socal_kid

Well that's both comforting and scary. Best of luck to everyone here! Hopefully we all get in.

Interesting. Is the $63k figure significantly lower than those of years past? I am a little surprised the average work experience is so low for those accepted. I mean you figure the average age of the incoming student is 26 and then graduates when he or she is 28. At 28 years old 2.5 years of full time work experience is pretty low. I would imagine this is kind of a turn off for any employer given most people would be out of undegrad for 6 years at this point.

I was given the Luskin fellowship. It says it's for the 2013-14 year. Does anyone know what happens the year after, meaning are most fellowships just one year and then you're on your own?

Just heard back as well. Was accepted and given a substantial fellowship. Best of luck to others.

Thanks state_school. That was really informative. You made me want to get off the waitlist, so I can only hope. Cheers.

got waitlisted. can't say i'm not disappointed, but i am curious to know more about what in particular held me back. anyone know what the protocol is on waitlist stuff for grad school? can i email the admissions people and ask what else i can do? or send them a blurb about why they should reconsider?

It's too late. I am already curled up in a ball of despair.

I have not heard from Luskin yet. I believe decisions are sent out mid-March, but I am not 100% certain about the date.

State_School, I am wondering too how you're finding Goldman. It looks like by your stats that you had a lot of different options to choose from. What made you choose Goldman and do you regret it in any way? I'm also wondering how the financial aid situation at the school works and if there is a pretty heavy quant focus.

I'm assuming you got into GPPI since you heard? Out of curiosity where does Goldman rank on your list?

Hey All, I haven't seen any threads recently about Fall 2013 at Berkeley's Goldman School, so I thought I'd go ahead and start one. I know decisions are released in March which is just around the corner, but does anyone know the ballpark range of when they're released (i.e. earlier or later in the month)? Also, regarding financial aid, I've heard that if you are accepted into Goldman it is one of the more generous schools with regards to providing its students with assistance of some sort. Can anyone validate/dispel this claim? Of course these questions will be moot if I don't get accepted, but I imagine they will help those who get in.

It sounds like the answers you're getting are dealing with the area and commute times around Irvine. To answer your question: "I'm trying to decide if the program is worth moving to the area for..." UCI is a solid school. It's not nearly as good as the top UC's, but a solid top 50 university. That being said, its MPP program is not mentioned as one of the top programs. USNews doesn't have it ranked in the top 25 in MPP programs if that matters to you. This is probably because as far as I know the program was only started a year or 2 ago. So your answer probably depends on how good the employment stats are for their program, how much in aid they're giving you, and how much you care about the reputation (or lackthereof) of the program. With regard to the city of Irvine itself, I can give you some decent insight as I went to UCI for undergrad and lived there for 2 years post undergrad. First and foremost: it is not a college town! Irvine is the definition of manicured suburbia, which is good and bad depending on your preference. The city is mostly upper middle class families and has tons of shopping plazas and chain stores. It is super duper safe and everything closes at 9 or 10. Most parties I attended in my undergrad years were house parties because there really are no bars within a convenient distance. (pub on campus if you count that) If you are into the bar scene, you should move to Newport Beach where there are plenty of dive bars close by populated by many a frat/sorority clique. The down side to Newport Beach is it's more expensive and parking can be a hassle. The University itself is a ghost town on the weekends because it's a commuter school. The entire campus is pretty small as it's a circle. Parking, as with every university, is a pain in the behind. That's all I can think of, but I would imagine if you're not getting a decent amount of financial aid, given the school's relatively new start it'd probably not be worth the debt.