Buffalofan4255 Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Idk...I think this kinda stuff can become too confusing for employers at times. It comes down to who you know, and where your 'circle' has gone to school. "Johnny went to Carleton...I've never even seen the school, but I know our colleague Alexandria went there, so it must be fine." When it comes to resume...you basically just have to make the checkbox. They look at it for 15 seconds at most...and seeing "Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto" is, I think, no different from "London School of Economics". People associate universities mostly with their greater recognition. In U of T's case, that's the city of Toronto. In LSE's place, that's the combo of the words 'London' and 'Economics'. It's why schools that are named after places tend to have less prestige than unis that are named after people/things. For example, McGill has greater rep than U of T, Johns Hopkins has a better rep than UPenn, Stanford has a better rep than Berkeley, USC has a better rep than UCLA, Rice has a better rep than UTexas Austin, etc. That's just breaking down the psychology of how this works. Go to Munk, you'll have a much better time, Toronto is a fantastic city, you'll receive a world class education, and you're getting prestige.
IRbuff Posted March 17, 2015 Author Posted March 17, 2015 Idk...I think this kinda stuff can become too confusing for employers at times. It comes down to who you know, and where your 'circle' has gone to school. "Johnny went to Carleton...I've never even seen the school, but I know our colleague Alexandria went there, so it must be fine." When it comes to resume...you basically just have to make the checkbox. They look at it for 15 seconds at most...and seeing "Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto" is, I think, no different from "London School of Economics". People associate universities mostly with their greater recognition. In U of T's case, that's the city of Toronto. In LSE's place, that's the combo of the words 'London' and 'Economics'. It's why schools that are named after places tend to have less prestige than unis that are named after people/things. For example, McGill has greater rep than U of T, Johns Hopkins has a better rep than UPenn, Stanford has a better rep than Berkeley, USC has a better rep than UCLA, Rice has a better rep than UTexas Austin, etc. That's just breaking down the psychology of how this works. Go to Munk, you'll have a much better time, Toronto is a fantastic city, you'll receive a world class education, and you're getting prestige. Haha, thanks for the advice. I am not sure I agree on all the logic behind the argument but I certainly think that going to Munk is the best decision for me right now. But by all means, keep this discussion going, I think it is very important for other people as well, who are having to make choices between a list of options. Best of luck! I will be chiming in now and then. Sunflower89 1
Leeu Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 In my opinion, the best IR school for a professional career is NPSIA. It has the most prestige If you apply to any IO or anything at the federal level. As IRBuff said, the people you will apply to will know the schools. They won't be basing their decisions off THE. They will base it off experience and people in the field. From Canada, the best therefore will likely be NPSIA at Carleton. I think perhaps as an American you don't comprehend the reputation of NPSIA in Canada. However, that's not to say that other programmes might be better for your research interests or whatever, but if you want to pick one over job chances and the weight the name carries, NPSIA is probably the top in Canada.
IRbuff Posted March 17, 2015 Author Posted March 17, 2015 In my opinion, the best IR school for a professional career is NPSIA. It has the most prestige If you apply to any IO or anything at the federal level. As IRBuff said, the people you will apply to will know the schools. They won't be basing their decisions off THE. They will base it off experience and people in the field. From Canada, the best therefore will likely be NPSIA at Carleton. I think perhaps as an American you don't comprehend the reputation of NPSIA in Canada. However, that's not to say that other programmes might be better for your research interests or whatever, but if you want to pick one over job chances and the weight the name carries, NPSIA is probably the top in Canada. I was giving the NPSIA example under a different context although I see your point. I think that claim is subjective. While NPSIA is undoubtedly a good program. For me, as an international student that has not yet attained Canadian permanent residency, I would favor Munk as the better of the 2 because of its focus on public and private. Carleton, one cannot deny, does tend to largely focus itself on the govt and bureaucracy...and I have heard this from multiple NPSIA students as well. The school is excellent if this is what you want, but if you are aiming for the private consultancy sector (and maybe a govt job later in the future), I believe Munk provides the best of both worlds. And again, Munk higher ranking and interdisciplinary system of education would give it an edge for me. It has gone far in just a few years and will only continue to do so since it is based on a very strong global university (UofT).
lumberjack23 Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 I was giving the NPSIA example under a different context although I see your point. I think that claim is subjective. While NPSIA is undoubtedly a good program. For me, as an international student that has not yet attained Canadian permanent residency, I would favor Munk as the better of the 2 because of its focus on public and private. Carleton, one cannot deny, does tend to largely focus itself on the govt and bureaucracy...and I have heard this from multiple NPSIA students as well. The school is excellent if this is what you want, but if you are aiming for the private consultancy sector (and maybe a govt job later in the future), I believe Munk provides the best of both worlds. And again, Munk higher ranking and interdisciplinary system of education would give it an edge for me. It has gone far in just a few years and will only continue to do so since it is based on a very strong global university (UofT). Hey IRbuff, are you getting undergrad degree in the US? Do you mind share a bit about your background? PM me if it's ok with you but it's up to you!
