pubpolgal

My appeal was also denied ? On an unrelated note, I applied to on-campus housing and haven't heard back. Does anyone know how realistic it is for a US citizen who already lives on the East Coast (but not NYC area) to get university housing? I'm trying to decide whether to give up and look for an off-campus place with a friend who's already in the city.

I also haven't heard back about funding since submitting the appeal form.

Sure! SIPA students seem very professionally driven and really into networking, which is maybe a bit different than a community-oriented culture that I would prefer. It didn't seem shocking or concerning really, just typical of a big ivy league program with lots of students who want to be successful. But I still think that I would be able to find meaningful communities/niches there (as well as benefit from that professional culture). Edit: Also, a couple of students on the student life panel I attended said that SIPA is not a competitive culture (but rather, a collaborative one) -- not sure how much I believe that, but it was reassuring. Also, a positive aspect of a bigger school/more students is that you might be more likely to find people with similar interests than at a smaller school. Re: class sizes, I think core classes can be quite big (maybe some would even have 100+ students?) but concentration/specialization/elective courses are typically capped at 25 students, and some might be smaller.

Hey hey! So I think I've made my decision, actually, and (unless something changes) I plan on committing to SIPA. I went to like 3 sessions from their open house, and it wasn't perfect, but it made me realize some stuff. I spent a long time leaning toward Berkeley, but one of my dreams is to go into policy writing and communications work. At SIPA, I would be able to take classes in those fields (through the tech, media, and comms specialization) and NYC is sort of a better place to be for those kinds of opportunities. Berkeley, on the other hand, is a little more cut and dry policy analysis, which I'm not sure if I truly want to do. Some things I preferred about Berkeley were the culture and the size, but after learning about SIPA's pretty impressive connections and wide network, I realized that achieving my goals would take a lot more effort at Berkeley than at SIPA. I think SIPA's culture fit wouldn't be as good as Berkeley's, but the flexibility of the curriculum, the wide variety of courses, and the strong network made me realize it would be the better choice. So some of my decision was personal to my career goals, but I think I also realized that both places are great and neither place is perfect. I found that it helped to contrast the things that were unique to each school (like for example, one thing that seemed unique to Berkeley was that aums go into local government in California , and maybe for SIPA it's alums going international) and weighing which meant more to me. I think SIPA's size does seem a little overwhelming but from what I've seen and heard, professors are still accessible (esp within your concentration or specialization) and you can find a community through student orgs. Berkeley has a leg up on academic appointments/on-campus jobs though, since I think only 2nd years at SIPA do that kind of stuff. When it comes to cost, a 10k-ish difference probably isn't huge, but going deeper into debt for one program is probably not worth it. Idk how much I can really advise you there though. I really hope you're able to come to a decision soon! I spent the past few weeks swinging all over the place so let me know if I can help in any other ways. P.S. I also think NYC is kind of hectic and I would much rather live in sunny California, but oh well....

Cost-wise, I can’t really give you advice, but your combo of interests in housing policy, local government, and a meaty program sounds like Berkeley to me! I’m considering Goldman as well and it looks like a lot of grads end up in local government in CA (apparently they love GSPP grads), but of course that’s my biased view since I am not considering Wagner or Ford. Any of those sound like great choices, especially with funding.

Thank you so much @acv123 I really appreciate it! I’ve been concerned about living situation at Berkeley too, I definitely don’t plan on having a car so I’d be relying on the buses/finding somewhere affordable as close to campus as possible.... Also their client consulting projects seem fairly unique since most of the schools I looked at only have students do it once, and in groups. So the individual project is interesting! I’m curious to see if SIPA students feel the same sense of purpose and community that I’ve noticed exists at GSPP.

If it's not too much to ask, would you be able to write briefly about your thoughts on GSPP and SIPA if you visit them? Just like a sentence on the vibe you got at each place, since we have similar interests in social policy. No pressure though! I won't be able to make it to GSPP's admit day, and SIPA's is a maybe, so I'm gonna be keeping an eye on the forum in general for other's peoples' posts too. @acv123

Hi all, I'm trying to decide between Berkeley GSPP's MPP and Columbia SIPA's MPA for the fall. I would appreciate any insight. I'm only 1 year out of undergrad but I have relevant internship and work experience, and I'm interested in social policy, inequality, and racial justice. After grad school, I might want to be a researcher/policy analyst or a writer/communications professional at a nonprofit or think tank. I'm also interested in media and policy writing. I'm from DC and would be happy to come back here after grad, but I'm open to different locations. Berkeley pros: - faculty is very relevant to my policy interests, smaller cohort size, students seem more public service-oriented, seems like a better sense of community, possibly a higher quality education (??) Berkeley cons: - rigid first year curriculum, unsure if I want to be in California after grad, fewer exciting on-campus events Columbia pros: - ability to take lots of electives, the tech/media/communications specialization looks cool and relevant to my interests in media, lots of interesting on campus events with relevant speakers, NYC has many places I would want to intern for, ivy league reputation that people beyond just the policy world understand Columbia cons: - international affairs focus, larger cohort size, rumors of a "transactional" reputation I've leaned toward both schools at different times. Thoughts? I've made a post like this before in a different thread (and got some great and helpful responses!) but I'm still desperate so here we are. Feel free to reply with similar dilemmas, as your decision making process might help me with my own. I also know that MPP and MPA are slightly different degrees, but I'm not super concerned since I believe either will take me where I want to go. But any insight on that aspect is appreciated too.

