GSPP

[lilanngel]

No letter for me today. I guess I'll get the bad kind of letter sometime next week instead. Sad times.

Not necessarily. Perhaps you'll get the good news tomorrow. :-)

Btw, I haven't gotten mine yet either. :-)

Edited March 5, 2010 by lilanngel

[mppboog]

Congrats, congrats, congrats! Anxiously waiting here on the east coast.

Here's to East Coasters waiting to hear!

[thomasgoldring]

Not necessarily. Perhaps you'll get the good news tomorrow. :-)

Thank you lilanngel :-) I guess you never know until the rejection actually arrives. It's funny how nervous I get for schools that I previously didn't consider my top choices. I guess after learning how much my loans would be at Georgetown and CMU, Berkeley suddenly looked very attractive in comparison. That and it's an amazing program. Like many others here, my issue is that my wife is at med school far away in Pittsburgh... Berkeley isn't particularly conducive to seeing each other very often!

Good luck everyone!

Edited March 5, 2010 by tgoldring

[egmpp2010]

Yes, Stan E., Berkeley's pretty much at the top of the list. So thankfully I had an nice big envelope waiting for me when I got home! Best of luck to everyone!

[chaunhii]

I am international applicant. I learn from previous posters that international applicants will receive information via email. If tomorrow I still not heard anything from the GSPP, I will assume that I am rejected. That's so sad .

By the way, congratulation to those who are already admitted, and good luck for the rest.

Edited March 5, 2010 by chaunhii

[sball09]

has anyone on the east coast received a notification yet?

[stucktomyshoe]

has anyone on the east coast received a notification yet?

I'm in Chicago, radio silence still...thinking about how quickly I can rush home today.

[coaks]

I'm in Chicago, radio silence still...thinking about how quickly I can rush home today.

In NY, thinking of putting my webcam out by the mailbox and skyping my house during workhouse to see if the mailperson delivers any large envelopes. Creeeepy.

[Stan E.]

Yes, Stan E., Berkeley's pretty much at the top of the list. So thankfully I had an nice big envelope waiting for me when I got home! Best of luck to everyone!

Hey great news-- we should connect sometime: stanley.ellicott@gmail.com

Probably will see you at the April 7 open house.

-S

Best wishes to everyone.

[BoSoxFanatic245]

I'm another east coaster waiting to hear from GSPP. Crossing my fingers for some notification tomorrow. I was reading somewhere on the admissions site that the school gets something like 900 applicants for 80 spots. Is that true? The mere mortals like me surely have no shot, then.

[stucktomyshoe]

I'm another east coaster waiting to hear from GSPP. Crossing my fingers for some notification tomorrow. I was reading somewhere on the admissions site that the school gets something like 900 applicants for 80 spots. Is that true? The mere mortals like me surely have no shot, then.

True, but that doesn't mean they only take 80 people. I think their acceptance rate is supposed to be somewhere around 25-30%.

[BoSoxFanatic245]

True, but that doesn't mean they only take 80 people. I think their acceptance rate is supposed to be somewhere around 25-30%.

Phew. That makes me feel at least somewhat better.

[sftomn]

I'm in the Twin Cities, and rushed home from work today. Opened the mailbox to fin a huge envelope, saw the UC Logo, and pulled it out to see that it was my roommate's law school acceptance letter from UCLA. D'oh!

Selfishly, I'm hoping that no one hears anything today, so that this radio silence isn't a bad sign.

Is it Saturday yet?

[coaks]

True, but that doesn't mean they only take 80 people. I think their acceptance rate is supposed to be somewhere around 25-30%.

Yeah and there are or were many top programs with acceptance rates near 50%.

Compared to other professional programs, application fees are relatively low, extra effort for extra applications is relatively low (re-wording your SOP is much easier than writing brand spanking new essays, like you have to do for business schools, for example), cost of applying after submission is zero (no interview requirement where you're tempted to visit the school, like other programs), funding seems relatively easy to grab and degree candidates seem more cost sensitive. All this seems to add up to surprisingly low yields at all the top programs and a good amount of overlap between admit lists. In essence, schools are really letting us sort out our preferences after they admit us rather than before.

