Columbia SIPA 2021

[MadEye]

13 hours ago, GradSchool4213 said:

Hi Everyone! I also got into SIPA with no funding, and got funding from McCourt (Georgetown) and Duke. Was curious if anyone here applied to the Sanford school MPP at Duke? Don't have a great sense of the program yet so thought I'd ask. It's currently towards the bottom of my list but they gave me a pretty nice scholarship so trying to stay open minded.

Hey, I applied to Sanford for MPP, got waitlisted. It was higher on my list and I really liked their program but that was majorly because I am interested into politics. They have a few other opportunities like serving on the board of a local non-profit. Would suggest you read more. 

[GradSchool4213]

Is anyone here considering LSEs MPA?

4 hours ago, MadEye said:

Hey, I applied to Sanford for MPP, got waitlisted. It was higher on my list and I really liked their program but that was majorly because I am interested into politics. They have a few other opportunities like serving on the board of a local non-profit. Would suggest you read more. 

Thanks!

[GradSchool4213]

Is anyone here considering LSEs MPA?

[intlapplicant]

I got into Harvard Kennedy School (MPP) and SIPA (MPA), but received 60k of funding for SIPA and 25k for Harvard... As an international student, I really can't take any loans, but wondering what you all think. Is HKS that much better than SIPA in terms of experience, or are they similar?

[tinaf1109]

Deciding between Harris MPP ($10k funding), CMU MSPPM-DA (20% tuition funding), and SIPA(MIA)/QMSS dual-degree (no funding). Would like to build more hard skills but find it difficult to give up NYC (4 yrs of undergrad at NYU). More interested in international policy, and would like to have build some leverage in data analytics. I am an international student so I am definitely looking for STEM-based programs for visa concerns. With a ds certificate for Harris MPP, all three programs will be STEM-eligible. 

Can't decide at all (leaning towards Harris and SIPA though)... Any suggestions?

[SoundsintheHIll]

On 3/17/2021 at 6:42 AM, kami25 said:

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

Hey, have you done any comparison on both programs? I also am deciding between SIPA MPA and Harris MPP. Quite a tough choice. 

Or does anyone have any opinion or probably have done comparisons? ?

[tinaf1109]

2 hours ago, SoundsintheHIll said:

Hey, have you done any comparison on both programs? I also am deciding between SIPA MPA and Harris MPP. Quite a tough choice. 

Or does anyone have any opinion or probably have done comparisons? ?

Same!! I have done some comparisons but still can't decide...

[LuaBrazil]

On 3/16/2021 at 5:30 PM, Nomad48 said:

Just received an update on the funding.. ($)

Hey Nomad, I'm in the same situation. Got accepted with no funding. Thinking about appplying next year to try again with no funding. Did it work for you?

[Tosvenson]

22 hours ago, GradSchool4213 said:

Is anyone here considering LSEs MPA?

Hi,

I applied to LSE but for the EMPA. I like in UK and would continue working if I was studying in the UK. I haven't heard anything back either

[Miles95]

Hi Everyone, I got accepted into SIPA with 40k annually for the MPA program and also got an acceptance to the MPP program at HKS (no funding though). Has anyone got any idea on how similar/dissimilar would the experience be?

[MPAclassof2023]

Does anyone have any advice on negotiating funding with the financial aid office? I know in the spreadsheet it shows some people were successful.

[frncis]

2 hours ago, LuaBrazil said:

Hey Nomad, I'm in the same situation. Got accepted with no funding. Thinking about appplying next year to try again with no funding. Did it work for you?

Thinking about doing the same thing!

[frncis]

Just now, MPAclassof2023 said:

Does anyone have any advice on negotiating funding with the financial aid office? I know in the spreadsheet it shows some people were successful.

I'd like to know that as well

[UKPolicyEnthusiast]

11 minutes ago, frncis said:

I'd like to know that as well

I just emailed them - I had another fees and a stipend offer from another school so sent them the offer letter for that too. Best of luck! 

[UKPolicyEnthusiast]

1 hour ago, UKPolicyEnthusiast said:

I just emailed them - I had another fees and a stipend offer from another school so sent them the offer letter for that too. Best of luck! 

Not successful - they sent a speedy response saying all $$ is allocated for first years and sent a bunch of links to external support/loans. 

[Make A Decision]

Hi everyone, I was accepted into Columbia SIPA and Georgetown MSFS. I received 40k annual funding from SIPA in comparison to full funding + stipend from Georgetown. Columbia was my first choice and I'm wondering if its worth pursuing still. The financial aid office has been very unhelpful which sucks, btw. Should I just forget about Columbia and go to Georgetown? Has anyone been successful with negotiation? 

Edited March 22, 2021 by Make A Decision

[UKPolicyEnthusiast]

13 hours ago, Make A Decision said:

Hi everyone, I was accepted into Columbia SIPA and Georgetown MSFS. I received 40k annual funding from SIPA in comparison to full funding + stipend from Georgetown. Columbia was my first choice and I'm wondering if its worth pursuing still. The financial aid office has been very unhelpful which sucks, btw. Should I just forget about Columbia and go to Georgetown? Has anyone been successful with negotiation? 

