AHAC

Christine Wilson talked to us about financial aid and she said that we should be getting individualized financial aid documents that'll have our specific information, using our FAFSA and the enrollment & housing form. When someone asked when we'd get it, she said she wasnt sure but it will come. She also mentioned that since undergrad admissions just rolled out, their offices are really busy and it's been difficult to get back to them. She said send another email. But I don't know if that'll help. I haven't received anything yet As for the event, I thought it was informative and encouraging to talk to alumni and current students. Alumni talked about what they're doing now and how Price was instrumental in that. Current students talked about getting involved in student organizations and exploring all the options (certificates or otherwise) that are available. It seemed to me like they really focused on the doors that open for you as a price student/alumni. If there are any specific questions about the event, I'd be happy to answer, unless it's about the program-specific discussion held and you're not a potential MPA student. Maybe others can help you out with that.

I also wanted to piggy back off of this and say thank you for your insight. I've read your comments in other discussions and they were very helpful. @zacharyobama I am attending Fridays event and while I'm not on the fence, I think the event will answer any questions that's keeping me from submitting my statement of intent.

I filled out my FAFSA and did the enrollment/housing form on USConnect at the end of February and I am still "in review". Re: cost/benefit. I don't know what programs you guys are admitted to but the MPA program seems like it worked with a full time job. If you look up the USC schedule of classes, you can get a good idea of what your class schedule will be to see if you can take up part/full time work to offset tuition/living costs. I think this masters degree will be worth it for career advancement, networking, and the opportunities to learn/try/do different things so I'm looking forward to it and I think it's worth the $30k risk. And IBR/public service forgiveness is something I would take advantage of. For MPA admits, you can save money if you have 2+ years of experience and take stats before matriculation. If you haven't taken stats in the past 3 years, you can take stats at a community college ($300 vs $3000). I'm waiting for the financial aid stuff and the deans merit event to submit my SOI, but i will most likely be attending this fall.

I have a little over 1.5 years of experience and I got half tuition.

I actually only applied to USC (huge risk, I know, I got lucky). I considered applying to other schools, but I figured that I would restrict myself to just SoCal/LA because of 3 reasons: 1) location/geography: big things happening in LA and so much potential for positive change. LA = "living laboratory" I also currently work full time and would like to continue working through school (gotta pay off loans somehow). 2) alumni network/school connections: Trojan family is real, esp in SoCal. 3) meets academic expectations: I went to an info session and came out really excited at all he opportunities available at USC Price. Opportunities internationally, Sacramento. Classes seem to fit my needs and what I want to learn. I'm pretty biased towards USC because 1) I put all my eggs in the USC basket and 2) it's also my alma mater, but ultimately, its the best option for me for all the reasons listed above. Really looking forward to the deans merit event since it seemed like a lot of past applicants got a lot of out that day. I looked into other discussions about this topic and I thought this one from 2013 was helpful:

I live in LA so this info may or may not be helpful but for anyone interested, my letter from price (usps) with funding info was dated 2/19, and received 2/21. My letter from office of admissions was dated 2/18, but I was able to view it on us connect on 2/20. I agree with naso. No rejection letter means you're still in the game. In previous years, ppl were getting admission letters through mid-March. I would give price admissions a call if you're really anxious.

I also applied for the MPA (I think I submitted my app 12/13). I've been stalking USConnect and the graduate certification link (Google search USC camel), and although there haven't been any changes to the admission status on USConnect, today i was able I log into the grad cert link. Before today, it said that my USC ID and password weren't authorized. Today, it led me to the statement of intent form ? And I haven't received anything in the mail/email recently.

I believe we'll hear back soon. I got an email on 2/2 that my application was completed and process and to expect a decision by the end of February so the next 2 weeks will be full of anxiety.