Tk2356
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Everything posted by Tk2356
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It appears that their funding methods changed last year... as in, acquiring 2nd year funding will be more difficult than previous years. https://sipa.columbia.edu/admissions/financial-aid/sipa-and-columbia-university-funding "Beginning with students entering in Spring 2017 or later, SIPA is implementing a new process for allocating scholarships. This also applies to students who initially enrolled prior to Spring 2017, but have not been enrolled continuously and fulltime, and who will be in their second year in 2018-19 or later. In the past, a scholarship-like tuition credit from SIPA was “bundled” with salary payments for Teaching Assistant (TA), Reader, Program Assistant-faculty, Program Assistant-administrative (PA), and Course Assistant (CA) positions. This put significant pressure on the assistantship allocation process and led to concerns from students, faculty, and staff. Responding to these concerns, the new process “unbundles” the tuition credit from the salary support for TA, Reader, PA, and CA. Scholarship offers made at the time of the admission offer have been increased. It is important to emphasize that the overall level of student aid did not change. What changed are the timing of fellowship decisions, the salaries associated with different positions, and some aspects of the process for deciding who is offered financial aid. These changes will provide students with greater certainty at the time of admission about the level of fellowship support they will receive, and improve their ability to plan for financing their SIPA education."
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Hi, @Mr_Spock2018. I would definitely try to leverage the GW offer into something from SIPA. **EDITED TO AVOID MISUNDERSTANDINGS** Per the SIPA funding page, it sounds like 2nd year funding will be more competitive than previous years. @MoE'd, are you still leaning towards Sanford? I'm curious where the program ranks for the rest of you. There hasn't seemed to be as much SIPA-related chatter compared to years past.
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So...how are you going to choose?
Tk2356 replied to gelatinskeleton's topic in Government Affairs Forum
I share a lot of the same emphasis points (as do most of us, I'm sure). The hardest thing I think I'll have a hard time with is how to weigh the extra cost of a preferred program versus its perceived marginal benefit. -
Does anyone know if decisions were released the day after this post in previous years? edit: verbiage makes it sound like next week...
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It's down for me as well... fingers crossed that's the reason why! This is the week that won't end.
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Agreed. It would be way too obvious a tip-off
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I was also just assigned a counselor (MPP)
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Does anybody else remember seeing a date on the application instructions? I’m really hoping it’s sooner than Mar 18!
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Mine was “Do you consider elderly care or youth support programs more important.” Ugh. I definitely did not feel that I gave a strong response. Hopefully results come out soon so I can erase that painful minute from my memory.
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Yes! Link received. I must admit my heart jumped when I saw the email from HKS... these next few days will not be easy.
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I'll be at the admitted student's day, and will be sure to relay my impressions here. It'd be nice to link up with any fellow gradcafers who can make it!
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Good luck to everyone! I really liked the feel of Wagner when I visited. I was surprised by its intimacy and energy, and there was a collaboration present among students that I felt SIPA lacked a little (granted, I only sat in two classes at each program!). Did anybody else feel the same? Some other things I love: --- the emphasis on interning/working during the school year. These are professional programs, and Wagner (more than any other) offers flexible schedules to work around internships. --- the vast majority of grads actually go into public service, whereas more SIPA/HKS/Harris grads go into the private sector. This difference adds to the unique atmosphere, I think. --- an estimated $42,000/year for tuition and fees is considerably less than, say, SIPA's $55,000. --- several of their specializations offer solid quant training geared towards the public sector. --- it offers many NYC-centric courses, and most grads remain in the city after graduation. For many I'm sure this is a negative, but if one intends to lay roots there then this is a big plus.
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@wittgensteinsbladder Non-policy types are much more likely to be aware of HKS's existence than that of WWS. 72,000 twitter followers versus 8,400 for WWS, for instance. It seems logical that this would invite a wider range of applicant.
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You're doing god's work, @CFGauß!
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I agree that it shouldn't be one's primary motivator, but it'd be silly to not factor into the larger decision.
