mppmgaapplicant2018

Yay! Nice to have you back on the forum! FYI folks - YouniK was incredibly helpful at the time that I was making my decision between Munk and other schools. Some of you reached out to me privately and I definitely encourage you to reach out to Youni too.

I've addressed some of the common misconceptions about Munk on a previous page in this thread. It briefly addresses the pros as well. Have a look. If you have follow-up questions or would like me to elaborate on anything, feel free to ask away. As a point of clarification, the perception of Munk being more difficult + "theory" based primarily stems from our additional courses in econometrics and economics. Some consider this as being needlessly difficult, others, like myself, consider it to be essential to help gain a salient understanding of the economy. There's a reason why Munk produces more than just policy analysts. The matriculants end up assuming a wide-array of job titles - data analysts, economists, private sector consultants, among others. I would imagine the heterogeneity in job titles/functions to be more prevelant in Munk than other policy schools.

Very interesting! Keeping the current/future applicants here in mind, I think it might be helpful if you could give them some sense of the costs/funding packages for the average/median student (if you're aware of the statistics). I doubt the funding packages are nearly as generous for every MPPA student. To give you all an example, a cubicle mate of mine (a Carleton MPPA student) from my co-op with the feds mentioned that he got no schollies or TA/RAships. He was paying the MPPA tuition at sticker which was $22k at the time. Conversely, a number of my colleagues from the MPP program graduated with a net positive balance because of second year scholarships, part-time government jobs in second year, and TA funding packages (of course, the net balance was not anywhere near the $60k-80k amount that you calculated). But these are anecdotes and only capture a few data points at best. The median/mean gives a better of the general trend. On balance, though, I'm sure that Carleton students get much more in financial aid relative to most policy schools. Whether that aid - which will vary from one student to another - is sufficient to attend the school will be a subjective choice, based on a range of factors. Absolutely. I discounted U of T's placements thorough private OPS postings, but we had about 20ish percent of our cohort recruited via that independent process too (the rest of the class had already found internships via Policy Innovation Hub's competitive Master-level Co-op Policy Program).

Apologies, just noticed a typo - the federal-provincial split was 45% - 55%, respectively

Sure! RE: Cost Nobody pays the $40k amount. That's the sticker price. In totality, after accounting for internal needs-based funding offered from the program (all students who've applied to OSAP are automatically considered for this funding), scholarships in first and second year, and OSAP grants, the average student from my cohort owed between $15-20k over two years. Happy to give you a breakdown of the costs in detail via PM. Re: Quality Our internship placements have been steady at 100% for a number of years. Several students from my cohort (and previous ones) had their internships extended on a part-time basis after commencing the second year of their studies (this is particularly true for those that get OPS gigs). They also ended up being hired back full-time after the completion of their degree. With respect to full-time jobs, we have an 85-90% job placement rate within the first 3-6 months of graduation. This trend has been true even during COVID. Many of my colleagues, including myself, had multiple full-time permanent offers with the public service before graduating. Re: Internships Of all the policy schools, our placement rates are probably the most balanced between federal, provincial, municipal, and the private/consulting sectors. From what I remember, our most recent stats had a 65-45% split between the provincial and federal PS, respectively. About 70% grads overall found jobs in the government (provincial, municipal, and federal), and the remaining in the private sector and non-for-profit. I'm not sure where you drew the statistical statement re: Queen's placements in the OPS, but here's something for reference: When I was in my first year, out of the 90 Master-level co-op positions posted by the OPS (for a number of PP/PA schools - Ryerson, York, U of T, Queen's, Waterloo etc.), about 60% were populated by U of T alone. We've been considered a feeder school for the OPS for a number of years, particularly prior to the hiring freeze. Our diversified placements have become a more common trend in the last 3ish years. I want to emphasize something for future applicants here - the vast majority of public policy programs will get you good paying jobs in the government. For me, I chose U of T's MPP program because of its strong emphasis on quantitative courses, renowned faculty (I've been taught by UN ambassadors, ex-Clerk's of the Privy Council, DM's of central agencies at the federal and provincial level, to name a few), and diverse placements. In light of these considerations, picking U of T was a no brainer for me, despite the $20k price tag (over two years). A cost-benefit analysis, in its truest form, would probably have to account for those intangible benefits too.

Folks, tonnes of incomplete/misinformation on here about Munk's MPP (re: cost, quality, internships, etc.). Happy to shed light on the program in detail, if anyone is interested. Feel free to message me. For reference - I'm an MPP graduate. I applied to Munk MPP, Munk MGA, and Queen's MPA. Went with Munk MPP in the end, and, like many of my colleagues, am glad to have chosen the school.

Posted on another thread, but should prolly post here as well. Congrats to those who've recieved offers! In case anyone has questions re: Munk MPP, feel free to reach out to me. I am a second year, weeks away from completion of my degree. For context - I also applied to Queen's MPA and the MGA program at Munk.

Congrats everyone! If anyone has any questions re: Munk, feel free to shoot me a PM.

Yeah, that means you're in! PS: to anyone stressing - last year, my Acorn and SGS status didn't change until a few weeks after my offer arrived via email. Relax. Wait until the school gets back to you!

Don't read too much into it. There could be a plethora of reasons why that's the case. Also, hey everyone! I'm a current Y1 at U of T's MPP program. I applied to the MPA at Queen's and MGA at U of T last year as well. Happy to answer any questions y'all may have PS: good luck to all! I know how anxiety-inducing the wait can be.

Solid scores. Make sure your PS is well written. I expect that you would be a competitive candidate for all three institutions.

I'm a domestic student so I have no idea about the GRE cut-offs, unfortunately. As for your LOR's: I believe professional references will suffice.

If you have an interest in public health, the MPP program at U of T has a collaborative specialization with the Dala Lana School of Public Health. In addition, the program has several placements within the Ministry of Health and Long-term care, if government jobs interest you. If you have questions regarding the MPP program, feel free to shoot me a message, I'm currently in the program.

So on the 11th Megan actually sent out follow-up emails to those who didn't get back to her with a reply to their offer. I think some people might've declined their offer in their reply to that email - which would've opened up spots on the waitlist.

Thanks! It was a bitter-sweet moment, but I think I made a choice that best suited my career aspirations. Hope you hear back soon, @lily22!