Munk School, NPSIA and GPSIA 2021 Admissions

[leenzo]

do we know when they send out rejections? im just nervous itll end up being a refusal haha

[IactuallywannaTA]

7 hours ago, leenzo said:

do we know when they send out rejections? im just nervous itll end up being a refusal haha

Hey, your specialization changed, right? Don't worry, that is a really good sign  You'll most likely here good news tomorrow or by the end of the week. 

[leenzo]

thank youu! i got in today, i cant believe it haha. Thank you to everyone for keeping this thread updated!

[RK98]

Hello all...I  need to decide between GSPIA Ottawa, Munk MGA and UBC's MPPGA....pl tell which one is the best out of these three ?

 

[jwood]

Hi all. I'm new to this site and thread.

I got accepted to NPSIA a couple weeks ago with my top specialization (IDP) and some generous scholarships and a TA offer. Honestly cannot recall the acceptance process but I do know I was stressed when my status was not changing lol

Doing an honours degree with thesis in political science (concentration in IR), minor in public policy and governance from StFX in Nova Scotia. GPA has been around 3.7 

I have very little government work experience but worked last summer for the Govt of PEI. I also do RA work for a professor. 

Extracurriculars included multiple exec positions on societies and other basic volunteering.

My references were strong as they came from the prof I do RA work for who is also my thesis advisor. The other came from a prof who I have a really good connection with. 

Also applied and was accepted to Carleton's MPPA program first but have ultimately decided on NPSIA. 

I'm moving to Ottawa from the east coast with a friend but have very little knowledge about the area. Would love any advice and just general contact with others in the program. Best of luck everyone and feel free to reach out! I would love to get to know some people before I arrive!

[notalurkeranymore]

anyone else still at "review in progress"? 

starting to think I should consider other options. 

[TedCruzAteMyKids]

Got rejected from NPSIA today, but will be going to Carleton for my top choice anyways - Sustainable Energy Program (part of MPPA)! Good luck everyone! Feel free to reach out, would love to meet some incoming students

[oreilly001]

Sorry to hear about NPSIA but happy you got your first choice still! I got into GSPIA and my application for NPSIA has been stalled at "recommended for assessment" for a month without any movement... and since we were told that first round offers should be finishing soon I'm not very optimistic  I was wondering what stage your application got to before you got your decision?? 

[Telfer]

Finally heard back from NPSIA today as well - rejected. Not much of a surprise as my GPA was not very competitive. Got in to the Public Policy program at SFU though so will be off to Vancouver in September! If anyone is applying to schools with a bit of a lower GPA, don't lose hope because you may still be surprised!

 

Congrats to everyone who got in and good luck to those still waiting!

[AspiringNPSIAN]

Sorry to hear about NPSIA but glad you both got into excellent programs!

Do you mind me asking if they sent you the rejection via email or through Carleton Central?

I'm still stuck on "review in progress by department" for some time now - not sure if its a rejection or waitlisted. I guess I'll have to keep waiting.

[Telfer]

1 hour ago, AspiringNPSIAN said:

Sorry to hear about NPSIA but glad you both got into excellent programs!

Do you mind me asking if they sent you the rejection via email or through Carleton Central?

I'm still stuck on "review in progress by department" for some time now - not sure if its a rejection or waitlisted. I guess I'll have to keep waiting.

They notified me about the rejection by email today, I was stuck on preliminary review required until this last Monday when I got switched to review by department. So I would assume you'll know either way pretty soon.

[baobab]

Still on 'recommended for assessment'.. sigh. Anyone in the same boat?

I already got my GSPIA acceptance back in February w/ funding but still leaning towards NPSIA. I wonder if there is anyone who got into GSPIA but not NPSIA. The grade cutoff seemed to be around the same for both programs so I thought I would have a good shot but I'm getting antsy. 

I'm also worried how NPSIA calculated my GPA because I did a semester abroad in the UK. But when I asked Lauren she sent me this vague link https://graduate.carleton.ca/international/admission-requirements/united-kingdom/

Did anyone get a rejection with an 80%+ average?

[masqueradei]

Hi folks, I'm from the East Coast and I am having trouble understanding what an "Honours" degree means in Ontario. I won't apply to NPSIA until next winter but I'm not sure if I need to do an undergraduate thesis in order to be considered for admission. I will graduate with a 4 year degree, econ major. Do I need to do an honors thesis? Or is an honors degree simply a 4 year degree with a declared major? Only asking because I noticed a lot of people here did an undergrad thesis. 

 

Realllllly don't want to do an undergrad econ thesis if I don't have to. Thanks. 

