greendiplomat

I think stats wise, while you're no shoo-in, you're fine (the fact that you got As in both micro and macro while majoring in a less quantitative subject show promise/drive). It'll boil down to how strong your SOP and LORs are. As with any application, just be sure to comment on how you're a fit for the school and how the curriculum (both core and human rights) suit you. Also don't skimp out on the quant CV. I got into SIPA last year (and deferred for a year, so I'll be entering with your class) straight out of college with a 3.2 GPA, though I think I benefited a huge amount from my GRE scores and the fact that I went to Columbia for undergrad. In my application, I made sure to emphasize that I was aptly prepared despite my "weaknesses" (i.e. 4 years of relevant internships despite having no full-time experience, and high grades in relevant classes despite a not-so-stellar cumulative GPA).

I don't see your point. Sure, having a separate IR school would be like the Elliott or SFS (or Fletcher at Tufts or SAIS at Johns Hopkins...), but having a policy school with a strong international focus would be like SIPA at Columbia, HKS at Harvard, WWS at Princeton, etc. etc. Both have their merits, but I'd say it's much easier to build upon the resources and reputation that Wagner already has, than to build an entire school from scratch. From a purely budgetary perspective, having 2 separate schools or departments costs more to the university as well (unless, of course, the case can be made that having the two as separate schools, as opposed to two programs/tracks within the same school, would bring in enough students to offset those additional costs).

Well the best thing for NYU would be for the Global Affairs degree to be absorbed by Wagner, so that Global Affairs can benefit from the Wagner name-brand (and Wagner benefits by becoming more international). It seems like a no-brainer, but apparently intra-university/inter-school politics are preventing it from happening (i.e. the Global Affairs program is a pretty significant revenue stream for SCPS, so they don't want to give it up). In my mind, the happy middle-ground would be to do something along the lines of what SIPA does with Columbia's School for Continuing Education, where they have the actual degree programs at the former, with certificate programs (i.e. "Critical Issues in International Relations Certificate Program", "United Nations Studies Certificate Program") in the latter... (yes, I'm biased as a Columbia alum going to SIPA ).

The SCPS is a school mainly dedicated to continuing education, and, as such, Keondra is right in that the program won't be as intellectual/cerebral as its peer institutions, incl. Wagner. This said, the Wagner program's disadvantage if you're interested in international affairs is that it's very domestically-focused, and, as you'll see by exploring the Wagner website, the course offerings in international affairs are VERY limited (with the exception of international development, though offerings in this area are still comparatively sparse) and it seems to have limited success in career placement in international orgs. As such, take a look at Wagner's website to get sense of its applicability to your goals before making any decisions, but my advice given your other posts is to apply to other IR programs [incl. MPA/MPP programs with strong international focuses, but probably not Wagner... I'll respond to the other thread in a moment ] and, as you suggested, keep NYU-SCPS as a safety. The one aspect of Keondra's response that I completely disagree with is the significance of the degree name since,--and I'm sure you already know this if you've been looking at European Master's programmes, London-Tokyo--most taught (i.e. non-research/pre-doctoral) Master's degrees in the UK, including those in the social sciences, are MSc's. You'd write something along the lines of "Master of Science, Global Affairs" on a resume, so nobody's going to think you're a physical scientist, much in the same way that by writing "Bachelor of Arts, Economics and Environmental Science", none of my prospective employers have mistaken me for an artist. [ETA: Not to mention that arguably the most successful program at getting graduates into the foreign service, Georgetown's MSFS, stands for Master of Science in Foreign Service] As for the MSc/MS distinction, yes, they're both for Master of Science, the difference being that the British chose to use the first two letters of "Science", whereas the Americans chose to stick with just the first.

Similar situation with HKS, apparently. An email went out to people who had started an application but hadn't submitted by midnight that the Embark online app system went down, so they were accepting applications until midnight ET (instead of 5PM). They followed it up today with an email informing everyone that the recommendation forms were also down and that they (registered recommenders) will receive an email when it's back up. Was kinda frustrated because I could have used those extra 7 hours...

The difference, as you seem to notice, is that MPA2s don't need to take the core requirements (since they've theoretically already taken similar classes). This isn't a small difference, though, since the core pretty much takes up half of the classes you can take while there.

