“HKS is Harvard’s Theranos”

[Anonymous]

Well, yes. I went to Harvard College and it is/was well known that HKS is a vanity degree. One of my friends dated an older guy in HKS and helped him with his "homework", which was shockingly simple and childlike. They do a lot of group projects with silly pretend assignments. The purpose of their program is "making connections", I was told.

And I will never, ever forget seeing some business school bros (in their 30s?) doing keg stands at an undergrad party, trying desperately for the "Harvard experience." None of those guys would have been admitted to Harvard College or to a real graduate program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, I knew a lot of HKS grads and SIPA grads and LSE grads and GMU grads -- you get the picture. The LSE grads make bank, but the other ones? 35-year-olds struggling to make $70,000 with a degree that cost them $400,000 with interest. Fun times.

There are some LSE degrees that are also for internationals with no rigor. The “Let’s See Europe” programs.

Oh. It's YOU again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, yes. I went to Harvard College and it is/was well known that HKS is a vanity degree. One of my friends dated an older guy in HKS and helped him with his "homework", which was shockingly simple and childlike. They do a lot of group projects with silly pretend assignments. The purpose of their program is "making connections", I was told.

And I will never, ever forget seeing some business school bros (in their 30s?) doing keg stands at an undergrad party, trying desperately for the "Harvard experience." None of those guys would have been admitted to Harvard College or to a real graduate program.

Do you think having too many masters' programs would dilute the Harvard brand name? Like I know a lot of foreigners like to flaunt their HES master's degree. I was surprised to see how many master's students there are at Harvard, considering it's got a $40 billion endowment and should have no need for these supposedly cash cow/vanity programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to MIT. Harvard's entire undergraduate program is a joke. Somethj g like 80% graduate with a 4.0? MIT doesn't accept grades from other institutions except Cambridge. Guaranteed that's because MIT student would take Harvard classes to boost our GPAs.

That’s BS. Very, very few graduate with a 4.0. Like less than one person per year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, yes. I went to Harvard College and it is/was well known that HKS is a vanity degree. One of my friends dated an older guy in HKS and helped him with his "homework", which was shockingly simple and childlike. They do a lot of group projects with silly pretend assignments. The purpose of their program is "making connections", I was told.

And I will never, ever forget seeing some business school bros (in their 30s?) doing keg stands at an undergrad party, trying desperately for the "Harvard experience." None of those guys would have been admitted to Harvard College or to a real graduate program.

I was always under the impression that Harvard gets most of its prestige from its various professional schools. Its undergrad is relatively (and I emphasize relatively - Harvard College is obviously still stellar) lacking, especially compared to its peers. I can list about 15 schools that probably have a better undergraduate offering than Harvard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to MIT. Harvard's entire undergraduate program is a joke. Somethj g like 80% graduate with a 4.0? MIT doesn't accept grades from other institutions except Cambridge. Guaranteed that's because MIT student would take Harvard classes to boost our GPAs.

That’s BS. Very, very few graduate with a 4.0. Like less than one person per year.

I think more have done it since then but nobody got a perfect 4.0 for TWENTY years until https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2001-06-10-0106100260-story,amp.html

[Anonymous]

The Kennedy school people seem to flaunt their school the most, followed by the Ed school people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Kennedy school people seem to flaunt their school the most, followed by the Ed school people.

Nah, the extension school, business school, and undergrad schools flaunt the Harvard brand the most by far, in that order.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Kennedy school people seem to flaunt their school the most, followed by the Ed school people.

Nah, the extension school, business school, and undergrad schools flaunt the Harvard brand the most by far, in that order.

Can someone please explain the whole extension school thing to me? Do these people get real degrees?

[Anonymous]

This guy is really proving his point about educational quality. The analogy to Theranos makes absolutely no sense.

[Anonymous]

My husband was a Kennedy School student when I met him. I was working toward a graduate degree at a neighboring institution.

My friends all made fun of me for dating a loser K-school guy and nicknamed him Cash Cow. They were awful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband was a Kennedy School student when I met him. I was working toward a graduate degree at a neighboring institution.

My friends all made fun of me for dating a loser K-school guy and nicknamed him Cash Cow. They were awful!

Yeah, you need new friends if you haven't already ditched them. They sound terrible.

And a degree from Harvard is a degree from Harvard. The only other "neighboring institution" that would have the grounds to say anything like that is MIT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to MIT. Harvard's entire undergraduate program is a joke. Somethj g like 80% graduate with a 4.0? MIT doesn't accept grades from other institutions except Cambridge. Guaranteed that's because MIT student would take Harvard classes to boost our GPAs.

You’re full of it.

https://mitadmissions.org/discover/the-mit-education/cross-registration/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a KSG grad, albeit from the last century. I agree that graduating is no guarantee of brilliance. Still, I think most MPP grads are good, and some are great, and students who are interested can learn a lot.

Also, there's a difference between the 2 year MPP and one year midcareer MPA (often sent by foreign governments). MPP academic standards for admission were much tougher.

Finally, although courses were easier than in the academic PhD programs (like econ and poli sci), I heard MBA courses were the easiest.

Another KSG grad here, also from the 1990s. Well said.

Anyway, I entered the Kennedy School as a non-profit do-gooder. I emerged and joined the State Department, where I still work.

At the State Department I write memos on a near daily basis. I learned that skill at the Kennedy School.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, yes. I went to Harvard College and it is/was well known that HKS is a vanity degree. One of my friends dated an older guy in HKS and helped him with his "homework", which was shockingly simple and childlike. They do a lot of group projects with silly pretend assignments. The purpose of their program is "making connections", I was told.

And I will never, ever forget seeing some business school bros (in their 30s?) doing keg stands at an undergrad party, trying desperately for the "Harvard experience." None of those guys would have been admitted to Harvard College or to a real graduate program.

I was always under the impression that [b]Harvard [/b]gets most of its prestige from its various professional schools. Its undergrad is relatively (and I emphasize relatively - Harvard College is obviously still stellar) lacking, especially compared to its peers. I can list about 15 schools that probably have a better undergraduate offering than Harvard.

I love DCUM.

Let me guess: your kid attends one of the 15 schools you consider better than Harvard?