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

[lily22]

Oh also I guess I can try to calm anyone's nerves or questions re: Munk's admission process. There is really no 'catch-all' student who gets into the program, so please do not think you are not good enough to get in. 

I know a few people (I'm from Toronto) who have gotten into Munk and legit have nothing to show on their resumes other than being a A or an A+ student (e.g. no IR experience, no work experience, no clubs, no leadership experience, no languages). I also have seen kids on LinkedIn in the program who are from France or China who speak 3+ languages and have worked at the UN. It's really all over the place who they take in -- and I think they value your grades pretty highly (esp. your last year), and then hold equal weight your experience and your letter of intent. 

For reference, I was waitlisted. The Program Coordinator stated that for 2018 admission, they over-admitted (about 120 spots, when they only have 80 spots). This was in anticipation of students dropping out for whatever reason. 80 folks were placed on the waitlist. I'm not sure how many got off the waitlist, only one or two people posted on the forum but I'm sure there were more. I did not make it off the waitlist. 

I had a 3.9 in my last year of undergrad and an overall CGPA of 3.7. However it's important to note that I just made the cut-off for a CGPA of 3.7. I had an 80% on the dot. It wasn't like I was receiving 80-85 my entire undergrad. I was receiving high 70s and some low 80s for most of my undergrad (with the occasionally whoopsie course where I got a 60 #lol), and then mostly 90s and high 80s in my last year which brought up my CGPA. I had no IR experience but tons of leadership experience (lots of work in NPOs, as well as holding very high positions in massive charity campaigns). I think what held me back/kept me on the waitlist was my Letter of Intent. It was very "froufrou." I had just applied to law schools and my statements were all very flowery, e.g. saving the world, world peace, blah blah. It was pretty naive. Well written but naive. Law schools like that, but Munk doesn't. Munk wants hard statements. They want facts. They want quantitative analysis with a strong qualitative edge. I know this because I've read 3+ statements of folks who got into the program (friends and friends of friends) and their statements are quite serious. They are very academic, almost like essays rather than personal statements. 

TL;DR there is really no point in fretting or worrying about whether or not you would make the cut because the program is all over the place in its admission process. You will not be able to figure it out. They take students who aren't academically qualified but have tons of personal experience. They take folks who are very academically qualified and have virtually no other experience. It just depends on the pool that year. 

Good luck to all!! 

Edited February 17, 2019 by lily22

[snowflake96]

45 minutes ago, lily22 said:

Oh also I guess I can try to calm anyone's nerves or questions re: Munk's admission process. There is really no 'catch-all' student who gets into the program, so please do not think you are not good enough to get in. 

I know a few people (I'm from Toronto) who have gotten into Munk and legit have nothing to show on their resumes other than being a A or an A+ student (e.g. no IR experience, no work experience, no clubs, no leadership experience, no languages). I also have seen kids on LinkedIn in the program who are from France or China who speak 3+ languages and have worked at the UN. It's really all over the place who they take in -- and I think they value your grades pretty highly (esp. your last year), and then hold equal weight your experience and your letter of intent. 

For reference, I was waitlisted. The Program Coordinator stated that for 2018 admission, they over-admitted (about 120 spots, when they only have 80 spots). This was in anticipation of students dropping out for whatever reason. 80 folks were placed on the waitlist. I'm not sure how many got off the waitlist, only one or two people posted on the forum but I'm sure there were more. I did not make it off the waitlist. 

I had a 3.9 in my last year of undergrad and an overall CGPA of 3.7. However it's important to note that I just made the cut-off for a CGPA of 3.7. I had an 80% on the dot. It wasn't like I was receiving 80-85 my entire undergrad. I was receiving high 70s and some low 80s for most of my undergrad (with the occasionally whoopsie course where I got a 60 #lol), and then mostly 90s and high 80s in my last year which brought up my CGPA. I had no IR experience but tons of leadership experience (lots of work in NPOs, as well as holding very high positions in massive charity campaigns). I think what held me back/kept me on the waitlist was my Letter of Intent. It was very "froufrou." I had just applied to law schools and my statements were all very flowery, e.g. saving the world, world peace, blah blah. It was pretty naive. Well written but naive. Law schools like that, but Munk doesn't. Munk wants hard statements. They want facts. They want quantitative analysis with a strong qualitative edge. I know this because I've read 3+ statements of folks who got into the program (friends and friends of friends) and their statements are quite serious. They are very academic, almost like essays rather than personal statements. 

TL;DR there is really no point in fretting or worrying about whether or not you would make the cut because the program is all over the place in its admission process. You will not be able to figure it out. They take students who aren't academically qualified but have tons of personal experience. They take folks who are very academically qualified and have virtually no other experience. It just depends on the pool that year. 