Yep, that was the reason for wanting to re-apply (if I'm going to go in debt, might as well get rid of the "what ifs"), though, as I (hopefully) suggested in my previous post, I'd be more than happy to go to SIPA (just a bit more happy to go to HKS, again, for individual reasons). As for advanced micro classes at Columbia, the two that I can think of off the top of my head are very theoretical (not to mention that the professor that teaches the one that would be easier for a SIPA student to get into I don't get along with ). The main reason I started this thread was to make sure that they won't rescind my offer for applying elsewhere, that's all. As for things that I'm doing prior to SIPA, right now, I'm focusing on getting all the funding I can find before I apply for loans in the spring. Nothing else I can think of, apart from maybe attend the admitted student's day (since I already live in NYC), and glance over the summer math camp.

Hey, thanks for the response; great to know that there are other people that have gone through the same dilemma. Retrospectively, yes, that's definitely the reason I applied the first time around (I was actually considering withdrawing my application when I got into SIPA), and, while I'd be lying if I said that "the H" didn't have an effect on my perception of my program, I do think that HKS is better suited to my individual needs. Namely, because my interests are in climate policy and the economic analysis thereof, I want a program that has a rigorous quantitative/econ component in addition to an international bent, and is strong in environmental/climate policy analysis. The first criterion (quant+international) limited my search primarily to IR degrees with MPP-like curricula or policy programs with international "tracks", and the second favors programs big enough to consistently have course offerings in climate policy, energy policy, etc. The factor that gave HKS the edge over SIPA, is "Microeconomic Analysis" (API-112/Econ-2020), a doctoral-level course in microeconomic theory applied to policy (as opposed to the advanced microeconomics classes offered most places that are more theoretical). Having that would allow me to get into the technical climate economics side of policy, and set me up well if I want to go on to get a PhD in Public Policy later on... that and the fact that I went to Columbia for undergrad and want a breath of fresh air! Either way, if admit rates are at all telling, more likely than not, I'll be seeing you in the fall. -- *Edited to add: I've been revising my statement of purpose, so my mind's there at the moment. Sorry if I got a bit SoP in your face... haha*

Earlier this year, I was admitted to SIPA's MIA program and decided to defer primarily for personal reasons, though finances played a part. Though this wasn't part of the plan, I got the urge to give HKS one last shot a month or so ago, but, given that I'd already paid the deposit, I wasn't going to turn SIPA down to reaplpy to both. Here's the question. Am I even allowed to apply to another program while holding a spot at SIPA? My general sense is yes, since the "Responding to Your Admissions Offer" page on SIPA's website only explicitly forbids attending another program prior to enrolling in SIPA and since the deposit serves as the "penalty" for my changed plans. Searching through the forums had yielded conflicting opinions. On one hand, seems to come to come to a similar conclusion to the above in that it's acceptable as long as you're willing to throw away the deposit. One user on on the other hand, seems to suggest otherwise. If I do end up reapplying, would I benefit from mentioning SIPA? This might seem unnecessary, but since I indicated on my previous application that I'd applied to SIPA, it shows that: (1) should I get in, I would likely attend HKS; and (2) that I got into SIPA the first time around, setting a certain benchmark for my qualifications. Any and all thoughts on the matter would be appreciated!

Excuse the short response (exams), but my understanding is that most HKS and SIPA students have external fellowships/scholarships. Given your work experience (and provided that you have the numbers to back this up), I'm sure you can get funding if you want to attend HKS and/or SIPA.

I think the first paragraph means that you weren't among the however many that were offered admission off the waitlist after the 5/3 deadline, and that the rest means that they still want you if people decide not to come. I, for one, am very likely to defer, so that's one spot up in the air. They gave me until 5/17 to make the decision (I asked for an extension due to another notification), so somebody will hear back around then. Hopefully it's one of you guys!

SIPA definitely isn't considered a cash cow outside of the admissions-forum world. Take as an example Foreign Policy's rankings, which are a good representation of program reputability, given that respondents are asked to name 5 of the programs that they deem to be best in the field. Columbia ranks in 5th ahead of Princeton (though with a very slim margin). My point is that, while Princeton is THE program to get into on boards like these due to its selectivity and high availability of fellowships, the difference isn't as pronounced once you enter the job market. My 2 cents on the issue is that Columbia has by far the largest class size out of its peer programs. While this means that they end up taking a few of the candidates that wouldn't be competitive at, say, Princeton (and thus aren't able to offer as much aid per student), they do have the funds to offer a much wider variety in its course offerings. More importantly, however, since they have much more students coming out of the program, they do end up having a considerably greater representation in the "real world" (esp. in international organizations and in the private sector). Whether it's worth the cost, though, boils down to your personal finances and whether you think it's worth it.

