Canadian 2020 Fall Start (Spring 2020 Application) MPA/MPPA Thread: Info, Stats, Etc.

[Endzone98]

17 hours ago, irnerd said:

Anyone know whether there are any implications to accepting your offer at Carleton and not actually taking it up? 

I'm fortunate to have received an offer and my deadline to reply is Thursday. However, I'm still waiting to hear back from another school which is better for my particular program, and so I might end up changing my mind about where I'd go based on if they gave me an offer. 

My offer at Carleton is also only conditional upon me taking another econ course. I don't think there's any deposit to be worried about either, but I was wondering if there was some other penalty... 

Congrats on your admission! No, there is no penalty if you choose to respond before you submit the 400$ deposit. However, because of the corona virus it seems unlikely that they will ask for a deposit anytime soon as they delayed it! So you should be fine! 

[Endzone98]

On 3/28/2020 at 10:32 PM, bananacoconut said:

Is anyone else here doing Carleton's new Data Science specialization (assuming you're going there)? 

Hmm, I was thinking about this! I honestly don't know too much informations about Data Science and what it really opens up! If you have any info on the Data Science specialization, I'd be grateful to hear it!

[BTF]

3 hours ago, Endzone98 said:

Hmm, I was thinking about this! I honestly don't know too much informations about Data Science and what it really opens up! If you have any info on the Data Science specialization, I'd be grateful to hear it!

Im in the MPPA program at Carleton now and the Data Specialization is brand new. The incoming cohort will be the first to have the option to take it.

[bananacoconut]

7 hours ago, Endzone98 said:

Hmm, I was thinking about this! I honestly don't know too much informations about Data Science and what it really opens up! If you have any info on the Data Science specialization, I'd be grateful to hear it!

According to the graduate supervisor, there are only four spots and there's a waiting list. (So, hopefully, you applied as part of the application!) 

Info I was emailed: 

MPPA students in the Data Science Specialization are required to take the same 10 core courses as other MPPA students. In the place of the 4 electives in the MPPA, they are required to take:

• DATA 5000 [0.5]         Data Science Seminar
• PADM 5218 [0.5]        Analysis of Socio-economic Data (or equivalent course approved by Graduate Supervisor, MPPA)
• A 0.5 data science elective
• A 0.5 elective

[irnerd]

12 hours ago, Endzone98 said:

Congrats on your admission! No, there is no penalty if you choose to respond before you submit the 400$ deposit. However, because of the corona virus it seems unlikely that they will ask for a deposit anytime soon as they delayed it! So you should be fine! 

Thanks so much and that's good to know. I think I will accept the offer from Carleton, wait to hear from the other school, and then make up my mind prior to paying a deposit since I should be hearing back from the other university within 2 weeks. Would be great to not incur any penalties since school is gonna expensive regardless of where I go haha 

Carleton honestly has a great graduate school with a wonderful co op program so I'm torn - I was actually gonna visit Ottawa to try to help make a decision the past weekend before the current situation we're in happened... 

 

Congrats though! I'm guessing you mustve already accepted your offer then. Did you get a follow up email which indicated the deadline to pay the deposit was extended? It's nice they're being so considerate with the state of the world right now

[natzb]

On 3/14/2020 at 5:06 PM, mppmgaapplicant2018 said:

Congrats everyone! 

If anyone has any questions re: Munk, feel free to shoot me a PM. 

Messaged you!

[bananacoconut]

To Waterloo MPS applicants, check Quest! 

I just found out my status changed from “Application” to “Admit”! I’ve gotten no letter or email though, not even in spam. 

(Not an April Fool’s “joke”, I promise.)

Edited April 1, 2020 by bananacoconut

[Rubies]

3 hours ago, bananacoconut said:

To Waterloo MPS applicants, check Quest! 

I just found out my status changed from “Application” to “Admit”! I’ve gotten no letter or email though, not even in spam. 

(Not an April Fool’s “joke”, I promise.)

Congratulations ! You've been accepted almost everywhere, that's impressive.  If you don't mind, what are your stats/softs ?

