Columbia SIPA MPA 2020

[Haber]

Thanks @KyleR, much appreciated. I would be very thankful if others also can share the knowledge on this.

Edited March 17, 2020 by Haber

[ehallwyo]

5 hours ago, rmbb said:

@ehallwyo can you please share the link of the financial aid student portal? I cannot find it.

 

On other hand, a question for the ones that received the a financial aid letter, its a link at the bottom of the online acceptance letter with the ny music right? Thanks everyone!

 

Got accepted into the MPA-DP but it seems that without funding, so its kind of bittersweet. Thanks!!

The link is https://studentviewer.finaid.columbia.edu/ , but you need to use an ID code to log in. I can't recall if there was an ID listed on our acceptance letters. Mine was included in the email I received with this link.

[mpp2020-]

3 hours ago, ehallwyo said:

The link is https://studentviewer.finaid.columbia.edu/ , but you need to use an ID code to log in. I can't recall if there was an ID listed on our acceptance letters. Mine was included in the email I received with this link.

Yeah I received an email as well but it went to to my spam so check there as well just in case! 

[Policy_Applicant2020]

On 3/18/2020 at 1:13 AM, Haber said:

Congratulations to all those accepted. I have received some generous aid and contingent TA in second year with the offer letter for MPA program.

My query is regarding this recent mail about financial aid portal and award acceptance. Will accepting the award debar one from putting a reconsideration request? Or it's a logical first step to appeal it.

Does anyone know, how successful one can get during reconsideration process, any experience with anyone known to you or any of your friend's case.

I checked with them. Below is the response:- 

 

There is no deadline to accepting your aid, however we hope you accept your aid as soon as possible. This does not mean you accept your offer to SIPA though. If you would like to appeal your funding amount, please complete the SIPA Award Appeal form by April 15. If funding becomes available, we will notify eligible recipients by April 27.   

[PP2020]

10 minutes ago, Policy_Applicant2020 said:

I checked with them. Below is the response:- 

 

There is no deadline to accepting your aid, however we hope you accept your aid as soon as possible. This does not mean you accept your offer to SIPA though. If you would like to appeal your funding amount, please complete the SIPA Award Appeal form by April 15. If funding becomes available, we will notify eligible recipients by April 27.   

The funding appeal is so late  it’s after the deposit due date for many schools. 

[Haber]

14 minutes ago, Policy_Applicant2020 said:

I checked with them. Below is the response:- 

 

There is no deadline to accepting your aid, however we hope you accept your aid as soon as possible. This does not mean you accept your offer to SIPA though. If you would like to appeal your funding amount, please complete the SIPA Award Appeal form by April 15. If funding becomes available, we will notify eligible recipients by April 27.   

Thanks @Policy_Applicant2020, I had also checked with them and got a response on similar lines.

[thediesel]

3 minutes ago, PP2020 said:

The funding appeal is so late  it’s after the deposit due date for many schools. 

Yep, you'd need to pay your deposit for another program and hope for the best.

[ashroff30]

Hi,

I have been accepted to the MPA-DP program at SIPA and the MPA program at LSE. I am trying to decide between the two.  I really like the course structure of both these programs but SIPA gives me more options for electives. I have not received funding from both of these colleges and SIPA is very expensive. However, the cohort and the summer placement aspect of the MPA-DP program is very attractive. I am really stressing out!!

Would love to hear some of your experiences so that I can make an informed decision. 

Thanks!  

[amr2020]

Piggy backing off the above- are any SIPA folks deciding between Wagner and SIPA? would love any perspective to help me decide!

[Nononsense]

7 hours ago, amr2020 said:

Piggy backing off the above- are any SIPA folks deciding between Wagner and SIPA? would love any perspective to help me decide!

I’m in the same boat. Deciding between Wagner and SIPA. I’m interested in domestic policy and non-profits. Wagner is strong in those areas and they offered some funding, whereas SIPA did not. Leaning toward NYU for those reasons, but  still considering SIPA for program strength, name recognition, and alumni network. 
 

Open to ideas!

[fshopeful]

Received 30k a year in funding (for MIA) and will be attending.

Hope to see some of you at SIPA!

[Yass]

On 3/22/2020 at 6:50 PM, fshopeful said:

Received 30k a year in funding (for MIA) and will be attending.

Hope to see some of you at SIPA!

What are your thoughts regarding Harris vs SIPA? Are you going to attend SIPA due to financial reasons? 

[fshopeful]

41 minutes ago, Yass said:

What are your thoughts regarding Harris vs SIPA? Are you going to attend SIPA due to financial reasons? 

Hey Yass,

Think both schools offer great options and finances should definitely be considered when choosing.

