MPA/MPP Any deferral possibility?

[Starshane]

Hi everyone, I am an applicant from China, native Chinese. Bachelor's degree with 0 work experience but several internships.

I got into CIPA MPA with 25K fellowship/year, USC MPP with 17K fellowship/year, CMU MSPPM 6K/semester, NYU MPA 0. Meanwhile I got a job offer at Deloitte Consulting in China as entry-level analyst.

I've been struggling between studying abroad and working domestic for a while.

If I am going, probably leaning towards CIPA in consideration of the flexibility of the program, and of course of $. I heard USC SPPD is pretty much domestically oriented, not so good for international students. CMU and NYU are out of consideration............$$$$ but I am pretty interested in CMU's program which emphasizes IT.

On the other hand, since I wish to work for some time in the states after graduation before heading back, NYU USC and CMU definitely beat Cornell...which is in the middle of no where...geographic location definitely plays a role for professional degree like MPA.

If I stay and work for Deloitte Consulting for couple of years, I might have more odds of getting a job in the states...

Then I come up with a third solution....how about asking for a deferral, working for a year and saving some money ?? does that sound feasible?

Does any one know anything about deferral application in CIPA USC NYU CMU? will I lose my funding?

Or, any other advice??

Edited March 14, 2011 by Starshane

[fso2k11]

You really think that studying in Pittsburgh offers more professional opportunities than does studying at Cornell? Look at the job placement rates & locations. I think more CIPA students end up in DC, New York and abroad. At CMU you would lose your funding, I think, but then be re-considered. Don't know about CIPA.

Hi everyone, I am an applicant from China, native Chinese. Bachelor's degree with 0 work experience but several internships.

I got into CIPA MPA with 25K fellowship/year, USC MPP with 17K fellowship/year, CMU MSPPM 6K/semester, NYU MPA 0. Meanwhile I got a job offer at Deloitte Consulting in China as entry-level analyst.

I've been struggling between studying abroad and working domestic for a while.

If I am going, probably leaning towards CIPA in consideration of the flexibility of the program, and of course of $. I heard USC SPPD is pretty much domestically oriented, not so good for international students. CMU and NYU are out of consideration............$$ but I am pretty interested in CMU's program which emphasizes IT.

On the other hand, since I wish to work for some time in the states after graduation before heading back, NYU USC and CMU definitely beat Cornell...which is in the middle of no where...geographic location definitely plays a role for professional degree like MPA.

If I stay and work for Deloitte Consulting for couple of years, I might have more odds of getting a job in the states...

Then I come up with a third solution....how about asking for a deferral, working for a year and saving some money ?? does that sound feasible?

Does any one know anything about deferral application in CIPA USC NYU CMU? will I lose my funding?

Or, any other advice??

[fso2k11]

Also, it depends on how much a Deloitte consultant working in China makes in USD. I'm not an expert on these things, but I don't think the purchasing power of a Chinese consulting salary is the same when you put it into $, so how much would you really be saving in USD if you deferred?

Hi everyone, I am an applicant from China, native Chinese. Bachelor's degree with 0 work experience but several internships.

I got into CIPA MPA with 25K fellowship/year, USC MPP with 17K fellowship/year, CMU MSPPM 6K/semester, NYU MPA 0. Meanwhile I got a job offer at Deloitte Consulting in China as entry-level analyst.

I've been struggling between studying abroad and working domestic for a while.

If I am going, probably leaning towards CIPA in consideration of the flexibility of the program, and of course of $. I heard USC SPPD is pretty much domestically oriented, not so good for international students. CMU and NYU are out of consideration............$$ but I am pretty interested in CMU's program which emphasizes IT.

On the other hand, since I wish to work for some time in the states after graduation before heading back, NYU USC and CMU definitely beat Cornell...which is in the middle of no where...geographic location definitely plays a role for professional degree like MPA.

If I stay and work for Deloitte Consulting for couple of years, I might have more odds of getting a job in the states...

Then I come up with a third solution....how about asking for a deferral, working for a year and saving some money ?? does that sound feasible?

Does any one know anything about deferral application in CIPA USC NYU CMU? will I lose my funding?

Or, any other advice??

[Starshane]

Thanks for the info!~~ I hear from my friends who're in CIPA that Ithaca makes things more difficult for international students, plus high living cost ... ..

you know I don't really have channel to more info, actually that's why I'm here, to hear from you guys....