(MPS is my top choice. I'll be applying next year, so I'm trying to understand the profiles. It seems like a lot of you have a lot of experence)

[Endzone98]

20 hours ago, irnerd said:

Thanks so much and that's good to know. I think I will accept the offer from Carleton, wait to hear from the other school, and then make up my mind prior to paying a deposit since I should be hearing back from the other university within 2 weeks. Would be great to not incur any penalties since school is gonna expensive regardless of where I go haha 

Carleton honestly has a great graduate school with a wonderful co op program so I'm torn - I was actually gonna visit Ottawa to try to help make a decision the past weekend before the current situation we're in happened... 

 

Congrats though! I'm guessing you mustve already accepted your offer then. Did you get a follow up email which indicated the deadline to pay the deposit was extended? It's nice they're being so considerate with the state of the world right now

Ironically my plan was to visit Ottawa too this month! I'm coming from the prairies and everything I've heard about the program and the COOP really helped sway me towards the program over many others!

Yes! I have accepted a while back. The deadline to take the deposit is currently being delayed indefinetly due to the coronavirus pandemic! However, they do require a transcript be sent via email from your university registrar office directly to Carleton. They just recently discussed this. There was no deadline for the transcripts yet. There is an official web seminar open house for the 12th of April! Once you accept your offer, go to mycarleton and log into your outlook! your outlook information will be in the opening page and there you will find all the communications between admin and students! You can also register there to see if Carleton is the best fit for you via the web seminar open house they are happening in your email as well! 

 

[xChocolate]

Has anyone heard anything from Uvic or SFU yet? Thanks!

[irnerd]

3 hours ago, Endzone98 said:

Ironically my plan was to visit Ottawa too this month! I'm coming from the prairies and everything I've heard about the program and the COOP really helped sway me towards the program over many others!

Yes! I have accepted a while back. The deadline to take the deposit is currently being delayed indefinetly due to the coronavirus pandemic! However, they do require a transcript be sent via email from your university registrar office directly to Carleton. They just recently discussed this. There was no deadline for the transcripts yet. There is an official web seminar open house for the 12th of April! Once you accept your offer, go to mycarleton and log into your outlook! your outlook information will be in the opening page and there you will find all the communications between admin and students! You can also register there to see if Carleton is the best fit for you via the web seminar open house they are happening in your email as well! 

 

Thanks! This has been incredibly helpful ? 

[bananacoconut]

On 4/1/2020 at 2:15 PM, Rubies said:

Congratulations ! You've been accepted almost everywhere, that's impressive.  If you don't mind, what are your stats/softs ?

(MPS is my top choice. I'll be applying next year, so I'm trying to understand the profiles. It seems like a lot of you have a lot of experence)

Thanks so much.  

I considered just messaging you, but maybe this could help other future applicants browsing this thread. 

Work and volunteering, etc.: 

• I actually don't have a lot of experience. I've never had a job in government or in anything directly related to policy. 
  • If you're interested in the MPS co-op program, they actually don't want people who've had a lot of experience. Those people do the non-co-op MPS. 
• I was SUPER lucky to have had a prof who gave me empowering and challenging work as a research assistant (since 2015) and teaching assistant (2016-2019). I got to help put together a literature review and then an essay. I am lucky to be able to say my work has been read by certain prominent academics and government institutions — but it's only because I was in that position; the profs would've given it to them anyway. As a "TA", though I did grade work, I mostly helped with redesigning a couple upper-level courses. Again, I was lucky. I hadn't even taken those courses and my boss trusted me to help him with those tasks.
• I honestly haven't volunteered all that much. 
• I joined zero clubs, flew out to zero case competitions, had zero student governments/committees, or what have you. 

