impatientlywaiting26

Did others get a stock email asking them to apply to a graduate assistantship?

I'm trying to decide between NYU Wagner's MPA with a focus in Management, and Carnegie Mellon Heinz's MSPPM-DC track. Ultimately, my goal is to work in a management role in city government. During grad school, I intend to gain work and internship experience in local government - which should be doable through either program. After school, I'd like to work in a city in the Northeast, Midwest, or Pacific Northwest (I'll take snow over heat any day), and don't want to be in DC long-term. I've spent the last 2 years (since immediately after undergrad) working at a research institution in DC focusing on criminal justice policy, and would like to transition into government work on a broader set of issues. Some factors playing into my decision: CMU offered 80% tuition - so including money I have earmarked for grad school, tuition and fees are covered and I end up with about 10k I will be using for living expenses. NYU didn't offer me money, but I'm in consideration for a second round of funding offers, and am in touch with a research center that could end up offering me an on-campus work position. In NYC, I'd be living with my parents, and they would cover my living expenses. With CMU, I'd be in DC working 4 days a week and ideally earning money in that role - and living with my boyfriend (we currently live together and will do long-distance while I am away for grad school). So financially it's pretty clear to me that CMU is a better option. That said, NYU lines up more with my academic interests, and I think will give me more of the urban management focus I'm so interested in. I'm still in the process of visiting schools, so I haven't 100% ruled out other options (American with 10k/year, GWU with 10k/year, UNC with 1 year covered + assistantship and 14k stipend for 1st year only, Pitt GSPIA with 75%/year), but my sense is that CMU and NYU are my best options and top choices. I'm hoping to have more clarity after admitted students days at GWU, CMU and NYU (I already visited American), but that puts me at less than 2 weeks before April 15th, and I'm starting to worry about how to decide. Thoughts? Suggestions for wrangling funding from NYU? Thanks!

@thelionking Thanks for the input! As I've heard details from more schools, the situation's even more complicated now. My real concern with staying where I go to grad school is a long-distance relationship. My boyfriend and I have been together almost four years. He's a few years older, and currently working in his dream job, and it would be challenging for him to relocate and find a similar position because of his field. We've done 2 years of long-distance already, and could do 2 more, but I don't really want to put us in a position where the expectation is another 4/5 years of long-distance - it's too much for me (and us). Now that I've heard from more schools, I'm really deciding between Carnegie-Mellon's DC track program, which offered a really significant scholarship (not the one listed above) and would mean only 1 year of long distance, and NYU's MPA, with no funding, but where I'd be living with family is living costs would be covered. So now I'm looking at close-to-free, solid option vs. expensive dream school. I also have generous offers at UNC and Pitt, and smaller offers at American and GW -- but I think I'm pretty much down to NYU or CMU. Sorry for the droning -- i probably should have waited on the original post until I had all this info, but I got antsy...

Just got my financial offer as well - super generous!

I'm considering the MPA and was at the admitted students day yesterday. Not quite the same, but there's some overlap, it seems.

Nothing on funding for me either - but I'm in!

I just got an email with a funding update: "A common question many students have at this stage is about merit scholarship aid. All students who are admitted to GSPIA are automatically considered for scholarships – there is no special application required. If you are selected for one of GSPIA’s competitive scholarship awards, you will be notified by email before the end of March. (Your admission letter may have been unclear about this and may have stated that you would be notified about scholarships by December, but that issue in the electronic letter has now been fixed.) You will be notified by the end of March, 2017 if you are chosen for any merit scholarship aid. "

Just got my offer today as well! @bummerman, mine said I'd hear about funding in December - which is clearly a typo, but I don't know if it means I am definitely getting funding or just being considered. I'll update this post if I hear more from them.

@emilyf413 Did they give you any more detail about early decisions? I'm going to be driving myself mad checking the portal

@sleeplesswithcoffee I think I'll be there on the 10th! The 31st sounds more specific to the MPA, but another school I was admitted to has its admitted weekend then.

Also just accepted to the DC track!

@dcguyNW My understanding is that almost everyone will hear on the 10th (or whatever the final date listed on the NYU website is each year). People who find out before the listed date are typically recipients of big fellowships. Here's hoping I'm wrong, though - I'd love to know sooner!

I haven't heard anything yet either!