As to why I chose SIPA over Harris:

1) I have 4 years of work experience and 40% of Harris students have between 0-1 years. SIPA students are more seasoned and I want to surround myself with individuals — of varied backgrounds — that can illustrate classroom dialogue with unique personal case studies that come from work experience.

2) My interests lie squarely within the field of international affairs and SIPA clearly wins in this area. I thought of also applying to SAIS and SFS as well, but chose not to given that I much prefer NY as a setting and both have a smaller international student body than SIPA. As someone that has lived in several countries and continents, I value SIPA’s high % of international students.

3) The Columbia brand has a slight edge over The University of Chicago internationally and SIPA has a much larger edge over Harris internationally. I value this greatly — albeit may not be important for most applicants. I would venture to say that only HKS has as strong a brand as SIPA internationally but its MPP is very domestic-focused — as reflected by its 30% international student %.

4) The alums I have met from SIPA — primarily U.S. diplomats — are people I look up to. Individuals that are less focused on drafting white papers/the minutiae of policy and more focused on project management/pushing work forward in a crisis. They are all people with incredible interpersonal skills, leadership and high levels of emotional intelligence — people I aspire to be like.

These are a few reasons I am heading to SIPA but please feel free to PM if you want a thought partner as you make a decision!

 

[Yass]

On 3/19/2020 at 6:09 PM, ashroff30 said:

Hi,

I have been accepted to the MPA-DP program at SIPA and the MPA program at LSE. I am trying to decide between the two.  I really like the course structure of both these programs but SIPA gives me more options for electives. I have not received funding from both of these colleges and SIPA is very expensive. However, the cohort and the summer placement aspect of the MPA-DP program is very attractive. I am really stressing out!!

Would love to hear some of your experiences so that I can make an informed decision. 

Thanks!  

Where are you originally from? For me, the location would probably matter a lot as it depends on whether you're from the US or Europe and the respective networking opportunities. Also whether you'd want to live in London or New York and already had any experiences abroad.

[Yass]

23 hours ago, fshopeful said:

Hey Yass,

Think both schools offer great options and finances should definitely be considered when choosing.

As to why I chose SIPA over Harris:

1) I have 4 years of work experience and 40% of Harris students have between 0-1 years. SIPA students are more seasoned and I want to surround myself with individuals — of varied backgrounds — that can illustrate classroom dialogue with unique personal case studies that come from work experience.

2) My interests lie squarely within the field of international affairs and SIPA clearly wins in this area. I thought of also applying to SAIS and SFS as well, but chose not to given that I much prefer NY as a setting and both have a smaller international student body than SIPA. As someone that has lived in several countries and continents, I value SIPA’s high % of international students.

3) The Columbia brand has a slight edge over The University of Chicago internationally and SIPA has a much larger edge over Harris internationally. I value this greatly — albeit may not be important for most applicants. I would venture to say that only HKS has as strong a brand as SIPA internationally but its MPP is very domestic-focused — as reflected by its 30% international student %.

4) The alums I have met from SIPA — primarily U.S. diplomats — are people I look up to. Individuals that are less focused on drafting white papers/the minutiae of policy and more focused on project management/pushing work forward in a crisis. They are all people with incredible interpersonal skills, leadership and high levels of emotional intelligence — people I aspire to be like.

These are a few reasons I am heading to SIPA but please feel free to PM if you want a thought partner as you make a decision!

 

HI fshopeful!

Your decision-making insights were very useful! I'm currently deciding between SAIS (20k per year) and SIPA (no aid) and debating whether I should still apply to Harris. As an international applicant from Europe, the international reputation of the program/uni is quite important to me so reading your points definitely made SIPA's strength clearer to me. I'll PM you

[syk17]

On 3/14/2020 at 9:22 AM, joyzhc said:

I haven't received any emails. In their admission blog, they said applicants may not receive decision on the same day. Hope we can wait for a good news.

Hi Joy! I received my email very recently; I hope you received a decision as well! 

[Yass]

Did you guys get any info regarding virtual open days or additional information sessions etc.? 

[LazarusRises]

@Yass Yep, I got an email from Grace Han about virtual events & resources. Check your spam folder, mine came through at 4:07PM EST on Friday the 27th. 

[Yass]

11 minutes ago, LazarusRises said:

@Yass Yep, I got an email from Grace Han about virtual events & resources. Check your spam folder, mine came through at 4:07PM EST on Friday the 27th. 

Thanks! Found it

[GradSchoolGrad]

On 3/20/2020 at 7:29 PM, Nononsense said:

I’m in the same boat. Deciding between Wagner and SIPA. I’m interested in domestic policy and non-profits. Wagner is strong in those areas and they offered some funding, whereas SIPA did not. Leaning toward NYU for those reasons, but  still considering SIPA for program strength, name recognition, and alumni network. 
 

Open to ideas!

