UT LBJ - MPA Admitted Thread, Fall 2014

[Amsh_Aust]

Have gotten in to MGPS with a 24k funding over two years..If any current MGPS student is reading this, would you please help me choose between Bush and LBJ? I've got offers from both. PM me.

Edited March 13, 2014 by Amsh_Aust

[FrenchO]

Hi there,

 

As this forum proved very useful last year, I want to return the favor. Like MPPGal I am a current first year LBJ School student, but in the MGPS program. I will be glad to answer any questions or concerns about the school and the program.

 

In a nutshell, I am originally from France. I moved to Austin last Summer to attend LBJ and have been really happy with my choice so far.

[suani]

For those who did not receive any funding from LBJ:  Have you asked the question of the Admissions Committee whether secondary funding considerations will be made after April 15, when folks have decided to accept or decline their admission? Or are these decisions final? For example, if someone received $$$ from LBJ but chose to decline their acceptance and funding offer, would that money go back into the pot and awarded to someone else? 

 

I was one of those accepted for Fall 2014, but not offered any funding. I will likely still attend because LBJ is affordable compared to some of the other schools, but even a little $$$ will go a long way!

 

I found a similar discussion on this topic from 2008, but times are different now so I was curious if anyone has raised the issue more recently.

 

I would appreciate any information you can offer. Thanks!

 

 

I wrote the LBJ Admissions Committee and they replied that the funding decisions are final.  They always way over award, knowing that close to 1/2 of those offered funding will not accept their offer of admission. As a result, they are not able to revisit the funding decisions.  Hopefully, this will help some of you with your decision-making.  Good luck!

Edited March 18, 2014 by suani

[MPPgal]

Sad to hear that, I guess every school does things differently, I did manage last year to increase my fellowship from SAIS and GTown, never tried at LBJ, a few other things though, financial aid and work positions are still available. Anyone who works more than 20 hrs a week in the University gets in state tuition and free health insurance as well as 15 dls an hour, I do it (not so much for the money but for work experience) and it is perfectly doable while having a full courseload. There are also 10 hr a week jobs, those do not carry benefits but still 600 dls a months is nothing to sneeze at. Furthermore, you can (and should) apply for financial aid, some people in my year who received no fellowship got that one and even though it might be a couple thousand dollars a semester they can go a long way. For any internationals you should also be aware UT has a scholarship both for Mexicans and for people from the Western Hemisphere that covers ouf of state portion of tuition. Last but not least do consider that 20 k a year plus 16k for expenses is still one of the cheapest options out there, I am doing a double degree and while being in the "other" school I get nada, and yet it is not terrible if you compare it to most other schools (aka about half of Georgetown). I second FrenchO's offer of any help you all need. I also think coming to LBJ was a great decision.

[suani]

Sad to hear that, I guess every school does things differently, I did manage last year to increase my fellowship from SAIS and GTown, never tried at LBJ, a few other things though, financial aid and work positions are still available. Anyone who works more than 20 hrs a week in the University gets in state tuition and free health insurance as well as 15 dls an hour, I do it (not so much for the money but for work experience) and it is perfectly doable while having a full courseload. There are also 10 hr a week jobs, those do not carry benefits but still 600 dls a months is nothing to sneeze at. Furthermore, you can (and should) apply for financial aid, some people in my year who received no fellowship got that one and even though it might be a couple thousand dollars a semester they can go a long way. For any internationals you should also be aware UT has a scholarship both for Mexicans and for people from the Western Hemisphere that covers ouf of state portion of tuition. Last but not least do consider that 20 k a year plus 16k for expenses is still one of the cheapest options out there, I am doing a double degree and while being in the "other" school I get nada, and yet it is not terrible if you compare it to most other schools (aka about half of Georgetown). I second FrenchO's offer of any help you all need. I also think coming to LBJ was a great decision.

 

 

 

MPPgal,

How are you computing $20K a year, plus $16K in expenses?  From this link: http://www.utexas.edu/business/accounting/pubs/tf_grad_fall13.pdf, it says that 12-credit hours of course work is about $5,400 a semester so a full academic year, excluding summer school, should be about $11K in tuition.  Can you please give me some real insight on what two years at LBJ is going to cost?  I didn't take into account living expenses, of course.  How much is it to live in Austin, especially near campus?

Sorry!  Since I am not getting any fellowship money, I need to make sure that I am crunching all of the right numbers and not having any hidden costs in the long run. 

Thanks!

[MPPgal]

Are you in-state or out of state? For in state that is correct, for out'of state it is almost double the tuition. If you are in-state you have an amazing deal already.

[MPPgal]

In terms of living expenses it depends a lot. Near campus for a shared apartment or house or a coop you are looking at rent of about 600 plus utilities (about 50-100 depending on number of roomates etc (remember summers are hot so electricity is highish). For a one bedroom you can get a study from 750 near campus or for about 700 far away but still accesible by shuttle (I completely recommend living close by though). For a one bedroom it goes from 800 to 1000 (some include utilities). Food wise Texas food in the supermarket is pretty cheap, I was coming from Mexico and I was surprised to find out how the prices were almost the same for fruits and vegetables), I would say 150-300 depending on how you like to eat and cook should do it. Going out well, a cheap beer in a bar costs 3 bucks, a craft Austiny beer is usually about 5. Buses are free for students but public transportation is pretty bad, so you usually need to take cabs to come back when you go out at night. One from downtown to either East Campus or Hyde Park (where most graduate students live) is about 10-15 dollars, but you can usually share. You need to add about 1200 a year for health insurance. In total I would say 850-1400 per month is a good estimate.

Edited March 18, 2014 by MPPgal

[MPAallday]

Accepted from the wait list today!   So so so so excited.