I’m also considering SIPA and I would be concentrating in Urban and Social Policy as well! I have similar concerns about the international focus since I’m mostly interested in domestic policy, but that fear has been kind of relieved since the concentration classes seem interesting enough. I find the curriculum appealing because you can take so many electives along with both the concentration and specialization, which seems to maximize the “fun” part of the degree. But what Trey said above about the core classes is a little unfortunate. I’m choosing between SIPA and Berkeley’s Goldman school, which has a lot of great social policy-focused faculty so I had been leaning toward it for a while. But at times I feel like I might prefer working in NYC to the Bay Area. Also, I have similar concerns about SIPA’s size. Berkeley has a smaller cohort and I’m under the impression that they might “care about” their students more than SIPA. Columbia’s reputation is definitely attractive though. It’s such a hard decision!!

Unsure if anyone will see this, but can anyone evaluate the relative prestige of Goldman vs. SIPA vs. McCourt, across the country? I'm under the impression that Goldman has an edge over SIPA in terms of policy school specifically, but more employers will regard Columbia more highly than UC Berkeley.

I’ll let you know! I’ve been swinging back and forth between each one haha... I plan to go to (half of) SIPA’s admitted students day (gonna take the bus up from DC and back in one day so I won’t be able to make it all) but I won’t be visiting Berkeley, it’s too far :( I’ve been there before though and it’s beautiful! Re: your post, I totally feel you on the electives thing at Goldman. I wish you could take more! And SIPA seems to have a great variety. But judging by the sample course sequences on both websites, it looks like you just take fewer classes overall at GSPP? So maybe that leaves more time for working or interning ...?

Ahh thanks so much @usernamesmakemeanxious for responding! I really appreciate it. This is really helpful information about the neighborhoods and areas that both schools are in. It's def reassuring to know that Columbia might not be as stressful as the rest of NYC is. And I should probably look closer at what living in Berkeley would be like... You're right that the community activism at Berkeley is really enticing. NYC, though, has a lot of social justice organizations, so even if SIPA doesn't have that same commitment at least I could find that community elsewhere in the city. It'll be a tough choice!

I was considering just making a desperate post asking people for help with my dilemma, but this thread exists, so here goes nothing! Coming from: DC, about 1.5 years out of undergrad with internship experience at think tanks and a current job as a program assistant (mostly communications work, which I enjoy) at a civil rights nonprofit. I want to focus on racial and economic justice (yes, broad, I know) and social policy. Deciding between: Columbia SIPA (MPA) and Berkeley Goldman (MPP) Other factors: I'm in the midst of an existential crisis where I'm unsure if I want to do data-driven policy analysis as a career, so SIPA's MPA is enticing as it would allow me to take a handful of journalism classes (as part of my "technology, media, and communications" specialization) and fewer quantitatively rigorous courses (which I'm not scared of, but might be bored by). SIPA also allows students to take what seems like twice as many electives as Goldman, which is a major plus for me. How I'm leaning: I'm very slightly leaning toward Berkeley because it seems like a MUCH better place to live than NYC (more calm, surrounded by nature, better quality housing probably) and because their faculty seems incomparable, especially with their focus on poverty and inequality. The institution itself is more progressive (something I value) as well. I know nobody but myself can solve my career crisis, but anyone got thoughts on the two programs as a whole and how they compare? Thank you in advance!

Program Applied To: (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.) MPP and MPA Schools Applied To: Harvard Kennedy, Berkeley Goldman, Columbia SIPA, Georgetown McCourt, George Washington Trachtenberg Schools Admitted To: Goldman, SIPA, McCourt, Trachtenberg Schools Rejected From: Kennedy Still Waiting: none Undergraduate institution: Quality public school in Virginia Undergraduate GPA: 3.58 Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): uhhh too much effort but definitely lower than the cumulative Undergraduate Major: Public Policy GRE Quantitative Score: 164 GRE Verbal Score: 168 GRE AW Score: 5 Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): ~1.5 years upon matriculation in the programs I'm applying to (I graduated January 2018) Years of Work Experience: ~1.5 years; I've been working since graduation but have done internships before then Describe Relevant Work Experience: Government internship, think tank internship, research position at college, another think tank internship, and program assistant at a civil rights nonprofit Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Depending on the program, good to great (but none were excellent) Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): Probably good, but I did not have a close relationship with any of my recommenders (two kind professors, one former supervisor) Other: I think I got into my programs because of high test scores and really relevant experience, despite being so recently out of undergrad.