Columbia SIPA 2021

[francophile_1]

I think I officially have no funding. Checked my letter and it was updated with information about the student welcome portal which was previously not there ( and to add insult to injury, they duplicated the information in the letter about the 2k deposit LOL). 

[DargSchoolDarg]

For those with conditional offers was that in the body of your main email? I got accepted with 0 Econ/quant experience, so I’m really surprised that they wouldn’t make me take Econ or calc or something as well.

[ya711]

1 hour ago, BinZh5551 said:

Hey guys!

Anyone receives waitlist decision?

I did! Hoping to get off of it. Congrats to everyone who got in though!! 

[Americanbaguette]

Did anyone get into SIPA and is leaning towards SAIS? I got into SAIS Europe and I’m finding it hard to compare anything when Italy sounds incredible

[IR Policy Nerd]

1 minute ago, Americanbaguette said:

Did anyone get into SIPA and is leaning towards SAIS? I got into SAIS Europe and I’m finding it hard to compare anything when Italy sounds incredible

I am in the exact same boat. I also got funding (though not a ton) for SAIS Europe and so far, nothing from SIPA. All I'm saying is it's hard to think straight when daily gelato is part of the equation... 

[Americanbaguette]

1 minute ago, IR Policy Nerd said:

I am in the exact same boat. I also got funding (though not a ton) for SAIS Europe and so far, nothing from SIPA. All I'm saying is it's hard to think straight when daily gelato is part of the equation... 

all things considered, I don’t know if one of the programs is “better” than another. I feel like location is a big factor here for me, and Italy AND DC seem to match me better than NYC. That being said, there’s a chance I am just ignorant to the ways SIPA is “better” because I haven’t done my research yet.

[CYP07]

8 minutes ago, Americanbaguette said:

Did anyone get into SIPA and is leaning towards SAIS? I got into SAIS Europe and I’m finding it hard to compare anything when Italy sounds incredible

I'm on the same boat as well. I received limited funding for SAIS but no word on funding for SIPA as of yet. I have always thought of SIPA as the more well known school in terms of IR. Now is the hard part of weighing my options and finding external funding

[burnt_toast]

44 minutes ago, francophile_1 said:

I think I officially have no funding. Checked my letter and it was updated with information about the student welcome portal which was previously not there ( and to add insult to injury, they duplicated the information in the letter about the 2k deposit LOL). 

Lol my letter has the same error. I wonder if it's possible they're still updating things and we might get funding offers later (i.e. sometime this week)? 

[kami25]

3 minutes ago, burnt_toast said:

Lol my letter has the same error. I wonder if it's possible they're still updating things and we might get funding offers later (i.e. sometime this week)? 

Mine too lol

[mildlyconfusedmar]

Just now, Americanbaguette said:

Did anyone get into SIPA and is leaning towards SAIS? I got into SAIS Europe and I’m finding it hard to compare anything when Italy sounds incredible

I am very confused about this as well! Not sure how to compare especially since SAIS Europe has been fully in person with COVID

Similar aid as well (about 50% for both)

[mildlyconfusedmar]

Accepted with 30k/yr fellowship!!!! Super excited! Loved the song

[RN_0522]

Anyone who haven't recieved any update yet？I was defered in the early round and haven't seen anything updated so far...

[bruyeres]

So far, accepted to SIPA with no funding (unless things update later) and to McCourt with $27k/year funding. Of the 5 schools I applied to, McCourt was at the bottom of my list, and SIPA was near the top, but am I an idiot for even considering turning down over $50k at a cheaper school? The difference between SIPA with no funding and McCourt with funding is $80k over the two years (tuition and living expenses)

Edited March 16, 2021 by bruyeres

[Americanbaguette]

8 minutes ago, mildlyconfusedmar said:

I am very confused about this as well! Not sure how to compare especially since SAIS Europe has been fully in person with COVID

Similar aid as well (about 50% for both)

I am leaning towards SAIS tbh. I feel like to an employer, it’s likely splitting hair which one is better. I just don’t know if New York is right for me or worth the cost of living. But I really don’t want to make a mistake here and am a little worried about potentially shutting down this Ivy League opportunity.

[kami25]

Anybody here leaning towards Uchicago Harris than SIPA? Any reason? 

[anxiousgradstudent17]

54 minutes ago, CYP07 said:

I'm on the same boat as well. I received limited funding for SAIS but no word on funding for SIPA as of yet. I have always thought of SIPA as the more well known school in terms of IR. Now is the hard part of weighing my options and finding external funding

I am in with $30k funding to SAIS Europe, no funding to Georgetown and likely no funding to SIPA. I'm still waiting on HKS but that's a long shot. I really want to go to SAIS but I'm having trouble turning down Georgetown even with no funding. Am I crazy for thinking the name recognition may matter more than funding/italy for a year?

[Jackrowe]

Can anyone confirm that the MIA decisions came and not the MPA? or did SIPA release  both? 

[R_391]

2 minutes ago, anxiousgradstudent17 said:

I am in with $30k funding to SAIS Europe, no funding to Georgetown and likely no funding to SIPA. I'm still waiting on HKS but that's a long shot. I really want to go to SAIS but I'm having trouble turning down Georgetown even with no funding. Am I crazy for thinking the name recognition may matter more than funding/italy for a year?

