UC Berkeley Goldman MPP 2015

[handiya]

Wait listed. I don't think I'll stay on the list. I've got 4 acceptances w funding and I'll be hearing back from lbj soon.

As for talk about the GSPP professionalism... Calm down. We are on this board by choice and they are taking their time. Some schools forget to notify people altogether.

Hi wozezeka,

Did you get the mail today please?

[Wozezeka]

Yesterday

[handiya]

Hi Donald_duck,

Any updates please.I think we shall call them and get the status. I mailed them on Friday morning and I still have to receive the reply.I fully understand that the admission committee is busiest this time of the year and might take time to respond to the mail.

Did you happen to call them by any chance.

[handiya]

Because I think we are the only people still waiting and the thread has also been very passive as the decision has been made already.At least we should know that we are not accepted

[donald_duck]

Hey @handiya! I did call them on Thursday, they said they will be up with the results by 15th! Since that happens to be a Sunday, I'm guessing it is Monday!

But yeah, I would have to say they should have been a little more systematic about it. 

Lets hope for the best!!! 

[Wain]

Since I got rejected from HKS, my top two choices are now Michigan and Berkeley. I got an amazing offer from Michigan and the program is great. The aid I got from Berkeley does not compare, but I like the Berkeley program a bit more. I think this is because I also went to Berkeley for undergrad and feel very much at home on campus. I also have some personal matters that are making me lean towards staying in the Bay Area.

 

I also plan to leverage my aid from Michigan to get something more from Berkeley. I think this might be possible once people begin to reject offers with aid to go to other schools. This will probably happen in April, though, right before the deadline of April 15.

 

If nothing comes out of that, I will choose Michigan. With that program, I only worry that their network might not be that strong in California (I want to come back to the Bay Area). I may be wrong about that. Academically, both programs are similar and very strong.

 

We'll see how it goes...tough month ahead!

 

I got into Berkeley last Friday and called them this Friday to feel out the leveraging other offers thing. I was even told by someone in the their department last fall that it's worth a shot. I was told that they overcommit funding so even if some people who were offered scholarships turn them down, they may not get funding.

 

I was told that I'd be put on a list and would be contacted if funding becomes available sometime around April 15th. Worth a shot.

[kooyah]

Did everyone already get an email from a current student wanting to talk about Goldman and everything it has to offer? Don't think Goldman really needs to "sell" the program. To me, the email was a nice gesture from a school I perceive to be very collaborative and tight-knit. I look forward to talking with the student on the phone and to attend the open house.

 

I didn't receive that email but I'm definitely going to enroll. I wonder WHO the email was aimed at. I won't be able to attend the open house since it's far out of my budget and I'm in Asia. But, hopefully we meet in the fall! I skyped with a friend that graduated last year and she's still singing praises about the school. Definitely a close-knit, collaborative school with responsive and available professors and a wealth of networking opportunities. She also noted that the Berkeley base in DC is quite strong and a lot of great things about the Bay Area in general. I'm from California and am absolutely THRILLED to finally have the opportunity to study, work, and play in the Bay!

[kooyah]

I was contacted directly by a current Goldman student, and we set up a time to talk on the phone. I am assuming that within the next few days everyone who was admitted will be contacted. I imagine student ambassadors were assigned a number of admits to contact in order to get them (more!) excited about the school and to answer any questions the admits might have.

 

I'll communicate my impressions of the open house on this forum. Perhaps we'll meet in the fall!

 

 

I think you're right about this! I didn't ask my friend about this particularly but I vaguely remember something along these lines from one of my interactions with Goldman during PPIA. 

 

Great! Looking forward to what you have to say. Also, I know there's going to be a private Facebook group, but I suspect it'll come after the April 15th deadline when enrollees are locked-in and Goldman starts rolling out the red carpet on resources. Exciting stuff! I'll keep checking these forums every few days until we're all too busy in school

Edited March 16, 2015 by kooyah

[Bil87]

I still have not heard from GSPP regarding my decision. I sent an email but there is no reply. Anyone still waiting fro decision?

[Bicheech1011]

Has anyone gotten the Official Acceptance from Graduate Division?

[TROD43]

Has anyone gotten the Official Acceptance from Graduate Division?

Not yet. They told me that it takes a little while (about 2 weeks from date of acceptance notification) . 

[kooyah]

Me either. An alum said it definitely takes a little while to get the notification from the Graduate Division. With 100 or so graduate programs, it must be busy season!

