Georgetown (McCourt) MPP 2021

[GradSchoolGrad]

9 minutes ago, herewegoah said:

U think this is a broad generalization - I got in during the early deadline and they said it was the most competitive year with about a 25% admittance rate. Not sure whats going on with money, but I received 10k/year for the EP and will definitely work to negotiate! 

Admittance rates are only part of the story. Every school will have diminished admittance rates this year. The other side is the quality of people they can bring in. When this much money is thrown around, that means they are either redirecting money to scholarships (which again, they shouldn’t have to) or they are getting desperate for quality bodies. 
 

That being said, EP normally start lower on the scholarship side as I have previously mentioned

[GradSchoolGrad]

6 minutes ago, qwertympp said:

Does anyone know how negotiation works? I got 18k/year but I've got a couple new publications coming out soon and I'm hoping to negotiate up a little. I don't want to accidentally come across as super rude. 

It’s one of those no such thing as super rude types. You just got to be direct about that you want to renegotiate and XYX things that highlight you are a value add.

[aspiringmpp]

1 hour ago, MPP2021app said:

I'm pretty certain I will not be enrolling!

I think each $ is 25%? Not sure tho lol. I received 27k per year.

I also received 27k per year in the early decision round, so that must be one of their scholarship tiers this year. More recently, I received an email offering me a research assistantship job for the upcoming school year. 

[TKMPP]

I received $20k (for one year - not sure if it’s renewable?) for the evening program, which I’m pretty happy with since they tend to get less funding. Still not sure if that will be enough for me to attend even while working full-time though, considering the cost of attendance. 

[Shantaram]

1 hour ago, aspiringmpp said:

I also received 27k per year in the early decision round, so that must be one of their scholarship tiers this year. More recently, I received an email offering me a research assistantship job for the upcoming school year. 

Same boat as these two with $27K/yr pre-negotiation and I applied during the early period. However, i didn't receive a research assistantship.

[van_96]

12 minutes ago, Shantaram said:

Same boat as these two with $27K/yr pre-negotiation and I applied during the early period. However, i didn't receive a research assistantship.

Same to the 27K offer/timing/no RA offer. Would've loved to get an offer, though. If I end up enrolling there, I hope there are opportunities to get one later on. 

Edited March 9, 2021 by van_96

[aspiringmpp]

They told me that enrolled students can apply for GA / RA roles over the summer and start at the beginning of the semester!

[6oahz]

Did anyone get accepted to the MIDP program? It's my favorite programs out of the three I applied but they gave me the least scholarship (18K), I'm trying to see how to potentially negotiate with them

[GradSchoolGrad]

10 minutes ago, aspiringmpp said:

They told me that enrolled students can apply for GA / RA roles over the summer and start at the beginning of the semester!

So that is all true, but you need to know the nuances behind it.

The key word is "apply for GA/RA" roles. You have to understand that you are not other competing with other McCourt students for those roles, but undergrads, grad students of other programs, and recent alumni who wanted some extra cash. So bottom line, is that you have to be uniquely competitive for them. I had 8 years work experience in logistics, but I could not get an RA role to save my life because those were mostly either coding based and I didn't go in knowing code. 

Also, the pay varies a bit, but when I was there it ranged from 12 to low 20ish dollars an hour (pre-tax) in DC.

I did manage to get a GA role only because I was previously published in my field and was paid a lovely $16 an hour. 

A better way to approach it is to work part time externally --> you can make more money and better pad your resume.

Summer RA/GA roles are less competitive, and I knew 2 people who started as early as the summer. I also want to highlight that 1st semester is the hardest semester (unless you are a quant wizard), and having to work part-time is insanely stressful and tiring. If you do want to work part-time, it is best to do it 2nd semester onward.

[GradSchoolGrad]

7 minutes ago, 6oahz said:

Did anyone get accepted to the MIDP program? It's my favorite programs out of the three I applied but they gave me the least scholarship (18K), I'm trying to see how to potentially negotiate with them

So MIDP is managed by Dr. Wiebe, and it is all about appealing to his sense of how much value you add vs. his pool of money. Historically, I have seen that a portion of funds dedicated to ensuring International students with unique experiences can matriculate to his program. 