Good luck to all!! 

Hey. I was waitlisted from Munk last year and my stats are somewhat similar to yours. When I reapplied this year I made sure to modify my statement of intent and I sought out 2 professors that I took classes with who knew me really well, and would write me stronger reference letters than the year before. During my year off I've made some effort to boost my professional experience, so I'm hoping some of the initiative and changes I've made to my letter of intent/resume will provide me with some luck this year. When I applied again I asked Munk for some feedback from my last application, and they told me my GPA and statement of intent was good and well written but they had too many people on the waitlist. I'm assuming the application season for Munk is somewhat like a mixed bag - and the amount of people they waitlist and the amount of applications they receive vary from year to year. Although I applied to other schools Munk is still my top choice. Best of luck to everyone!

Edited February 17, 2019 by snowflake96

[CoconutAvocado]

Has anyone else seen that Munk has re-opened their applications for Fall 2019? They closed them on February 6th, but since Friday the website has been saying they're (still) accepting applications. I wonder why. It's a bit worrying. Perhaps currents applications aren't strong enough? Uh oh.

https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/publicpolicy/programs/master-of-public-policy-program/mpp-program-admissions/

[snowflake96]

14 minutes ago, CoconutAvocado said:

Has anyone else seen that Munk has re-opened their applications for Fall 2019? They closed them on February 6th, but since Friday the website has been saying they're (still) accepting applications. I wonder why. It's a bit worrying. Perhaps currents applications aren't strong enough? Uh oh.

https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/publicpolicy/programs/master-of-public-policy-program/mpp-program-admissions/

To be honest their application process this year seems pretty disorganized. They added the video component and then they later said that the video component is supplimentary due to some error. Now they are re-opening applications. Still hoping for the best

Edit: just clicked the link and it appears that the application for the MPP program is still open not the MGA

?

Edited February 17, 2019 by snowflake96

[lily22]

1 hour ago, CoconutAvocado said:

Has anyone else seen that Munk has re-opened their applications for Fall 2019? They closed them on February 6th, but since Friday the website has been saying they're (still) accepting applications. I wonder why. It's a bit worrying. Perhaps currents applications aren't strong enough? Uh oh.

https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/publicpolicy/programs/master-of-public-policy-program/mpp-program-admissions/

https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/mga/admissions/apply-now

MGA website says that their applications for Sept. 2019 are closed. I wouldn't worry

[lily22]

5 hours ago, snowflake96 said:

Hey. I was waitlisted from Munk last year and my stats are somewhat similar to yours. When I reapplied this year I made sure to modify my statement of intent and I sought out 2 professors that I took classes with who knew me really well, and would write me stronger reference letters than the year before. During my year off I've made some effort to boost my professional experience, so I'm hoping some of the initiative and changes I've made to my letter of intent/resume will provide me with some luck this year. When I applied again I asked Munk for some feedback from my last application, and they told me my GPA and statement of intent was good and well written but they had too many people on the waitlist. I'm assuming the application season for Munk is somewhat like a mixed bag - and the amount of people they waitlist and the amount of applications they receive vary from year to year. Although I applied to other schools Munk is still my top choice. Best of luck to everyone!

I did the exact same!

I used the same references. One of my profs I was very close with and he actually showed me his letter and it was very strong (last year), but I could just tell that the other prof used a super generic letter last year because he was pressed for time. This year, I made sure to express to that prof how much his courses influenced my professional goals etc etc and when he submitted the letter, he let me know that a "very strong letter" had been submitted. Hopefully that helps! I also made my letter of intent a lot stronger and more research-focused rather than personal and fluffy. 

I don't think Munk or any other grad school for that matter will give you a legitimate or genuine response when you ask for feedback. It's almost always "your app was good but we just had a really competitive pool this year." Ugh -- but then tell me why my app was not as competitive as the other applicants in the pool! They said the same thing to me so that's why I decided to reach out to a professor who taught a course for the MGA and I asked to go for a coffee. He was in my line of research and I wanted to chat about career prospects in the field, but I also brought up my application and what I suspected went wrong, and what I could do to be a stronger applicant. He gave me some helpful advice (e.g. agreed that he thinks my letter of intent is where I went wrong) and that's what helped make my essays stronger this year, imo. 

Best of luck to you and hopefully we hear different results than last year

Edited February 17, 2019 by lily22

[modesteffect]

could anyone evaluate my stats please? Getting more and more frustrated...

I am 30 yo, originally from Hong Kong and had a master of computer science from McMaster in 2013, during which my thesis was mix of software and laws. Undgrad GPA 85, and grad is 90. Again they are all engineering courses.

i then cofounded a startup and then worked for IBM Toronto for 5 yrs.

