Northernlightgradcafe
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Posts posted by Northernlightgradcafe
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Thanks for the help! I was definitely leaning towards Columbia (still am) but now, I am torn because I received almost full funding for Maxwell at Syracuse (MAIR). I have no idea what to do now. The Maxwell program is so different from SIPA. SIPA is everything I want, but its really hard to turn down all of that money. Not that I'm complaining, this is such a good problem to have, but now the decision is that much harder. Gah.
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Hi all,
Now that admissions are in, I have been able to narrow down my top three and would love to get some opinions on each of the programs, especially SIPA because it’s the one I haven’t been able to visit. Some background, I want to go into the non-profit/public sector world in human rights advocacy especially in the area of gender based violence prevention in conflict. I wrote some pros and cons below.
Fletcher (Human Security and Humanitarian Assistance fields of study most likely)
Pros: Scholarship money, plus AmeriCorps grant means my tuition would be more then cut in half the first year; Flexibility in the curriculum which I think I could work to my advantage, plus I really like the curriculum; I get the sense that there is an awesome community; Career Services seems strong; Can audit language classes and have more than one chance to pass language exam; Strong faculty working in my area of interest; They have funding opportunities for international internships; Ability to take classes at Kennedy
Cons: Not sure if I want to trade DC or NYC for Somerville, and the schedule rigidity in that it would be substantially more difficult to work a part time job while studying (working is a must as I am fully supporting myself in this endeavor)
SIS (Ethics, Peace and Global Affairs)
Pros: I love all of the pieces of the program (curriculum, ability to do a practica, professional development ect.); I’ve always wanted to live DC ; When I went to campus I had a great conversation with many students/prospective students and felt very welcome and generally got good vibes and the schedule flexibility; I could work during the day.
Cons: DC is expensive and did not receive a lot of funding
SIPA (Gender and Public Policy paired with Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy)
Pros: Curriculum in the concentration and specialization is exactly what I am looking for; Faculty interests match my academic interests; NYC, connection to the UN which is something I am looking towards in the future; Global reputation; I’m from NYC and have the option to live at home for a substantially lower cost than Boston or DC
Cons: No funding (or well no funding as of yet); Substantial quantitative requirement (I’m not a math person, but I know that it’s necessary to develop these skills so its more like a programmatic pro and personal con); One shot at the language exam (would be taking Arabic...a little worried); Bigger school and I’ve heard it’s more impersonal but I would like some more substantive opinions to back that up.
I know I can’t really go wrong with any one and its a lucky choice to have but I would love to get thoughts? Opinions?
Congrats! In my humble opinion, Columbia SIPA is the best fit for you. Here is why:
you want to do humanitarian work at the global level, that requires a school that has the highest global reputation. Fletcher and SAIS are only known to be ultra-prestigious by people within the I.R. field. The general public, especially people from other countries know Columbia better. You need Columbia because it is perceived to be much better by those internationals that you have to work with in the future.
Also, SIPA is in NYC and UN is right there. Fletcher has a very bad location which almost immediately eliminates it from the competition in my opinion. SAIS has a great location and great network in the world bank/IMF, but if you are aiming for a really international career(working overseas, etc), Columbia still has the upper hand.
Hopefully this is helpful. I also got into all three, but my field is I.R./security so I am turning down Columbia.
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yes it is a paragraph in the admission letter, it reads
In recognition of your outstanding application and achievements, you have been awarded the Dean’s Service Scholarship. As a recipient of the Dean’s Service Scholarship, you will be guaranteed a coveted SIPA assistantship (service that is valued at a minimum of $10,500) for one semester in your second year of study at SIPA if you maintain a GPA of 3.4 and full-time enrollment at SIPA. In order to secure the assistantship, you would be required to apply and accept the assistantship offer in April 2015. Further information on the assistantship will be provided to you in your fall semester.
so based on that paragraph i think it is similar to the Federal Work Study, if i attend SIPA i will have to work to earn it. But SIPA's tuition is higher than the other schools by default. And SIPA is not as prestigious in the IR circle. So I am very torn now
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Big cingrats! I don't have any info on funding. May I ask if that was in the admission decision letter on applyyourself?
yes it is a paragraph in the admission letter, it reads
In recognition of your outstanding application and achievements, you have been awarded the Dean’s Service Scholarship. As a recipient of the Dean’s Service Scholarship, you will be guaranteed a coveted SIPA assistantship (service that is valued at a minimum of $10,500) for one semester in your second year of study at SIPA if you maintain a GPA of 3.4 and full-time enrollment at SIPA. In order to secure the assistantship, you would be required to apply and accept the assistantship offer in April 2015. Further information on the assistantship will be provided to you in your fall semester.
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Accepted, also no word on funding yet. Not a single word or link about funding in that email. Congrats everyone who got in！ Good luck with all the rest!
I thought I would get rejected by GW because I made a terrible mistake in the SOP, I said "I want to get into SAIS" lol........But then I sent them an email immediately to submit a new SOP, before the deadline. I guess that worked!
