Admissions Blog

Admitted Student Week is a chance for newly admitted students to connect with current and incoming students, as well as alumni, hear from faculty across policy areas, learn about the student support offered at Harris, and see the unique opportunities to study public policy and gain hands-on experience. We asked the Admissions team what they look forward to most about Admitted Student Week April 4–9.

Isabelle Hirschy, MPP Class of 2022, writes about how she built and strengthened her community after moving from North Carolina to Chicago.

Lindsay Hiser, MPP Class of 2023, shares her experience getting to know the state-of-the-art Keller Center that Harris calls home.

Bradley McCandless, MPP Class of 2022, writes about the Competitive Strategy Game, an interactive experience that puts economic theory into practice and made Strategic Behavior and Regulation of Firms with Professor Katherine Baird his favorite class.

During Admitted Student Week, February 28—March 4, Admissions hosted an International Current Student Panel. In the session, panelists were invited to share a picture they took since they arrived in Chicago that brings back fond memories. We enjoyed their responses so much that we wanted to share them with you.

The PKU-UChicago International Policy Action Lab (IPAL) gives students a foundation in policy analysis and coding with a space to apply the skills in a capstone research project. IPAL provides resources from Peking University and the University of Chicago to broaden the social experience and out-of-classroom learning. We spoke with Shilin Liu, Senior Director of International Partnerships and Executive Education, to learn about these resources for the upcoming 2022 program.

This year we’re excited to announce our Unlock Series – a list of programming and events you can access as an incoming student. By submitting your admission reply form and deposit, you’ll have access to a variety of resources.

This is an exciting time for our admissions team. We are preparing to release decisions to students who submitted their completed application for the Round 1 deadline on December 1. It was a pleasure getting to know more about you, all that you have done to improve your communities, and all that you are planning to do with a graduate degree in public policy. We asked our recruiters to weigh in on their reading experience, and here is what they said.

The PKU-UChicago International Policy Action Lab (IPAL) gives students a foundation in policy analysis and coding with a space to apply their skills in a capstone research project. We spoke with three participants of the 2021 program, Jiakai Chen, Jiachen Shi, and Ziyao Wang, to learn about their academic experiences and application of the knowledge they learned to their education and careers since the program.

Victor Hinardi, MPP Class of 2023, writes about his experience taking Principles of Microeconomics with Professor Thomas Coleman.

Whether you just graduated or have years of work experience, starting graduate school is a big transition. Ezra Serrins, MPP Class of 2023, writes about his experience moving to Hyde Park and how Orientation Programs gave him the opportunity to adjust to the graduate school environment.

Happy Holidays from the Student Recruitment and Global Outreach (SRGO) team at Harris! The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy will be closed December 24, 2021—January 2, 2022, and your Admissions team will have limited access to email during that time. Before we leave for the break, we wanted to share with you some of our favorite ways to celebrate winter in Chicago.

While tips on applying to grad school from the Admissions team can be helpful to prospective students as they work through their application, we know many prospective students are also eager to hear more from current students, especially ahead of our Round 2 deadline on January 20. We interviewed two first year MPP students Nina Levine and Noah Fischer, to share their application experience, challenges, and advice.

Tylor Collier, MPP Class of 2023, writes about how her Orientation experience helped her forge lasting friendships at Harris.

We sat down with Senior Associate Dean Ranjan Daniels to ask him a few questions about the value of the Evening Master’s Program (EMP) and the new non-profit and public sector employer-funded matching program.

Living in Chicago is one of the most exciting parts of coming to Harris for many students. Victoria Sellas, MPP Class of 2022, observes that while Chicago deserves to be celebrated, it is also important to respect and acknowledge the challenges the community faces today, especially as residents continue to face deepened disparities brought about by COVID-19.

Students frequently have questions related to transcripts—details on which ones we need and how to submit them, and what we are looking at when we review them. Review this helpful guide as you are completing your application by the Early Action deadline on October 5, 11:59 p.m. (Central Daylight Time)!

Kusala Molligoda, MPP Class of 2022, serves as an Orientation Program Manager. In this post, he shares his tips on ways Harris students can make the most of the services offered by Academic Advising.

Being a graduate student is both rewarding and challenging. It is important that you practice self-care by putting support systems in place to bolster you as you progress through your graduate education. Victoria Sellas, MPP Class of 2022, writes some words of advice on self-care for her fellow Harristas.

As part of our new series on application tips from Harris students, Lina Wu, MPP class of 2023, and Izzie Hirschy, MPP class of 2022, share tips for successfully preparing your application.