, I don't know I think trying to Remember Remember drafting out some essays and then doing it again because I didn't feel like I was really answering the question. I was saying. I wanted to say instead of actually answering the question in the prompt so I would.

Just advise everyone on the application to really think.

For a little while before you put pen to paper and what you want to say, and how you want to come off as their candidate and then use that as a package. Everything is not kind of a silo. I found it helpful to share my essays, with the record like my my recommenders. So they could see what I was saying either build off on that or strengthen that in some way.

The other thing that I would advise is that once you have drafts of your essays have with your significant other, or somebody that knows you very well have a look to it to make sure that you're making sense of what you want to convey that proof of help to me, so my wife would would really and said you know this. This is not you know this is not if you're not restraining yourself, genuine, so I was really helpful and they do not procrastinate.

Start doing it even if it's one hour a day or 2 hours over the weekend because December gets very fast and I was hitting the submit button on the 1st of December and I was like struggling to get everything on time.

And the GREGRE one more question.

What's one thing about HKS that has surprised you with that. Let's think about that in a note to finish on something that you were thinking about last year at this time, maybe listening to one of these calls that you know now.

So I expected, the professors to be good and the surprises there really care the best majority are.

Good, that's expected but really care and go just beyond and we've had branches with one of the pressure at dinner as well. There are most of them are really available, so big surprise big positive surprise.

Yeah, to the point of having us over to their house is not all of them.

I'm surprised about that just a multitude of offerings like I just didn't. I thought his classy lady. A few things here and there and my University had nothing like the amount of form events or lunchtime discussions or it's just it's so it's good. It's just so much. It's just impressive. How many people come here choose to spend their time and talk to the students directly.

I was surprised that anything that you might find of interest. You can find it here so it's either.

At the Kennedy or you can cross register and find it elsewhere, but the access that you have to find whatever you're looking for? Is there I mean, I didn't thought that he was so, so big.

I I knew that the professors would be great like you said. But I didn't expect them. To be so open and willing to like invite they want you to come to them and speak with them and then also.

Imagine how much I would learn from my classmates as well, and we did mention it before. How much of an amazing job. You guys did putting us all together, but you learn so much from your classmates probably just as much as you learn from the classes itself.

Yes, it does, I was going to say is that like you know like you here or you well. I didn't know, but from what I thought like Harvard, obviously quality education, but did not appreciate how significantly the students in the experience of contribute and I almost think that Harvard benefits more from the students then we benefit from Harvard. I mean, it's just it's insane.

Alright generated from.

Just a 5 minute coffee chat with a student on the way to class and things that I had never thought of before I'm like Oh wow right and so obviously professors take some credit for creating those types of environments right that encourage participation for everyone and really charge. People outside their comfort zones. But I did not see that coming my friends from alumni. They didn't do a good enough job elucidating that for Maine about how incredible experience.

Of the students in the class mates and not just ours. Students at MIT and from the Business School from the law school who are in our classes and then the social interaction is just like it blows. My mind, how much more valuable. My experience is imagine was possible just by going to Harvard and getting a degree from Harvard. It's just.

Well, that couldn't be more perfect note and thank you so very, very much to all of you for being here, an answering our questions and thank you to everyone for participating in this call. If you missed any part of it. It will be on line on the admissions website in about a week and here's our contact information. If you have any questions for us. Yeah, there were some specific questions that came in so feel free to follow up with us on those yeah, yeah, exactly there were some questions that were.

Like.