Academics: 

• I did my undergrad degree from 2013 to 2018 (and not in something like public policy or poli sci). 
• Overall, I mostly got A grades (electives gave me A+s), but I'm not in the top 5% or whatever of my program, I never, ever made it to the Dean's List, and I never got academic scholarships in undergrad. 
• I didn't do any theses and I don't have any papers I've worked on outside my RA work. Nothing is under my name. 
• My worst course grade was less than a third of my highest course grade. It was a calculus course and I had actually been trying to do well. I barely passed an easier calculus course later. Not only did those crappy grades not matter to Canadian schools, but even freaking UChicago (super quantitatively rigourous) could overlook that. 
• To be fair, one thing that I think helped me is doing MITx's MicroMasters program in Data, Economics, and Development Policy. The program has super cool — and, for the most part, super challenging (to me anyway) — courses taught by Esther Duflo, Abhijit Banerjee, and other amazing economists. It's incredible, I've learned so much, and I'm paying only $500 USD for the whole thing! (Pricing is based on your income.) I didn't even take five courses at once like some people do. I've been doing them mostly one by one to try to gain a deeper understanding. 
• Undergrad average: 84% (A-). Last two years: 87% (A). 
• MicroMasters average so far: 90% (A). 

I know stats and softs are important, but I think Grad Café makes them seem more important than they really are. A bunch of other things matter, too: 

• I think if an applicant is confident in their story and in their potential (and can clearly and passionately indicate that in their applications), they can get in, even despite some disadvantages they might have. 
• I heavily personalized each personal statement to the program, even using the school's brand guidelines throughout my application (values, goals, words, primary colours, secondary colours, fonts, design, etc.). I comb through the schools' websites to find phrases that spoke to me and found ways to incorporate them or their gist into my essays and résumés. I don't know if the schools really cared about colours and such, but I at least could show I cared about the school and was a good fit. 
  • By brand guidelines, I mean like this one for UWaterloo. See page 5. Stuff like that helped me craft my personal statements. 
• If you have trouble getting work experience like I've had, you can do policy-related things even outside of work, volunteering, and studies that can help you immerse yourself in the field and that you can even write about in your applications to show your passion and dedication. 
• I owe much of my success to luck and to my lovely profs. Don't forget to engage with your profs! Attend office hours, ask questions, email and meet your profs even after taking their courses. It amazes me how invested profs can be in your growth and future studies. It's also easier for them to write letters of recommendation for you if they know you well. All three of my referees have pointed this out to me. They've all had students who they barely know (AKA students who didn't bother to cultivate relationships with them) ask them to be their referees. All of them said that wasn't the case for me. One said he wrote for me the longest letter of recommendation he'd ever written. (If only I could read it, lol.) Another said no other student after me has attended his office hours nearly as much. After three years and hundreds of students, it's not even close. By the way, I know I didn't get top marks in any of their classes. Ya don't gotta have the best stats. 
  • Waterloo's MPS program needs 3 referees. (US schools also tend to want at least 3.) 

Also: 

• Ask for things!! Whether it's a job or some other kind of opportunity that pops up, ASK. E.g.: nine months into my RA job, my boss was going to present his literature review that I was helping with at a conference at an unbelievably amazing US school. During a meeting just two days before the conference, he very casually said in passing that if he could take me with him to the conference, he would. It was a purely hypothetical situation. But I asked. Then he asked the school, the school got me an invite, and I got to go. I was 19 and am no ridiculous genius. People there had committed more years to their fields than the years I'd had experience breathing. They still let me in. 
• I had a typo in all my résumés. 

So, that's me. But other people have totally different stories. Maybe I "wrote my way in" as some people are afraid they did (as opposed to being "actually qualified"). Maybe my referees with all their bias had offered enough pretty words to say about me. And so what if the colours and fonts helped offset my slower pace, blemished record, dearth of awards, and lack of experience? I don't mind one bit. We can get in through different paths and at different paces and even with different (and imperfect) stats/softs. Hopefully, I've demonstrated that. If you try hard at what you're doing (policy-related or not), prove your passion for policy and your fit with the school, and believe in your story and potential, I think you'll be totally fine. 