I've been offered admission at a 3 of the 6 schools I applied to, and am still waiting to hear from another 3 - so I recognize I'm pretty fortunate to have lots of options, but I'd love to get some outsider takes on my situation. I'm looking at Masters of Public Administration programs, in case that's helpful context. One school I applied to offered me 1 year of tuition, health insurance and fees covered, plus a $14,000 stipend and RA-ship. This is a school I applied to hoping to get a significant scholarship, which i would potentially be able to mention to other schools as I negotiate financial aid packages. The program seems like a good fit, though the school isn't ranked so highly grads seem to be finding work in related fields, which is great to see. My main hang-up is that from reading about the school and speaking with professors and students, the program is fairly regional. many students are in-state, and intend to stay in-state. The school is located in a place (and state) I don't see myself staying in long-term, and I'm a little concerned that I will have more trouble finding work following graduation in places I'd like to live. My other options right now have offered me what amounts to about 1/3 of tuition for the full 2 year program. One seems like a better fit topic-wise, but doesn't have as great a national/international reputation, and the other doesn't hone in on my main interests as much, but has a good reputation. I'm still waiting to hear from my dream school, where I don't anticipate much funding (if any), and another option that is less focused on my specific interests but has a good reputation and builds in significant experiential learning components that are important to me. A third school is pretty much out of the running, considering what I've been offered already. Does it make sense to keep considering a school that gives me a lot of money, if I'm concerned about post-grad opportunities? Does a great financial package, which will give me flexibility to intern and take other opportunities without worrying much about money, mitigate concerns about what happens after grad school? Thanks for your thoughts!

@mpamppquestions My heart was flip-flopping when I saw someone posted in this thread - clearly we're in the same boat! Here's hoping for (good) news today!

I haven't heard yet either... here's hoping they send out decisions soon!

@margota Thank you! Any sense of employment opportunities beyond the DMV area with an MPA from American? My concern with American (and UNC and Pitt) is that it's a fairly regional school, and if I'm looking to eventually work in another major metro area it's not going to be as competitive a degree as one from NYU or GW or Carnegie Mellon.

Also got the merit scholarship details last night. I don't know if they do full, but it's nice to know! I wasn't expecting to have all the info by mid-February.

I got the same amount of detail on funding with my GW MPA acceptance. In the results section of the site someone mentioned they were selected as an alternate for a fellowship, but I haven't seen any more info from GW MPP/MPA candidates. Congrats! I guess we'll have to wait and see on specific financial packages.

Anyone considering UNC-CH as an option for next fall? I don't know a ton about the program and haven't had a chance to visit campus yet, so I would love to hear others' pros/cons of the program. I'm looking to move from policy research to administration/management work, ideally focused on city management. Other schools I've applied to are NYU, GW, CMU, American and Pitt. My sense from talking to professors and students at UNC is that I'd probably like the school and program, but I'm a little concerned that it would be tougher for me to find work outside of the region, especially when I'm comparing to schools like NYU and CMU. Not all my decisions are in yet, so it's hypothetical at this point... Thoughts?

Anyone considering American as an option for next fall? I don't know a ton about the program and haven't had a chance to visit campus yet, so I would love to hear others' pros/cons of the program. For a little context, I'm ~2 years out of undergrad and have been working in policy research in DC since then. I'm looking to make a shift into administration/management work, ideally focused on city management. Other schools I've applied to are NYU, GW, CMU, UNC and Pitt.

Hey @TeaOverCoffee - I'm living and working in DC now, so I can share a little insight. I think this depends what area you're trying to find a spot in - if you share where you are considering going I can be a little more helpful! Typically if you're looking to live in DC (as opposed to suburbs), you'll want to look for space ~2 months in advance. It doesn't hurt to look earlier, but often I've found that listings for owner-rented spaces and even some apartments aren't up until 2 months before you'd be moving. That said - I haven't been a student in DC, so I'm not sure what markets are like around campuses (except that many of them are relatively steep). If you have questions about neighborhoods, etc., let me know!

Program/Institution: (All MPA/MSPPMs) NYU, GW, American, CMU, Pitt, UNC Interests: City/Non-Profit Management Undergrad Institution: US News Top 25 Liberal Arts College Undergraduate Major: B.A. in Political Science + Geography (double major with separate capstones) Undergraduate Concentration: Urban Studies Undergraduate GPA: 3.64 Quantitative Courses: Research Methods for Social Sciences, Intro to Econ, Intro to GIS GRE: 160 verbal, 160 quant, 4.5 written Undergrad Activities: RA for 2 years, organized large-scale speaker events, student body representative, ran political science honor society (including planning academic conferences), revamped campus policies for dorms and meal plans. Undergrad Awards: Writing in social sciences, significant scholarship for women involved in the political science department, various recognitions for leadership/involvement on campus. Age: 24 Years of Work Experience: Will be at 2 by the time I leave this job for grad school. I am a research assistant at a large policy research organization, and I use both quant and qual research methods in my work. SOP: Shares story of my interest in urban management, coming about due to involvement in city government/politics while in high school and interest in making cities livable and beneficial for all people. Languages: English. Conversational French and Hebrew, but nothing I plan to use in a career. LORs: Two current supervisors I work with directly on a daily/weekly basis and one Political Science professor, who I wrote a capstone under and took many courses with. Concerns: I want to be in a program where I can work/intern while at school, preferably in a city government role. I'm curious about what my odds are for scholarships/assistantships at these schools as well. Thanks for your time and thoughts!