Applying to Munk 2019, NPSIA, GSPIA, BSIA etc.

[wot]

On 3/1/2019 at 4:48 PM, revalith said:

I just got my funding package from NPSIA even though they said it’d take a few weeks. 26k, including scholarships, TAships and RA. They only gave me a 1/2 TAship for second year but that’s almost certainly based on the fact that I did advanced standing courses with them and might not take the full 2 years. 

Did you get a full TAship & an RAship for the first year? Also, were you able to see who you are doing research for?

[wot]

Did anybody receive a Joubin-Selig scholarship for NPSIA? If so, how much was it worth? (Can't find info online)

Edited March 5, 2019 by wot

[RLNCC180]

1 hour ago, wot said:

Did anybody receive a Joubin-Selig scholarship for NPSIA? If so, how much was it worth? (Can't find info online)

I did. It's worth $2200, $1100 paid in the Fall and Winter term

[Henna123]

Hi! 

I am an international candidate from India and have applied to MA Internation Affairs at Carleton. The status in my profile reads "Preliminary Review Required". Also the status hasn't changed since a month. Does this mean that I have been rejected?

 

 

Thanks

[revalith]

5 hours ago, wot said:

Did anybody receive a Joubin-Selig scholarship for NPSIA? If so, how much was it worth? (Can't find info online)

I also did, but unlike @RLNCC180 mine was 1500 all told, 750 each Fall/Winter. All told I got the 'Domestic Entrance Masters', the Joubin-Selig one and whatever 'Scholarship Departmental 2' is meant to mean in terms of scholarships.

5 hours ago, wot said:

Did you get a full TAship & an RAship for the first year? Also, were you able to see who you are doing research for?

I got half and half. But I don't see who I'm doing research for, no. It's not in Central.

[wot]

5 hours ago, RLNCC180 said:

I did. It's worth $2200, $1100 paid in the Fall and Winter term

Congrats!! 

 

1 hour ago, revalith said:

I also did, but unlike @RLNCC180 mine was 1500 all told, 750 each Fall/Winter. All told I got the 'Domestic Entrance Masters', the Joubin-Selig one and whatever 'Scholarship Departmental 2' is meant to mean in terms of scholarships.

I got half and half. But I don't see who I'm doing research for, no. It's not in Central.

Congratulations as well. My funding package is probably very similar to yours and that of  @RLNCC180 but I’ve been frustrated at the TAship/RAship breakdown. It doesn’t really make sense in my opinion. 

[eyeb]

6 hours ago, Henna123 said:

Hi! 

I am an international candidate from India and have applied to MA Internation Affairs at Carleton. The status in my profile reads "Preliminary Review Required". Also the status hasn't changed since a month. Does this mean that I have been rejected?

 

 

Thanks

I don't think that means it has been rejected. They would most likely notify you if they were no longer considering your application. Just stay positive, it's a really busy time for them. 

[revalith]

35 minutes ago, wot said:

Congrats!! 

 

Congratulations as well. My funding package is probably very similar to yours and that of  @RLNCC180 but I’ve been frustrated at the TAship/RAship breakdown. It doesn’t really make sense in my opinion. 

What do you mean by the breakdown?

[snowflake96]

Ah I just want the wait for Munk to be over with, I have to respond to GSPIA by the 19th.

 

Edit: I emailed Munk and they said offers are going out late March or early April.

Edited March 5, 2019 by snowflake96

[eyeb]

I FINALLY like literally within the last few minutes, was changed to 'Review in progress by department'. Thank goodness.

@snowflake96 you should have Munk's decision within the next few weeks. I know it's so frustrating but it's only a bit longer :).

Edited March 5, 2019 by eyeb

[wot]

11 minutes ago, revalith said:

What do you mean by the breakdown?

I was given an RAship but only half TAship (even though generally if you awarded a TAship it should be full, as stated on Carleton’s funding website) and when I asked about it, admin said that my RAship “compensates” for the loss of half TAship. However, my RA funding is $5000 —less than the value of a half TAship. So I was effectively awarded an RAship worth -$6000 (16k in guaranteed funding from RA/TA instead of the 22k I would have been given had I not gotten a TAship). 

[GradSchoolWot]

16 hours ago, snowflake96 said:

I have a feeling we will know around next week. 

I was asking Munk last week so I could accept my other offers that have a deadline in Mid-March. Munk told me they would be sending in late-March early-April.

[snowflake96]

7 minutes ago, GradSchoolWot said:

I was asking Munk last week so I could accept my other offers that have a deadline in Mid-March. Munk told me they would be sending in late-March early-April.

Yeah I emailed them  and they said the same thing. I guess there's a couple more weeks of waiting left. A bit curious of how many people applied this year because they are sending out offers later than usual.

Edited March 5, 2019 by snowflake96

[GradSchoolWot]

6 minutes ago, snowflake96 said:

Yeah I just emailed them this morning and they said the same thing. I guess there's a couple more weeks of waiting left. A bit curious of how many people applied this year because they are sending out offers later than usual.

