Minerva473

Ha ha at least I'm not the only one. Why, why must they make us wait?

For anyone who was being considered for a scholarship last week, have you heard yet? I'm getting to the point where I'm checking my e-mail every 5 minutes. Argh. On another note, I'm being hypercritical of all of these programs right now and one thing I noticed is that GPPI is not accredited by NASPAA, the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration. On the one hand, neither are SIPA or Woody Woo, apparently, but these programs are also primarily known for their international sides and they are both members of APSIA. Both American and George Washington are NASPAA accredited. Any thoughts on this?

I've been thinking about the dual MPA/MAIR a lot and from what I can see the IR program at the Maxwell School is not bad at all. They have global programs in all parts of the world, including developing countries, and the school itself seems to have a very supportive environment. Really looking to see if they offer me any funding because that is a major factor for me, but I think I'd be quite happy to go there, especially given the reputation of the MPA program. Also I don't think I'd mind living in a city like Syracuse -- I'm not obsessed with being in a big city.

I think that last year they had at least 2 scholarship rounds (based on these message boards). I hope they're doing another one this year!

Have you seen the Foreign Policy rankings for IR programs? Syracuse is #10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_the_Ivory_Tower On the other hand, if you look at the Wikipedia articles for the Maxwell School versus places like the Harvard Kennedy School, the Fletcher School, and the Woodrow Wilson School, there is a huge difference in terms of "notable alumni". I did find a former ambassador to Pakistan that studied at Maxwell (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Lewis_Raphel), but in terms of producing tons and tons of really high level leaders in IR (or public administration actually) it's not on the same level as the Ivies or Fletcher. This can obviously mean many things that are not related to the quality of the program itself (perhaps the people who attend schools like Harvard are wealthier, therefore already have a top notch network and, for example, the ability to run political campaigns), but I think it is another factor to take into consideration when deciding whether to go into debt, etc.

I've been accepted to the joint MPA and IR program at Syracuse's Maxwell School and am quite curious about anyone's thoughts on the benefits of this joint degree, and on the Maxwell School in general. I've heard lots of good things which is exciting. Mainly though, surprisingly now that I've been accepted I'm now even more anxious given that I have to wait another month to hear about funding. Total cost of the whole program is $94k (including living expenses) and the thought of paying all of that is scary. I've been accepted at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute as well for their MPP, and the advantage of that is that I can live with my parents... so assuming no funding (still not heard yet) this brings the bill down to about $80k. Okay... I guess not that big a difference. Part of my wonders if it's worth enrolling in these programs at all if I don't get funding.

I got my acceptance email last night, for the MPP at the GPPI . I submitted my application on January 14th, but they had some trouble processing my application and I received confirmation that my application was reviewable by the committee on the 3rd of this month.