BOO rejection . This was a test-round, since I'm applying as a college senior, but I guess I got my hopes up after getting into SIPA... Oh well, I guess I'll have more of a chance to get a fellowship/aid next time around. I think the acceptance rate is high compared to other schools because environmental programs are much more specific and are therefore more self-selective than, say, a business or a law degree, which draw more generalists. And I think the 30% acceptance rate is from last year, given that they can't possibly have a figure for this year yet (since a few more people will probably be accepted from the waitlist).

Could we keep the convo FES-pertinent? I have a mini-heart attack whenever I see this thread updated!

No, Open Houses are designed by the respective schools to showcase what they have to offer, with the aim to increase the likelihood that admitted students will attend (i.e. to increase their yield). It's their last chance to "sell" the school, not a required event.

I agree, it's always worth a shot. Worst case scenario, they tell you that they can't accept your new info.

From what I understand, that's not what they do at the undergraduate level, if that means anything. I understand that the nature of admissions are different between the two but I'm assuming waitlist strategies are essentially the same. What usually happens is that they'll send one round of emails right after the May 3rd response deadline for admitted students once they have a better idea of how many people are accepting their offers. For example (and note that I'm pulling these numbers completely out of thin air), if they have 600 acceptances and 50 on the waitlist for a 350-person class, and if 345 happen to accept their offers, they're not going to keep all 50 on the waitlist for the remaining 5 spots. Usually, they'll accept 5 from the waitlist, deny maybe 25, and ask the other 20 whether they'd like to remain on the waitlist should any of the 5 decline their offers. Rinse and repeat. Again, the numbers aren't representative. I'm just trying to illustrate that they probably won't keep everyone if they know that they're not going to take a certain number of them.

Yes! I'm waiting to hear back from FES, though I probably won't go unless I can do the joint MEM/MBA program with SOM (my interests are in environmental finance).

Got into the MIA program, and, as expected, without funding. Now to wait for HKS and Yale FES/SOM.

Try emailing the admissions committee. I had a similar situation where a few of my grades were updated after I submitted my application, and a few of the schools said that they could add it to my file (while a few others said that they couldn't guarantee anything). In short, it's always worth a shot!

Very likely, considering that the MPA-ESP program has a early decision daedline: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/mpaenvironment/pages/admissions.html

http://sipa.columbia.edu/resources_services/financial_aid/types_aid.html all you need. EDIT: never mind, i realized i have more info. i intern with a number of SIPA students, and the cutoff for 2nd-year fellowships last year was a reasonable 3.2.

I think I'm going to include it as a separate statement, but I like the way you phrase it. I'll probably include the increased confidence bit (or a variation thereof). Maybe I should include a parenthetical citation like "... confidence in my academic future (Lauren the Librarian, 2010)" to avoid being accused of plagiarism. Oh, and I'm super impressed at how supportive/helpful everyone's been... Thanks!

Ok, out of context, I thought we were talking about a student in the second grade. In all seriousness, though, my question is why they don't have the PowerPrep software programmed to grade practice essays. *is bitter*.

I'd much rather a harsh but frank response than an sugar-coated and unhelpful one. How does this sound? (It'll be included in the "additional info" section.) Self-indulgent? Whiny? Cheesy? Feel free to be honest about modifications or even whether to leave it out all together. === I have recently been diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which can in part explain the fluctuation in academic performance between Fall and Spring semesters (since the Spring semester begins in the height of winter, and, as you are probably aware, the onset of spring in New York is relatively late in the Spring semester). I have, however, taken active measures to prevent this problem from interfering with my academic perfromance at the graduate level. The official diagnosis of the problem has allowed me to seek medical treatment, and this will hopefully be reflected in my grades for the Spring of my senior year. In addition, in order to solidify my understanding of the material covered in ECON W3211: Intermediate Microeconomics, in which I received a C+ the spring of my sophomore year (Spring 2008), I retook the class this past semester, the understanding of which allowed me receive an A in ECON W4911: Senior Seminar in Microeconomic Theory. If anything, this experience dealing with SAD has allowed me to become more aware of my limitations and to seek help when necessary. ===