[GradSchoolGrad]

2 hours ago, TKMPP said:

I received $20k (for one year - not sure if it’s renewable?) for the evening program, which I’m pretty happy with since they tend to get less funding. Still not sure if that will be enough for me to attend even while working full-time though, considering the cost of attendance. 

Generally speaking it is renewable, but they don't want to make promises because a not published (but always privately discussed) group of students do actually lose scholarship for going below 3.0 GPA (which is easier to do than you can imagine) or honor violations (which is actually more common than you would expect). 

Hypothetically, it also frees the University from committing to you on your 2nd year at the discretion of McCourt - granted I have never heard of that happening before. 

[6oahz]

1 minute ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

So MIDP is managed by Dr. Wiebe, and it is all about appealing to his sense of how much value you add vs. his pool of money. Historically, I have seen that a portion of funds dedicated to ensuring International students with unique experiences can matriculate to his program. 

Thank you! I'm an international student so it's good to hear that. I was in contact with him throughout the application cycle and he emailed me back in mid-February saying I got in but not sure about the funding yet and asked me to wait for the official letter, so I thought it's another department/person who is in charge of the funding part. 

I'm curious if you know the GHD program at SFS well? I got accepted to GHD with 75% aid, so I'm very torn right now between these two. I like the MIDP better for its analytical rigor but the 41K scholarship from GHD is really attractive (my two concerns for GHD is 1) not as quantitative  2) intl students graduated from this program mostly went back to their home country and worked in govt. I would prefer to stay in the U.S. and work for either research institutions or multilateral org). I wanted to negotiate more money from MIDP but I don't think they can match the GHD amount either way lol 

[GradSchoolGrad]

1 hour ago, 6oahz said:

Thank you! I'm an international student so it's good to hear that. I was in contact with him throughout the application cycle and he emailed me back in mid-February saying I got in but not sure about the funding yet and asked me to wait for the official letter, so I thought it's another department/person who is in charge of the funding part. 

I'm curious if you know the GHD program at SFS well? I got accepted to GHD with 75% aid, so I'm very torn right now between these two. I like the MIDP better for its analytical rigor but the 41K scholarship from GHD is really attractive (my two concerns for GHD is 1) not as quantitative  2) intl students graduated from this program mostly went back to their home country and worked in govt. I would prefer to stay in the U.S. and work for either research institutions or multilateral org). I wanted to negotiate more money from MIDP but I don't think they can match the GHD amount either way lol 

Either way, it would be very difficult for you to stay in the US. 

With MIDP you may get a edge (a very small edge) because the reality is data analytics/science is what is in short supply in the US and you learn more of that data stuff at MIDP. However, the technical stuff you learn, you could easy get in a coding boot camp and a library book... or alternative classes via electives. MIDP does a really good job teaching you to apply those skills to program evaluation in a development context (which is what makes it unique)

That being said, I do think GHD is a better program experience, in large part because it is under SFS and not McCourt. SFS is simply a more robust and prestigious program. I have enjoyed working with everyone in GHD way more than anyone in MIDP. This is because GHD actually treats their students as professionals and encourage them to be ambitious and try things. With MIDP, they are basically grooming you to work in program evaluation (analytical side). GHD you have much broader career prospects.

Edited March 10, 2021 by GradSchoolGrad

[6oahz]

8 hours ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

Either way, it would be very difficult for you to stay in the US. 

With MIDP you may get a edge (a very small edge) because the reality is data analytics/science is what is in short supply in the US and you learn more of that data stuff at MIDP. However, the technical stuff you learn, you could easy get in a coding boot camp and a library book... or alternative classes via electives. MIDP does a really good job teaching you to apply those skills to program evaluation in a development context (which is what makes it unique)

That being said, I do think GHD is a better program experience, in large part because it is under SFS and not McCourt. SFS is simply a more robust and prestigious program. I have enjoyed working with everyone in GHD way more than anyone in MIDP. This is because GHD actually treats their students as professionals and encourage them to be ambitious and try things. With MIDP, they are basically grooming you to work in program evaluation (analytical side). GHD you have much broader career prospects.

wow thank you for the advice! I will definitely think more about this before i make a decision 

[Grad_95]

Potentially silly question here... I was accepted with a merit-scholarship outlined in the following terms:
Fall 2021: $13,500

Spring 2022: $13,500

 

But no mention of the 2022-2023 academic year. Did other folks have the second academic year mentioned in their financial aid letters? I'm confused if this award is renewable or not for the second year...