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Just got my financial aid info for the Washington programme. No funding, mentioning that their funds are "extremely limited" (whatever that means).
Same here, Washington program, no funding. "extremely limited" ........
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Accepted into the China studies program!=) No word on funding yet, says in the email funding info will be sent in a separate email.
Good luck to everyone!
D.C. Campus by the way
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Accepted into the China studies program!=) No word on funding yet, says in the email funding info will be sent in a separate email.
Good luck to everyone!
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Programs & Schools: HKS (MPP); Princeton WWS (MPA); SAIS (China); Gtown (Security Studies); Tufts Fletcher (MALD); LSE (MSc); MIT (MA); Yale Jackson (MA); GWash Elliot (Security Policy Studies); Columbia SIPA (MA-Intl Sec)
Notified so far by: Tufts Fletcher (admitted)
Undergraduate Institution: non-ivy ranked around no. 30 in US news
Undergraduate Major: PolSci+Classics
Undergraduate GPA: 3.64 overall, 3.76(PolSci)
GRE: took it twice sent both scores. VR: 162, 160 ; QR: 158, 163 ; AW 4.0, 4.0
Years of Work Experience: none, but interned at U.S. Senate and CSIS, ran a major undergrad IR journal as president for one year
Relevant Course Work: advanced IR theory(grad level), national security, foreign policy, a lot of history classes, comparative politics, intro level micro and macro econ, Calculus(AP converted, didn't take courses during undergrad), AP Stats, AP Chem...
Language: Chinese (native proficiency), Spanish (just a little bit), Latin (intermediate I guess)
SOP: talked about future career goals, in some of the longer SOPs, talked in detail about lessons learnt about public service, in other SOPs that asked about school's relevance, talked about how certain faculties' research field are helpful to me in detail
LORs: Three stellar recs I think, 1 from thesis advisor who is well known in the IR theory field, 1 from a professor who is well known in the china field, 1 from a CSIS senior advisor and program chair.
I'm not sure about my chances for HKS, Yale Jackson or Princeton WWS, I really do not have much relevant work experience in public administration apart from my internships. My GPA I feel does not give me advantage either. Personally I am into security studies and feel I have a greater chance in those programs.
Any comment is much appreciated! Thanks!
Just an update, I received offers from Fletcher and LSE, still waiting on the other schools.
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sorry I meant I received offer from Fletcher MALD, haven't decided whether I want to go yet
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Programs & Schools: HKS (MPP); Princeton WWS (MPA); SAIS (China); Gtown (Security Studies); Tufts Fletcher (MALD); LSE (MSc); MIT (MA); Yale Jackson (MA); GWash Elliot (Security Policy Studies); Columbia SIPA (MA-Intl Sec)
Notified so far by: Tufts Fletcher (admitted)
Undergraduate Institution: non-ivy ranked around no. 30 in US news
Undergraduate Major: PolSci+Classics
Undergraduate GPA: 3.64 overall, 3.76(PolSci)
GRE: took it twice sent both scores. VR: 162, 160 ; QR: 158, 163 ; AW 4.0, 4.0
Years of Work Experience: none, but interned at U.S. Senate and CSIS, ran a major undergrad IR journal as president for one year
Relevant Course Work: advanced IR theory(grad level), national security, foreign policy, a lot of history classes, comparative politics, intro level micro and macro econ, Calculus(AP converted, didn't take courses during undergrad), AP Stats, AP Chem...
Language: Chinese (native proficiency), Spanish (just a little bit), Latin (intermediate I guess)
SOP: talked about future career goals, in some of the longer SOPs, talked in detail about lessons learnt about public service, in other SOPs that asked about school's relevance, talked about how certain faculties' research field are helpful to me in detail
LORs: Three stellar recs I think, 1 from thesis advisor who is well known in the IR theory field, 1 from a professor who is well known in the china field, 1 from a CSIS senior advisor and program chair.
I'm not sure about my chances for HKS, Yale Jackson or Princeton WWS, I really do not have much relevant work experience in public administration apart from my internships. My GPA I feel does not give me advantage either. Personally I am into security studies and feel I have a greater chance in those programs.
Any comment is much appreciated! Thanks!
Fletcher, SIS, SIPA?
in Government Affairs Forum
Posted
Id say, follow your interest and passion.
Congratulations on the funding from syracuse, but do notice that if you take syracuse you are making two compromises:
1. Choosing a different concentration that you are not that passionate about
2. Choosing a much less prestigious school that no one likely heard about in other countries.
The money factor is indeed huge, but from my reading of your post, if seems to me that the cost of attending SIPA is not forbiddingly taxing on you I guess?
If money is the only thing turning you away from sipa, then i would recommend taking a deferral year with SIPA and use that year to work on a job or a combination of things to save up a small fortune, and perhaps SIPA will allow you to re-apply for aid next year.
Again, if money is all that is turning you away from SIPA, it's better to do some maths, and see how attending SIPA affects your financial future, and for how long