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Can I get into a masters programme related to my bachelor at Harvard after my uni?

Hey everyone. I'm currently enrolled in a bachelor's program in Politics and Economics at Luiss University in Rome. I'm already thinking about my options for a master's degree as I'm an adult student. I'd really like to do a master's in the US, ideally at Harvard or another ivy university. But I feel like Luiss' scope and prestige might not be sufficient even though I'm confident in my ref letters, extracurriculars and work experience. What are my chances of getting into a master's program at Harvard, specifically one in the Department of Government?

Reply 1

stevnw

I mean realistically speaking, say you do get accepted. The cost of it is going to be insane, even with some of the scholarships. The price I found for just the tuition fees alone is ~$65k, and then you would have to factor in accomodation, probably health insurence and whatever other living costs. Not to mention Cambridge, Massachusetts is a really expensive area.

Unless you come from wealth and can afford to do this, its okay to have dreams but it probably will not be worth it...

(edited 2 months ago)

Reply 2

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Hi, I've moved your thread to the studying in North America forum :smile:

Reply 3

Interesting44

Original post by stevnw

I mean realistically speaking, say you do get accepted. The cost of it is going to be insane, even with some of the scholarships. The price I found for just the tuition fees alone is ~$65k, and then you would have to factor in accomodation, probably health insurence and whatever other living costs. Not to mention Cambridge, Massachusetts is a really expensive area.
Unless you come from wealth and can afford to do this, its okay to have dreams but it probably will not be worth it...

Is it the same for every ivy plus stanford? Don't they have need or merit based tuition fee waivers?

Reply 4

stevnw

Original post by Interesting44

Is it the same for every ivy plus stanford? Don't they have need or merit based tuition fee waivers?

I do not want to be a downer but you are going to have to talk to admissions teams regarding ways to reduce your tuition fees as I am not that aware. Regardless of those, most of the cities the Ivy League schools are in are exceptionally expensive and the additional living costs outside of the tuition is probably going to be in the ball park of $20k on the lighter end.
Say you can get tuition down to 20k as well, that is 40k minimum needed probably upfront as I doubt you are getting a US loan for this.

Again, if you are well off then I am sure it will be worth it. Sadly I don't think it is going to be worth it for anyone who cannot afford it outright.

Reply 5

blluefish

Original post by Interesting44

Is it the same for every ivy plus stanford? Don't they have need or merit based tuition fee waivers?

You really need to do your research on each university's website first before asking random people here. All this information is public and available on their websites. Also, universities' admissions are really more like marketing departments and will gladly answer any questions from potential applicants, and you will get accurate timely information first-hand.
Most Ivy League and Stanford do offer merit- and need- based scholarships to all students, including Masters'.
Also, different universities have a different focus of their Masters of Public Policy (I think this is what you mean) or similar programmes. For example, Harvard and Princeton focus on domestic US policy while Yale programme is more international. Again, you need to spend some time doing online research and choosing the right programmes, and then approach Admissions in relevant schools with some targeted questions.