lahdeedah

For those interested in joining the Facebook group: - if you have already sent your contact info to satellite2014, she has sent you a friend request on FB. Please 'accept' her invitation, and she'll add you to the group. - if you haven't yet sent in your details, please either DM me with your email address (not FB name) *or* please find the group "NPSIA 2016" on Facebook and send a request to be added (note: if you're going with the latter option, maybe just include a few words to tell me that you know about the group from the forum... While I don't think there will be a rush of people from the interweb trying to join the group, it would probably be helpful to keep it to those who have been accepted to NPSIA for this fall. The group is only 'closed' not 'secret', so anyone doing a search for NPSIA should be able to find it.) Thanks! See you on there.

Yup. Should we DM you our contact info?

So I was offered a CGS-M for the school I'm not planning on attending, and have not even made the waitlist for the school I AM planning to attend. (The latter was my first choice of program, and also offered more funding in the way of entrance scholarships...) What do people do in this case? Can you try to negotiate for more funding at the school that didn't offer you SSHRC if your application was good enough to receive it somewhere else? Ugh. I feel like a true April fool.

Did anyone apply for a CGS-M?

Question: has anyone rejected any offers yet? I'm just wondering how Munk, NPSIA, or GPSIA respond (if at all) when you decline an offer.

@strombone1: Thank you so much for this. It's certainly the strongest case for Munk that I've heard on any of these forums. What I take away from your argument, and from my own research, is that Munk is an excellent choice for someone interested in anything in the field of international affairs other than being a civil servant/diplomat/foreign service officer. Particularly with the Citizen Lab and some of the faculty, it seems like it may be the more innovative and exciting option. Personally speaking, I've been trying to get into DFATD since their last recruiting campaign was held in 2011 (though I'm not sure if they ever used any of those candidates because of the job action, collapse of CIDA, etc.) While I may very well be delusional for thinking this is a possibility (this is exactly what the NPSIA blogger said about anyone trying to get into the Foreign Service, in the post that @GabrielleBishop linked to), it's still my first choice. I'm thinking that NPSIA is my best/only/last option for trying to get in, even though I know I'll have to compete for a co-op position there. Also, I really do think that Ottawa can be like a small town in some ways and, though you note that the "Ottawa advantage" is being overemphasized, I can't help but feel that moving yourself there and making contacts, networking - even just meeting friends of friends - may help in some ways that can't be discounted. My thinking is: do an MA at NPSIA, do everything in my power to get into DFATD, and then - if I still don't get in - accept that the universe has made it abundantly clear that it is simply NOT going to happen for me. lol Will you be going to Munk in Fall 2014?

Congrats, @grog01! Munk and NPSIA are the only two schools I applied to, and I was also accepted to both. I'd be interested to hear what points you have in Munk's favour as you try to make your decision. Since this forum has mostly been about NPSIA (with a side of GPSIA) and what the advantages are in terms of getting placed with the govt for co-ops, National Capital Region, networks, social aspects, etc., I haven't heard too much about Munk but am very interested to hear what more of the positives are.

I also finally (!) received my offer this morning. Like @satellite, it also took 9 days, and my status also went back down to "Review in progress", then to "Review in Progress by FGPA" on Friday afternoon, and finally today I got an email telling me to check my status again, where it indicated that I had been accepted. I suppose in the grand scheme of things, 9 days is pretty quick, it just reallly doesn't feel like it when you're in the middle of it! : )) I guess the next thing to look out for - in terms of funding - is SSHRC and OGS (for those who applied) and any in-program funding options during the fall term. Thanks for the support and information!

@marika (and everyone else who has been talking about funding here), apparently there are more funding opportunities in-program,from both NPSIA and Carleton. These are ones where you get into financial need, etc. So there's still some funding to hopefully look forward to!

Is anyone else still waiting for the official offer? I'm an "S" (for my last name and 'S'tress.)

