Ceebz

I was recommended for admission with $30,000K a year in aid!! Incredibly excited but also wondering how long it will take to get a formal offer.

I was accepted to the MPP with 27k a year. I was also accepted by U Chicago Harris with similar money, so weighing my options.

I applied for the dual MSFS/MPP and was notified of the MPP acceptance today. The processes are totally separate, but hopefully means grad admissions are kicking into gear.

@ConcernedApplicant Oh hey I got into the Harris MPP as well!!! Maybe I'll see you there

Same

I'm a early notification admit and I asked about financial aid info and was told they're aiming for March 9, so I'm assuming that regular deadline decisions would probably come out the same day!

Just got an email with an acceptance for the MPP and $25k a year! I live in a timezone that makes a phone call nearly impossible, so not surprised it was just an email.

I applied to the WW Norton and Company one and got zero response as well haha

I think they have a wait list. My guess is pure 100% speculation. It could be they ask people on the wait list to email them documents directly, etc. This all could and probably does mean nothing and we're all spinning in circles speculating haha

The MPA (International Development specialization). Going into my 5th week of waiting, so I'm checking their portal constantly! For SAIS, I have to assume it's just standard procedure given that acceptances come out next week. My best guess would be that the documents disappear when our files are closed on their end (a decision either way has been made, not necessarily positive or negative), which is why you can no longer see the documents.

I definitely think it's worth reapplying. After 7 years, your experience should be more important than your transcript. I would make your SOPs very school-specific and clearly indicate exactly what you want from them, what you can contribute, and how your experiences fit your future plans. In terms of the bad grades, I think the best bet is to be upfront and explain, and then show how you've succeeded in areas you may have failed classes (for example, quantitative work you've done since graduating). Having a really strong GRE score will also help you-- admissions staff at SIPA told me that if an applicant doesn't have a very obvious quant background they value the score more. I think it also matters which schools you apply to. I don't have any inside knowledge, but the two you mentioned (SAIS and SIPA) don't have reputations for being super holistic in reviewing applications (that doesn't mean they aren't, just not their reputation). In my experience applying/talking with admissions staff/meeting students, two schools that are quite holistic in their approach and accept applicants with varying backgrounds and academic histories etc. are Fletcher and Chicago Harris. Check those out!

I was admitted early and would be curious to hear about impressions as well. I'm more interested in working internationally (live abroad at the moment), and am curious about how Fletcher stacks up to DC schools in that regard. The fact that it's rated so highly and has so many successful alums indicates they're doing something right. I talked to a recent grad and she said the experience on campus is pretty unique and bonds people together/makes networking with peers easier/makes people insanely loyal to the school (Fletcher mafia!), which made it stand out to her as compared to the DC schools, where people spend tons of time off campus and it takes more effort to network with peers. I'm sure there's no lack of networking opportunities anywhere, but apparently Fletcher is really strong in that regard. As a side note, my current org is running a multi-year, twenty+ million dollar project with a massive US corporate donor and the project lead on the donor side is a MALD grad! That was cool to find out.

Just checked and mine looks like this too. Here's hoping it's something like the "transcript drop" legend at LSE! I searched briefly to see if anyone mentioned this in previous years, but didn't see anything.