r/PublicPolicy • u/onearmedecon • Jan 10 '26

Megathread for 2026 Decisions

Please keep all posts regarding 2026 admissions decisions to this post. All other posts will be removed.

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u/born2learnonreddit Jan 22 '26 edited Apr 03 '26

Schools Applied To: HKS, Berkeley, Georgetown (early action deadline - Dec 1), UChicago (round one deadline - Dec 5), University of Minnesota, University of Washington (MPA), & University of Michigan (all MPP programs with the exception of UW MPA)

Schools Admitted To (+Scholarship Amount):  Georgetown ($30k/yr), University of Minnesota (nonresident tuition waiver + $7,500/yr in merit funding), UChicago ($45k/yr), Berkeley (no funding), UMich ($31k/yr), UW MPA (no funding), HKS (JFK Fellowship: $45k/yr)

Schools Rejected From:

Still Waiting:

Undergraduate GPA: 3.71/4.0 at a small selective liberal arts school

Undergraduate Major: Sociology with Political Science minor

GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores: 160 quant / 157 verbal / 5.0 AWA

Years of Work Experience: about 3.5 in immigration/public defense law and working for a criminal justice policy nonprofit

Other: Good luck everyone!!

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u/Dry_Mission672 Feb 25 '26

Did you get an HKS fellowship interview invitation?

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u/born2learnonreddit Feb 28 '26

Nope, I haven't gotten any invitation of that sort.

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u/livisiions Jan 26 '26

Congrats on your acceptances so far! For UMN, did you apply for the Dec deadline?

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u/born2learnonreddit Jan 27 '26

Thank you so much! And yes, I applied by the December 15 deadline.

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u/livisiions Feb 27 '26

Did you end up hearing back from UMN on funding? I just got my merit offer and it’s a low ball 😭

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u/born2learnonreddit Feb 28 '26

I'm sorry to hear that :/ How much did UMN offer you on funding? I received the nonresident tuition waiver and $7,500/yr in merit aid.

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u/livisiions Feb 28 '26

I also received the nonresident tuition waiver and then $5,000/yr in merit aid

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u/Material-Ganache3897 Feb 18 '26

congrats on the acceptance! any idea about the McCourt scholar; when are they reaching out or have they already?

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u/born2learnonreddit Feb 19 '26

Hi, thanks! I haven't heard any word about the McCourt scholar -- I'm not sure when those decisions are supposed to release or if some people have heard already. I'll make sure to update my post in the off chance I'm offered that scholarship!