policy_applicant

Hahaha. Oh no! I'd put money on you hearing by Monday at the latest. Plus, no funding decisions for a couple of weeks, so you're not missing out on anything yet. :wink:

Just got an acceptance email for MPAff program. Fellowship info to come in official letter.

yeah, good idea.

hey dagger, I think that if you were admitted in the first wave in early February and haven't received an email asking for a supplemental scholarship essay, you are out of the running for funding. Have you received your official acceptance letter?

Yes, I will definitely post my impressions after the visit day.

No sorry, it was just funny syntax. The question is totally legitimate. My sense is that Berkeley is (obviously) more selective, and therefore attracts higher-caliber MPPs. I actually have very little sense of the UCLA program, though. I plan to go to the UCLA visit day, and I'm very interested to see what the students are like.

are you drunk, pepper? :wink:

That would be interesting, and definitely something to inquire about at their visit day. I unfortunately do not have that much info about UCLA's program. Is it significantly better than USC's?

Huh. Looking at it again, that is poorly worded. I didn't even notice the first time. Wouldn't that be a horrible way to reject people?

Rejected. Not a surprise.

Wow! Congrats younglions!!! That's awesome. I'll be patiently waiting for my bad-news email on Friday. Also congrats to the waitlisters. That's no small thing.

I think I also saw a 5:00 EST admit. Don't worry younglions, you're just as crazy as the rest of us. Erm, on second thought, maybe that is reason for worry.

[raises hand] I was sure it was going to be today. That said, I'm really not getting my hopes up for WWS, so I can at least still sleep. I still think admits will be tomorrow and rejects will be on Friday. That would just be wrong to make the rejects wait the whole weekend before making it official.

I'm going to agree with linden here. I mean, you don't have to get a degree at all to go into public service or affect people's lives. You can always just volunteer at a local nonprofit or get a job right out of undergrad. But we're all applying to masters (or PhD) programs for a reason, and that's to further explore areas that interest us and also to get a leg up in the job market after graduation. Sure, you can explore a topic of interest at just about any institution, but only to a certain extent. I mean, there's a reason the top universities are ranked more highly than the others--for the most part, they have impressive faculty who have more knowledge and hands-on experience in the field. And beyond that, to the extent that your degree from WWS, for example, helps you land the job you want, it can help you do more good in your public service career than the degree from directional state u. Also, Princeton gives super generous funding packages. That said, prestige is not everything, and most of us will be successful no matter where we end up. Going to top schools, however, can help us achieve our public goals as well as our personal ones, and that shouldn't be discounted.

Hi there pritinsp, For more (albeit limited) info on the USC program, check out the USC Strengths/Weaknesses thread. Also, I'll be happy to add any information I can glean after attending their visit day on the 27th.

My sister works in the mayor's office and said that you can also get tuition paid for if you get a job with the city. That might be something to look into as well.

Also, for MPP students, decisions will be sent on March 16 (I'm assuming by email).

Thanks!

Rutabaga, what sort of research experience/publications do you have? It looks as though you've done well during the admissions season.

Thanks, nams! Please do share your experiences. I'm also curious to hear your thoughts of the PhD program, as I'm flirting with the idea of getting my doctorate after the MPP.

It's gonna be an exciting day! Just for the thrill of it all, I think I will keep away from the internet all day and check things out on Saturday. [/quot Hahaha. Yeah, right. :wink:

Unfortunately, I think you're going to have to wait for the letter to come. So why did you apply to USC? Care to share your thoughts about the program?

Awww...thanks everybody. I really appreciate the support. I'm still pretty crushed, but my date wasn't a total disaster, so there's that. The UCLA fellowship is $2,500, with talk in the email about the budget, etc. The UC system is really conspiring against me today! If anyone else got a messed up UCLA letter, email Maciek. PM me if you need his email address.

Rejected. Letter dated February 27. It sure didn't take them long to figure out they didn't want me, I suppose. That's quite the blow to the old self-esteem.

Hey GSPPhopeful, check your PM.