UC Berkeley Goldman -- Fall 2018

[VeryCheesey]

Thanks @lackey. Yep, not much reason to be upset!

[mahakal]

Accepted. NO funding. Any international student who got in with funding?

[apr1016]

Waitlisted, really wish I knew where I stand and how much company I have! Anyone else in my shoes? Is there any chance of funding whatsoever for people on the waitlist?

Decisions seem to be pouring in now, best of luck to everyone!

[policyapplicant]

53 minutes ago, apr1016 said:

Waitlisted, really wish I knew where I stand and how much company I have! Anyone else in my shoes? Is there any chance of funding whatsoever for people on the waitlist?

Decisions seem to be pouring in now, best of luck to everyone!

I'm at least one person who will probably decline the offer! Crossing my fingers for you! 

[TheOfficeFan]

Also adding to the rejections, which is such a bummer. After I got into Duke Sanford, I felt good about this one. Top choice by a mile. 

[Ellen123]

1 hour ago, UrbanPolicy&Development said:

I'm at least one person who will probably decline the offer! Crossing my fingers for you! 

Where do you think you'll go instead? We got accepted to several of the same programs (Harris, NYU, GSPP) and I'm also waiting to hear back from WWS. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the decision making process, if you feel comfortable sharing.

[the_Process]

Thrilled to have been accepted!... but with no funding. Any insight on whether a scholarship appeals process (similar to Harris's) or a redistribution of declined funding offers exists beyond what is listed here?

[PolicyHopeful2018]

3 hours ago, apr1016 said:

Waitlisted, really wish I knew where I stand and how much company I have! Anyone else in my shoes? Is there any chance of funding whatsoever for people on the waitlist?

Decisions seem to be pouring in now, best of luck to everyone!

Hi @apr1016 ! I’m in the same boat. While I told myself I’d almost rather a rejection than have to deal with the anxiety of the waitlist, I take that back and feel grateful to have even been put on the waitlist (with a very average quant GRE and no econ background). I’m in NYC and hoping to stay on this coast, so waiting on HKS and WWS, but would love to know the prospects for getting off the waitlist! Not sure on the funding Q. 

[policyapplicant]

1 hour ago, Ellen123 said:

Where do you think you'll go instead? We got accepted to several of the same programs (Harris, NYU, GSPP) and I'm also waiting to hear back from WWS. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the decision making process, if you feel comfortable sharing.

I think I'll probably go to Harris if I don't get into WWS. I really love the Harris program. My sense is that it's going to take me much farther than most of the other program -- because it's so rigorous/econ-based and because the job placement rates seem very good. I'm interested in private sector employment after graduation. Most of the schools don't seem to do well on this point except for Harris. And I can imagine myself staying in Chicago, unlike the Bay Area. All of that makes me feel like Harris is really the right choice. 

I live in NY, and my sense is that Wagner has too many part-time and evening students and too many adjunct faculty members. I'm sure some of the professional connections are quite good, but it just doesn't strike me as the right academic environment for me. 

I think Goldman would be great generally and I really like the class size of ~100/year. But it's not as good for my area of interest (urban development) and my sector of interest (private). 

The outlier for me is USC Price. It doesn't have the stature of the others, especially outside of CA. But they were very generous financially and with a fellowship opportunity. I'll visit for the admitted student events and see if I feel the magic. 

I may well change my mind on all of this next week though! Lots of thoughts swirling around.

Your thoughts? 

[Ellen123]

58 minutes ago, UrbanPolicy&Development said:

Your thoughts? 

Wow it's almost like a mind meld happening on GC! I also really love Harris. I went to admitted students day and was really impressed across the board. At this point, private sector employment is my goal for at least a few years after graduation and agree that Harris seems to be strong in that regard. I also live in NY and want to come back here after grad school. Harris seems to be pretty good at NYC placement for a non-NYC program compared to other schools I've gotten into, Sanford especially. I want to get a rigorous quantitate experience at grad school, and Harris definitely looks like they can provide that. My only complaint is that the class size might be a little big.

Re: Wagner - I also don't love the percentage of full-time v. other students as well as the lack of a campus. I'm realizing I want an immersive academic experience, and I don't think Wagner can provide that. They also didn't give me any funding and, at least for me, Wagner seems to be too expensive when considering the cost of living in the city.

For GSPP - I'm worried it won't do as much for me since I know I want to come back to the East Coast after graduating. That being said, I love the size as well. I also like that the core courses are more diverse than Harris (less straight quant with classes like "Law and Public Policy"). I think I'm going to try to make it out there for admitted students day to get a better sense of it is right for me.

I'm still waiting on a few more schools though, so we'll see how I feel at the end of next week!

Edited March 9, 2018 by Ellen123

[elizabethrs]

I also was accepted, but without funding, so that's not going to happen!

[pozole]

3 hours ago, elizabethrs said:

I also was accepted, but without funding, so that's not going to happen!

Any idea on the likelihood of negotiating funding at GSPP if none was offered to begin with? What if I have full tuition offers elsewhere to counter with?

[glopez]

Got in with funding! But the e-mail is somewhat confusing in the way its worded...I was awarded a 2-year departmental fellowship but only the first year's tuition is covered? 

[elizabethrs]

On 3/9/2018 at 5:35 PM, pozole said:

Any idea on the likelihood of negotiating funding at GSPP if none was offered to begin with? What if I have full tuition offers elsewhere to counter with?

I don't know how Berkeley is with negotiating funding... it was never one of my top schools, though, so I probably won't ask.

[Dampact]

Hey everyone, I just had a quick question, I received an acceptance same time as y'all, but my email stated that an official acceptance from the graduate division will follow shortly, it's not arrived yet and my Berkeley application management page has not changed either. Is this the same for y'all as well?