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@yellina122 Wonderful advice! Thanks again
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Vets often have many of the boxes checked which MPA/MPP ADCOMs value (leadership/international experience, proven commitment to public service, etc). That being said, I believe if one has demonstrated these things as a civilian then that advantage will be negated. Regarding the job market, vets have a decided advantage when applying for federal positions. If this is your goal, I would recommend looking further into the reserves/national guard. In the private/public sectors, however, things are less straight-forward. I am in the reserves, which means that I will have to drill for several weeks a year (thereby missing work) and the company is legally obligated to support this. Same goes for deployments, which would be understandably difficult for many companies to support. For this reason, combined with a widening gulf between vet/civilian cultures (I.e. Assuming one has PTSD or doesn't know how to function in a civilian company), I am not sure if being a veteran is a net positive or negative in those sectors. Just my opinion -- I'd be curious if this view is shared by others.
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Hi @yellina122, thanks for the quick response Is submitting FAFSA necessary to receive a standard scholarship from the program? I received a small scholarship from Harris without it, and I assumed SIPA would be the same. As an aside, I know that first year SIPA funding is rare, but I'd hate to miss out on being in contention due to user error! Thanks again.
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I have what I feel is a silly question, so I wanted to ask here initially before/instead of the admissions office. Thanks in advance! On the SIPA application, there were two questions addressing fellowships: "I would like to be considered for fellowships" and "I would like to be considered for merit fellowships." Since I didn't consider myself a strong applicant for any fellowships, I answered no to both questions. Does this in any way disqualify me from receiving (non-fellowship) funding from the program?
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I heard they're really improving in this area, though still trail behind SIPA and HKS. The considerably larger MPP class does have me worried about how far those new DC connections will go.
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I fall into your line of thinking: keep expectations low to reduce the possible pain of rejection. I only told family members and a select group of friends that I was applying, even then while using self-deprecating humor. Don't get me wrong -- I consider myself a very strong candidate, but believe most applicants could say the same. Several family members have encouraged me to follow the money (Harris and Wagner are free with the GI Bill), regardless of an HKS acceptance, and I've echoed those sentiments repeatedly since applying. If I'm being honest though, I would write that check to HKS with a very large smile on my face. (Full disclosure: HKS would be 30k out of pocket for me -- I would definitely not pay full tuition there while having free options at other fine institutions)
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Has anyone heard how much larger this Harris class is supposed to be than previous years? I remember hearing it on a campus tour and thinking that internships/policy-related positions in Chicago would be that much more competitive, as most grads remain in Chicago. Anybody else have those thoughts or think them unfounded?
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The 'Am I competitive' thread - READ ME BEFORE POSTING
Tk2356 replied to fenderpete's topic in Government Affairs Forum
@ExponentialDecay I feel that calling NYU Wagner shitty is misleading. It’s a very different flavor than SIPA, and depending on one’s interests might be a better fit. Generally speaking, most Wagner grads stay in NYC, while SIPA’s brand is more well-known/respected in DC and abroad. Consulting? SIPA. Nonprofit work? Wagner. Local government? Both have high placement. I spoke with multiple Wagner students who turned down SIPA offers because it better aligned with their interests, and it being slightly cheaper doesn’t hurt either. @terencetch You have a very competitive profile, but I’d guess the one knock would be your lack of experience (which NYU values more than some schools). I don’t know about the MSPP acceptance rate, but I believe the MPA rate is around 60%, if that’s any indicator. It wouldn’t hurt to reach out to the school for more info. Assuming you intend to work in Singapore after graduation, SIPA/HKS would definitely hold more weight with potential employers. Something to consider. -
I'm also an MPP applicant in my lower 30's (career shift from the military). I probably would've gone for the MPA had I not lacked the graduate level pre-req's. Did you have a different reason for choosing the MPP? @drumroll, have you heard if it's extremely rare for the adcom to offer an older MPP-applicant admission into the MPA? I can't imagine they would in my case considering the lack of pre-req's, but one can hope!
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Program Advice for Career Switch to Non-Profit Management
Tk2356 replied to Tk2356's topic in Government Affairs Forum
My GRE score translates to roughly 610 on the GMAT... meaning I would be competitive for Baruch/Fordham/DePaul but not the top programs. That, combined with how much more interesting the MPA/MIA/MPP courses seem, means the prospect of an MBA doesn't excite me. Even if it could lead to better prospects!