Interested in economics and public policies, so self studied on coursera and gained around ten certificates including micro, macro, policy making, public economics etc.

had some voluntary activities and serve as a local executive for a federal political party.

love wiring about Canadian public issues such as healthcare, corporate welfare, industrial policies etc

 

now i am very worried about getting nothing in the end as I really had no official experience in this field!! thanks for any opinions!

[revalith]

On 2/15/2019 at 12:01 PM, GradSchoolWot said:

Got a verbal offer of admission a few days ago from the director of Carleton's MPM program. It was my second choice to NPSIA, so regardless looks like i'm going to Carleton. Hoping the NPSIA gods are on my side next week when their offers get sent out.

Congrats! Welcome to Carleton (from a soon-to-be Carleton grad/returning for some reason.) I'm totally biased, but I love this school. Crossing my fingers for you on the NPSIA front. I know I'm certainly waiting rather impatiently for them to get rolling.

[v_vexed]

I also applied to EURUS at Carleton and got notified by phone today. Still waiting on NPSIA & UOttawa but looks like I'll be heading to Carleton too.

[revalith]

36 minutes ago, v_vexed said:

I also applied to EURUS at Carleton and got notified by phone today. Still waiting on NPSIA & UOttawa but looks like I'll be heading to Carleton too.

Congrats, EURUS is a great program. My best friend is finishing up there this year (and my supervisor at work right now is actually a EURUS grad!) Feel free to ping me if you ever need someone to show you around Carleton, the offer's open

[diplomaniac]

On 2/17/2019 at 4:32 PM, Chrisopps said:

could anyone evaluate my stats please? Getting more and more frustrated...

I am 30 yo, originally from Hong Kong and had a master of computer science from McMaster in 2013, during which my thesis was mix of software and laws. Undgrad GPA 85, and grad is 90. Again they are all engineering courses.

i then cofounded a startup and then worked for IBM Toronto for 5 yrs.

Interested in economics and public policies, so self studied on coursera and gained around ten certificates including micro, macro, policy making, public economics etc.

had some voluntary activities and serve as a local executive for a federal political party.

love wiring about Canadian public issues such as healthcare, corporate welfare, industrial policies etc

 

now i am very worried about getting nothing in the end as I really had no official experience in this field!! thanks for any opinions!

You have good experience, but I recommend highlighting how your work experience has led you to public policy, and how the skills you’ve earned through experience will make you an excellent candidate for the program. 

[modesteffect]

3 hours ago, diplomaniac said:

You have good experience, but I recommend highlighting how your work experience has led you to public policy, and how the skills you’ve earned through experience will make you an excellent candidate for the program. 

Thank you. I have only mentioned it’s where my huge interest lies, and wanted to switch what I am doing to policy analysis. I also mentioned some of my experience made me start to look into policies around us, like why healthcare efficiency is low in Canada etc. Now what makes me worried is that the committee may decide that I don’t have any courses related from school ...

[diplomaniac]

1 hour ago, Chrisopps said:

Thank you. I have only mentioned it’s where my huge interest lies, and wanted to switch what I am doing to policy analysis. I also mentioned some of my experience made me start to look into policies around us, like why healthcare efficiency is low in Canada etc. Now what makes me worried is that the committee may decide that I don’t have any courses related from school ...

In terms of courses, it's hard to say... I think if you were able to sell your experience well you are competitive. I have a BA in History and a minor in IR so my course requirement aligned with IA. But it just honestly depends on how you sell yourself. Wish I could be of more help, but I think it comes down to the waiting game. Admission method for professional development programs are very holistic so it's hard for anyone (who isn't in the admissions committee) to evaluate your stats. You just have to wait it out, it won't be long until acceptances start rolling. The worst case scenario is you get rejected, then I would recommend reaching out to a prof who teaches at your desired school, ask them out coffee and get feedback on your app. 

[modesteffect]

10 hours ago, diplomaniac said:

In terms of courses, it's hard to say... I think if you were able to sell your experience well you are competitive. I have a BA in History and a minor in IR so my course requirement aligned with IA. But it just honestly depends on how you sell yourself. Wish I could be of more help, but I think it comes down to the waiting game. Admission method for professional development programs are very holistic so it's hard for anyone (who isn't in the admissions committee) to evaluate your stats. You just have to wait it out, it won't be long until acceptances start rolling. The worst case scenario is you get rejected, then I would recommend reaching out to a prof who teaches at your desired school, ask them out coffee and get feedback on your app. 

Thank you! I didn’t know that I can invite professors unknown out for coffee, but I will definitely try.. fingers crossed now.. I kind of wonder what is the possibility that one wants to change his career, they might have to go back to undergrad again..

