rdt425

80% of Cornell CIPA students are awarded funding. Plus they recently moved into the College of Human Ecology (which is a NYS contract college), so their tuition was reduced by about a third.

As part of the move to join the College of Human Ecology, CIPA recently lowered its tuition by about $10k. To balance this out, the fellowship award amounts were also lowered.

Current CIPA Fellow here, let me address your concerns about Cornell-- Public administration at Cornell has actually been around for a pretty long time (originally it was a part of the business school starting in the 1940s), and I believe that the CIPA program was started in the early 1980s. I think that CIPA has come a long way since that time, and it is really obvious how dedicated the administration is at making CIPA more well-known. There has been tremendous growth in the last decade and that momentum is only going to continue. Especially given that you might want to stay in NY after graduation, the Cornell brand is going to be a plus. You will find Cornellians in every level of government, and I think we have a huge presencence in NYC. No one is ever going to look down on the fact that you have a degree from Cornell, even if CIPA is not [yet] as well-known as some other programs. I had this concern as well when I was a prospective student, but as I mentioned above, you will find both Cornell and CIPA alumni everywhere. We have networking events in both DC and NYC each year, and all of the CIPA alumni I have spoken with have gone out of their way to help me. A number of agencies have specifically approached CIPA saying that they want to hire our students for internships and full time positions, and there is always a flurry of emails about networking opportunities and job opportunities from alumni. This should really be the least of your concerns. CIPA has a number of advocates high within the ranks of the Cornell administration--including the Provost--who support the establishment of a school of public affairs. You probably received an email that CIPA will soon be joining the College of Human Ecology (and lowering its tuition too). This is only the first step in a larger plan to improve the CIPA's visibility and eventually start a new school. The fact that the public affairs faculty is pulled from many different parts of the university isn't too strange, given how Cornell operates. At Cornell, students are admitted to fields (eg, the field of public affairs), and not by departments. Faculty members typically have appointment in a department, but advise students across many fields, such that you might have a PhD student in the field of policy analysis and management who is advised by a professor in the economics department. This truely is a benefit for the students because it allows you to easily take courses anywhere in the university. Additionally, professors from other departments seem to seek out CIPA students to take their classes, because they want to bring in the policy viewpoint into the discussions. In the end, no matter where you attend, your experience is really going to be what you make of it. Before I came to Cornell, I was also concerned with some of the same things (ranking, location, faculty), but I've found that these aren't as significant as I made them out to be. Looking at your personal considerations that you mentioned, I can tell you that Cornell has a number of graduate students with military experience (mostly in CIPA and the Johnson school), and that about ~10% of graduates will pursue a PhD. A number of them will stay at Cornell, mostly in PAM, CRP, Govt, or Natural Resources, but also at other schools. While this is a "professional" program, the fact that you are taking coursework and doing research with professors in other "academic" departments will only strengthen your options for doing a PhD. Also, the ability to do a thesis while at CIPA can also serve as a springboard into a PhD program.

Congrats! Perhaps I will be seeing you in the fall. I am a current first-year CIPA fellow, feel free to shoot me any questions.

No funding for me either. I thought this would make things easier, especially given that I've received a huge chunk of money from Cornell, but for some reason I'm still drawn to Ford. I'm really interested in higher ed. policy, and Michigan clearly has Cornell beat in this area. I just wonder whether it is worth taking on more than twice as much debt to attend there?

Did anyone else receive another email from the Ford School? So...I guess I'm admitted again?

I received the same email. This is really shocking. I had even already RSVP'd for the visit day and booked a hotel!

Right now I've been accepted to Harris, GPPI, Trachtenberg, and CIPA. I'm still waiting to hear back from Ford. The only school to offer any money has been Cornell, and they've offered me a renewable fellowship of $28k/year. I have three years of work experience - one year in development at a public university and two years working at a college access nonprofit. I'm interested in working in ed. policy when I graduate, particularly higher ed. policy. My dream job would be at the US Dept. of Ed. or at a foundation/think tank/etc. I like CIPA a lot, and the fact that they've offered me some money makes it an appealing choice. I just wonder whether they're the best option given my career goals. Some of the other programs have better offerings in ed. policy (especially Michigan and GW). I try not to put too much stock into rankings, but I still struggle with balancing prestige v. money v. career outcomes. I really appreciate any advice you can offer, thank you.

I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. From what I've read, as long as you work 10 years in public service, the balance of your loans will be forgiven and you won't owe taxes on the forgiven amount. You're also able to make payments under an income-based repayment plan, which would be a great benefit as I don't anticipate making tons of money right out of school. Right now I'm trying to decide between some highly ranked schools that have offered me no funding, and an Ivy that is lower ranked for policy, but has offered me substantial money. If I were to take the money, I'd be looking at $65k in loans versus around $110k+ for the higher ranked schools. Should I really be worrying this much about the cost? My rational side says that I should just take the money and run, because I'd have less debt and a degree from an Ivy. However, if all of my loans are going to be forgiven after 10 years anyway, shouldn't I just go to one of the higher ranked schools, which I think offer better career prospects, even though it would mean initially taking on a ton of debt?

I was accepted sometime in mid-December. I think it took about 2.5 weeks from the time my application was complete until I heard back with a decision.