[AspiringNPSIAN]

1 hour ago, masqueradei said:

Hi folks, I'm from the East Coast and I am having trouble understanding what an "Honours" degree means in Ontario. I won't apply to NPSIA until next winter but I'm not sure if I need to do an undergraduate thesis in order to be considered for admission. I will graduate with a 4 year degree, econ major. Do I need to do an honors thesis? Or is an honors degree simply a 4 year degree with a declared major? Only asking because I noticed a lot of people here did an undergrad thesis. 

 

Realllllly don't want to do an undergrad econ thesis if I don't have to. Thanks. 

An Honours Bachelors degree is four years, a Bachelors degree is three years. You need an Honours degree to get into any graduate school, from what I know. 

An honours thesis is not needed for NPSIA so I wouldn't worry.

[masqueradei]

Okay thanks for clarifying that. In Nova Scotia, an Honours Degree = Thesis, for anyone else that might get this confused. 

[leenzo]

Hey everyone! Just wondering for those who don't have the econ requirement, what course you ended up taking? 

[russnation]

Hey everyone! I am currently under "Recommended for Assessment" - fingers crossed! Any insight into how long the process takes from there? 

Also, for those who got in, if you don't mind me asking, what was your GPA and extracurricular/work experience like? I applied for part time, 3.6 GPA in my last two years + approaching 2 years of work experience in government. From what I know, they primarily look at your GPA, so I'm hoping my stats are relatively competitive for NPSIA. 

Good luck to all! 

Edited April 5, 2021 by russnation

[notalurkeranymore]

37 minutes ago, russnation said:

Hey everyone! I am currently under "Recommended for Assessment" - fingers crossed! Any insight into how long the process takes from there? 

Also, for those who got in, if you don't mind me asking, what was your GPA and extracurricular/work experience like? I applied for part time, 3.6 GPA in my last two years + approaching 2 years of work experience in government. From what I know, they primarily look at your GPA, so I'm hoping my stats are relatively competitive for NPSIA. 

Good luck to all! 

best of luck to you!! I have really similar stats and also 2 yrs work experience w the feds so hopefully this is our time! 

EDIT:  also I saw in some previous posts that once at your stage, it's a matter of days (usually 1-2) before you hear back

Edited April 5, 2021 by notalurkeranymore

[oreilly001]

50 minutes ago, russnation said:

Hey everyone! I am currently under "Recommended for Assessment" - fingers crossed! Any insight into how long the process takes from there? 

Also, for those who got in, if you don't mind me asking, what was your GPA and extracurricular/work experience like? I applied for part time, 3.6 GPA in my last two years + approaching 2 years of work experience in government. From what I know, they primarily look at your GPA, so I'm hoping my stats are relatively competitive for NPSIA. 

Good luck to all! 

I'v been at "Recommended for Assessment" for almost 3 weeks. Fingers crossed we all hear soon. 

[autumnvocab]

On 2/20/2021 at 6:17 AM, hopefulapp15 said:

Just got an answer: 

"Your file will not be closed if you do not respond to your offer by March 2nd. However please note that you can always accept the offer and should you change your mind at a later date, simply send us an email asking us to cancel the acceptance."

Hey! I’m now in this boat, what was the email address they wanted you to use? Just the general GSPIA address?

[autumnvocab]

On 4/1/2021 at 2:26 PM, Telfer said:

Finally heard back from NPSIA today as well - rejected. Not much of a surprise as my GPA was not very competitive. Got in to the Public Policy program at SFU though so will be off to Vancouver in September! If anyone is applying to schools with a bit of a lower GPA, don't lose hope because you may still be surprised!

 

Congrats to everyone who got in and good luck to those still waiting!

I’m headed there too - see you there! ?

[Telfer]

12 hours ago, autumnvocab said:

I’m headed there too - see you there! ?

Congratulations, looking forward to it! 

[Kcs421]

Officially just got the acceptance from NPSIA!!! 
 

thank you to everyone on this thread for keeping it updated and keeping my hopes up throughout this long process! 
 

Can’t wait to see some of you there, and good luck to those of you still waiting!

[CarmenSandieghoe]

Anybody still waiting for York's MPIA decision? I applied by their Feb 15th deadline but still nothing yet ?

[h4ngp.t]

I applied to both GPSIA and NPSIA and received rejection from both this week  Wondering if anyone who got accepted has any pointers as I'm considering re-applying next year.
I honestly don't know what I would need to do to improve my application:

- Was it because I did an undergrad not in Poli-Sci (I have a BCom)? I did take the mandatory Econs courses and have also taken some 1st and 2nd year Poli-sci courses as electives. My average from my undergrad is a B.

- I have 2-3 years work experience related to international development and global health.

- My letter of intent focused on what I wanted to do in my career, should I have focused on research instead?

I've reached out to NPSIA to see if I can get more details but none were provided, only that the program is very competitive.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!