I view SIPA and Wagner on equal footing for domestic policy. At a certain point it comes down to if there are certain professors and unique program for which you like one program over the other. In your case, I would do Wagner by virtue how you got funding... The differences are marginal. I will say that I generally find SIPA better connected to the rest of the MPP/MPA/IR world. I have friends who went to Wagner, but they don't seem to venture outside of their NYC space much for domestic policy (from what people tell me. I haven't seen a Wagner person in DC... ever. 

[GradSchoolGrad]

On 3/19/2020 at 1:09 PM, ashroff30 said:

Hi,

I have been accepted to the MPA-DP program at SIPA and the MPA program at LSE. I am trying to decide between the two.  I really like the course structure of both these programs but SIPA gives me more options for electives. I have not received funding from both of these colleges and SIPA is very expensive. However, the cohort and the summer placement aspect of the MPA-DP program is very attractive. I am really stressing out!!

Would love to hear some of your experiences so that I can make an informed decision. 

Thanks!  

If you want to end up in the US... I would say without question SIPA... If you want to do international based work, I would say it is a wash. This purely from a brand perspective. With I-DEV (assuming that is what you want to do), I recommend you make sure the power professors are the people you want to coach and mentor you (and accessible). 

[Yass]

7 minutes ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

If you want to end up in the US... I would say without question SIPA... If you want to do international based work, I would say it is a wash. This purely from a brand perspective. With I-DEV (assuming that is what you want to do), I recommend you make sure the power professors are the people you want to coach and mentor you (and accessible). 

What's your opinion on SAIS vs SIPA? 

[GradSchoolGrad]

1 hour ago, Yass said:

What's your opinion on SAIS vs SIPA? 

If you want to do DC focused/related/empowered matters, SAIS is the way to go. I would say academically and student culture wise (in terms of bonding as a entire school), SAIS is stronger and more focused. HOWEVER... the one thing I really don't like about SAIS that it is academically isolated... as in it doesn't really integrate with the rest of Johns Hopkins. It isn't part of the Washington, DC consortium, so you can't take classes or really collaborate with other DC programs.

So the strength of SIPA is that it has a lot of global touchpoints, especially to NGOs and non-profits. If you want to play in New York and/or internationally, I would say SIPA definitely has the edge. I wrote off SIPA early on because a lot of people have their New York City lives, so it really isn't that strong of a community (at least compared to what I was hoping to get). I also didn't have interest in international / NGOs. HOWEVER... what I do appreciate about SIPA is that you have access to the greater Columbia academic community. 

Breadth of education really matters in my opinion, especially given how we are going into a recession, and career flexibility is plus in my opinion. Also, what I find super interesting is how a lot of my friends who went and got policy/IR degrees ended up in private sector (or weaved in and out of IR/Policy). Something to think about it!

 

[Yass]

10 minutes ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

If you want to do DC focused/related/empowered matters, SAIS is the way to go. I would say academically and student culture wise (in terms of bonding as a entire school), SAIS is stronger and more focused. HOWEVER... the one thing I really don't like about SAIS that it is academically isolated... as in it doesn't really integrate with the rest of Johns Hopkins. It isn't part of the Washington, DC consortium, so you can't take classes or really collaborate with other DC programs.

So the strength of SIPA is that it has a lot of global touchpoints, especially to NGOs and non-profits. If you want to play in New York and/or internationally, I would say SIPA definitely has the edge. I wrote off SIPA early on because a lot of people have their New York City lives, so it really isn't that strong of a community (at least compared to what I was hoping to get). I also didn't have interest in international / NGOs. HOWEVER... what I do appreciate about SIPA is that you have access to the greater Columbia academic community. 

Breadth of education really matters in my opinion, especially given how we are going into a recession, and career flexibility is plus in my opinion. Also, what I find super interesting is how a lot of my friends who went and got policy/IR degrees ended up in private sector (or weaved in and out of IR/Policy). Something to think about it!

 

Thanks, appreciate your perspective! 

[LazarusRises]

Stumbled upon something odd, hoping to get everyone's input. 

Item 1: The latest post on the SIPA Admissions Blog makes an oblique reference to a deposit deadline of May 1. I haven't received any notification regarding a change to the stated deadline of April 15, but this is straight from the horse's mouth, so maybe it counts?

Item 2: Hoping for some clarity, I signed into the Admitted Students' Portal and clicked the "Accept Your Offer" link at the right of the page, but it just brought me to https://apply.sipa.columbia.edu/apply/. I expanded the "Accept the Offer of Admission" section in the portal and clicked the "Enrollment Response Form" link, which brought me to an "Accept Your Offer" page, but the "Respond To Your Offer Now" link also leads to the /apply/ page. 

Very confusing! Has anyone successfully responded to their offer, and/or does anyone have any info on what the deposit deadline actually is?

Thanks crew. 

Edited April 6, 2020 by LazarusRises