Columbia SIPA 2021

[INTERNATIONALGRAD1992]

Hey, I'm wondering if anyone else as been accepted to both the MPA and the dual MPA-MPP with Sciences-Po in Paris? I'm in two minds about which to accept and would love if anyone had any insights. 

Also, I was accepted to the International Fellows Programme so unfortunately those decisions may all be issued.

[aspiringmpp]

2 hours ago, INTERNATIONALGRAD1992 said:

Hey, I'm wondering if anyone else as been accepted to both the MPA and the dual MPA-MPP with Sciences-Po in Paris? I'm in two minds about which to accept and would love if anyone had any insights. 

Also, I was accepted to the International Fellows Programme so unfortunately those decisions may all be issued.

There’s a group of us on the SIPA admitted students page who connected and are discussing this dilemma! The biggest concern I have is if classes will be virtual / vaccination rates will be high in France in the fall. 

[RealG]

On 3/20/2021 at 12:27 AM, kickmewhenurdone said:

Just got waitlisted to the MPA-ESP program. If anyone has any info on how many has enrolled, and if anyone is declining the acceptance, it would be greatly appreciated! 

Hi. I got waitlisted on this program in the month of Jan and haven't heard anything yet. Guess i can lose my hope now  

[RD0502]

On 3/25/2021 at 5:37 PM, INTERNATIONALGRAD1992 said:

Hey, I'm wondering if anyone else as been accepted to both the MPA and the dual MPA-MPP with Sciences-Po in Paris? I'm in two minds about which to accept and would love if anyone had any insights. 

Also, I was accepted to the International Fellows Programme so unfortunately those decisions may all be issued.

Did your receive your IFP acceptance along with your college admission?

[INTERNATIONALGRAD1992]

30 minutes ago, RD0502 said:

Did your receive your IFP acceptance along with your college admission?

No, I received an email about 24 hours later informing me with a link to view an updated fellowship letter in my Status Portal.

[Nomad48]

I received a conditional offer (Macro & micro or Calculus) and was wondering which universities offer such online courses that are accepted by Columbia, any insight? 

[KNA_policy]

I got conditionally accepted (need to complete a calculus course from any institution) to Columbia SIPA for MPA without any financial aid so far. I got the decision on March 16th and in it they said more information about cost and financial aid would be given in a few weeks. Still waiting! I want to pursue a Policy PhD after this. I am a 36 old Canadian (originally from Bangladesh but now a Canadian citizen), married (my wife is working too), have a 6 year old son, and have a house mortgage to pay. I have an MBA from Canada, do not have any previous student loans and have been working in the non-profit and academic research sectors for the past 7+ years. Is taking on student loan to pursue my dreams worth it at this stage? I am passionate about public policy and really want to join the academia. Thoughts? By the way, I got waitlisted for Georgetown MPP and rejected by Harvard for MPA2. Still waiting for a decision from Cornell CIPA for MPA. 

[kickmewhenurdone]

19 hours ago, RealG said:

Hi. I got waitlisted on this program in the month of Jan and haven't heard anything yet. Guess i can lose my hope now  

My guess is the yield is going to be pretty high this year

[HelloItsMe]

On 3/26/2021 at 4:09 PM, KNA_policy said:

I got conditionally accepted (need to complete a calculus course from any institution) to Columbia SIPA for MPA without any financial aid so far. I got the decision on March 16th and in it they said more information about cost and financial aid would be given in a few weeks. Still waiting! I want to pursue a Policy PhD after this. I am a 36 old Canadian (originally from Bangladesh but now a Canadian citizen), married (my wife is working too), have a 6 year old son, and have a house mortgage to pay. I have an MBA from Canada, do not have any previous student loans and have been working in the non-profit and academic research sectors for the past 7+ years. Is taking on student loan to pursue my dreams worth it at this stage? I am passionate about public policy and really want to join the academia. Thoughts? By the way, I got waitlisted for Georgetown MPP and rejected by Harvard for MPA2. Still waiting for a decision from Cornell CIPA for MPA. 

It’s probably best to do a cost-benefit analysis. Figure out how much in loans plus living costs you’d have to take out, then how long it will take you to pay them off with all of your current financial obligations. That should clear things up for you. In my opinion, it’s not worth it. You could always apply to more local low-cost programs that give you the quantitative skills necessary for a funded PhD, thus avoiding huge debt. 

[envirostudent21]

On 3/19/2021 at 1:46 PM, francophile_1 said:

I believe he did the MPA. I am going to ask him about it on Sun and can report back on what he says!

Hey, did you have any reflections to share from your call with the alum? Sounds really helpful

[francophile_1]

On 3/29/2021 at 3:31 PM, envirostudent21 said:

Hey, did you have any reflections to share from your call with the alum? Sounds really helpful

Yes, essentially he mentioned that Columbia tries to sell SIPA as having access to the entirety of the Columbia network but there's quite a bit of gatekeeping. I.e. you only have access to SIPA's career network/job board. A lot of the resources are school specific -- i.e. you don't have access to a lot of the opportunities that CBS or CLS have -- even though they sell a multi-disciplinary education. (Maybe that's common sense). He also mentioned Columbia is really strong for NGOs/the UN, but outside of that it's really kind of a cash cow in his opinion. Also, in the NYC region, I've noticed Columbia has a lot of rando masters these days. 

