LBJ admissions/funding

[sosh]

I figured I make a new thread to see if/when people have heard about admissions/money.

Jay -- I see from your sig that you got a full fellowship -- that's awesome. Mind if I ask how/when you heard? Anyone else?

[namrata]

Hey sosh,

Even I am waiting to hear from LBJ. However, I have applied for the doctoral program in PP. If there's anyone who has heard from the PhD admissions office please do write in. I wanted to write to them, but then was told to wait till the end of this week because of the spring break.

[TTUjay]

Sosh,

First of all, thanks! I "unofficially" found out at the open house but the letter from the University came in last week. Additionally, the LBJ folks sent me a PDF copy via email the day they received the decision from the University. I have not heard anything else regarding the funding from any of the others I met at the first open house. Good luck to you, though. They've been doing everything in waves over there so there's really no telling.

Jay

[sosh]

Jay -- again, that's great. I'm still waiting for my letter from LBJ. I'm definitely going regardless of merit funding, but at this point I would appreciate anything they send my way. I don't mind the delayed/scattered notifications just as long as I find out before April.

namrata -- sorry you are still waiting. Here's hoping that you find out soon.

[namrata]

Hey sosh and Jay,

Just one question...did your application status on the website change after you were accepted? Mine still says that "We have received all your credentials...Your file has been forwarded to the graduate committee for review". I don't know whether to look at it as a good sign or consider it as good as gone.

[sosh]

Hey sosh and Jay,

Just one question...did your application status on the website change after you were accepted? Mine still says that "We have received all your credentials...Your file has been forwarded to the graduate committee for review". I don't know whether to look at it as a good sign or consider it as good as gone.

My status changed about a day after I got the acceptance e-mail. I'm pretty sure they also change the results page to a reject/decline message if you're not accepted. I would take the message you're getting as a sign that at least you still are in the running. And you could always contact them (assuming you're not hounding them).

[orangedonkey]

Hi guys~ i am also recently admitted by their MPAff program and my application status on the website doesnt change~~still saying "yr application is underreview". But i was notified by the admissions officer via e-mail and she said i would know the funding decision by March 18. Its march 19 now!!!! i guess i should e-mail her and ask?

[namrata]

Well, now I really don't know what sense to make out from the application status page. I haven't written to them at all. Guess I should do it ASAP. Thanks for the responses though.

[MPP_RT]

Hi guys~ i am also recently admitted by their MPAff program and my application status on the website doesnt change~~still saying "yr application is underreview". But i was notified by the admissions officer via e-mail and she said i would know the funding decision by March 18. Its march 19 now!!!! i guess i should e-mail her and ask?

Wow, at least they gave you a date for a funding decision. My acceptance email just said, "By the end of March, you will receive official letters of admission from both The University of Texas Graduate School (received) and the LBJ School of Public Affairs (still waiting)...The LBJ School offers a limited number of fellowship awards. Students receiving fellowships will be notified of their award in their official letters of admission." I was emailed at the end of February, so this waiting is sort of killing me. But to keep it in perspective, the "end of march" is just a week and a half away. :|

[TTUjay]

Hey guys,

My status changed almost immediately but I had heard about slightly delayed changes. If you already heard about admissions, I'm sure it's nothing. As far as funding is concerned, I received the fellowship letter about a week and a half after my admissions decision letter. I'm already hearing about people being waitlisted so if you're in, that's definitely something. Hopefully they'll get back to you regarding funding. I was at the school a few days ago and they were still working hard on everything and were still getting new info about funding. Good luck to you all!

Jay

[namrata]

In my case, I haven't heard anything from the school yet...good or bad. My application status is still under review. But as I said before, I have applied to the PhD program. Maybe their timelines are different (keeping my hopes alive). I wrote to LBJ yesterday just asking when the PhD decisions will start to roll out. But no response yet.

[orangedonkey]

Hi i just got the funding news from these 2 programs: MPAff/UT-AUSTIN ( $ 18,000 for 1st yr, $ 14,000 for 2nd year), and JHU/MPP ( $ 10,000 --much less than LBJ but would u guys think the location s better than AUSTIN? Since baltimore s near to DC.......)