Just basing it off talking to my friends who applied this year; most of them said they would be accepting Munk over NPSIA. So I wouldn't be surprised if they had more people this year, however idk if that would be their reason; they could have still done rolling, or first and second round. Also considering every school I applied to had a round around Feb 27 except Munk, this means that everyone has an offer that expires mid-March. If people are dead set on Munk, imagine how many people will rescind their acceptances to NPSIA, SIDGS, etc.

Edited March 5, 2019 by GradSchoolWot

[revalith]

6 minutes ago, wot said:

I was given an RAship but only half TAship (even though generally if you awarded a TAship it should be full, as stated on Carleton’s funding website) and when I asked about it, admin said that my RAship “compensates” for the loss of half TAship. However, my RA funding is $5000 —less than the value of a half TAship. So I was effectively awarded an RAship worth -$6000 (16k in guaranteed funding from RA/TA instead of the 22k I would have been given had I not gotten a TAship). 

I had to reread this a few times. I assume you mean that across *both* years, TAing would've paid ~20k but is half for both years, with RA only one year?

No one I have seen has ever gotten more than ~26 or 27k from NPSIA (I've talked to many of them) so I would assume they made up the difference between that 'max' amount and what you got for the half-TA position in scholarships, didn't they? At the very least, that's what mine looks like: still comes out to 26k across all sources. Personally I'd rather have the shortfall made up in scholarships...

Also, Carleton does half-TAing positions all the time. Courses hire for 130 hours or 65 hours on a regular basis - I've been a TA several times here. Last semester I was on a TA team for a course where I was doing 130 hours but the NPSIA part of the team were only doing 65 hours. It's pretty common.

[snowflake96]

1 minute ago, GradSchoolWot said:

Just basing it off talking to my friends who applied this year; most of them said they would be accepting Munk over NPSIA. So I wouldn't be surprised if they had more people this year, however idk if that would be their reason; they could have still done rolling, or first and second round. Also considering every school I applied to had a round on Feb 27 except Munk, this means that everyone has an offer that expires mid-March. If people are dead set on Munk, imagine how many people will rescind their acceptances to NPSIA, SIDGS, etc.

They also added the video component for the first time this year so it's probably taking a lot longer to review applications.

[revalith]

3 minutes ago, GradSchoolWot said:

Just basing it off talking to my friends who applied this year; most of them said they would be accepting Munk over NPSIA. So I wouldn't be surprised if they had more people this year, however idk if that would be their reason; they could have still done rolling, or first and second round. Also considering every school I applied to had a round on Feb 27 except Munk, this means that everyone has an offer that expires mid-March. If people are dead set on Munk, imagine how many people will rescind their acceptances to NPSIA, SIDGS, etc.

Interesting, did they say why they preferred Munk? I'm quite curious

[wot]

1 minute ago, revalith said:

I had to reread this a few times. I assume you mean that across *both* years, TAing would've paid ~20k but is half for both years, with RA only one year?

No one I have seen has ever gotten more than ~26 or 27k from NPSIA (I've talked to many of them) so I would assume they made up the difference between that 'max' amount and what you got for the half-TA position in scholarships, didn't they? At the very least, that's what mine looks like: still comes out to 26k across all sources. Personally I'd rather have the shortfall made up in scholarships...

Also, Carleton does half-TAing positions all the time. Courses hire for 130 hours or 65 hours on a regular basis - I've been a TA several times here. Last semester I was on a TA team for a course where I was doing 130 hours but the NPSIA part of the team were only doing 65 hours. It's pretty common.

Ah ok good to know, thanks! I TAed last semester as well and got more than the 65hr half-TAship so I was initially disappointed but makes sense if it's common practice. I wish they made it more clear if there is a 'max' amount because it just looks inconsistent on the funding package.

Another problem I have is that we have 21 days to accept/reject but I'm not expecting to hear back from my international applications until after 21 days. ?

[revalith]

Just now, wot said:

Ah ok good to know, thanks! I TAed last semester as well and got more than the 65hr half-TAship so I was initially disappointed but makes sense if it's common practice. I wish they made it more clear if there is a 'max' amount because it just looks inconsistent on the funding package.

Another problem I have is that we have 21 days to accept/reject but I'm not expecting to hear back from my international applications until after 21 days. ?

I don't think the max amount is formalized, it's just anecdotal. I haven't seen anyone get higher than that amount and I've seen some crazy candidates in the past that made my GPA and work experience look like nothing.

As for timelines, yeah that's unfortunate. I know a few people in the same boat who aren't sure what to do with the timelines. I've already accepted my offer but I only applied to NPSIA, so that decision is made for me.

If all else fails you can accept it on the last day and then, if you get into an intl school you'd rather go to, you can rescind your acceptance. They're not going to particularly like it, but you can do it.

