PeteZahut

Accepted via email on 3/4. Didn't get any funding. Will go to April open house event but unlikely to attend due to cost (85-90k for two years!!!) Leaning towards Syracuse/Maxwell at this point, but may fall back on Albany (Rockefeller) due to economic/financial concerns. If I didn't already have a JD (and the associated loans attached), SIPA would be a no-brainer. Alas... Good luck to everyone!

Regular deadline isn't until June 1, 2009...so there might be some room for later applicants.

Is anyone else considering Rockefeller? This was pretty much my 'safety' school and it is the most inexpensive option for me. Ranked #14 in USNWR but not sure of its "name recognition" outside of New York state... Any thoughts?

Got waitlisted. Was expecting a rejection weeks ago but this is good enough for me. Will probably not attend (if accepted) due to high costs but will re-apply next year (with better GRE/GMAT scores and additional work experience) and hope for better luck... Guess I'll have to rough it out as a lawyer for another year or so...

All this waiting probably means we were put into some kind of "secondary review" which may or may not bode well... Though I'm hoping there's a slight chance we (or some of us) are up for fellowship considerations.... :roll:

Got an email today...only 5k for the entire program. It also says I'll still be considered for additional aid but it seems unlikely. There's still the opportunity to get a 5-10k grant but only after I enroll and go through the summer program... If this is it, then I don't think it will be worth taking out over 50k in loans (on top of the loans I already have)...

I'll be at the open house on 3/23 and probably attend the networking event in NYC on 3/30. I've also been contacted by a current student and will be following-up on that with some questions. Has anyone gotten word of funding yet?

Hey Causey, do you mind posting your stats?

In Binghamton (an hour south of Syracuse), we'd usually have snowfall from November through late March...in Syracuse, which is next to a large lake and closer to the Great Lakes, expect there to be heavier snowfalls for longer durations... On the bright side, you eventually get used to it :|

Funding is the "deal or no deal" factor for me. If I don't get anything significant from the schools I've applied to (I'm not willing to pay or take out loans more than around $50k for the entire program), I'll just stick with my current job and re-apply next year (which will give me a chance to add work experience and re-take the GREs and/or GMATs)...

How does one "check the website" for their admissions status? Is it the applyyourself site or is it a link contained in the email they send you?

Having lived an hour from Syracuse during undergrad, I can tell you that the cost of living is VERY low in upstate New York. You can probably live quite comfortably for around 1000 per month (rent, food, utilities) close to the campus (living in the suburbs is a bit nicer and quieter but also a bit more costly and will require a car as Syracuse lacks decent public transportation)... The main drawbacks are the brutal, snowy winters and the lack of "glamour" compared to a large city (L.A., NYC). But if you're the type to enjoy the outdoors (hiking, skiing, fishing, etc.), then Syracuse is a good place to live.

As far as I'm aware, SIPA has not lost any of my documents and my online status has indicated that everything has been submitted and my application is "complete." I will call them later this week to find out why I have not heard anything yet... In the case of NYU/Wagner, my application was submitted in early Jan (before the scholarship deadline) and everything was listed as "Received" and "Complete." Fast forward two months and I call Wagner and they've told me one of my LoRs was "not in my file." This was despite my online status indicating that everything was "Received" before the 1st deadline! Subsequent to my call, my online status was updated to reflect the missing LoR. I now have until June 1 (the regular deadline) to replace that LoR and obtain a decision... The cause for worry is that both SIPA and Wagner use the same ApplyYourself online system to track and update materials... PS: All of my materials for both Wagner and SIPA were submitted via paper mail, which may have been a factor in Wagner losing/misplacing documents....

I'm waiting for SIPA too... ...unless they screwed up my application like NYU did (which lost one of my LoRs (which was listed as received since November!), thus necessitating me to send another one...albeit too late for funding consideration...)...

I got in too. Still waiting on funding decisions. Either way, I will be attending the open house on 3/23.

Wow, after getting all my app materials (LoRs, GREs, transcripts) submitted in December 2008 (and listed as "received" on the ApplyYourself system) and sending in the application on January 12, 2009, the online status has been changed to "Incomplete" and the scholarship consideration box has been changed to "No." So I called Wagner and they told me that one of the two LoRs is not in my file...which is bogus because I know it was sent in and listed as received by Wagner as of early December 2008! Either I can now send in another LoR by the regular June 1 deadline (without scholarship consideration) or just re-apply later for a Fall 2010 admission cycle... Well, at least now I know not to wait for NYU in the mail...!@*#!()@$*)!$*! PS: Next time, I'll make sure to take a digital photo of my computer screen saying the application is submitted and complete!

Wow, I just checked the online status and it says my application is incomplete (my 2 letters of recommendation were "not received") and the checkbox for scholarship consideration was changed to "No." I applied on 1/12/09 (before the scholarship deadline of 1/15/09) and everything was complete and submitted. I just sent an email to them as they don't appear to be answering phone calls. WTF???

I spent 4 semesters attending law school full-time and doing internships/working part-time. I would intern about 2-3 days a week, totaling about 15-20 hours per week. I'd study on my non-intern days and the weekends. It was definitely worth it in terms of gaining practical experience and my GPA even increased while I was working (it helps that internships reinforced my substantive coursework and vice versa).... It really depends on how well you plan your schedule (whether late afternoon or evening classes are available and which days certain classes are offered). My employers were quite flexible about their scheduling as well. I would recommend planning the courses you want/need before registration and then determine whether you can fit the internship into the schedule. You might have to make some sacrficies to in favor of one or the other...

Undergrad GPA: 3.16 from a top100 (tier 2) school, Political Science and Economics double major Law school GPA: 3.33 from a top100 (tier 2) school GRE: 690V, 660Q, 5.0A Work experience: Full-time: 1 year, Part-time/internship: 3 years Accepted: Rockefeller College (SUNY Albany), Maxwell School (Syracuse) Waiting: Wagner (NYU), SIPA (Columbia) Rejected: N/A

Thanks for the responses. I was hoping that a quick decision would indicate that they really want me to attend their program. Nonetheless, here's hoping that SU's funding decisions work in my favor!

Dream school: Columbia Realistic school (w/ funding): Syracuse Realistic school(w/ no funding): SUNY Albany

Congrats! I got my admissions package in late Jan. Waiting to hear about funding as well and quite nervous about it too. If no funding, then looks like I'll have to attend a state school... I plan to attend the open house on March 23.

Hi all, Don't know if this topic has been posted before but is it considered a good sign (for funding consideration) if schools respond with an admission offer in short amount of time after submission of the application? In my case, I applied to Syracuse/Maxwell School's MPA program (via their online system) in early January '09 (around the 6th or so) and received an admissions offer by USPS mail around Jan 28. Still no word on funding/fin aid but I've been told I'm being considered (I applied before the funding deadline) and that funding decisions go out mid-March and by April 1 at the latest. In the case of SUNY Albany/Rockefeller College, I submitted my application by certified mail around mid-Jan and recieved an admissions offer within one week by email. Still no word on funding (and not too hopeful due to state budget cuts). In terms of funding, this is my 'safe school' as it is the cheapest for me to attend (unless the private schools give me aid). Still waiting on NYU/Wagner and Columbia/SIPA... Is this a good sign that Maxwell and Rockefeller really want me to attend their program and thus giving me some potential leverage for financial aid/funding?