[diplomaniac]

6 hours ago, Chrisopps said:

Thank you! I didn’t know that I can invite professors unknown out for coffee, but I will definitely try.. fingers crossed now.. I kind of wonder what is the possibility that one wants to change his career, they might have to go back to undergrad again..

I haven’t been admitted yet (applies to NPSIA and SIDGS) but in wrote in my statement that I’m interested I need gender based violence. have no experience in that field. In my personal statement I wrote about how my mom influenced my academic curiosity for the subject (she was a social worker in the Philippines concentrating on human trafficking), and how my internship abroad did not account of gender disparity when monitoring and evaluating. I also highlight my research skills, basically I was selling my potential. Admissions get a lot of unique interest so not having direct experience in the field but having transferable skills is very marketable. UBC’s MPPGA program admitted a pianist, real estate agent and engineers; although, they may have to take additional classes. I think cross your fingers, wait, and act after acceptance letters have been sent. 

[modesteffect]

8 minutes ago, diplomaniac said:

I haven’t been admitted yet (applies to NPSIA and SIDGS) but in wrote in my statement that I’m interested I need gender based violence. have no experience in that field. In my personal statement I wrote about how my mom influenced my academic curiosity for the subject (she was a social worker in the Philippines concentrating on human trafficking), and how my internship abroad did not account of gender disparity when monitoring and evaluating. I also highlight my research skills, basically I was selling my potential. Admissions get a lot of unique interest so not having direct experience in the field but having transferable skills is very marketable. UBC’s MPPGA program admitted a pianist, real estate agent and engineers; although, they may have to take additional classes. I think cross your fingers, wait, and act after acceptance letters have been sent. 

Thank you for your info. Good luck to all of us

[Sasa7777]

Has anyone’s application status changed for npsia?

[diplomaniac]

3 hours ago, Sasa7777 said:

Has anyone’s application status changed for npsia?

Yes, mine is “Review in progress by department”. I wouldn’t worry it’s an antiquated website. Some people on this forum got first round of admissions while their application status was still on “Recommended for assessment”. 

[snowflake96]

13 hours ago, Sasa7777 said:

Has anyone’s application status changed for npsia?

I am recommended for assessment now.

[d00n626]

Anyone have opinions on Munk as a pre-PhD program? 

I'm not in a terrible hurry to commit to academia and it looks like an interesting program even if its not the most direct route to a PhD but I'm worried about harsh grading at UofT ruining my shot at applying to anything afterwards. 

What do you think? Is it feasible? Anyone else considering doing a PhD after? 

Edited February 21, 2019 by d00n626

[revalith]

12 hours ago, diplomaniac said:

Yes, mine is “Review in progress by department”. I wouldn’t worry it’s an antiquated website. Some people on this forum got first round of admissions while their application status was still on “Recommended for assessment”. 

Yeah no kidding. Mine has been recommended for assessment since December ? Glad to know yours has updated though, it means they're actually going now with the committee. Fingers crossed everyone!

[modesteffect]

9 minutes ago, d00n626 said:

Anyone have opinions on Munk as a pre-PhD program? 

I'm not in a terrible hurry to commit to academia and it looks like an interesting program even if its not the most direct route to a PhD but I'm worried about harsh grading at UofT ruining my shot at applying to anything afterwards. 

What do you think? Is it feasible? Anyone else considering doing a PhD after? 

I think for PhD, research or intern experience is more important. Gpa is also vital. Munk is more of a professional program

[bessyk1993]

Hi guys,

I also applied to Carleton MPPA and uOttawa GSPIA and was also wondering about PhD opportunities after grad school? I was leaning more towards GSPIA because they have a mandatory MRP 

[mppa]

3 hours ago, d00n626 said:

Anyone have opinions on Munk as a pre-PhD program? 

I'm not in a terrible hurry to commit to academia and it looks like an interesting program even if its not the most direct route to a PhD but I'm worried about harsh grading at UofT ruining my shot at applying to anything afterwards. 

What do you think? Is it feasible? Anyone else considering doing a PhD after? 

Munk is definitely more professional. It's also important that your Masters and PhD are from different universities (from what profs have told me). I would probably pick a less professional program for Masters if you know 100% you want to go into academia and then do a PhD a UofT. That's a common pattern I've seen with a lot of profs.

[modesteffect]

4 minutes ago, mppa said:

Munk is definitely more professional. It's also important that your Masters and PhD are from different universities (from what profs have told me). I would probably pick a less professional program for Masters if you know 100% you want to go into academia and then do a PhD a UofT. That's a common pattern I've seen with a lot of profs.

Masters and PhD from different schools doesn’t make sense to me. Why?