[GradSchoolWot]

11 minutes ago, revalith said:

Interesting, did they say why they preferred Munk? I'm quite curious

This was early in first term, so I forgot most of the conversations, but the gist of it it was the location, and I think the general perception (whether it's correct or not), is that NPSIA is kind of fading in glory compared to Munk. I remember all my friends were talking about job prospects out of masters, and they were saying how its getting harder to get those top tier jobs from NPSIA than before (at least compared to Munk). idk if that's the case, but one of my profs who graduated from an ivy league school in the states told me to choose Munk... but for whatever it's worth, I was still on the fence with NSPIA and Munk, but I got a full ride to another program at Carleton so regardless of if I get admitted to either I'd be deferring/rejecting them until next year.

Looking back at the people I knew from my school, I think a fair bit chose Munk; maybe my school is biased towards Munk (I don't go to U of T, nor do I live in Toronto btw) idk

Edited March 5, 2019 by GradSchoolWot

[revalith]

2 minutes ago, GradSchoolWot said:

This was early in first term, so I forgot most of the conversations, but the gist of it it was the location, and I think the general perception (whether it's correct or not), is that NPSIA is kind of fading in glory compared to Munk. I remember all my friends were talking about job prospects out of masters, and they were saying how its getting harder to get those top tier jobs from NPSIA than before (at least compared to Munk). idk if that's the case, but one of my profs who graduated from an ivy league school in the states told me to choose Munk... but for whatever it's worth, I was still on the fence with NSPIA and Munk, but I got a full ride to another program at Carleton so regardless of if I get admitted to either I'd be deferring/rejecting them until next year.

Looking back at the people I knew from my school, I think a fair bit chose Munk; maybe my school is biased towards Munk (I don't go to U of T, nor do I live in Toronto btw) idk

Interesting. Obviously my school was biased (Carleton... enough said) but I can't say I've heard anything to that effect, at least not about fading. To be perfectly honest I'd never heard of Munk until I started researching NPSIA applications in the past and stumbled onto this forum!

I think the narrative about it getting harder to get those top tier jobs is because everyone wants to be at GAC, and GAC isn't hiring anyone as I went on a big rant a few pages ago. Still, though, if you want to work for government NPSIA is better in my mind. Or uOttawa's program, I always mix up their name because it's so similar.

Congrats on the full ride, btw. What program was it if you don't me asking?

[GradSchoolWot]

18 minutes ago, revalith said:

Interesting. Obviously my school was biased (Carleton... enough said) but I can't say I've heard anything to that effect, at least not about fading. To be perfectly honest I'd never heard of Munk until I started researching NPSIA applications in the past and stumbled onto this forum!

I think the narrative about it getting harder to get those top tier jobs is because everyone wants to be at GAC, and GAC isn't hiring anyone as I went on a big rant a few pages ago. Still, though, if you want to work for government NPSIA is better in my mind. Or uOttawa's program, I always mix up their name because it's so similar.

Congrats on the full ride, btw. What program was it if you don't me asking?

Maybe that's the case. I don't believe the people I know who chose Munk last year (or the people who were wanting it this year) want to work for the government. I think they just want an international type of job.

It's the Master of Political Management program. Looked at some of the people who graduated from the program and it piqued my interests, then saw some of the classes (political marketing, government relations, strategic communication, etc) and figured in a worse case scenario, it would still give me some breadth of knowledge if/when I pursue either Munk or NPSIA next year.

Is it just me or was choosing an undergrad so much easier to do than a masters? ?

Edited March 5, 2019 by GradSchoolWot

[revalith]

17 minutes ago, GradSchoolWot said:

Maybe that's the case. I don't believe the people I know who chose Munk last year (or the people who were wanting it this year) want to work for the government. I think they just want an international type of job.

It's the Master of Political Management program. Looked at some of the people who graduated from the program and it piqued my interests, then saw some of the classes (political marketing, government relations, strategic communication, etc) and figured in a worse case scenario, it would still give me some breadth of knowledge if/when I pursue either Munk or NPSIA next year.

Is it just me or was choosing an undergrad so much easier to do than a masters? ?

Oh congrats! MPM is good as well. I was considering it (it was certainly promoted heavily because it's under the same department as my undergrad) but in the end, I figured I'd just stick with NPSIA. I'm not sure I even have an exact reason why.

[eyeb]

All these schools are top in their field (in Canada). Getting into grad school is an enough of an accomplishment and should not be diminished by the line of thinking that one is a lesser school:).  Also if it helps, my sister went to a 'nothing' school for her Masters and still landed her dream job :).

[mppa]

7 minutes ago, eyeb said:

All these schools are top in their field (in Canada). Getting into grad school is an enough of an accomplishment and should not be diminished by the line of thinking that one is a lesser school:).  Also if it helps, my sister went to a 'nothing' school for her Masters and still landed her dream job :).

You’re absolutely right, some people put too much emphasis on the school and equate that with getting a job. Reality check - if you don’t have the right connections or work experience the likelihood of one getting a job solely based on the school they went to is slim to none.