Questions I asked before choosing a graduate program

vad206 Mon, 06/29/2026 - 08:59 July 1, 2026 Graduate school is a serious commitment. Whether you’re putting a pause on your career, taking on debt, or packing up your life and moving to a new city, it’s a decision that requires careful thought and consideration. I often hear people say, “I’ll just go to graduate school” when they’re facing a difficult job market or feeling lost professionally. While those moments can certainly create an opportunity to start thinking about graduate school, they aren’t enough on their own to answer whether graduate school is the right next step. In the spirit of demystifying the process—and challenging the idea that you can simply pick up and do it without much reflection—I want to share the questions that informed my own decision-making process. Why a Master in Public Policy, and why now? For me, graduate school was something I had been thinking about since undergrad. As a first-generation, low-income Latina, education was always emphasized in my household. By the time I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in economics, I knew I wanted to pursue another degree someday because I genuinely enjoyed learning. What I didn’t know was what that degree should be. I knew I wanted to be a public servant, and many of the leaders I admired had law degrees. At the same time, I was drawn to a Master of Business Administration (MBA) because I saw many leaders with strong business backgrounds making an impact as well. Ultimately, I decided to go into consulting straight out of undergrad. I had financial goals I wanted to accomplish for myself and my family—including helping my parents buy a home—and I believed professional experience would help me better understand what I wanted from graduate school. After several years of work, I realized that I loved both designing ideas and implementing them. I liked strategy, but I also liked execution. A combined degree that would allow me to pursue an MBA and a Master in Public Policy (MPP) felt like the perfect combination because it allowed me to bridge those two worlds: the implementation of ideas and the design of public policy. Most importantly, I knew I was ready to make a career pivot into the public sector, and graduate school felt like the right vehicle to help me get there. Where do I really want to be? Once I had clarity on the degree, the next question became: where do I want to physically be? For me, the answer was fairly straightforward. My interests were centered on domestic policy, and Washington, D.C., was where I ultimately wanted to build my career. That naturally led me to focus my search on programs along the East Coast. I also narrowed my list to schools that offered a joint MBA/MPP program. That single criterion eliminated many schools and helped me focus on the programs that aligned most closely with my goals. Eventually, my search came down to a handful of schools in Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C. “Graduate school was never the destination—it was a tool to help me get closer to the future I wanted to build.” Maleni Palacios MPP 2027 How am I going to pay for this? By the time you get to this question, you're probably feeling inspired and excited about the prospect of graduate school. Then reality hits. For me, financing graduate school required both optimism and pragmatism. I believed I could earn scholarships, but I also knew I couldn't rely on hope alone. I spent a significant amount of time researching funding opportunities. Programs like The Consortium helped support my MBA applications, and I learned about fellowships through the Center for Public Leadership at HKS that offered substantial financial support. I did everything I could to understand these opportunities and put my best foot forward in the application process. At the same time, I had to be realistic. I accepted that I was comfortable taking on some debt, but I established a limit that I was not willing to exceed. I also recognized that I would likely continue working in some capacity as a freelancer to help manage my financial responsibilities. That may not be the right approach for everyone, but for me, maintaining some level of work while in school felt both necessary and manageable. How will I manage my family and relationships? This is probably the question people talk about the least, but it's one of the most important. For some of you, your partner or family may be able to move with you. For others, like me, graduate school may mean navigating a long-distance relationship. I'm not going to sugarcoat it—this can be one of the hardest parts of the graduate school experience. What helped me was trusting the relationships I had built over the years. I had confidence that the people who loved me would understand the commitment I was making and would support me through it. I also made intentional efforts to stay connected. Being only a short flight from home made a difference, and I tried to visit my loved ones at least twice a month whenever possible. Graduate school may test your relationships, but it can also reveal just how strong your support system really is. What is my dream job? Ultimately, all of these questions led me back to one final question: where do I want this degree to take me? For me, the answer was clear. I wanted to work in the federal government and be in Washington, D.C., contributing to public policy and helping shape solutions to some of our country's biggest challenges. An MBA/MPP felt like the most direct path toward that goal. Today, that vision has evolved in ways I couldn't have anticipated. The path has taken a different shape than the one I imagined when I first started applying to graduate school. But the core of that vision remains the same: a commitment to public service, leadership, and making a meaningful impact. Graduate school was never the destination—it was a tool to help me get closer to the future I wanted to build. As you think about your own graduate school journey, spend time asking yourself these questions. The answers don't have to be perfect, but they should be honest. The more clarity you have about your motivations, goals, finances, and support systems, the more confident you'll feel when it's finally time to make your decision. Maleni Palacios MBA/MPP 2027 Originally from Atlanta, GA, Maleni Palacios MBA/MPP 2027 is a determined champion of socioeconomic mobility, committed to ensuring all Americans have the opportunity to move upward and fully participate in society. She believes public infrastructure projects are a way to achieve this and during her time at HKS she has practiced this through the Michael S. Dukakis Governors’ Summer Fellowship Program working with the North Carolina's Governor's Office and the Greater Boston Applied Field Lab . At HKS, she has also led the U.S. Latinx Caucus and State and Local PIC and participated in the State and Local Economic Development Seminar (SLED). During her last year at HKS she hopes to participate in Transition Term and go on as many coffee chats with her fellow classmates. Questions I asked before choosing a graduate program Contact Maleni Palacios MPP 2027