Welcome to the ultimate guide to writing outstanding Harvard Kennedy School essays! Below you’ll find advice for every HKS application essay prompt for the 2022-2023 application cycle.
Hey there! I’m Kaneisha Grayson, the author of this article and the founder of The Art of Applying®.
I started The Art of Applying® in 2010 while a joint degree student at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School. Since then, my team and I have helped hundreds of applicants successfully apply to Harvard Kennedy School through our paid services, blog posts, and Youtube videos.
This blog post has the most up to date advice for the most difficult to write Harvard Kennedy School essays based on what my team and I have seen work for our clients.
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The HKS 2022 application deadline is Thursday, December 1, 2022 at 3 pm Eastern Time.
In 150 words or fewer, provide a biographical profile. Your résumé will contain detailed information on your academic history, professional/internship/volunteer positions held and specific accomplishments. What we seek here is a concise description of your academic/professional journey, career exploration, and areas of interest. Please type your biographical statement in the paragraph box below.
In this statement, focus on answering the exact things they have asked for:
In the Biographical Profile, spend half the essay discussing your academic and professional past, and half the essay discussing your career and academic future interests you plan to explore at HKS and after HKS.
In 300 words or less, summarize your professional profile/background. Your résumé will contain information on titles, positions held, and specific accomplishments, what we seek here is a concise description of your professional journey, career progression and areas of expertise/experience. Specific information on the level of responsibility and impact/scale of work performed to provide context is encouraged.
Think of the Background Summary Statement as a narration of your resume in an easy-to-understand way for someone who may not be familiar with your industry.
Another way to think of the Background Summary Statement is the short introduction that would be given about you before giving a TED talk or graduation speech. It helps the reader / listener contextualize everything else they are going to learn about you.
You can write the Background Summary Statement in the first person (I have worked…) or the third person (Kaneisha Grayson has worked…)
In this statement, focus on answering the exact things they have asked for:
The Background Summary Statement should be completely focused on the past, whereas the Biographical Profile is a blend of the past and the future.
But I still think this is actually an error in the HKS application.
Please explain what has changed since your last application. (250)
The HKS Reapplication Essay is supposed to convey that you as an applicant understand that it’s not helpful to simply resubmit the exact sample application as the exact same candidate you were last time. They want you to succinctly tell them what has changed about you personally, professionally, and/or academically since your prior application.
The Harvard Kennedy School Reapplication Essay is your opportunity to help the HKS admissions committee understand that, while you were not previously admitted, you are now even more prepared for the HKS classroom, and even more of a fit for the HKS degree program to which you are applying.
You only have 250 words for this essay, so you need to get directly to the point. I would start this essay out with a simple sentence that lists the changes in your applicant profile since your prior HKS application. Here is an example:
Since my prior application in 2018, I have taken supplementary coursework, received a higher score on the GRE, gained further clarity on my career goals, and engaged in more volunteer work.
Here is an outline you can use for your Harvard Kennedy School Reapplication Essay:
You have so few words for this essay that you can consider not including a concluding sentence. If you have room for a concluding sentence, you can reiterate your enthusiasm for attending Harvard Kennedy School or your hope that the updates you’ve provided are helpful.
Here is a sample concluding sentence for your HKS Reapplication Essay:
I hope that these updates will help the Admissions Committee in the reconsideration of my application.
The Harvard Kennedy School motto, echoing the President for whom the School is named, is “Ask what you can do.” Please share with the Admissions Committee how you have created positive change thus far in your most substantial professional leadership and/or public service role. (500 word limit)
Most applicants will mess up this essay by trying to cram too many stories and roles into this essay. You will write a much stronger essay if you focus on one overarching role in which you were able to create positive change in one big way or multiple smaller, interconnected ways. What I don’t suggest you try and do is write about multiple roles. The prompt is asking for your most substantial professional leadership and/or public service role. That means you should choose one role.
Discuss your decision to choose international development as your professional career. Also, explain how developing your analytic skills relates to your career in development. (750 word limit)
For the MPA-ID International Development Essay, you can use the outline and tips I gave for the Career Goals Essay. However, you need to make sure that you also discuss the importance of having strong analytical skills relates to your career in development.
Describe a public policy or public management problem related to international development and analyze a range of solutions. (750 word limit)
The Harvard Kennedy School Public Policy Essay is similar to the Princeton SPIA Policy Memo, except that you get 750 words rather than four double-spaced pages (about 1000 words).
Introductory Paragraph: Tell the reader what specific issue you are going to explore, and 3-4 solutions you will analyze.
Background Information: Provide 2-4 sentences providing background information on the issue at hand. What would the reader need to know about the issue you are going to discuss in order to understand your analysis of the possible solutions?
Discuss 3-4 possible solutions. For each of your 3-4 proposed solutions, answer the following questions:
Concluding Paragraph: Here is where you can make a recommendation on what should be done now to address the issue (based on your analysis above), and where you can make a recommendation on what could be explored in the future. You should state the solution that has the most potential to address the issue at hand. Propose possible further areas of inquiry.
Yes! We are accepting HKS application materials for Rush Editing.
Review Deadlines & Turnaround Times: Click Here
Good News! We’re still accepting materials for editing with a quick turnaround for December 1–15 deadlines.
Important: The final deadline to submit materials is Tuesday, November 29, at 9 PM CT.