I have Georgetown with $13.5k funding. and no funding at SIPA. Waiting on HKS, but again, that is a long shot given SIPA gave no funding. Do you think Georgetown is good tho? One grad here keeps pushing that option down

[egghorse]

2 minutes ago, anxiousgradstudent17 said:

I am in with $30k funding to SAIS Europe, no funding to Georgetown and likely no funding to SIPA. I'm still waiting on HKS but that's a long shot. I really want to go to SAIS but I'm having trouble turning down Georgetown even with no funding. Am I crazy for thinking the name recognition may matter more than funding/italy for a year?

I’m literally in the exact same place with the exact same schools and funding situation. Not an easy choice but I’m planning on taking the SAIS offer unless I am totally surprised by HKS. I don’t think any of these schools are worth 60k total more than another. 

[Shantaram]

24 minutes ago, bruyeres said:

So far, accepted to SIPA with no funding (unless things update later) and to McCourt with $27k/year funding. Of the 5 schools I applied to, McCourt was at the bottom of my list, and SIPA was near the top, but am I an idiot for even considering turning down over $50k at a cheaper school? The difference between SIPA with no funding and McCourt with funding is $80k over the two years (tuition and living expenses)

I'm in the same position. McCourt at the bottom of my list but gave $27K/yr and SIPA at the top with no funding. I sincerely hope there are more updates that will be posted over the next 24 hours, but at this point it seems really doubtful. Best of luck to you in trying to negotiate for something from SIPA. I'm going to give it my best shot.

[R_391]

8 minutes ago, anxiousgradstudent17 said:

I am in with $30k funding to SAIS Europe, no funding to Georgetown and likely no funding to SIPA. I'm still waiting on HKS but that's a long shot. I really want to go to SAIS but I'm having trouble turning down Georgetown even with no funding. Am I crazy for thinking the name recognition may matter more than funding/italy for a year?

 

Just now, Shantaram said:

I'm in the same position. McCourt at the bottom of my list but gave $27K/yr and SIPA at the top with no funding. I sincerely hope there are more updates that will be posted over the next 24 hours, but at this point it seems really doubtful. Best of luck to you in trying to negotiate for something from SIPA. I'm going to give it my best shot.

 

3 minutes ago, R_391 said:

I have Georgetown with $13.5k funding. and no funding at SIPA. Waiting on HKS, but again, that is a long shot given SIPA gave no funding. Do you think Georgetown is good tho? One grad here keeps pushing that option down

It may be possible that SIPA has sent out all offers because they posted a while ago. https://admissionsblog.sipa.columbia.edu/2021/03/16/finally-decisions-are-released-for-sipas-mia-mpa-and-mpa-dp-programs/

[Black_Sesame]

1 hour ago, Americanbaguette said:

Did anyone get into SIPA and is leaning towards SAIS? I got into SAIS Europe and I’m finding it hard to compare anything when Italy sounds incredible

I'm a Columbia Alumni myself, graduated magna cum laude and ended up with a 167/158 on my GRE. Had reccomendations from a SIPA professor and had my essays reviewed. Got in without an ounce of funding. Love NYC, its my home and has all my friends and loved ones, but knowing that SAIS gave me a chunk of scholarship when I bullshitted out their application and they've been nothing but kind to me makes it really hard for me to say no to a year in beautiful northern Italy. Makes it even harder knowing that they're regarded as the better program within the field. 

[Americanbaguette]

1 minute ago, Black_Sesame said:

I'm a Columbia Alumni myself, graduated magna cum laude and ended up with a 167/158 on my GRE. Had reccomendations from a SIPA professor and had my essays reviewed. Got in without an ounce of funding. Love NYC, its my home and has all my friends and loved ones, but knowing that SAIS gave me a chunk of scholarship when I bullshitted out their application and they've been nothing but kind to me makes it really hard for me to say no to a year in beautiful northern Italy. Makes it even harder knowing that they're regarded as the better program within the field. 

Are you saying SAIS is considered better in the field or SIPA? Tbh based on my informational interviews I have had they say there isn’t a strong difference and both programs are great. The hiring rate post grad is about the same too.

[jellyana]

Also got in!

:') But I think no aid... nothing was mentioned in the letter. Crossing my fingers that something is still coming because it did say "In a few weeks you will receive specific information on the cost of attendance and possible sources of aid" but I'm not too hopeful. I didn't get any funding from SFS either. 

[Black_Sesame]

1 minute ago, Americanbaguette said:

Are you saying SAIS is considered better in the field or SIPA? Tbh based on my informational interviews I have had they say there isn’t a strong difference and both programs are great. The hiring rate post grad is about the same too.

From everything I've ever seen or heard, SAIS is considered the most serious and legitimate program as its significantly more rigorous and quantitatively driven than SIPA Gtown Tufts or Princeton. SIPA always seemed like more of a school for people who didn't go to Ivy's to get the chance to interview for McKinsey, Accenture, or Deloitte. Within the field of IR, SAIS is a bit more serious, but outside of the field, SIPA or Woody Woo certainly have better name brand and prestige.