I think also for him, he went straight after undergrad and without doxxing him, he had a weird pathway to SIPA. Most of the conversation focused on my particular grad school use case to be honest and why it might not be the best idea for myself at this current juncture.

Hope that helps! 

[amikaanomato]

Hi! A few of us here are waitlisted for the MPA-ESP program, can someone share some insight on how many are currently enrolled? I know their eng department released waitlist decisions this week, just wanted to get some insight!

Thanks!

[jenna01]

Hi, I'm a graduating SIPA alumni (MPA-urban and social policy). Wanted to put my two cents in that SIPA is 100% not worth it at sticker price, I had a full scholarship and graduated without any job offers as did most of my classmates. The job market for policy/non profit jobs right now is super rough and SIPA has basically no resources to help graduates except for its 'network of alumni' which can be hit or miss at best. I always recommend people not attend SIPA unless they have significant amounts of aid AND a really good plan of what they're going to do with the degree. You want to know going in how your going to leverage your degree post grad and that's the only way to really take advantage of all the opportunities SIPA has in a way that will make the cost- benefit worth it. I would also note that columbia just created three different 10 month MPA programs which might devalue or take away from the need to attend the traditional 2 year program. 

Happy to answer any questions

Edited April 13, 2021 by jenna01

[jellyana]

34 minutes ago, jenna01 said:

Hi, I'm a graduating SIPA alumni (MPA-urban and social policy). Wanted to put my two cents in that SIPA is 100% not worth it at sticker price, I had a full scholarship and graduated without any job offers as did most of my classmates. The job market for policy/non profit jobs right now is super rough and SIPA has basically no resources to help graduates except for its 'network of alumni' which can be hit or miss at best. I always recommend people not attend SIPA unless they have significant amounts of aid AND a really good plan of what they're going to do with the degree. You want to know going in how your going to leverage your degree post grad and that's the only way to really take advantage of all the opportunities SIPA has in a way that will make the cost- benefit worth it. I would also note that columbia just created three different 10 month MPA programs which might devalue or take away from the need to attend the traditional 2 year program. 

Happy to answer any questions

This is definitely giving me pause about my own decision. I'm debating between attending SIPA or Georgetown's MASIA, and I am probably leaning towards the latter because Columbia alum I run into seem very negative about the program. The program looks very bloated to me. A lot of requirements and coursework, but not a lot of post grad resources. Whereas GU's program is small and very eager to provide 1-1 resources to students, who boast a 100% employment rate post graduation. 

With no scholarship at SIPA and not a clear enough vision for what I want to do post-grad, I don't think it'll be worth it. 

[jenna01]

Just now, jellyana said:

This is definitely giving me pause about my own decision. I'm debating between attending SIPA or Georgetown's MASIA, and I am probably leaning towards the latter because Columbia alum I run into seem very negative about the program. The program looks very bloated to me. A lot of requirements and coursework, but not a lot of post grad resources. Whereas GU's program is small and very eager to provide 1-1 resources to students, who boast a 100% employment rate post graduation. 

With no scholarship at SIPA and not a clear enough vision for what I want to do post-grad, I don't think it'll be worth it. 

If you're debate I would talk to as many alumni from both programs as possible, I didn't talk to any alumni before choosing SIPA and I wish I had. My personal view after two years at the program is most programs at sipa are cash cows with few actual resources for students and the required courses are not very good. I would caution against attending unless you know exactly what you want to do with the degree, especially if you're taking on debt, its not a great place for career exploration. An example of someone I recommend they go to SIPA is someone who knows they want to work at UN Women, specializes in UN studies and gender/policy, networks the whole two years with alumni/professors with UN connections, and then at the end gets their job at the UN. 

[ya711]

Wondering if anyone has gotten off/heard back about the waitlist? Or any info on when they do first round of applicants getting off of the waitlist? Not sure how long to wait for before just mentally moving on. 

[Lululemons]

Any MIA applicants for Fall 2022?

[MPPLatinoApplicant2021]

On 9/10/2021 at 5:36 AM, Lululemons said:

Any MIA applicants for Fall 2022?

Yep, just sent my application yesterday.

[Lululemons]

How are other people interpreting the second question about public policy? I'm finding it a bit confusing because my area of interest is literally directly linked to policymaking.

[Rigidqueen]

Hello!

I got waitlisted for the MPA-DP program at SIPA and I have a few more questions.
Is anyone else on this boat?

Again has anyone ever been admitted off the waitlist and was funding extended upon admission?

When is the deadline to accept early action admission and regular admission respectively.

I would appreciate your insight.