U of Toronto MPP SPPG 2015 FALL

[maozedong]

Uh-oh....my registration tab under ROSI is empty.......

 

Quick question, for the other 3 invited, are you guys all somehow affiliated with U of Toronto like undergrad or summer school where you all utilized ROSI in some capacity before?

 

Keeping my fingers crossed....

I have the same question.

[Ozone15]

I have the same question.

If your status is changed to Decision Made, I am guessing your ROSI status will change fairly soon. I could be wrong tho....if you are anxious to find out...I would just call before they close at 4PM today.

[Poliphilo]

Received an acceptance email from UofT today. They are offering me a $3000 entrance scholarship and have given me 4 weeks from today or accept or decline the offer of admission. 

 

I'm probably going to accept the offer in the  the next couple days and decline my offers at the other graduate schools I've been accepted to. They want me to accept or decline the offer via postal mail which seems a bit archaic. 

 

Anyone else received an acceptance email? If so, are they offering you any funding? I'm wondering if I could possible negotiate a larger entrance scholarship. As far as I know in past years they have only awarded up to $3000, so I think I'm already at the max.

[Ozone15]

Received an acceptance email from UofT today. They are offering me a $3000 entrance scholarship and have given me 4 weeks from today or accept or decline the offer of admission. 

 

I'm probably going to accept the offer in the  the next couple days and decline my offers at the other graduate schools I've been accepted to. They want me to accept or decline the offer via postal mail which seems a bit archaic. 

 

Anyone else received an acceptance email? If so, are they offering you any funding? I'm wondering if I could possible negotiate a larger entrance scholarship. As far as I know in past years they have only awarded up to $3000, so I think I'm already at the max.

 

Got the Email as well earlier this afternoon. Exactly the same as you. I was told by a former sppg student, their first year max funding is $3000 unless you can get external funding with separate applications.

 

First round deadline to reply is April 3rd Friday 2015. I am guessing for those who are still waiting...second round should go out around 1st or 2nd week of April.

 

Good Luck to everyone still waiting...

[hiddentunes]

Unfortunately, my status still indicates "under review." Given that some of you have received offers of admission, is it safe to say that all first round offers have been sent out? Is it possible that more first round offers will be sent out next week? The waiting is agonizing! 

[Ozone15]

Unfortunately, my status still indicates "under review." Given that some of you have received offers of admission, is it safe to say that all first round offers have been sent out? Is it possible that more first round offers will be sent out next week? The waiting is agonizing! 

 

I wouldn't worry about it too much. If your GPA is in the range above 3.4-3.5 out of 4.0....remember, first round offer goes to high GPA applicant where in most case they applied to a bunch of other excellent grad programs, therefore there is a chance they may turn SPPG down, and second round could be left with more spots. Hope this helps!

Edited March 7, 2015 by Ozone15

[JTMurray]

Received an acceptance email from UofT today. They are offering me a $3000 entrance scholarship and have given me 4 weeks from today or accept or decline the offer of admission. 

 

I'm probably going to accept the offer in the  the next couple days and decline my offers at the other graduate schools I've been accepted to. They want me to accept or decline the offer via postal mail which seems a bit archaic. 

 

Anyone else received an acceptance email? If so, are they offering you any funding? I'm wondering if I could possible negotiate a larger entrance scholarship. As far as I know in past years they have only awarded up to $3000, so I think I'm already at the max.

 

I got the same e-mail. Just trying to figure out how to pay for it now lol. $3000 as well. 

[maozedong]

I got the same e-mail. Just trying to figure out how to pay for it now lol. $3000 as well. 

Why don't you reject that offer and let us (read: second rounders) worry about that.

[Patient of Patience]

I was offered a $5,000 entrance scholarship.

[Poliphilo]

I was offered a $5,000 entrance scholarship.

 

Patient of Patience would you please mind sharing your stats (e.g. GPA, work experience, quality of LORs)?

 

Do you know why you were offered that much?

 

I could really use the $2000, and would appreciate if you had any knowledge that would help me negotiate. 

 

Thanks.

[Patient of Patience]

Patient of Patience would you please mind sharing your stats (e.g. GPA, work experience, quality of LORs)?

 

Do you know why you were offered that much?

 

I could really use the $2000, and would appreciate if you had any knowledge that would help me negotiate. 

 

Thanks.

 

I'm not sure if I can point to anything in particular that is noteworthy. I guess it would have been the combination of my GPA (3.90), letters of recommendation, and statement of interest. I don't have any experience in the public sector or anything like that.

Edited March 9, 2015 by Patient of Patience

[Ozone15]

Patient of Patience would you please mind sharing your stats (e.g. GPA, work experience, quality of LORs)?

 

Do you know why you were offered that much?