[mkl125]

10 hours ago, Dampact said:

Hey everyone, I just had a quick question, I received an acceptance same time as y'all, but my email stated that an official acceptance from the graduate division will follow shortly, it's not arrived yet and my Berkeley application management page has not changed either. Is this the same for y'all as well?

Same for me! I think the official notification just takes a bit longer.

[DKWTG18]

Is there someone who applied to the MPA program? I haven't had any news yet. Emailed the admission office, but didn't get any answer...

[gelatinskeleton]

 Hey everyone, has anybody been talking to current students or alumni and have discovered any information about Berkeley that they think would be helpful to share? I have to say, the alumni and students I have talked to are very convincing. They clearly love the program and respect their classmates to the upmost. I have also been assured over and over again that as a US student there are many work-study opportunities I could take on that would reduce the tuition burden. I was even told that they had never heard about somebody who wanted a position not get one.If this is true it definitely changes my calculus, as it makes Berkeley much more affordable.

[TheGradStudentAdvice]

If that makes you feel any better, Goldman has the most obnoxious Senior Assistant Dean (Martha Chavez). Her attitude does not project a very positive image of the school. You will be much better off at Georgetown (McCourt), Harris, or Sciences Po! Congrats and all the best! 

On 3/8/2018 at 6:20 PM, VeryCheesey said:

Sigh, I received a reject. All the best to all of you who got in! It was my top choice, I'll hate myself for two days and get back to the admission process.

 

[LifeOnMars]

Just a response to TheGradStudentAdvice's post above..... I'm a current student at GSPP, and though I have several significant complaints about the program and how it was being run for my first year, I have never heard of anyone who had a bad experience with Martha Chavez! I've had little interaction with her myself, but she is pretty much universally loved at GSPP. 

[pubpol123]

On 6/6/2018 at 4:53 AM, LifeOnMars said:

Just a response to TheGradStudentAdvice's post above..... I'm a current student at GSPP, and though I have several significant complaints about the program and how it was being run for my first year, I have never heard of anyone who had a bad experience with Martha Chavez! I've had little interaction with her myself, but she is pretty much universally loved at GSPP. 

Would you be able to articulate on some of the criticisms you have of the program? I'm sure many of us (including myself!) would love it know.

Thanks!

[LifeOnMars]

Sure, but here are a whole bunch of caveats first: I'm probably not the best person to talk to because I wasn't super gung ho about getting an MPP degree in the first place. It seemed like it was the best overall option for my interests/goals and I ended up getting into a lot of places, so I felt encouraged and went for it... But I acknowledge that I am kind of an outlier. I have zero interest in become a bureaucrat or crunching data in STATA, while a lot of other people in the program are pretty into that kind of thing. So some of my complaints may be due to a poor choice of degree on my part rather than poor management. 

Also, I'm generally pretty critical. I took classes with some pretty well-known and highly-regarded professors, and thought they were just kind of okay. So maybe I just have a stick up my ass or something, cuz other people raved about them. I'm also older, and probably less likely to have my mind blown than I was when I was younger... I think that's part of my generally lackluster experience. Finally, I don't know much about how other MPP/MPA programs are run, so maybe Berkeley is still very good by comparison and I'm just not the best fit for this degree.

All that being said, a lot of people besides myself had a lot of problems with the way the second semester project (IPA) was run. The selection process left a number of students unhappy, including me, and the accompanying class was mostly useless. A lot of students complained about the class - google docs were made, meetings were had - but I don't know that they resulted in any substantial changes. Many of the issues had apparently already been brought up by the cohort before us without being addressed, which was disappointing to learn given that this is supposed to be a foundational class that  brings everything together in a practical setting. I hope they improve it in future years.

As for quantitative rigor, which is always harped on by all these MPP programs, Berkeley has a good reputation, and I thought the Quant class was well taught (Econ not as much). But the fact is that you are pretty much guaranteed to pass. So I dunno how rigorous it really is. However, I'm told that it's there if you want it, and there are certainly some profs doing research that is apparently groundbreaking. But I'm not well-equipped to talk about that aspect of the program. The core classes seemed mostly okay to me, it's just not really my thing. Also, in the fall, you have to take 4 hour blocks of quant/econ twice a week - 8 am to noon Mondays and Wednesdays, two hours of each class - which is probably not the best way to schedule that.

As far as international stuff goes (my main interest), you mostly have to go outside of GSPP. I knew this going in, so I can't really complain, but its definitely a weakness of the program. They say they're trying to expand to include more internationally focused classes, but in reality they're a ways off from making that very strong within GSPP itself. I am hoping that I'll be able to do more of that in the second year (i.e by taking classes in other departments), but it remains to be seen how well that turns out.

Last thing I'll say is that I definitely plan to hit up the law school/business school/other schools and take a lot fewer classes at GSPP next year, as do many of my classmates (not only those who are more internationally oriented). To me, that's telling.

Just my honest take. 

 

 

[hammyc]

@TheOfficeFan @tropisk_winter Hey I was just wondering if you folks got in? If so, would you be able to share some info on how well the MPP caters to your environmental/climate change focus? I'm looking at focusing on climate change policy as well.

[caitlin10]

Hey everyone! I'll be applying to public policy grad schools this fall and plan to focus on social/urban policy. Heavily interested in Goldman and Harris and was wondering if the folks that went through the application process could help me determine if I should retake the GRE. My scores are 163 Qualitative, 154 Quant, 4.5 Writing. I know my quant is on the lower side, but wasn't sure if it's worth retaking...

Would really appreciate any advice here! Thank you in advance.