Lastly, I urge you to browse many programs and go for the best of the best programs that speak to you and fit your interests, no matter your perception of your qualifications and no matter the program's costs. And do it now. Your top choice might not even be UWaterloo's MPS. My top choice used to be UWaterloo's MEDI (to do another degree after), then it was MPS, then Carleton's MPPA, then not even that. I regret so much that it was only in mid-November that I'd begun to consider applying to my ultimate dream school. I'd figured they wouldn't want me and that it would be too expensive, so I'd dismissed the idea for so long. And what do you know? I got in anyway and with a bit of funding, even with very limited time to prepare for the GRE. And costs are higher when you're too late to apply for the good scholarships. 

If you have more questions, whether now or in the future, I'd be more than happy to chat.  Best of luck to you.

[Rubies]

On 4/2/2020 at 11:17 PM, bananacoconut said:

Thanks so much.  

I considered just messaging you, but maybe this could help other future applicants browsing this thread. 

Work and volunteering, etc.: 

• I actually don't have a lot of experience. I've never had a job in government or in anything directly related to policy. 
  • If you're interested in the MPS co-op program, they actually don't want people who've had a lot of experience. Those people do the non-co-op MPS. 
• I was SUPER lucky to have had a prof who gave me empowering and challenging work as a research assistant (since 2015) and teaching assistant (2016-2019). I got to help put together a literature review and then an essay. I am lucky to be able to say my work has been read by certain prominent academics and government institutions — but it's only because I was in that position; the profs would've given it to them anyway. As a "TA", though I did grade work, I mostly helped with redesigning a couple upper-level courses. Again, I was lucky. I hadn't even taken those courses and my boss trusted me to help him with those tasks.
• I honestly haven't volunteered all that much. 
• I joined zero clubs, flew out to zero case competitions, had zero student governments/committees, or what have you. 

Academics: 

• I did my undergrad degree from 2013 to 2018 (and not in something like public policy or poli sci). 
• Overall, I mostly got A grades (electives gave me A+s), but I'm not in the top 5% or whatever of my program, I never, ever made it to the Dean's List, and I never got academic scholarships in undergrad. 
• I didn't do any theses and I don't have any papers I've worked on outside my RA work. Nothing is under my name. 
• My worst course grade was less than a third of my highest course grade. It was a calculus course and I had actually been trying to do well. I barely passed an easier calculus course later. Not only did those crappy grades not matter to Canadian schools, but even freaking UChicago (super quantitatively rigourous) could overlook that. 
• To be fair, one thing that I think helped me is doing MITx's MicroMasters program in Data, Economics, and Development Policy. The program has super cool — and, for the most part, super challenging (to me anyway) — courses taught by Esther Duflo, Abhijit Banerjee, and other amazing economists. It's incredible, I've learned so much, and I'm paying only $500 USD for the whole thing! (Pricing is based on your income.) I didn't even take five courses at once like some people do. I've been doing them mostly one by one to try to gain a deeper understanding. 
• Undergrad average: 84% (A-). Last two years: 87% (A). 
• MicroMasters average so far: 90% (A). 

I know stats and softs are important, but I think Grad Café makes them seem more important than they really are. A bunch of other things matter, too: 

• I think if an applicant is confident in their story and in their potential (and can clearly and passionately indicate that in their applications), they can get in, even despite some disadvantages they might have. 
• I heavily personalized each personal statement to the program, even using the school's brand guidelines throughout my application (values, goals, words, primary colours, secondary colours, fonts, design, etc.). I comb through the schools' websites to find phrases that spoke to me and found ways to incorporate them or their gist into my essays and résumés. I don't know if the schools really cared about colours and such, but I at least could show I cared about the school and was a good fit. 
  • By brand guidelines, I mean like this one for UWaterloo. See page 5. Stuff like that helped me craft my personal statements. 
• If you have trouble getting work experience like I've had, you can do policy-related things even outside of work, volunteering, and studies that can help you immerse yourself in the field and that you can even write about in your applications to show your passion and dedication. 
• I owe much of my success to luck and to my lovely profs. Don't forget to engage with your profs! Attend office hours, ask questions, email and meet your profs even after taking their courses. It amazes me how invested profs can be in your growth and future studies. It's also easier for them to write letters of recommendation for you if they know you well. All three of my referees have pointed this out to me. They've all had students who they barely know (AKA students who didn't bother to cultivate relationships with them) ask them to be their referees. All of them said that wasn't the case for me. One said he wrote for me the longest letter of recommendation he'd ever written. (If only I could read it, lol.) Another said no other student after me has attended his office hours nearly as much. After three years and hundreds of students, it's not even close. By the way, I know I didn't get top marks in any of their classes. Ya don't gotta have the best stats. 
  • Waterloo's MPS program needs 3 referees. (US schools also tend to want at least 3.) 

