ajak568

Those of us who were accepted in February and told that funding decisions would come mid-March--we have yet to hear anything, right? I'm just curious to see what funding Syracuse's MPA program may Or may not offer me.

In with funding! 2 yrs Full tuition+ health insurance+$9500 stipend per semester Jesus I don't know how this happened.

Here's some hope for anyone questioning their conditional admission: I successfully appealed Admissions to count my undergrad micro course to fulfill the Econ requirement. It seems that since the class is labeled as 'Micro Theory' on my transcript, Admissions did not realize the depth of material the course covered. My stats appeal was less successful. AP credit from your high school days won't cut it, even if it's credited on your undergrad transcript. I hope this helps someone! Aja

Cosign on that. You HKS admissions folks rock.

I thought I saw someone else post this question already, but for some reason I can't find the post. I'm sorry if I'm repeating a question that has already been addressed. I got in, but what does this mean?: ". . .you have also been awarded a GSPP departmental fellowship. This award covers full enrollment fees for the 2015-2016 academic year. For your second year, we will provide a stipend of $5,000 for your educational and/or living expenses." Does that mean one year of tuition and $5,000 the second year? Or does it mean something else? I have absolutely no idea. Thanks for your support, guys. Congrats to those who got their decisions and best of luck to those who are still waiting.

I was CONVINCED that they would email us today. Judging by past years and that little note on their admissions blog, I was SO SURE. Why oh why did I build up my expectations? MAN, Berkeley. I'm just going to be waiting on next Friday, because we'll HAVE to know by then. . .right. . .RIGHT?!?

Darn! My email definitely did not say "No coursework conditions". Gonna have to take this up with the admissions peeps. Thanks for the info!

I gotta hand it to HKS. They do a good job of updating their blog frequently while all of us antsy applicants anticipate news from them. It makes me feel better to hear SOMETHING from them about the progress of admissions decisions. My money's on next Friday (the 13th) for hearing decisions from HKS. Suerte, people.

Oh! I was not aware that they were going to live stream info sessions. Sweet! Thanks for the info, I'll for sure be looking out for that. P.S. . .am I the only one who got an email about Conditional Admission for Microeconomics and Statistics? I'm hoping this is a mistake. I wasn't planning on scoping out extra courses over the summer since my transcript shows microecon and statistics from my undergrad days. Anybody else having this issue? Just me? I replied to the email about my concern, so hopefully they'll say hey, just kidding, you're good to go. *shrug*

You guysssss. When you go to the open house, can you post here about your impressions? I can't goooooooo. I do know the Durham area, I'm just unfamiliar with Sanford's policy school (staff, students, etc.). I'm always looking for as many opinions as I can in order to inform my grad school decision. You guys. Rock.

Yea, Duke is kind of creeping up my short list of schools right now. The effort they're putting in right now kinds of bodes well for the next two years. The small class size doesn't hurt, either. Also I'm from NC, I love my homestate, and I have no idea when I'd live there again. I can't committ to anything until I hear from the rest of my schools/fellowship apps, but Duke could be in the cards. I guess we'll see!

Hey guys. I'm curious. . .did anybody get a special little email from Career Services? Duke is going the extra mile, over here. Aja

I could get behind that. I support this.

Chocolatecheesecake, thanks for the info! I will certainly be PMing you in the near future. And yea, I already know the Panama RPCV! Tell Kameron I said hi. I could be joining you guys next year, I just have to continue to see how my cards fall with admissions/funding decisions! We will definitely be in contact. Aja

I can't claim to have a full ride anywhere, but I did get $37.5k + $4k assistantship offer from Duke, which would cover all of my tuition costs. (Of course, I would still have to fund housing, books, etc. if I go with this offer.) I am also awaiting offers from other schools and hoping to be able to negotiate this number. In addition, I'm also interviewing for an outside fellowship that would likely get me a full ride if I were to recieve it. Again, These 'Plan Bs' are all just speculative at this point--I'm still fishing around for my best option in order to fund grad school--but it does seem like I'm getting a few options and a little wiggle room with respect to funding with only 2 years of relevant experience (Peace Corps), for what it's worth. That's just my two cents, so take it with a grain of salt, but I hope that helps. I'd highly recommend working for a couple of years! Aja

Yo peeps. I can't find any info about Sanford's admissions stats (e.g.: # of international applicants, male/female ratio, # of minority students, etc.). The only info I've found in that area is that they shoot for a class of around 60-65 each year. Has come across any further information about Duke's MPP students? I so, could you share? Thanks! Aja

