orangesplease

The fun doesn't really end when you've heard back from schools. I've had a few nights of restless sleep and I couldn't sleep at all the night I found out I got into SIPA. I'll probably be declining my offer sometime after this weekend after speaking with an acquaintance in the program. The financial aspect is just too large to overlook!!!

And this is when a high quant score can make the difference XD

THAT EXPLAINS IT!!!!!!! ha ha ha What an amazing test taker... I'm sure your brilliance can also be demonstrated in your work. So is GPPI on your list of schools your considering?

Do you mind also posting your stats? I was under the impression I wasn't provided an impressive aid package due to my not-so stellar GPA and GRE quantitative score.

I believe someone else on this thread also went to UCSD for undergrad, but if any of you have any questions about the campus/culture feel free to ask away. A good friend of mine is also in the program and will graduate this June. Had I not been raised in California my entire life and went to UCSD for undergrad, I would have considered IR/PS for their Pacific regional focus. For those of you who don't find the subsidized payment enough to justify the trip, I say do it and treat it like a vacation. How often are you given $300 to travel to a world-class city like San Diego?? Granted, the campus in La Jolla is not central nor is it public transit friendly to the rest of the city, but I don't think anyone has complained about spending a weekend in La Jolla.

I echo ahoskins request XD I included 2 lines about DC and GPPI being a quality program, but also included what aspects of the program are unique and how it would assist me in my future goals. Unfortunately, it only netted me 5k/year =[ My hope is that a lot of folks who have been granted aid choose other programs so I can get a larger piece of that aid pie! GPPI would be awesome, but a career in public service with $80-100k in debt hovering over my head would be senseless.

What a sad way to end a fantastic drama! =[ I s'pose yours was a tragedy and not a happy ending >.<

AWESOME! I didn't net much from my round of scholarship candidates, so I have credible guidance to provide you. What we need is some guidance from the folks who received $15k and $20k awards!

Received the acceptance package from Georgetown today. It's been raining the entire week where I live and I just retrieved the mail (yes, this late ) so one corner was moist =[ There was a hand written note in the bottom left corner of the main acceptance letter. Also received confirmation of my scholarship money (split between two semesters). Don't think there was anything in here that I couldn't find online, but it's nice that the acceptance feels official now =D After a week of intense consideration between SIPA and GPPI, I am heavily leaning toward GPPI right now. The financial situation still needs to improve, but I think I would be very happy here. Anyone else planning on going to the April 13 Admit Day?

Couldn't hurt! GPPI made it a point to include in their email to me that they do not take funding from other programs into account when providing merit aid XD ha ha

AGREED. I received a generic email from their financial aid department this morning with some general suggestions and information. I added up the tuition and fees ONLY and it comes out to $47,936 for the first year. Tuition for their MBA is around 56k, so their numbers are pretty ridiculous. Regardless, their program sounds awesome, but this first generation college kid cannot swallow that kind of debt.

I think SIPA has a very very well established program. After looking into it very closely, it is a very interesting program. The first week you're there, you go on a retreat with the students. They do a field trip each year, alternating DC and a military base/situation. A lot of things to say about them... UNFORTUNATELY, this Ivy League school seems to be the stingiest in terms of grants/scholarships. The $47,000 for tuition and fees for one year is pretty ridiculous if you aren't one of the rare scholarship recipients. Though people have often said 2nd year students receive a lot of aid, the reported average 2nd year student receives only 15k or so--not even half of tuition. In this situation, I would say your ability to handle the finances is more important. If going to SIPA entirely on loans isn't a big deal and you have financial support or some money saved up, awesome. If that's not the case, you should consider CIPA, assuming that 28k is renewable next year and it covers well over half of your tuition.

There were some admits yesterday, but it doesn't seem like there were many.

I'm glad GPPI has two options for their admit day that occur on Fridays. I'm going to plan around them and do an individual meet and greet w/ Columbia =D Probably like you, it isn't easy (or affordable?!) to skip out on work mid-week. I'll say the free meals sound appealing Just waiting for West coast airfare to go on sale or something... ha ha

Accoridng to the decision letter, Admit Day is on April 10 and deposits of $1,000 are required by 5/1. Yes, a $1,000 deposit. If that's not a commentary on the demographic they expect to attend the school, i don't know what is!

My friend received her email decision today at 11:11 PST (2:11pm EST). She was admitted! Her application was submitted before the priority deadline (Jan 15). For those of you who still haven't heard back, there seems to be hope =D

I checked their website around 11pm last night and my decision was already there. Received their email at 5am PST (8am EST) this morning though. I think they programmed the system to release it at midnight EST since it said "your decisions will be available beginning 3/14/12" or something. With that said, they probably only did that for the first batch of decisions. My friend didn't have a decision last night nor did she have an email this morning. However, she received an email from them at 1pm PST (4pm EST). My letter is dated for 2/22/12 while hers was 3/13/12

If you haven't heard back yet, you're fine. Check out their blog for updates: http://blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/sipa/ In some cases, not hearing back is better b/c you may be a candidate for scholarships/fellowships since no one has reported receiving either, similar to last year.

Those rankings are trying to fit the field of public affairs in a cookie cutter that it can't fit in. Take a look at this IR survey (page 26/27) to get some more insight on schools and what the perceived strengths are.

I still haven't receive the official letter o_O They must be running behind... Not about how much merit aid is left. I was lucky and received a request for scholarship consideration a couple weeks after receiving my initial acceptance decision. For most, if you didn't receive the request in your admissions email, the chances of receiving anything are low >.< All hope is not lost, however. I called the admissions office last week and they said they will consider more merit aid in April when they have a better picture of who will be accepting their offers.

You folks should consider posting 2012 info in the "SIPA page" thread as to not incorporate new info w an existing 18 page thread. Feel free to do as you like, just thought that would make sense >.< Mine says submitted at the top while on the bottom it says "not submitted." If you do not easily see the decision link somewhere in the bottom lines (or haven't received an email this morning), you probably don't yet have a decision.

Got into Columbia, but no $. Go to their admissions website and scroll to the bottom. IF your decision has been made, it will say "Your application decision is now available online." GOODLUCK EVERYONE! Let us know if anyone received funding! Otherwise they'll be doing what they did last year and will send out notices to those who receive scholarships/fellowships later in the month. p.s. I applied at the last minute, so they're definitely not sending out decisions by submission date.

Did you REALLY have to start this already? XD I too am expecting not to be admitted due to some glaring mistakes on both my resumes. SIPA has a different admissions director this year, so I wouldn't be surprised if they go with an entirely new decisions roll out strategy this year. According to last year's thread, applicants who were considered for scholarships and fellowships didn't hear back until after the first wave of decisions. No clue whether or not they shall act similarly this year.

Anyone have any new news on Georgetown? Funding, whether or not any of you plan on going there, etc. etc.

Yes, 170 is the highest score for each section of the GRE. Take a look at their score guide on page 19: http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_guide.pdf