[coaks]

Phew. That makes me feel at least somewhat better.

Is anyone that still hasn't heard back truly confident about their app to GSPP? I get the impression that GSPP really draws on that personal history statement to find candidates devoted to public service, and weighs that fit more heavily than other programs, at least as compared to the hard stats like GPA/GRE. Does anyone else get that same impression?

[stucktomyshoe]

Is anyone that still hasn't heard back truly confident about their app to GSPP? I get the impression that GSPP really draws on that personal history statement to find candidates devoted to public service, and weighs that fit more heavily than other programs, at least as compared to the hard stats like GPA/GRE. Does anyone else get that same impression?

To me it seemed like there was an emphasis on social justice type issues. In general though, it seems that work experience probably carries the heaviest weight.

[BoSoxFanatic245]

Yeah and there are or were many top programs with acceptance rates near 50%.

Compared to other professional programs, application fees are relatively low, extra effort for extra applications is relatively low (re-wording your SOP is much easier than writing brand spanking new essays, like you have to do for business schools, for example), cost of applying after submission is zero (no interview requirement where you're tempted to visit the school, like other programs), funding seems relatively easy to grab and degree candidates seem more cost sensitive. All this seems to add up to surprisingly low yields at all the top programs and a good amount of overlap between admit lists. In essence, schools are really letting us sort out our preferences after they admit us rather than before.

I think that's a little overly optimistic, especially for someone like me who is applying directly out of undergrad. I'm going to go with the "I'm not getting in" mindset for the top schools until I hear otherwise. It'll help me stay sane.

[thomasgoldring]

Is anyone that still hasn't heard back truly confident about their app to GSPP? I get the impression that GSPP really draws on that personal history statement to find candidates devoted to public service, and weighs that fit more heavily than other programs, at least as compared to the hard stats like GPA/GRE. Does anyone else get that same impression?

I can't say I'm very confident at this point because I live and work in Oakland, about 15 minutes by bus from Berkeley, and I didn't get anything in the mail yesterday. But I'm sure anyone outside the East Bay has reason to feel more confident than I do.

As for the personal history statement, do you mean that they weigh it more heavily than other MPP programs or other Masters programs at Berkeley? My understanding is that the personal history prompt is generic across all Masters (and PhD?) programs at Berkeley. Perhaps the GSPP folks place more emphasis on it, perhaps not. I work as a RA for a public policy firm in Oakland, and my firm has fairly close ties to Berkeley (a Goldman prof sits on our board). But several people have failed to get into GSPP in recent years, despite around 3 years of work experience (which is what myself and an ex-colleague who went to Mich for her MPP have). I guess that their reputation and ranking helps them draw such a large pool of applications, and I'm sure they have a large number of very well-rounded and suitably qualified applicants to choose from.

Overall, though, I can't say I'm particularly confident about my chances, which is a shame. I wish anyone still waiting, especially non-West Coasters, the best of luck!

[stucktomyshoe]

Rushed home from work to check my mail--still nada. GSPP needs to upgrade to the 21st century and do emails so I can stop having a heart attack every time I'm about to open my mailbox.

Here hoping to something by tomorrow? And does anyone know if it's actually true that they send out acceptances and rejections at the same time?

[lilanngel]

Yay! I got into GSPP! :-) (Postal - Sent to my parents' house in LA)

[BoSoxFanatic245]

Does anyone know if GSPP favors CA residents over non-residents? It seems like that's the case.

[broadinterests]

Received my acceptance today via postal (west coast), no funding though so it's not a real choice )-;

This was my last decision, what a ride it's been- nearly a year researching schools, studying for GRE, writing SOPs, etc. Pretty fun all in all (-;

Good luck to the rest of you,

broadinterests

[sashmpp]

got postal notification today...accepted ! (east coast)

...no funding though = a very poor me if i decide to go...

[Stan E.]

got postal notification today...accepted ! (east coast)

...no funding though = a very poor me if i decide to go...

California is broke... I'm sure the state budget crisis is a factor.

[mppboog]

Nothing today (Sat.) Anyone else in DC get anything?