Besides , i got into UMD-CP with $ 27,700, USC $ 12,000, GWU/MA in int'l trade and investment policy or int'l affairs with $ 6,000. Taken into account of the money, i am having a hard time considering which one to choose. Would anyone like to give me a hand? Any input will be greatly appreciated!!!! I'd like to work for consulting firms/int'l organizations like UN, IMF, WORLD BANK after graduation and I am an int'l student btw....

[sosh]

Hi i just got the funding news from these 2 programs: MPAff/UT-AUSTIN ( $ 18,000 for 1st yr, $ 14,000 for 2nd year), and JHU/MPP ( $ 10,000 --much less than LBJ but would u guys think the location s better than AUSTIN? Since baltimore s near to DC.......)

Besides , i got into UMD-CP with $ 27,700, USC $ 12,000, GWU/MA in int'l trade and investment policy or int'l affairs with $ 6,000. Taken into account of the money, i am having a hard time considering which one to choose. Would anyone like to give me a hand? Any input will be greatly appreciated!!!! I'd like to work for consulting firms/int'l organizations like UN, IMF, WORLD BANK after graduation and I am an int'l student btw....

When did you hear from LBJ and was it e-mail or postal mail? Were you first notified of admission in the late February e-mails?

I'm dying to see that second letter they said was coming.

[canhardlywait]

Hi Sosh,

I received the second official contact via email on Wednesday, which had funding information (fellowship; 17k first-year, 14k second-year, waiver of out-of-state portion of tuition), the quantitative prerequisites, and next steps. Orientation information will come if/once you accept their offer (April 15th deadline).

[sosh]

Cool -- thanks for the info. It's nice that they're e-mailing.

Perhaps I'm on a funding waitlist or something similar. Congratulations!

[orangedonkey]

Hi guys

I received the e-mail notification of my acceptance in early March and the program coordinator Lucy Neighbors told me she would e-mail me a pdf about the funding information by March 18 if any. However, I didnt hear anything on that day so I e-mailed her and asked abt it. She said the funding decision hadn't gone out and let me wait. Then just a couple of days later, I got the e-mail saying $ 18,000 for 1st year, $ !4,000 for 2nd year plus a in-state tuition waiver. I guess they are working hard on it since there are a number of application to evalute!!! Maybe you'll hear back from them pretty soon:))

Good luck to everyone!!

Btw...is it worth going for UT-AUSTIN/MPAff cuz they granted me a considerable amount of money??? I know a current int'l student who is studying the MPAff now and she said the professors are very nice and helpful. However, she suggested me go to schools in DC which means more opportunities of doing internships and part-time jobs. She did her summer internship in DC and felt students over there may have more chances, compared to those in Austin, TX.

Any thoughts on School ( good location but no funding) VS School ( remote location but much funding)??? I also got into Gtown/mpp but with no funding at all!!!and its really expensive for me even tho i can afford it.

Anyone going to LBJ's open houses? Would you please share your feeelings/perspectives with me? I am an int'l student and unable to visit the school on my own :cry:

[sosh]

In the "visits" thread there's a few people talking about how the LBJ visit went.

[MPP_RT]

When did you hear from LBJ and was it e-mail or postal mail? Were you first notified of admission in the late February e-mails?

I'm dying to see that second letter they said was coming.

Hey Sosh,

I received my official acceptance letter today, along with some info about the intent to enroll and orientation activities. I receive the letter-sized envelope on Saturday, March 22 and I live in Southern California. I am a little confused, since they told me I didn't receive a fellowship, even though I am guaranteed a partial amount of funding for an external fellowship source. I guess I am going to have to do some phone calling on Monday to clarify what's going on. Hope you and everyone else whose still waiting on this info get it in your mailboxes soon!

[sosh]

Thanks for the responses everybody.

I received my letter today -- no funding but still I couldn't be happier.

[MPP_RT]

FYI, I just got a call from a second year student at LBJ asking if I had any questions about the school and left me with some contact info. Nice gesture!

[GoHogs!]

Greetings Fellow MPP folks!

I too received my acceptance letter to the Global Policy program at the LBJ School via email in late February. Then, my official letter didn't land in my mailbox until last weekend (March 22). UT gave me ZERO fellowship love, which hurts the bank account since I'm not a Texas resident. However, Carnegie Mellon offered me $9k per year, so I'm toying with the idea of letting the LBJ School know that a competitor has offered me money. Does anyone have any experience and/or advice regarding negotiating for funding? I know people do it in an effort to increase existing funding, but what about going to from zero to something? Any ideas?