Well, I guess this just confirms what I learned in elementary school. It kinda sucks to have a last name that starts with a letter close to the end of the alphabet. lol

Is anyone still "Recommended for Assessment" in Carleton Central? I've come to really dislike those few words over the last month... lol

Can I also ask - was this divided up over two years? Or is this funding for your first year?

@Gabrielle, thank you for providing such a thorough response!! Wow. Just.... wow. I now no longer wonder what kind of funding I might be getting, but how I got into the program at all! lol It'll be great to meet everyone in September and put faces to the names.

Oh geez, there goes that theory... lol

This actually occurred to me (that it might be done alphabetically) but it seems to carry more weight when someone else says it! I hope they have mercy on those of us with names towards the end of the alphabet (I'm an 'S') and get back to us before the weekend... (if that's how it's even organized!)

@cinna, thanks so much for this!! I'm happy to hear from anyone, I just directed my question to Gabrielle because I think she was the only one to have included specific funding details that she had been offered by NPSIA when I wrote that. I don't actually think they'll rescind (knock on wood), I think I'm just worried about what the offer will include. I seem to be equating when you hear from FGPA with how much funding you'll be offered... so in my head, the longer it takes for a formal offer, the less funding I"ll be offered (if at all.) I have enough student loans at this point, that I'm sure the funding question was what caused the anxiety/nightmare. lol For those asking about Munk, I was offered $7,500. I was also disappointed, considering that's less than half of one year of tuition in the two-year program. They also noted that, if I were to receive OGS or SSHRC for more than the value of the scholarship, the scholarship would be withdrawn. So if I got $15,000 of OGS, no scholarship, and the OGS itself wouldn't even cover tuition.

Congratulations, Gabrielle - that's wonderful news! I haven't heard anything beyond the unofficial acceptance email on Monday and last night I had a nightmare (!) about it being rescinded because they spoke to one of my references and can no longer offer me a spot... not sure what THAT'S about (anxiety, much?!? lol) Anyway, do you mind me asking - did you have an amazing application? e.g. 4.0 GPA, stellar references, international CV, etc.? I'm trying to gauge what I can expect when I do hear from FGPA...

Hi all, I also received my unofficial acceptance from NPSIA on Monday. I'd definitely be curious to hear when people start receiving official acceptances, funding decisions, updates on Carleton Central, etc. Also, as an FYI for those who applied to Munk at UofT, I did get an email with some funding info today. Good luck to those still waiting to hear!

Thanks @icedtea! I should probably just relax and wait to see what happens on the 10th... I also don't know if I have it in me to apply for anything else right now. (I also applied for SSHRC CGS-M and OGS, which have pretty heavy duty application processes) Maybe I'll just take a peek at some other schools to see if I can apply after March 10th, if I don't get good news. Fingers still crossed! (and why am I still checking Carleton Central if I know we won't hear anything for another week and a half? smh.)

Gabrielle, thanks so much for the info! So what are we supposed to do until March 10th?? lol I think I may have put too many eggs in this one basket... NPSIA is my first choice because I'm aiming to get into DFATD one day and the program itself sounds pretty great. Only other program I applied to was the MGA at Munk, which is 2 years instead of 1, and several times the cost of the NPSIA program. Unless they provide substantial funding (this information will be sent out shortly; I already received an acceptance to the program itself) I don't even think it's a realistic option. Methinks I should have added in a few more applications for Fall 2014... Anyone happen to know if there are any good programs still accepting applications? (maybe in the UK or Europe?)

Hi all, Just starting a new thread for the 2014 fall applications... The 2013 group were pretty active on here and I found their posts to be helpful while I (anxiously) wait this out. Has anyone heard anything yet from NPSIA? My application is still "Recommended for Assessment." Based on last year's posts, it looks like mid-March may be the earliest we hear anything. I've received an offer from Munk at U of T (MGA program) and am hoping that NPSIA sends out their decision before the U of T deadline arrives. I'd be happy to hear from anyone else who applied to NPSIA for this fall. Good luck to everyone with their applications!