scalmanac

FYI that there was an open house impressions thread last year that could be helpful to some of you:

MPA for me, and this email came in at ~10:30 PM EST. So if ever there's a chance that they went to bed and are continuing to send emails in the morning, this could be it

Not at SIPA generally, but the MPA-ESP program in particular. It's a one year program split between SIPA and the Earth Institute, and it was communicated repeatedly through an in person information session. I don't believe this is the case at SIPA overall, which is why it caught me so off guard. Definitely a hesitation for me with that program that I would not have known without visiting. Something to bring up as you're scoping out programs if you do plan on working concurrently!

AHH same, just got it!!! Good luck to everyone waiting last name is a K

Thank you for starting this! I think a lot of us have been talking about it on separate threads and it will be great to pull ideas together. Maybe it would be helpful for anyone who visited campus, spoke to reps at fairs etc during their application to throw in thoughts, and any pros/cons they picked up on? Personally, I've had a dream work environment over the last five years, and am pretty cautious about leaving for anything less than a perfect fit. I found asking about flexibility for applicants further along in careers really indicative of whether I would consider a program a good fit. Not necessarily the response itself, but the view into the culture of the department. Everyone will have their own things they're looking for, but if it's helpful for anyone else, these are the programs I visited: NYU MPA - Very flexible, they assume all students are working to get by while in the program and adjust curriculum accordingly so all students can take the required courses at night if needed Columbia MPA-ESP - No jobs allowed, this was mentioned multiple times in a negative way. It seemed like there would be serious stigma from both students and senior faculty. Yale MEM - Most students at least have part time jobs and I liked everyone I met on the faculty and staff side. But, one of the takeaways was also very heavy involvement of the students I met in private sector, financial and consulting work, not much in the public sector. The lack of strong funding in the program as a whole definitely comes at a cost to any future plans you have for nonprofit or civil sector work. Everyone has their ideals - so both personally and with the cohort you're entering - this is something to think about. The program itself seemed very strong though, especially if you feel aligned with one of the specializations Princeton- The dream financially, which either allows for or builds heavy commitment to public service with the cohort - everyone I met was very much in the public sector, no dreamy discussions of consulting for McKinsey over the summer. Very policy focused, but some room for specialization Can anyone else dish?

I think we were jinxed by the humble weather brag post about no cancellations! https://hksadmissionblog.tumblr.com/post/611849930718511104/2020-application-reading-and-decision-process

I think it's only need based, and it looks like we all had similar offers- I was 19k

I did see that, and a number of other programs have already cancelled, I'm guessing they'll send through online materials. This is happening across the board: https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/123132-corona-viruss-effect-on-graduate-admissions/?tab=comments#comment-1058749093 I'm not optimistic about admitted student day, but most freaked out by the idea that this could be an online program for at least a portion of 2020-2021

Hey all, just a plug that there’s a thread for the Goldman school at Berkeley here (https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/123022-berkeley-goldman-gspp-2020/) and Ford Michigan here (https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/121155-ford-michigan-mpp-2020/) I’m personally not looking at threads for schools I didn’t apply to and it will probably be easier for you to meet and talk with other applicants on dedicated topics. Congrats on everyone’s success so far!

Yay!! Me too- thank you for the 13 minute heads up! Now we hold our breath until financial aid comes out 3/15!

"You will be able to view your admissions decision online beginning Friday, March 6, 2020 at 5:00 PM EST. You will receive an email notifying you once the decision is available. " I'm choosing to interpret this as: we can begin to view it tomorrow at 5pm and then we can view it as much as we want after that too

Awesome! Thanks for the info, and congrats + good luck on the interview!

Hey! Waiting it out here for the MPA in Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy Which program did you apply to?

It's "on or around March 15" for FES in their FAQs: https://environment.yale.edu/admissions/masters/faq/ But it looks like some have heard back earlier in the past: https://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=mem

Hi, I applied on the normal January timeline for the Summer 2020 session, not early action but I submitted around mid-December so maybe I got thrown into an early-ish bucket? Did you apply for the MPA-ESP program (different program than the MPA)? It starts in the summer instead of the fall so the whole process after application seems like it's on an accelerated timeline. I was very surprised at the quick turnaround, probably around 6 weeks, so maybe that doesn't just apply to EA and they're doing things on a rolling basis for all applicants? Hope you hear soon as well!