No prob! I'll copy and paste what I wrote in the "AM I COMPETITIVE" thread awhile back. My stats are not anything super special, but I'm thinkin maybe the fact that I'm a returning Peace Corps Volunteer helped. (Duke has fellowships for returning Peace Corps Volunteers.) Here's the post: Hey y'all! I wanted to post, too, to get some feedback. I think I could get in some places, but I don't know if that's false confidence. Whaddya you guys think? What are my odds? ALL criticism is more than welcome, people. I want to get into a good policy analysis program that can give me a strong international focus. My dream is to get into the Foreign Service after completing an MPP/MPA. I'll also be applying for a Pickering. (Think I could be competitive for that? Any of you guys have ANY IDEA how competitive it is to get a Pickering?) If there are schools that I missed that would also fit well with the program I just loosely described, please give me shout and let me know! Good luck to all of you! Applying for Fall 2015 to: Goldman MPP (UC Berkeley, top choice), Ford MPP (UMichigan, I would also be very happy here), Maxwell (Syracuse, MPA), WWS (Princeton MPA), Harvard (HKS MPP) Undergrad: UNC Chapel Hill 2012 Major/GPA: Spanish/International Studies double major, Chinese minor GPA: 3.54 (distinction) GRE: Verb- 163 (91%) Quant- 161 (83%) Writing- 5.5 (96%) Languages: Spanish (fluent, advanced), Mandarin Chinese (intermediate) International Experience: Southeast Asia (study abroad Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Summer 2009), Spain (study abroad, Spring 2010), China (study abroad summer 2011), Panama (Peace Corps 2013-present) Coursework: I've taken coursework in single and multi-variable calculus (back in the day as an undergrad), statistics (even longer ago. . .but I got college credit for it and it's on my transcript so it counts, right?) and economics (intro, calc based micro, international, developmental). And, ya know. . .international studies type classes that are less technical and maybe less relevant to mention here. I've also been taking some online calc and macroecon policy courses to brush up since I've been in Peace Corps and haven't been using my academic brain as much. Work experience: Really my only relevant experience would be my current Peace Corps service (I'm mid-service, one year under my belt, will have finished my second year before my degree program would start). I'm an Education Volunteer in Panama and I'm also involved in several gender/women's/youth development initiatives and HIV/AIDS awareness activities. Nothing too technical, but I'll be trying to sell it for all it's worth in my SOP! SOP/Personal Statement: Working on these. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to mention to you all here. I want to be an FSO. I also have interests in education policy and immigration policy (more or less in that order). More than anything, like I said earlier, I want a program that is strong in policy analysis, has an international focus, and is very practicum-based rather than theory/thesis-writing focused. I gotta little bit of a sob story about some obstacles I've overcome, but I don't want my personal statement to sound like a sob story, so if you have tips on how to strike that balance, please let me know! Recommendations: *Pretty well-known political science professor from my undergrad days. I haven't talked to him in about a year, but he knows me pretty well and we've had a relationship all throughout undergrad, so I'm confident I could get a pretty good recommendation from him. I'm thinking this recommendation could speak to my academic merits. *A pretty senior Peace Corps staff member here in the office in Panama. My idea for this recommendation is to have a rec that speaks to my work experience. *A staff member at Community School of the Arts, where I was once a student and have been volunteering for years ever since. There's a program director there that jokingly calls my sisters and I her daughters, so I'm wondering if that relationship may be too familial for a good recommendation? My idea with this recommendation was to get a rec that speaks to my committment to public service. Alright y'all. Thanks for reading my novel of stats, here. Any advice you all have would be more than welcome. If there's anybody that's up for trading personal statements and statements of purpose, I am always looking to peer-edit. I'd like to get some feedback before my essays hit the desk in admissions at Berkeley and Michigan, so I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch mine. Paz y amor, chic@s! Aja

I got in! $37.5k fellowship plus $4k assistanship. Phew! I will officially be able to afford grad school, it appears. I'm not stopping here, though. I'd like to hopefully get offers from other schools in order to negotiate the best offer I can in order to be able to manage my financial situation for the next couple of years. Good luck to all and thanks for the solidarity in this waiting process! Aja

divertan, I'm in the same boat! No news yet, I'm just waiting for early March to roll around. It's not too far away! I feel ya though. The closer March gets, the more anxious I get to hear some news. Best of luck to you and everyone else applying to Sanford! We'll know soon enough, and I hope it's good news. Aja

Oh my gosh, you guys are making me INCREDIBLY anxious. I got the email/did the interview as well. I am still unclear on what that interview really means! I treated as an informal interview, kind of like a conversation (even though, let's be real, it's about the C.R.E.A.M.). Since they told us the interview would take no preparation and they were just looking to 'get to know' the applicants, I thought hey, I shouldn't be too stressed out?j The student that interviewed me was super nice and I had a good time talking to him. Man, if I come out of this with a full tuition fellowship and a stipend to Michigan. . .that would be amazing. I'll try to stay realistic about this, though, as I anxiously await some news in early March.

Thanks and congrats ChocolateDiplomacy22, I'll look forward to your email!

ZebraFinch, please don't feel down! There are million ways to get that grad school funding/A-100 offer. We just gotta keep trying from different angles. The dice were in my favor this round. I just got notified that I'll be interviewing in March for a Rangel. If anyone else on this forum is interviewing, please shoot me a message or email me at askenned (at) gmail.com. I'd love to be able to compare notes on good interview prep techniques. Good luck to all of you in your grad school/fellowship applications! Aja

Word to y'all Pickering/Rangel applicants. I'm glad I'm not the only one with my stomach in knots. I think I'd prefer the Rangel as well, if only because one of the internships is in DC, rather than having both internships abroad. But OBVIOUSLY either one would be a freakin GODSEND. I'll be refreshing my emails as well. Good luck to all you good people!

Hi guys! Good news! I got my decision. And it's good news! I got in. I'm super excited about being admitted! I've got five other programs to hear back from over the next month or so, so It is great to kick off the decisions emails with a W. Now we all sit and wait for the real test--funding decisions. (Dun dun DUNNNN!) Good luck to all of you as we await our fates over the next few weeks! Aja

Gosh, you guys. I'm super antsy! I've gotten radio silence from Maxwell aside from them asking for my transcript. (Did they lose it the first time? I sent my app back in October.) A little news would be nice! Congrats to you guys who have gotten some good news, and best of luck with funding decisions!