 

I could really use the $2000, and would appreciate if you had any knowledge that would help me negotiate. 

 

Thanks.

 

Poliphilo, Curious where you went for undergrad? maybe $5000 only provided to top top UT students??? Cause you two seems to have great GPAs, both exactly the same at 3.90 unless you are out of 4.3 rather than 4.0.

[Poliphilo]

I'm not sure if I can point to anything in particular that is noteworthy. I guess it would have been the combination of my GPA (3.90), letters of recommendation, and statement of interest. I don't have any experience in the public sector or anything like that.

Thanks for sharing your stats Patient of Patience. Did you go to the University of Toronto for undergrad? I wonder if they show preference for their own. 

 

Poliphilo, Curious where you went for undergrad? maybe $5000 only provided to top top UT students??? Cause you two seems to have great GPAs, both exactly the same at 3.90 unless you are out of 4.3 rather than 4.0.

 

I go to undergrad at Western University and studied abroad in the UK. I have a 3.9 cumulative GPA on the 4.0 scale. They might convert my UK grades to the GPA scale differently that I have. 

 

I'm going to try to see if I can negotiate a larger funding offer regardless. Ozone15, I'll let you know if I'm successful. 

[Ozone15]

Thanks for sharing your stats Patient of Patience. Did you go to the University of Toronto for undergrad? I wonder if they show preference for their own. 

 

 

I go to undergrad at Western University and studied abroad in the UK. I have a 3.9 cumulative GPA on the 4.0 scale. They might convert my UK grades to the GPA scale differently that I have. 

 

I'm going to try to see if I can negotiate a larger funding offer regardless. Ozone15, I'll let you know if I'm successful. 

 

Poliphilo, please let me know if you were successful. Thanks in advance. I am guessing maybe that's the reason, that they do show a preference for their own, cause I am not a UT undergrad either.

[stressulcer]

soooo...i shouldn't worry if i'm still "under review" -- right?

[DBT]

I received an email offer of admission from UofT this afternoon with a $3000 entrance scholarship.

[Ozone15]

I received an email offer of admission from UofT this afternoon with a $3000 entrance scholarship.

 

Congrads DBT! You mind sharing your basic stats like GPA? Undergrad school? Just to help others and future-year applicants to check as references

[stressulcer]

sooo...now i should start worrying.

[DBT]

Congrads DBT! You mind sharing your basic stats like GPA? Undergrad school? Just to help others and future-year applicants to check as references

Thanks! You too!! I did my undergrad at UVic. I actually don't know exactly what my GPA was, as Uvic uses a 9-point scale. My grades were good but not anything amazing. I had 4 letters of reference for UofT, two from Uvic professors I had taken several classes with, one from my employer, and one from a volunteer position. I spent a fair amount of time on my statement of purpose too.

I have also been accepted to Queen's and Carleton's MPA programs, and Carleton is offering a much larger scholarship so I really don't know which one I'm going to choose. They all seem like really strong programs, but with different structure and emphases and different career opportunities post-grad. Any insights/advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated

[Poliphilo]

sooo...now i should start worrying.

Stressulcer, the first round of offers have gone out. There will at be another round of offers, the size of which will depend on how many reject the first round of offers. As long as your application is still "under review" you haven't been rejected yet! If you're willing to share your stats we can give you a better idea of your odds of getting accepted in the second round of offers.  Best of luck!

 

Thanks! You too!! I did my undergrad at UVic. I actually don't know exactly what my GPA was, as Uvic uses a 9-point scale. My grades were good but not anything amazing. I had 4 letters of reference for UofT, two from Uvic professors I had taken several classes with, one from my employer, and one from a volunteer position. I spent a fair amount of time on my statement of purpose too.

I have also been accepted to Queen's and Carleton's MPA programs, and Carleton is offering a much larger scholarship so I really don't know which one I'm going to choose. They all seem like really strong programs, but with different structure and emphases and different career opportunities post-grad. Any insights/advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated

DBT what do you want to do after your MPA/MPP? Carelton places very well into the federal public service. U of T places very well into the OPS. U of T's program is focused on quantitative analysis and policy.  Carelton's program does teach policy but I would say focuses more on public administration (hence it awards a Master in Public Administration rather than a Master in Public Policy). Last I checked U of T also placed the best into the private sector of any MA/MPP program in Canada. I cannot seem to find the stats right now though. I will post them if I can find them later.

 

Edit: Found U of T employment stats you might be interested in. http://publicpolicy.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/SPPG_Alumni_Employment_Statistics.pdf

Edited March 10, 2015 by Poliphilo

[MatthewCasselman]

Hey all,

 

I just wanted to provide a word or reassurance to people applying with lower GPA's. 