Also: 

• Ask for things!! Whether it's a job or some other kind of opportunity that pops up, ASK. E.g.: nine months into my RA job, my boss was going to present his literature review that I was helping with at a conference at an unbelievably amazing US school. During a meeting just two days before the conference, he very casually said in passing that if he could take me with him to the conference, he would. It was a purely hypothetical situation. But I asked. Then he asked the school, the school got me an invite, and I got to go. I was 19 and am no ridiculous genius. People there had committed more years to their fields than the years I'd had experience breathing. They still let me in. 
• I had a typo in all my résumés. 

So, that's me. But other people have totally different stories. Maybe I "wrote my way in" as some people are afraid they did (as opposed to being "actually qualified"). Maybe my referees with all their bias had offered enough pretty words to say about me. And so what if the colours and fonts helped offset my slower pace, blemished record, dearth of awards, and lack of experience? I don't mind one bit. We can get in through different paths and at different paces and even with different (and imperfect) stats/softs. Hopefully, I've demonstrated that. If you try hard at what you're doing (policy-related or not), prove your passion for policy and your fit with the school, and believe in your story and potential, I think you'll be totally fine. 

Lastly, I urge you to browse many programs and go for the best of the best programs that speak to you and fit your interests, no matter your perception of your qualifications and no matter the program's costs. And do it now. Your top choice might not even be UWaterloo's MPS. My top choice used to be UWaterloo's MEDI (to do another degree after), then it was MPS, then Carleton's MPPA, then not even that. I regret so much that it was only in mid-November that I'd begun to consider applying to my ultimate dream school. I'd figured they wouldn't want me and that it would be too expensive, so I'd dismissed the idea for so long. And what do you know? I got in anyway and with a bit of funding, even with very limited time to prepare for the GRE. And costs are higher when you're too late to apply for the good scholarships. 

If you have more questions, whether now or in the future, I'd be more than happy to chat.  Best of luck to you.

Thank you so much for your  advices, this is incredibly helpful ! Also a bit reassuring.

I'm seriously considering doing the micro master, it really seems to be relevant.

[Slothy42]

On 4/1/2020 at 8:31 PM, xChocolate said:

Has anyone heard anything from Uvic or SFU yet? Thanks!

Nothing yet from SFU MPP on my end 

[Tobybyby]

On 4/1/2020 at 8:31 PM, xChocolate said:

Has anyone heard anything from Uvic or SFU yet? Thanks!

I heard back from SFU on March 23rd! It was through an unofficial email and it specifically stated that everything is going considerably slower because everyone is working from home instead. I’m still yet to receive my official offer, so I wouldn’t worry too much yet!

[xChocolate]

On 4/5/2020 at 11:27 PM, Tobybyby said:

I heard back from SFU on March 23rd! It was through an unofficial email and it specifically stated that everything is going considerably slower because everyone is working from home instead. I’m still yet to receive my official offer, so I wouldn’t worry too much yet!

 

On 4/5/2020 at 1:41 PM, Slothy42 said:

Nothing yet from SFU MPP on my end 

Thanks so much for your responses! Helps keep me sane knowing I’m not alone

[Slothy42]

I just received a rejection email from SFU  It stings just a bit I do have 3 other acceptances to choose from so I'm grateful. 

@xChocolate tagging you in this as you may want to know - could give you a better idea of their response timeline!