CIPA's website provides so little stuff.....I may have to call Jennifer and ask about deferral..

As for Deloitte, it is just hard for me to reject the offer since I interned there and am quite familiar with the team and the managers....

$ sure doesn't count. I guess I can save 15K USD max within one year, better than nothing..... what's important is that I get full-time experience, which is not something you can buy.

where do you expect to go? hope you hear good news from HKS

You really think that studying in Pittsburgh offers more professional opportunities than does studying at Cornell? Look at the job placement rates & locations. I think more CIPA students end up in DC, New York and abroad. At CMU you would lose your funding, I think, but then be re-considered. Don't know about CIPA.

[Starshane]

heard from USC deferral: One year max and the TOEFL must be within two years from the first date you wish to start classes otherwise we'd need a new one.

in case any one need it, too.

waiting to hear from CIPA...

[boba]

What about from NYU have you heard anything?

If you would like to gain work experience from the US, going for the MPA would not be a bad idea. Ifnot you can perhaps earn seniority at Deloitte in China and ask for missions in the US later.

[pushpin]

Hi everyone, I am an applicant from China, native Chinese. Bachelor's degree with 0 work experience but several internships.

I got into CIPA MPA with 25K fellowship/year, USC MPP with 17K fellowship/year, CMU MSPPM 6K/semester, NYU MPA 0. Meanwhile I got a job offer at Deloitte Consulting in China as entry-level analyst.

I've been struggling between studying abroad and working domestic for a while.

If I am going, probably leaning towards CIPA in consideration of the flexibility of the program, and of course of $. I heard USC SPPD is pretty much domestically oriented, not so good for international students. CMU and NYU are out of consideration............$$ but I am pretty interested in CMU's program which emphasizes IT.

On the other hand, since I wish to work for some time in the states after graduation before heading back, NYU USC and CMU definitely beat Cornell...which is in the middle of no where...geographic location definitely plays a role for professional degree like MPA.

If I stay and work for Deloitte Consulting for couple of years, I might have more odds of getting a job in the states...

Then I come up with a third solution....how about asking for a deferral, working for a year and saving some money ?? does that sound feasible?

Does any one know anything about deferral application in CIPA USC NYU CMU? will I lose my funding?

Or, any other advice??

I know for USC, you won't be guaranteed funding if you defer but you will be reconsidered for it.

Also, while USC is very domestically-oriented, it is trying to break out into the international scene. It had a couple international labs in the past couple years in China and Brazil. This coming year, the int'l lab is supposed to be in Hong Kong. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

[fadeindreams]

heard from USC deferral: One year max and the TOEFL must be within two years from the first date you wish to start classes otherwise we'd need a new one.

in case any one need it, too.

waiting to hear from CIPA...

TOEFL scores are good for 2 years max, period. This is because ETS will not send TOEFL scores to schools if the scores are more than two years old. ETS considers those scores expired.

[mppgal55]

CMU offers deferrals for special circumstances, and I believe you are reconsidered for funding with the new applicants (I'd check on that though).

I will say that being in Pittsburgh in no way hinders people from going anywhere else. We have a ton of students in DC, Chicago, NYC, Boston, LA, and the Silicon Valley. Our career services hosts networking events in all of those cities, and we get big companies flying in to do recruiting.

As for working v. school, it depends on your ultimate goal. Do you want to end up in consulting? If so, the job is a good offer. You could also try to hire in with Deloitte in a US city after graduation; this would be easier if you'd worked there before.

[SkyDiver]

Keep in mind that, no matter where you decide to ago, once you graduate you will be competing for jobs with people with the same degree as yours and likely at least 2-3 years of relevant full time work experience. The degree might get you to a short list, but the differentiator for the employer might be whether or not you already have some full time experience as well. What can happen is that despite having a great degree you end up in very entry-level positions, which for the employers means good quality potential at a lower cost. In other words, I would definitely hold on to your grad school horses and work for one or even two years since you have the job offer now (you might not have it fresh out of grad school... you never know). Plus, Delloite is a well-known consulting firm which might even make you a strong applicant at HKS after two years of full time experience. Think about it, you made it to to grad schools with 0 experience, so you can definitely increase your chances after acquiring a few extra years.

About deferring, I would do so only if the school is willing to reconsider you for funding in the coming poll (they normally do not guarantee the same amount because the resources might change, but you can expect to be offered at least about the same thing).

what's important is that I get full-time experience, which is not something you can buy.