“HKS is Harvard’s Theranos”

[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.

No, they don't.

This wasn't true when I graduated from Harvard and it is not true today. Not even close.

And, yes, MIT gives credit for Harvard courses.

I don't think you actually went to MIT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Tulane. #14. Very selective this year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Tulane. #14. Very selective this year

The pre-med students I knew who went to Tulane couldn't pass the MCATs. That was like a third of the class...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Tulane. #14. Very selective this year

lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Tulane. #14. Very selective this year

Oh, OK, that explains a lot. Your kid would never have been able to get into Harvard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

NP. But s/he’s not wrong!!!

[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.

No, they don't.

This wasn't true when I graduated from Harvard and it is not true today. Not even close.

And, yes, MIT gives credit for Harvard courses.

I don't think you actually went to MIT.

Yeah H and MIT students regularly cross register at classes at the other campus.

And yeah, hardly anyone finishes with a true 4.0. Someone posted an article upthread about a guy who got a 4.0 and how it was rare enough to make news because it hadn't been done in 20 years.

[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.

No, they don't.

This wasn't true when I graduated from Harvard and it is not true today. Not even close.

And, yes, MIT gives credit for Harvard courses.

I don't think you actually went to MIT.

Yep i actually went to MIT and one of my best friends to Harvard. We met because we took a class together (cross-registering, which worked both ways). I would say a lot of the course difficulty was similar if you mapped classes to the equivalent level. Cross-registering had nothing to do with padding GPAs--it was mostly because there was a niche class or professor at one that wasn't at the other, or because you wanted a change of scenery your senior year or wanted to check out the other school and its programs because you were thinking of applying to grad school there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

[/quote

Interesting. When I think of grad school, I envision something so much more lofty than how to write a memo!

[Anonymous]

This reminds me of the theology degree offerings a lot of these schools have.

[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.

+1 Harvard doesn't accept grades from MIT either. It's standard practice to accept credits but not grades from any institution other than the one you are at (unless they have a specialized relationship via a shared program).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

[/quote

Interesting. When I think of grad school, I envision something so much more lofty than how to write a memo!

+1. Ooooooooh a memo!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Omg 💀

This is brutal. Also, this guy has some gonads to write this WHILE ENROLLED.

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2021/10/1/shroff-hks-harvards-theranos/

Lol, everyone should know that masters program at most ivy + schools are cash cow. Students mostly pay full price for very little. What’s shocking is you didn’t know this. There’s something wrong with your worldview. Come back after you have lived.

It is as if you had said,

“Omg 💀

Donald Trump (or Biden/Harris) comparable to Elizabeth Holmes.
This is brutal. Also, this guy has some gonads to write this WHILE THEY ARE IN POWER.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Interesting. When I think of grad school, I envision something so much more lofty than how to write a memo!

Not either PP, but I think maybe you don't understand the purpose of master's degrees, then.

[Anonymous]

I went to public policy school 20 years ago, so maybe this has changed, but nobody paid sticker price for an MPP. Huge ROI for my degree, frankly.