Goodluck everyone - I'll check back in on my status with UofT, still waitlisted ?

Congratulations to those who have received and will receive acceptances!!

[natzb]

Just rejected my offer from U of T. As much as I wanted to go to Munk, I decided on Queen’s since its one year and a half of the cost with the co-op option seeming better for transitioning into the workforce. 

Anyone else feeling a bit anxious about starting in September due to the COVID-19 situation? 

[xChocolate]

5 hours ago, Slothy42 said:

I just received a rejection email from SFU  It stings just a bit I do have 3 other acceptances to choose from so I'm grateful. 

@xChocolate tagging you in this as you may want to know - could give you a better idea of their response timeline!

Goodluck everyone - I'll check back in on my status with UofT, still waitlisted ?

Congratulations to those who have received and will receive acceptances!!

Thank you for tagging me, I received an acceptance email this morning from SFU. I'm glad you have other acceptances to choose from though! I only applied to 3 schools and Carleton already rejected me so this was a nice surprise.

[xChocolate]

On 4/11/2020 at 6:56 PM, natzb said:

Just rejected my offer from U of T. As much as I wanted to go to Munk, I decided on Queen’s since its one year and a half of the cost with the co-op option seeming better for transitioning into the workforce. 

Anyone else feeling a bit anxious about starting in September due to the COVID-19 situation? 

I am uncertain about starting in September as well, especially since I currently have a permanent analyst position in the fed govt. Job prospects may be lacking by the time I graduate from the program, so not sure if the MPP program would really be worth giving up 2 years of salary + possible promotions/ experience at this point. 

[Cerebral93]

2 hours ago, xChocolate said:

I am uncertain about starting in September as well, especially since I currently have a permanent analyst position in the fed govt. Job prospects may be lacking by the time I graduate from the program, so not sure if the MPP program would really be worth giving up 2 years of salary + possible promotions/ experience at this point. 

I'm curious about something. If you already have a permanent analyst position in the fed, do you really need an MPP? Or is it because it also opens opportunities for higher levels of promotion? In my perspective, there's a lot of opportunity cost since you'd be giving up a permanent analyst position in the feds, 2 years of salary, and perhaps incurring debt.

[xChocolate]

4 hours ago, Cerebral93 said:

I'm curious about something. If you already have a permanent analyst position in the fed, do you really need an MPP? Or is it because it also opens opportunities for higher levels of promotion? In my perspective, there's a lot of opportunity cost since you'd be giving up a permanent analyst position in the feds, 2 years of salary, and perhaps incurring debt.

I applied because it would help open up promotion opportunities -- a lot of higher level ECs have their masters and it's always listed as an asset criteria.  I am also eventually looking to go into management so the masters degree would be helpful. My position is currently in data analysis, so I don't have much experience with policy shops - was hoping that the MPP would make me more competitive and help me gain more knowledge. You're right - there is a lot of opportunity cost and I am thinking about deferring my admission for a year to see how the employment situation unfolds. 

[Cerebral93]

2 hours ago, xChocolate said:

I applied because it would help open up promotion opportunities -- a lot of higher level ECs have their masters and it's always listed as an asset criteria.  I am also eventually looking to go into management so the masters degree would be helpful. My position is currently in data analysis, so I don't have much experience with policy shops - was hoping that the MPP would make me more competitive and help me gain more knowledge. You're right - there is a lot of opportunity cost and I am thinking about deferring my admission for a year to see how the employment situation unfolds. 

That makes sense. How are you going about deferring your admission? I am also thinking of deferring for a year, especially given the circumstances, but I am not sure how willing these institutions are about permitting these things. I want to avoid learning online, especially in such a program because we may miss in-person events, networking, connecting with your cohort, etc.

[single_dollar]

Has anyone heard from UVIC MPA, or any insight into their timeline? They seem to send admissions decisions quite late from reviewing past forums, but it's been radio silence this year.

[Jackie Moon]

I applied to UVIC in January, haven't heard anything, the status of the application has been "Under Review by Department" for the last couple months.