I will likely attend the LBJ School even without funding, as it is a great fit for me and AUSTIN IS FABULOUS! I know some of you fellow out-of-staters are anxious about moving to Texas, but Austin really is a diamond in the rough. I have been to Austin countless times and have several friends from all over the US that now live in Austin and love it. You can't beat a top ten school located in a progressive, well-educated community with a very low relative cost of living!

Best of luck to everyone! I hope to meet some of you at the April 9 visitation day.

BTW, is anyone else a Global Policy student, as opposed to Public Affairs??

[orangedonkey]

Hi gohogs, congrats on yr acceptance!

I am not in the global policy program but MPAff. However, would u like to share with me your thoughts on the University and LBJ school's prestige, even from the mouth of other ppl? i was thinking that the program is kind of regional, since most of graduates( abt 70%) work in TX area, rather than NYC/DC. Also, my friends told me that if i got into georgetown, michigan,jhu, nyu, usc, then going for UT-Austin kinda sucks. I was wondering how prestigious the UT-Austin and their program is, not only in the TX, but the places out of TX. anyone would like to share? I am an international student and can only get the information from US news rankings, which is not really reliable in my mind.

Thanks a lot!

[GoHogs!]

Orangedonkey,

Wow, you have a lot of really great schools from which to choose...congrats! Regarding the reputation of UT-Austin, the LBJ School definitely carries significant recognition and prestige, even amongst the DC- and NYC-area schools you mentioned below. The school is ranked in the top ten--#9 I believe--of public policy institutions.

Granted, there is a tradeoff when going to a school outside of the supposed "hubs" of public policy. However, the faculty at UT-Austin is very well connected with folks from the DC scene, and you would be surprised at how many multinational and domestic organizations and corporations are headquartered in Texas, particularly in Dallas and Houston and a fair amount in Austin and San Antonio. Most of the people that I know who moved to Austin for school ended up staying there not because they had to, but because they wanted to. It is such a wonderful place to live with plenty of employment opportunities (after all, it is the capital of the 2nd largest state in the US) and a lovely pace of life that many elect to stay for a while after school. From what I understand, though, many LBJ graduates do leave Texas to go work in the larger markets or abroad.

I'm not sure what your interests are, but UT stood out to me because of the breadth of options graduate students have for electives and focus. The LBJ SChool will allow you to take electives in other departments throughout the university if you so desire. Thus, if you are interested in natural resource policy, for example, you may take classes in geology and other natural sciences in order to hone your expertise in the field outside of the policy perspective. I like this flexibility in the ciriculum, and none of the other schools that I am considering offer this option.

Also, something must be said about the enormous alumni network that comes out of UT-Austin and the LBJ School...it is ENORMOUS. While the LBJ School boasts 2700 +/- alumni, the entire university counts on hundreds of thousands of alumni, which are very active and spread all over the world. Graduates of UT tend to have this neat sense of camaraderie, no matter the discipline, and look out for their own, so to speak. I mention this because, clearly, the alumni network is key to future employment. I am from the South, and the UT pride is notorious.

I hope some of this helps! We all have 2 weeks to determine our own fate...best of luck to everyone!

[GoHogs!]

Oops! I mentioned that UT-Austin is ranked #9...that was the 2004 ranking, I guess. Looks like the school is tied for 14th in the recent list released by US News. I know that the rankings are crap, according to many sources including my old professors, but you can't help but look at them...

[orangedonkey]

Thank you so much for the info, GoHogs!

I am now leaning toward UMD-CP and UT-Austin mainly cuz they gave me most money!!!And i was thinking maybe its not worth the debt to go to Gtown/michigan....

Do u/anyone know something related to each program's employment stats/career prospect of the graduates, especially int'l students? I've read the internship took by previous students at UMD-CP and UT-Austin and it looks like both are kinda regional, especially UMD-CP....Please let me know if i am wrong.

I was also thinking to get a master in accounting when I am doing MPP/mpa. I know UT-Austin has the best accounting program in the nation....but lbj school doesnt have dual degree. I am wondering can i still apply? Or i have to quit the mpaff 1st?

Thank you all...