Archie1991 Posted March 18, 2015 Posted March 18, 2015 Current NPSIA student chiming in, also accepted to Munk last cycle. I think it really depends what your goals are. NPSIA is a very public policy oriented school, and it has a very strong reputation within the Canadian government. DFATD and other departments are filled with NPSIA grads, and co-op opportunities are fairly strong. If government/foreign service is what you want, I think NPSIA is best, at least in the Canadian context. I have yet to meet an alumnus who was not employed. However, as others have said, we're not really strong on anything outside of government of the NGO sector. Munk is definitely superior in terms of international business, management, consulting, etc. At the end of the day, I don't think reputation and prestige matter too much. It's really what you do with your degree. I'm really enjoying NPSIA, but Munk offers an equally excellent program. I think the only thing that really sets them apart is the government/private sector focus. WhiteIR and chennichen 2
amiabledespot Posted March 18, 2015 Posted March 18, 2015 (edited) Some interesting discussions on NPSIA v. Munk. I wonder if the same can be had about Balsillie (both MIPP and MAGG) and Munk. I realize not a lot of people have heard of or applied to Balsillie, which surprises me a little bit. Edited March 18, 2015 by amiabledespot
Leeu Posted March 19, 2015 Posted March 19, 2015 Balsillie is a great programme, in my opinion. They have as much, if not more, money than Munk. A lot of accomplished faculty there, and it is younger than Munk. A lot of international experience in the faculty, particularly in the IGO field. Remember, Thomas Homer-Dixon used to be at Munk and left for the BSIA, so the programme does appear to offer strong competition. A lot of diverse research interests and from a wide variety of institutions. The vibe I seem to get is that it is more suited for IGO work and such. I'd love to get into BSIA as there are a few profs that are experts in fields I would like to research that are pretty niche/obscure that I think BSIA has the most expertise at.
WhiteIR Posted March 19, 2015 Posted March 19, 2015 Speaking of Balsillie, has anyone gotten into that program yet? Leeu, aside from IGOs, does the school have other strong aspects?
Leeu Posted March 19, 2015 Posted March 19, 2015 Nothing back from Balsillie yet, which is a bit frustrating. Someone a few pages back said that it would be "sometime" after last week. It was some vague response (s)he got from inquiring. It sounded more like a later rather than a sooner response. I suppose another strong point for BSIA is that it is connected with CIGI and shares the same building. If you are looking at working at a think tank, it could potentially get you a great start on your career. BSIA seems to be a bit more positive about the internship. Given that the MAGG is through the University of Waterloo, there would be strong emphasis on the internship, and what appears to be a somewhat strong indication of a guaranteed non-paid internship, if you fail to locate one (from what I've gathered - nothing official). Obviously, Waterloo is the champion of co-op so they have strong links. WhiteIR 1
jade1103 Posted March 19, 2015 Posted March 19, 2015 Did anyone who already received an acceptance to the MGA hear back from them? Are we supposed to reply to that email sent by Megan Ball? I assumed it was a mass email and they would send me more information online or in the mail, but now I'm thinking I was supposed to actually reply...
IRbuff Posted March 20, 2015 Author Posted March 20, 2015 Did anyone who already received an acceptance to the MGA hear back from them? Are we supposed to reply to that email sent by Megan Ball? I assumed it was a mass email and they would send me more information online or in the mail, but now I'm thinking I was supposed to actually reply... I am not sure, but dont think so. They said "An official offer letter and admissions package will be sent to you soon." So, I am still waiting on that
amiabledespot Posted March 20, 2015 Posted March 20, 2015 Speaking of Balsillie, has anyone gotten into that program yet? Leeu, aside from IGOs, does the school have other strong aspects? Nothing back from Balsillie yet, which is a bit frustrating. Someone a few pages back said that it would be "sometime" after last week. It was some vague response (s)he got from inquiring. It sounded more like a later rather than a sooner response. I suppose another strong point for BSIA is that it is connected with CIGI and shares the same building. If you are looking at working at a think tank, it could potentially get you a great start on your career. BSIA seems to be a bit more positive about the internship. Given that the MAGG is through the University of Waterloo, there would be strong emphasis on the internship, and what appears to be a somewhat strong indication of a guaranteed non-paid internship, if you fail to locate one (from what I've gathered - nothing official). Obviously, Waterloo is the champion of co-op so they have strong links. I did hear back from Balsillie's MIPP (I also applied to the MAGG, which is my preferred program). They offered me a generous scholarship, too, at least when compared to Munk's. I'm hoping to hear back from MAGG soon, if not I might be rejecting the MIPP in favour of Munk, even though going to Balsillie (and staying in Waterloo — I'm a Laurier alumnus) would be the cheaper option.
