Policy.Planner.NYC

I was accepted last weekend with funding to the MUP. I’ll likely go to the admitted students day in two weeks since I’m in NYC. Though I think I’m leaning towards U Chicago Harris...

I'll likely be attending U Chicago for my MPP (Harris) next fall. Assuming that I can incorporate Metra into my travels, how crazy is it to live in a north/northwestern neighborhood like Lakeview, Logan Square, or Wicker Park while studying at U Chicago? I'm coming to Chicago from NYC and I really found that Hyde Park really lacks the atmosphere I've become accustomed to over the past 6-7 years in NYC. Even Morningside Heights where I spent 4 years as an undergrad at Columbia feels more vibrant/urban than Hyde Park.

I interviewed for a fellowship a week ago (MUP) and I know someone else who had an interview for an MPA fellowship around the same time.

Thanks - I already was offered funding from Chicago for the MPP but was hoping to negotiate upward. They told me that there’s an appeal form that will go out in March (at least for people already receiving a scholarship). I’m waiting on offers from Berkeley and NYU as well but am pretty set on Chicago so I will likely just use those offers to negotiate.

Is anyone trying to negotiate scholarships with them? Any luck? I was accepted to GWU for a JD as well and was offered a substantial scholarship so I was planning on using that as leverage for now. I won’t have any other offers for MPP/MUP programs until Feb/March when NYU Wagner comes back.

Hmmm... In my experience the admissions people have been quite helpful and friendly so it's definitely worth a shot. As for your GRE quant, I think they say somewhere on their website that they like quant scores above the 75th percentile which would be right around 160. So definitely aim as high as possible! I was admitted w/funding with a 164 but that's only one data point. You should search the results on GradCafe to get a better picture of what kinds of scores admitted students typically have. I think they definitely do admit students with less than 160 but it looks like they generally have pretty high GPAs and strong softs plus solid verbal GRE scores around the 90th percentile. Where else are you applying?

Oh wow. Perhaps these programs are becoming much more competitive than they once were - especially the quant-heavy programs like Harris. I did notice that they reported a 168% increase in EA apps, but I'm not sure what to make of it. Are they simply admitting more people to grow the class size? Or is it now much more difficult to gain admission?

You need to scroll down to the bottom of the page with the acceptance letter and see if there's a link to scholarship documents on the bottom left side. If you got a scholarship, there should be a link to a second letter.

Scholarship awards were also released!

Letters are out!

I think that's part of my dilemma. I will have to wait until Feb/March to hear back from other programs as Harris is the only program I applied to with an EA option. I felt like they might consider the offer since law school admissions are generally much more competitive than MPP/MPA programs. It's unfortunate because I would be ready to commit with just a little tiny bit more $. Does anyone have any tips, more broadly about how to approach the ask (regardless of whether I try now or in Feb/March)?

My case: I was recently admitted to U Chicago Harris for the MPP with a moderately sized scholarship. I was also admitted to GW Law for a JD with a very large (six figure) scholarship. However, I feel that I do not want to actually practice law, but work in policy which is possible with either the JD or MPP. That said, I feel the the Harris MPP is ultimately a better fit for me as an individual. How does one go about negotiating with Harris to improve my scholarship? For what it's worth, I would absolutely commit to Harris with a slight bump in funding. It is by far my first choice program.

Congrats! I think mine specifically said tomorrow evening for decisions and the detailed scholarship letters will come over the weekend. My call gave me the impression that they are only calling scholarship/fellowship recipients. **edit: by tomorrow evening I mean this evening as my call came yesterday afternoon.

I just got the call and was admitted w/ funding!!!

The person who was accepted posted their stats and they were not crazy. 4 years work w/ 3.48 GPA and mid 150s on the GRE. Personally that gives me hope that applicant pool isn’t all 3.9s with 167-170 quant scores.