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Congrats to everyone who received offers... and good luck to those still waiting! There are always very high quality applicants and getting in is nothing to sneeze at. That being said, for those who plan to accept their offers, feel free to join our community on fb right away; I'm sure you're all very excited! https://www.facebook.com/groups/NPSIA1213/ For those of you in Ottawa or are planning on visiting, we are having a private end of the year party on the 5th in the Market and would love to have you there. It would be a good opportunity for you to get to know some of the current students and ask the many questions that I'm sure you have. For details, feel free to pm me!

Thanks everyone, I'm pretty excited to be heading to Paris. Though it is a little bittersweet; so many classes I still want to take at NPSIA! By the way, I believe the School has been thinking about restructuring clusters and everything, so I'm not surprised about that. Although things shouldn't be too different. Finally, I'm not sure whether or not the School will be having an open house considering a lot of its recruits are scattered all across Canada. However, like Joe said, I'm sure we could get some current students to speak with you if you came up. One of the best things about NPSIA is the community here. Everyone is willing to help each other out and it really is almost like a family. The alumni network included... there are a lot of high profile alumni (former Ambassadors, policy makers, etc) who have been involved and giving advice to current students and having that network available to you is invaluable. My biggest advice to you all is network the hell out of your time here - there are a lot of impressive people who will be coming in with you and who have been here and they will be there when you need it!

I will actually be going to the Paris School of International Affairs (Sciences Po) in January, so there are tons of options. There are a lot of grad programs run through the Carleton exchange office: http://www1.carleton.ca/isso/ NPSIA also has some of their own exchange programs, but the availabilities vary year by year. NPSIA is on the fifth floor of the brand new River building (we are actually the first full time students there). It is named so because it over looks the river - a great view! We have the beautiful 'Resource Centre' - it's basically our own private library and lounge - with access to a rooftop veranda. They have some boardrooms in there for group work and some individual cubbies, and couches. It's a really great spot and no one has ever complained about lack of study space. There is also a Timmys in the building, which is key. I'm in the GPE cluster - PM me if you want more info!

The cohort is roughly 80 per year - with around 10-15 people per cluster - so you really do become quite tight-knit with people in your cluster. That being said, you need not be restricted to your cluster. For coop, I think almost everyone is eligible provided you meet the minimum average - which I don't believe is that stringent. Your main impediment to an actual coop job is the competition for jobs - much easier to get a coop in the fall and winter than in the summer because the competition in the summer is much higher. That being said, NPSIA students are seen to be highly qualified so you may get an advantage there (plus a large percentage of people working at DFAIT or CIDA are NPSIA grads so you might also get a bump there).

Hey everyone, I'm a current NPSIA student who applied last year. It seems that some of you have found some of last years posts and I've been getting messages from some of you NPSIA hopefuls trying to get some more information on the program. Glad to see all the enthusiasm! It's well worth it, trust me! Anyway, for more information on student life, NPSIA events and the dialogue happening at the school, I would recommend checking out: NPSIA Students' Association: http://npsiasa.wordpress.com NPSIA Academic blog: http://npsia.wordpress.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/CU_NPSIA Hopefully that will tide you over until you hear. Best of luck!

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Thanks for the update Amy! I'm a little younger (22) and I definitely feel like I would like to have some company but I'm not sure how I would feel about living with some random people!

I'm heading out to NPSIA in September as well... I'll be in the Global Political Economy cluster. Coming to Ottawa from Toronto/Waterloo and will likely be there in late August/beginning of September as well. Pretty excited to get started - sounds like a great program with some very accomplished people! Not entirely sure how I got into the program myself. I'm wondering what everyone's doing for housing (is anyone going to be applying for residence)?

Heading to NPSIA/Carleton in September as well... I hear the Glebe area is a great bet. Anyone know how much rent should be? Also, debating having random roommates or getting a single apartment... any advice?

NPSIA funding was terrible, but from what I've been hearing, NPSIA grads will quickly make all of it back in no time. NPSIA's reputation precedes it. I declined over 20K from another school but I see it as an investment. PS. anyone willing to take the jump on a facebook group now that it's official?

We haven't received the official letters yet. I figure we have about 3 weeks to reply after we receive the official offers. Good luck.

The chances are probably not so good considering there is already a waitlist after the first round. Wouldn't hurt to apply though and take your chances - if you have a competitive application they might move you up the waitlist!

I'm actually facebook illiterate. You do not want me to attempt to create a page/admin it! Has anyone received their official letters yet? Getting really impatient!

Who's accepting NPSIA? Someone should make a facebook group for the incoming cohort!