[Horizon94]

24 minutes ago, Grad_95 said:

Potentially silly question here... I was accepted with a merit-scholarship outlined in the following terms:
Fall 2021: $13,500

Spring 2022: $13,500

 

But no mention of the 2022-2023 academic year. Did other folks have the second academic year mentioned in their financial aid letters? I'm confused if this award is renewable or not for the second year...

I also received an admit from Georgetown with similar outlines. I reached out to the admissions office and was told that if one has a GPA of 3 or above, the scholarship will continue for next academic year.

[taxbat]

On 3/9/2021 at 4:14 PM, TKMPP said:

I received $20k (for one year - not sure if it’s renewable?) for the evening program, which I’m pretty happy with since they tend to get less funding. Still not sure if that will be enough for me to attend even while working full-time though, considering the cost of attendance. 

Did you acceptance letter specifically say you were accepted to the evening program? I applied part time, but the admissions letter and FA letter didn't specifically indicate it was the EP. 

[TKMPP]

9 minutes ago, taxbat said:

Did you acceptance letter specifically say you were accepted to the evening program? I applied part time, but the admissions letter and FA letter didn't specifically indicate it was the EP. 

Mine didn’t specify the EP either, it just says MPP program! 

[van_96]

In case this is helpful to anyone, I tried to leverage my Duke offer to ask for more funding, and received a response that essentially stated they only negotiate merit aid if there are new professional or academic achievements. They added that they've increased their initial offers to compensate for this new system, which explains why so many of us got 27k, an amount that, as @GradSchoolGrad pointed out, they never have before. 

[Nickel95]

On 3/9/2021 at 2:35 PM, broncuffaloes said:

Just received an email to check the portal as well. Waitlisted. Does anyone know the odds of getting in through the Priority Waitlist?

Please, please, if anyone admitted is considering not enrolling at the MPP program it would be greatly appreciated

I was also waitlisted. Any word on the odds of being accepted?

[broncuffaloes]

26 minutes ago, Nickel95 said:

I was also waitlisted. Any word on the odds of being accepted?

Not really, I emailed someone on the admissions team last night about the timeline for waitlist students, but nothing yet. Were you on Priority Waitlist? I’m curious if there are any other types of waitlists haha

[swimmerwinner72]

I am a college senior with 2.5 years work experience (though none full-time) and got in with $18k/year funding. I just can't fathom the debt load this early on in my life without having had full-time work experience first. I love the program but... What do you think?

[GradSchoolGrad]

3 minutes ago, swimmerwinner72 said:

I am a college senior with 2.5 years work experience (though none full-time) and got in with $18k/year funding. I just can't fathom the debt load this early on in my life without having had full-time work experience first. I love the program but... What do you think?

The AVERAGE SALARY for Georgetown MPP grads with jobs coming out off graduation last time they published (about 2015 - they no longer publish since it is lower than that of Georgetown undergrad salary) was $55K. Add some inflation and do the math. 

Edited March 12, 2021 by GradSchoolGrad

[Nickel95]

2 minutes ago, broncuffaloes said:

Not really, I emailed someone on the admissions team last night about the timeline for waitlist students, but nothing yet. Were you on Priority Waitlist? I’m curious if there are any other types of waitlists haha

Unfortunately, my letter just said Waitlist, not Priority, so I think that's a great sign for you!

[GradSchoolGrad]

2 minutes ago, broncuffaloes said:

Not really, I emailed someone on the admissions team last night about the timeline for waitlist students, but nothing yet. Were you on Priority Waitlist? I’m curious if there are any other types of waitlists haha

There usually are never timelines for Waitlists. I know of people being offered admissions off of the waitlist a month or so out from orientation.