[MPA/MPP/MPS Applications, Fall 2020 (Canada)]

10 hours ago, Paulcg87 said:

For policy students? Not that I'm aware of but it's definitely possible. Waterloo does typically have some good internships/co-op's available for policy students but those typically only go to the top 10-20% of students in each cohort. As far as getting a job in Silicon Valley or San Francisco. the problem is that you are competing with public policy students from US tech schools like UC Berkeley; Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy is one of the best policy analysis schools in the world and Waterloo isn't known for the strength of its policy program. Waterloo can compete with UToronto and many US schools in CS/Engineering fields because it is known for that, but it's not known for social sciences, either in global social science rankings or by reputation. 

Frankly, if you want a co-op in policy, UToronto or Carleton are better schools than Waterloo. UT and Carleton both offer very good policy internships (UT requires an internship/co-op just like Waterloo) and Carleton has incredible connections in Ottawa. I would say if you want a government policy position go to Carleton but if you want a consulting/private sector policy job, go to UT Munk. It has a significantly better reputation than Waterloo, it's a larger program with more networking, and as I've mentioned in the past, no one in the policy jobs I worked in (one of the big 4 firms and a non-profit) in the USA have even heard of Waterloo; Americans think "Waterloo" is referring to the Napoleonic battle in Europe, not a university in Canada. Sad but true. Outside of STEM, and for social sciences in particular, UToronto unequivocally has the best graduate programs in Canada and at least the rest of the policy/IR world has heard of UT. 

@Paulcg87 where did you get that 10-20% co-op placement figure from. Waterloo has had a 100% co-op placement rate for the MPS program for seven years in a row. 

 

[MPA/MPP/MPS Applications, Fall 2020 (Canada)]

6 hours ago, honeybeetle said:

Hey, which school did you end up going with?

Sent you a pm! 

[MPA/MPP/MPS Applications, Fall 2020 (Canada)]

14 hours ago, Steven44 said:

Hey everyone, just putting this out there because this forum helped me a ton when I was applying last year.

I'm a current student in Waterloo's MPS program so If anybody has any particular questions about co-op, the courses, student life, etc. feel free to DM me.

I'm more than happy to help ! 

Sent you a message! 

[MPA/MPP/MPS Applications, Fall 2020 (Canada)]

Recently received a conditional offer of admission to the MPS program at Waterloo! I am still debating between UofT's MPP (waiting on decision) or the MPS program. Is there any justification beyond the prestige of UofT that warrants almost double the price tag, half the co-op term and a restrictive course layout that makes it difficult to transition from co-op to full-time employment? I have searched various forums and it seems like the benefit of UofT is it's international prestige and a heavy stats/economics focus that's aligned with the rigour and program structure of American MPP programs. This was cited as being ideal if your were interested in applying to competitive PhD programs in the states. As well, there is this supposed connection to the 'private sector' yet it appears that only 13.8% of alumni have jobs in the private sector. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe governments compensate policy jobs the best and there is usually a progression of people in the private sector trying to break into equivalent government roles? However, for career prospects within Canada UofT's mpp alumni statistics show around 64.7% join the government. When it comes to hiring decisions, I'm not sure there is an emphasis if any at all placed on school 'prestige' but rather the length of relevant work experience. I'm curious as to understanding the rationale behind the decision to attend UofT when smaller programs like the MPS offer double the co-op experience heavily situated in government. I would love to hear your thoughts on this! 

[Canadian 2020 Fall Start (Spring 2020 Application) MPA/MPPA Thread: Info, Stats, Etc.]

Does anyone know when Waterloo MPS will begin sending out offers? 

[MPA/MPP/MPS Applications, Fall 2020 (Canada)]

1 hour ago, thatpolicyguy said:

Yesterday at about 3pm I received an email from Waterloo with a conditional offer. They told me that the official acceptance would be made available on Quest in about 2 weeks to accept or decline the offer.

Congratulations! Is MPS your first choice and do you mind sharing your stats? 

[Canadian 2020 Fall Start (Spring 2020 Application) MPA/MPPA Thread: Info, Stats, Etc.]

9 minutes ago, educatedkitkat said:

I don't find it that surprising, coming from McGill. I have some less than positive opinions about Max Bell as a whole, which is why I didn't apply. 

Could you provide insight as to why you don't view Max Bell favourably. I'm interested to hear your opinion as I make my decision on which policy school to attend. 

[Canadian 2020 Fall Start (Spring 2020 Application) MPA/MPPA Thread: Info, Stats, Etc.]

Has anyone heard back from Waterloo's MPS program or know when admission offers start rolling out? 

[MPA/MPP/MPS Applications, Fall 2020 (Canada)]

Has anyone heard back from Waterloo's MPS or know when offers begin to be made? 

[MPA/MPP/MPS Applications, Fall 2020 (Canada)]

2 hours ago, kellz said:

I just checked and it still isn't even under review yet.  From what I heard from others, we'll likely begin to hear from them mid-March. 

Where did you hear the mid-March deadline? Looking at last years discussion for the 2019 cohort they were informed that they'd hear back March 2nd to 3rd.