No success with negotiation with Columbia.
 

I think less debt / less savings is a good approach. I graduated from law school with a lot of debt and it’s a burden that if you can avoid do so (unless there’s a massive difference between reputation/employability, which I don’t think there is in your case).

[gemx93]

Did anyone here apply to the Obama Foundation Scholars Program at Columbia University? Is anyone aware of when they'll say who got the scholarship?

[Nysha]

Has anyone been successful to get additional funding (either from 0 to some or some to even more?) from SIPA, for fall 2021?

[UKPolicyEnthusiast]

2 hours ago, Nysha said:

Has anyone been successful to get additional funding (either from 0 to some or some to even more?) from SIPA, for fall 2021?

Sadly no they instead linked to the following (in case helpful): 

Many SIPA students receive aid from outside sources such as charitable or professional organizations, their employers, philanthropic groups, or agencies in their own countries. We offer a comprehensive list of scholarships and a search engine on our website and recommend that all students familiarize themselves with this resource and apply for all applicable awards. Please see https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sipa.columbia.edu%2Fadmissions%2Ffinancial-aid%2Fexternal-funding-sources&data=04%7C01%7C%7C00161661cc564deabda708d8ed6109f3%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637520348317706231%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=u1XxieiSas8lapEsVjjdZXzHxr%2FVeI9JrBTCjQMn13I%3D&reserved=0 and https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sipa.columbia.edu%2Fadmissions%2Ffinancial-aid%2Ffinancial-aid-international-students&data=04%7C01%7C%7C00161661cc564deabda708d8ed6109f3%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637520348317716227%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=HHZ4ekt4ynGvZlc%2B6w%2Fqafn6vVz6EgZPWeE1AryRsn0%3D&reserved=0 for more information, we hope you find those helpful.  

In addition, SIPA offers salaried assistantships to second year students. You will be able to apply for those positions starting in January 2022, and you can find more information athttps://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sipa.columbia.edu%2Fadmissions%2Ffinancial-aid%2Fsipa-columbia-university-funding&data=04%7C01%7C%7C00161661cc564deabda708d8ed6109f3%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637520348317716227%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=TE%2FlwsfuW1HbPcCw8ffAw7b%2Bp6Rzm990sA83N1jZ94Y%3D&reserved=0 by clicking on the link labeled "SIPA Fellowships."

[Aveces]

On 3/18/2021 at 9:43 PM, IR Policy Nerd said:

I emailed the International Fellow Program program assistant to find out if decisions were linked to admissions letters and received this message: 

"Accepted students were notified in their SIPA admissions letters. Unfortunately you were not accepted into the Fellowship this year. If you decide to enroll at SIPA, we invite you to apply again during your first year for potential placement in your second year."

Womp.

Does anybody know if decisions of the International Fellow Program or the Jal Pavry award have been released? Or has anyone been awarded?

Edited March 24, 2021 by Aveces

[CCZZ]

Just received an email from the Financial Aid Office to go to a link to accept the funding offer. It is the same amount, didn't increase a dollar. Compared to the estimated amount for the first year, it is very little. Does anybody knows if it could increase later?

[mildlyconfusedmar]

On 3/21/2021 at 5:19 AM, tan1023 said:

 

 

 

 

To all the people who got scholarship offers, did you apply for the MPA_ DP program?Please confirm, because It seems that NONE of the MPA DP admits have received any scholarship info-or we are the unluckiest bunch in the pool of applicants lol. 

Hearing sooo many MPA DP candidates specifically gives me some hope- I spoke to a friend and his portal updated two weeks after he received a decision (this is two years back for the regular MPA)- so perhaps in the next 10 days we still might get some updates- fingers crossed. 

I was accepted to the MIA with funding. I actually just reached out to the DP office and asked about potential transfer. They noted that the MIA/MPA vs. MPA-DP admissions committees are completely different and so are their funding pools. Not sure if that helpful but maybe DP just did not have as much funding to give this year. Sorry if that is the case

Edited March 24, 2021 by mildlyconfusedmar

[S7arman]

On 3/22/2021 at 11:41 AM, Miles95 said:

Hi Everyone, I got accepted into SIPA with 40k annually for the MPA program and also got an acceptance to the MPP program at HKS (no funding though). Has anyone got any idea on how similar/dissimilar would the experience be?

Same here, 80k to SIPA, which would help me to live the experience without financial stress, and no funding to HKS MPA/ID (I would have to borrow a massive loan to go to HKS).

[Miles95]

1 hour ago, S7arman said:

Same here, 80k to SIPA, which would help me to live the experience without financial stress, and no funding to HKS MPA/ID (I would have to borrow a massive loan to go to HKS).

Yup, I have been talking to a few current students from both schools and it seems difficult to expect any funding from HKS atleast in the first year