TC_ng Posted March 21, 2015 Posted March 21, 2015 I did hear back from Balsillie's MIPP (I also applied to the MAGG, which is my preferred program). They offered me a generous scholarship, too, at least when compared to Munk's. I'm hoping to hear back from MAGG soon, if not I might be rejecting the MIPP in favour of Munk, even though going to Balsillie (and staying in Waterloo — I'm a Laurier alumnus) would be the cheaper option. Hi, mind telling us how much you got? Did they send you an e-mail? Of all the programs I applied to, the MIPP program had the earliest deadline but haven't heard of my status since. Didn't mean to flood this forum with non-MGA questions but has anyone applied to Public Policy programs out west? Sask, SFU, Calgary? Mind sharing your status esp funding if any?
amiabledespot Posted March 21, 2015 Posted March 21, 2015 Hi, mind telling us how much you got? Did they send you an e-mail? Of all the programs I applied to, the MIPP program had the earliest deadline but haven't heard of my status since. Didn't mean to flood this forum with non-MGA questions but has anyone applied to Public Policy programs out west? Sask, SFU, Calgary? Mind sharing your status esp funding if any? I got about $14,500...through email. I think that's as official as it gets, and I'm not expecting any more unsolicited information from them about that. I only heard back on Thursday, and I imagine they'd be sending out some more admission offers in the coming week. I don't know much about Sask, SFU, or Calgary, unfortunately. Best of luck.
TC_ng Posted March 21, 2015 Posted March 21, 2015 I got about $14,500...through email. I think that's as official as it gets, and I'm not expecting any more unsolicited information from them about that. I only heard back on Thursday, and I imagine they'd be sending out some more admission offers in the coming week. I don't know much about Sask, SFU, or Calgary, unfortunately. Best of luck. Is this scholarship contingent on retaining a certain mark or is it going to be given in a lump sum? Good luck on your decision.
amiabledespot Posted March 22, 2015 Posted March 22, 2015 Is this scholarship contingent on retaining a certain mark or is it going to be given in a lump sum? Good luck on your decision. I don't believe it comes with any conditions; but, I've so far been unable to access my account online — so any info I have about the offer is peripheral at best. They seem somewhat disorganized, from what I gather.
WhiteIR Posted March 23, 2015 Posted March 23, 2015 It seems like most of us have only received an email. has anyone received an official letter of acceptance?
IRbuff Posted March 23, 2015 Author Posted March 23, 2015 It seems like most of us have only received an email. has anyone received an official letter of acceptance? I dont think any of us have as of yet. I am certainly still waiting on my package offer. I think I heard back on March 13.
Kamins0d Posted March 23, 2015 Posted March 23, 2015 I dont think any of us have as of yet. I am certainly still waiting on my package offer. I think I heard back on March 13. I asked Megan, she said official packages were taking longer to print and we should expect them around early April. IRbuff and WhiteIR 2
waitingitout32 Posted March 24, 2015 Posted March 24, 2015 hi there, does anyone know who got into the MGA whether or not the offers are conditional on maintaining a certain grade, or just graduation?
jjsmithsonian99 Posted March 24, 2015 Posted March 24, 2015 In my opinion, the best IR school for a professional career is NPSIA. It has the most prestige If you apply to any IO or anything at the federal level. As IRBuff said, the people you will apply to will know the schools. They won't be basing their decisions off THE. They will base it off experience and people in the field. From Canada, the best therefore will likely be NPSIA at Carleton. I think perhaps as an American you don't comprehend the reputation of NPSIA in Canada. However, that's not to say that other programmes might be better for your research interests or whatever, but if you want to pick one over job chances and the weight the name carries, NPSIA is probably the top in Canada. That's just your opinion to convince yourself that NPSIA is the best choice for you. Here's another reason for why U of T tops all the other schools in Canada: the faculty. Toronto is a great city and U of T pays competitive salaries that attract the best professors in the world. Remember that professors are snooty and don't like to live in small towns like Ottawa
amiabledespot Posted March 24, 2015 Posted March 24, 2015 hi there, does anyone know who got into the MGA whether or not the offers are conditional on maintaining a certain grade, or just graduation? I've wondered the same. The email I got seemed conclusive, but I can't be sure until I get the official package in the mail. I feel too that the conditionality, if any, might vary for each student.
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