MPPant

Just got an email. I'm in, no funding. Ford was my last choice anyway, so I definitely will not attend. Congrats to everyone!

I'm still waiting for the decision. I guess this means that I didn't get in, or that I got in with no $. It's fine by me as I got accepted to Sanford ($) and SIPA ($$) but it would be nice to finally receive an email...

Well, it looks like I wasn't offered any assistantship because I'm an international student: "US citizens are also guaranteed assistantships for two academic years of study, conditional upon satisfactory coursework progress during the first year. International students may apply to positions that remain open."

I'm in too, with 18k fellowship! I wonder how does the admissions committee decide upon assistantship, though?

I'm dying here. I've reread all my apps several times, each time I feel completely differently as to how good my SoP's are and whether I even stand a change at ANY school. I've also read about every post in this forum since 2012 during the past month. None of the above relieves my anxiety whatsoever. I'm Israeli and I'm not sure whether I can count on admission committees to look at my 3+ years in the army as relevant work experience, as (1) it was after high school, that is, before starting university and (2) I served in an intelligence unit, whereas my professional goals are in public financial management. So reading through all the wrap-up threads, I can't really find circumstances similar to my own to extrapolate from. Conclusion: I'm both wasting my time AND exacerbating anxiety

Thanks Yang and mpp2016! Your comments were useful. I actually managed to find a good subject to talk about and it turned out quite well. I have another question, this time about the optional essay. Unlike spring 2016 essays, this time there's no word limit for the optional essay. Now, having already written a few essays to other schools, I have an essay of about 700 words that fits well with the optional essay's directions and is ready to go. However, I am reluctant as to submitting such a long essay, given that the word limit for the spring optional essay was 300 words. What do you say? I'm actually looking for somebody to tell me I'm overthinking it, and that 700 words when no word limit is mentioned is just fine

SIPA Essay #2: What one policy (national or local) would you create or change and why? (200 words maximum) Out of all the application materials I've had to submit so far (including the WWS policy memo), I find this task most excruciating. How can I possibly address a policy recommendation seriously in 200 words? Can anyone offer advice on this one? How "strategic", or "big" did you go with this essay? 200 words limit suggests going for a very limited, specific policy. However, I do want to show SIPA some creativity and resourcefulness, which is much harder to do in 200 words. I actually did think of some policies that might fit this assignment, but none of them are reflective of my interests (I'm interested in public budgeting and economic development). Any advice?