policy_applicant

huh, interesting. no news for me, as of yet.

fes, when did you receive your letter? I'm still waiting on mine.

My sense is that GWU is a bit more respected than American, but that overall the programs are not that far apart and both will provide a good DC network. If there is a big difference in funding, I'd probably go with the money, but otherwise, I'd choose GWU. I know there's a fair amount of discussion on the board about the comparative merits of the three DC programs if you're willing to search for it. Good luck with the decision!

I was going to ask the same thing. Has anyone received funding information yet? I'm just waiting for NYU and LBJ funding info before I finally (!) have a complete picture.

Thanks, policy_student! I am currently leaning toward GPPI for many of the reasons you mentioned. I'm curious, though, about ways of financing the degree outside of scholarship money. Are there any chances for assistantships or work at the research centers? I understand that many full-time students are able to get part-time paid internships during the school year. Has this been your experience? Any perspective you can offer would be helpful.

Allovertheplace - yes, I will be sitting in on a class tomorrow night and going to the event on Friday. How about you? I'm currently leaning toward GPPI, but I have yet to hear about funding from NYU and LBJ. It looks like we are in a very similar situation. Which way are you leaning?

phew.

For those of you have received your official letters and scholarship awards, are the scholarships reflected on the CASH website, or does that just show loan awards? Thanks!

Yes. I received my admission email on February 4 and just received my official acceptance letter last Thursday. GPPI = slow.

The open houses run from 1:00 - 5:30 with a reception at 6:00. There is also a list of activities, but no official itinerary.

and what's the word? did you get a fellowship?

Is this for MPP? Or is it for some other related degree?

USC wins for best recruitment in my book. They offer a travel credit for those coming from out of town, they sent a separate packet about grad life at the university and a letter from the career center, and the MPP advisor has emailed me making herself available for questions or an appointment to discuss the program.

Yes, I received a similar letter yesterday. Just the basic admissions letter. I should call them to see if that's the final word or if fellowship awards may still be in our future. EDIT: So, sef802, you think we should wait for the official letter before jumping to conclusions about the fellowship? Sounds good to me.

I just received an email with my financial aid decision that I was able to check via the school's CASH system. Basically, they offered me $16,500 in loans. Woo! Oh, wait... So, I guess that's final? No scholarship/fellowship/etc.? Looks like LBJ can be crossed off the list.

Yeah, this is my worry. I have a former coworker who got her MPAff at LBJ and she indicated that the alumni network was pretty much limited to Texas and DC. Would there be enough opportunities in DC, though? I'm not particularly interested in living in Texas after graduation. Also, I would like to live in CA at some point in the future and worry that the alumni network is limited there.

I noticed your decline in posting as well, linden. i know we'll pick back up, but we were due for a lull.

Is anybody going to the LA event tomorrow? I'm planning to show up, since I'm going to miss the April 3 visit day.

I've still been browsing, but posting less. The key to staying away is to get rejected by your top 2 schools and then have no imminent info coming over email. I'm sure the posting will pick up as visit days approach and the decision becomes more imminent.

How Competitive are GSPP and Others? There was some discussion about this topic a few weeks back (and the thread's now on the 3rd page).

Yeah, thanks sosh! Any idea when LBJ is going to send out funding decisions? That will play a big role in whether or not I end up there.

I'm so sorry, golonghorns. Really. That is quite a shock. Applications really must have been up this year. The good news is that you have other acceptances, though. It's not easy to get rejected from your top choice, though. I still get a bad feeling in my stomach thinking about Berkeley.

That's right! How did you scramble to fix it, though? I thought you just left it in there. Did you resend the SOP or something?

Yay! Congrats, dagger!

Seriously! I'm ready to be able to start seriously considering my options, but I can't do that until I have a complete funding picture. I need to just resign myself to having an incomplete picture until April 1 at the earliest.