 

I applied to Waterloo, Ryerson, Queens, Carleton, and Toronto.

 

I was ultimately admitted to all 6 programs earlier, and have decided to accept Toronto. (large grad cohort, international opportunity, OPS proximity, good institutional recognition)

 

I'm graduating from the Laurier Business program. My fourth year is Jan till August so they haven't seen any fourth year grades. My 3rd year GPA was just 3.4, my final year will be significantly better (likely 3.9) but they can't consider those grades!

 

It really is a holistic application process: I had 4 strong LRs (2 academic, 2 OPS), I was in Co-op so I had three OPS placements and one Federal, I applied in November, and I spent a lot of time on my SOP.My GPA didn't help, but other things helped!

 

If people are interested in connecting, I'd love to join some sort of group on Facebook or something. Very much looking forward to meeting you all.

[stressulcer]

so i have a 3.3 cumulative and 3.9 (4.3 scale) for my last two years. 2 good letters from profs, no OPS or anything. undergrad in sociology/social anthro from kings university. a few people told me my letter of intent was well written. how sore should my ulcer be?

[DBT]

Stressulcer, the first round of offers have gone out. There will at be another round of offers, the size of which will depend on how many reject the first round of offers. As long as your application is still "under review" you haven't been rejected yet! If you're willing to share your stats we can give you a better idea of your odds of getting accepted in the second round of offers.  Best of luck!

 

DBT what do you want to do after your MPA/MPP? Carelton places very well into the federal public service. U of T places very well into the OPS. U of T's program is focused on quantitative analysis and policy.  Carelton's program does teach policy but I would say focuses more on public administration (hence it awards a Master in Public Administration rather than a Master in Public Policy). Last I checked U of T also placed the best into the private sector of any MA/MPP program in Canada. I cannot seem to find the stats right now though. I will post them if I can find them later.

 

Edit: Found U of T employment stats you might be interested in. http://publicpolicy.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/SPPG_Alumni_Employment_Statistics.pdf

Thanks Poliphilo! I work in the field of immigration right now, but I have no direct public service/policy experience.

 

Ideally I would like to find a position post-grad in the OPS, with the City of Toronto, or in the private sector, so I know UofT seems like a logical choice. It was my first choice when I was applying, but I am still really torn. I am having trouble justifying that amount of tuition when I now have other great options and already have student debt to think of.

 

I have been accepted to the policy analysis specialization at Carleton, so I feel like I would be getting a lot of the same competencies as I would at UofT. I talked to a co-op advisor there today, and the vast majority of Carleton placements are with federal public service, but it sounds like there are opportunities to land placements outside of Ottawa through self-directed search. I like the idea of doing 2 co-op placements instead of just the one internship too.

 

Queen's seems to specialize in the policy areas I am interested in (health, social), and place well into the OPS, and it would be a lot more affordable than UofT since it is a 10 month program, but the pace of the program also worries me a bit since I don't have a strong quantitative background. It seems also like UofT's internship program may be stronger?

 

I feel like I am driving myself crazy weighing out the pros and cons. I am going to go to Kingston and Ottawa next weekend to see if the idea of moving to either of those cities from Toronto is enough to push me to accept at UofT

Sorry for the ramble!

 

For those of you choosing UofT's MPP program, why is it your top choice? Your reasoning may help me decide. 

Thanks again for your reply Poliphilo, and for the employment stats!

[DBT]

so i have a 3.3 cumulative and 3.9 (4.3 scale) for my last two years. 2 good letters from profs, no OPS or anything. undergrad in sociology/social anthro from kings university. a few people told me my letter of intent was well written. how sore should my ulcer be?

Hi stressulcer,

 

I wanted to echo MatthewCasselman's post in saying that GPA is not everything. My cumulative GPA is a little higher than yours, but my last two years' GPA is a little lower. I also had two terrible grades on my transcript from one brutal semester, which I thought might prevent me from getting accepted anywhere. No public service experience either.

 

I met with a UofT SPPG alumna before applying and got some good advice about strong and consistent messaging in all elements of the application. I tried to make everything cohesive, and expressed a very specific focus for why I want an MPP/MPA and how I plan to use it (my SOP was much more clearly focused than I actually feel

I got outside feedback on my SOP and edited it repeatedly, and I had solid references.

From what you've said, it sounds like you have a good chance, and there will certainly be more offers going out at some point soon.

 

Good luck!!

[Ozone15]

DBT thanks for your insights.

 

MatthewCasselman, let's keep this particular forum active for awhile, once everyone make their final decision where to go (probably by mid-late May)...we can definitely set up a facebook page of some sort so everyone here can get to know each other well before classes start.

 

Good luck to everyone still waiting.......