greendiplomat Posted March 19, 2010 Posted March 19, 2010 hey...for those still waiting...i just heard back today and was accepted without funding i was excited...until i saw the cost anyone know how seriously to take the reputation of sipa as a "cash cow" i know it's still a great school but how do you think that affects outside perceptions in terms of hiring etc...? SIPA definitely isn't considered a cash cow outside of the admissions-forum world. Take as an example Foreign Policy's rankings, which are a good representation of program reputability, given that respondents are asked to name 5 of the programs that they deem to be best in the field. Columbia ranks in 5th ahead of Princeton (though with a very slim margin). My point is that, while Princeton is THE program to get into on boards like these due to its selectivity and high availability of fellowships, the difference isn't as pronounced once you enter the job market. My 2 cents on the issue is that Columbia has by far the largest class size out of its peer programs. While this means that they end up taking a few of the candidates that wouldn't be competitive at, say, Princeton (and thus aren't able to offer as much aid per student), they do have the funds to offer a much wider variety in its course offerings. More importantly, however, since they have much more students coming out of the program, they do end up having a considerably greater representation in the "real world" (esp. in international organizations and in the private sector). Whether it's worth the cost, though, boils down to your personal finances and whether you think it's worth it.
cms3595 Posted March 20, 2010 Posted March 20, 2010 Is anyone on here still waiting on a decision from SIPA?? I haven't heard yet, and I find it hard to believe that if they were at 90% on the 18th, they couldn't release the rest of the decisions by yesterday. I was being cautiously optimistic, but I'm really starting to worry at this point...
Putoots Posted March 21, 2010 Posted March 21, 2010 Is anyone on here still waiting on a decision from SIPA?? I haven't heard yet, and I find it hard to believe that if they were at 90% on the 18th, they couldn't release the rest of the decisions by yesterday. I was being cautiously optimistic, but I'm really starting to worry at this point... I still haven't heard. Sadly, I've all but given up hope. The only other school I didn't hear from finally told me that I was on the waitlist. Hopefully we find out something on Monday.
Hopster Posted March 22, 2010 Posted March 22, 2010 Hey, is there anyone likely to defer their enrollment to january 10? Good luck to all those waiting!
ganymed Posted March 22, 2010 Posted March 22, 2010 I wrote SIPA and received an answer today: We still have a little over 100 files under review. An email will be sent when a decision has been rendered. Thank you for your patience. Sincerely, Office of Admissions
Putoots Posted March 22, 2010 Posted March 22, 2010 I wrote SIPA and received an answer today: We still have a little over 100 files under review. An email will be sent when a decision has been rendered. Thank you for your patience. Sincerely, Office of Admissions Ha! I did the same thing and got the same reply. Poor admissions office...they were bombarded by a bunch of stressed-out applicants at once! ganymed 1
ganymed Posted March 22, 2010 Posted March 22, 2010 it seems so. just checked their blog: Review Update March 22nd, 2010 by Matt For those of you that have applied and have yet to hear from us, thank you in advance for your patience. We are creeping toward the 95% completion mark and as decision are made, emails are sent to the email address you listed on your application.
fallmpp2010 Posted March 23, 2010 Posted March 23, 2010 it seems so. just checked their blog: Hi, Did any of you guys get your financial aid/loan packages yet? Just wondering when SIPA is sending those out...
lomsaku Posted March 23, 2010 Posted March 23, 2010 Received SIPA admissions offer today. I think I'm among the last applicants notified.
mab9ve Posted March 23, 2010 Posted March 23, 2010 If people don't think that paying 100k for a masters, albeit, from Columbia, is a cash cow, then they're really kidding themselves.
LeeLeeLove Posted March 24, 2010 Posted March 24, 2010 Just wanted to let someone on the waiting list know that I turned down my offer from SIPA this afternoon. Looks like a great school-- enjoy!
dearestpriya Posted March 24, 2010 Posted March 24, 2010 I will need to deffer Columbia till 2011. Family Medical Problems.
ganymed Posted March 25, 2010 Posted March 25, 2010 finally got my decision. waitlisted - actually more than i expected.
Hopster Posted March 25, 2010 Posted March 25, 2010 I will need to deffer Columbia till 2011. Family Medical Problems. yeah same here I will deffer to jan 11...
Putoots Posted March 25, 2010 Posted March 25, 2010 (edited) finally got my decision. waitlisted - actually more than i expected. Not bad considering you had to wait so long. As for me, I'm still waiting for a decision. It can't be good news at this point. Edited March 25, 2010 by Putoots
grad2 Posted March 31, 2010 Posted March 31, 2010 yeah same here I will deffer to jan 11... Hopster, It sounds like you are planning to defer for half semester. Do you know if this will affect fellowship application during the second year as I am thinking about defer as well? I did not get $$ for the first year so desperately rely on 2nd year fellowship but not sure if deferral for half semester will affect my chance of getting funding or not?
Putoots Posted March 31, 2010 Posted March 31, 2010 I don't mean to swing this discussion in another direction, but is there anyone else out there worried about the language proficiency requirement? (International students, this obviously doesn't apply to you.) I have a year of Spanish in undergrad, but that was a while ago (I was a freshman when I took those courses), and all of my traveling took place in the early part of the decade. I thought for sure they wouldn't take me because my language proficiency was pretty thin, but now that I am accepted I wonder if I will have to spend a good part of my time (and my summer) trying to catch up in language study. Anyone in the same boat? If not, I may reconsider this option...
gazelle Posted March 31, 2010 Posted March 31, 2010 I took a summer intensive course in Japanese in the summer of 2006. It was a year's worth of beginning Japanese (12 credits), crammed into 10 weeks, M-F 4 hours/day. Granted I've been living in Japan for two years now, but still language development is slow. I'm not too worried about getting a B or better in intermediate language courses, you'll be fine. PS, congrats!!
Hopster Posted March 31, 2010 Posted March 31, 2010 Hopster, It sounds like you are planning to defer for half semester. Do you know if this will affect fellowship application during the second year as I am thinking about defer as well? I did not get $$ for the first year so desperately rely on 2nd year fellowship but not sure if deferral for half semester will affect my chance of getting funding or not? Hey grad2, I haven't sent the application email yet and didn't get funding neither. I guess it wouldn't be fair if sipa wouldn't let us apply for fellowships just because we started 3 months after the others. I guess that could be a good question for the admitted student message board! Btw, I sent u a PM.
Batignolles Posted April 1, 2010 Posted April 1, 2010 For those of you considering SIPA, I thought I'd share a link to a class offered at SIPA that you can watch in its entirety (10 classes) online. The class is Conceptual Foundations of International Politics, offered by professor Lisa Anderson. It's a good way to test-drive the teaching and material in program before enrolling! http://www.academicearth.org/courses/conceptual-foundations-of-international-politics-graduate
Hopster Posted April 1, 2010 Posted April 1, 2010 For those of you considering SIPA, I thought I'd share a link to a class offered at SIPA that you can watch in its entirety (10 classes) online. The class is Conceptual Foundations of International Politics, offered by professor Lisa Anderson. It's a good way to test-drive the teaching and material in program before enrolling! http://www.academicearth.org/courses/conceptual-foundations-of-international-politics-graduate thanks batignolles, very useful for those not able to go to NYC
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