[Bicheech1011]

Anyone received any admission decisions from stanford ips?

[Bicheech1011]

I did. Did you? There is not much talk about that program on the site. Not big enough, I guess. It strikes me as a good program, though. 

Congrats! 

 

I have not heard anything from them. I am taking it as a bad omen. 

 

Even if I am accepted, I will probably stick with GSPP. But it would be nice to know.

[Bicheech1011]

Thank you. They are sending letters by email, one at a time, I guess. I am leaning towards GSPP as well, but I need to figure out funding and the degree to which GSPP facilitates doing international work.

I just got my acceptance to Stanford. No funding. Staying with GSPP.

[Wain]

Just got notification from the Grad Admissions office yesterday. The sign-in wouldn't work until today though. One step closer!

[kooyah]

Woke up to an email from admissions to sign in for the SIR and got contacted by a current student. One step closer indeed!

[hamster88]

So, for those admitted -- which way are you leaning? What options are you weighing right now?

 

Berkeley is my top choice of the programs I was admitted to -- I am trying to decide whether I should attend in the fall, or instead stay at my current job (where I am up for a promotion) to get additional work experience (which might open doors to get the kind of jobs I'm interested in down the road without an expensive degree). But, the idea of going back to school really appeals to me and it would be a chance to build my quantitative skills. Interests are in digital/data/design innovation applied to social policy issues. Anyone else deciding between GSPP and work experience?

[kooyah]

Personally, I am leaning towards school because there is not much room for growth where I am at professionally. I need the skills and networking opportunities that an MPP would provide. I briefly contemplated waiting another year to apply while pursuing other employment opportunities in policy analysis. Even though I do have some experience doing quantitative analysis, many jobs seemed to prefer (code for require) applicants with formal training in policy analysis. (The ones I applied to, at least.) Therefore, an MPP made total sense to me.

My only problem right now is choosing which program I will be attending in the fall. I am trying to weigh location, finances, and quality of each program as a way to narrow down the contenders on my list.

 

I'm curious to hear your current line of thinking for the schools you've listed. I'm also curious to know if you're used to California weather.

 

 

Also, I received an email from a GSPP alum that's been working in the field in addition to a current student. Feeling the love.

[economixed_policy]

Berkeley was always one of my top choices and I've heard nothing but good things about the program from advisers, current students and alumni. It does make you feel that the program is genuinely close knit. I've got the usual pluses for Berkeley: quant skill, reputation, weather. Unfortunately GSPP offered me no funding. I was expecting this, but it does mean I will most likely not be able to attend. I too have been told about GSR/I but as an international student I can't base my decision entirely on a potential such offer. I'm also not sure that spending all that time teaching will allow me to get the most of my second masters.

Chicago has offered me full tuition for both years - so, so far, I am leaning towards it. My concern, as was pointed out above, is that the program might be too theoretical. I already have a masters in economics so have done some of that 6 years ago. I'm also more interested in practical quant skill (I realise they can't be separated from theory altogether). So I guess that's where I am right now!

Edited March 28, 2015 by economixed_policy

[Bicheech1011]

kooyah,I also got the email from a GSPP alum and a current student. I spoke to them on the phone as well, and they are both doing fantastic things. Both of them also praised the program very highly.

Regarding how I narrowed down my list of offers, I started by cutting out programs that were too big and too expensive. Chicago offered me no aid and its program has no built-in practical experiences. There is a practicum class, but you have to compete for a spot. Not everyone does a client-based project, which makes me think that the program is too theoretical (quant/econ-based) and not very committed to getting their students to apply what they learn. I am definitely looking for a program that is strong in quantitative analysis but not if that comes at the expense of applying quantitative skills to real-world scenarios. The program is also rather large: the incoming class last year was 167.

I like the structure of the program at Columbia—it fits my interests perfectly and does require an internship and a practicum project in the second year. However, the school is huge and I would need to get $125,000 worth of loans to be able to attend.

As for Georgetown, I would love to be able to do an internship in DC while in school. I always wanted to do that but could never drop everything to take an unpaid internship there. (The internships I was interested in were all unpaid.) Georgetown also requires three semesters of quantitative coursework. It is one of the most quantitatively rigorous programs out of the ones to which I applied. It is also very practical in nature. Unfortunately, I did not get too much funding from Georgetown. 

USC: I feel the school is too regionally centered in Socal. I talked to a current student about this, and she replied, “It is the University of Southern California after all. Besides, we own half of LA!” I am not sure what she meant, but it may have had something to do with the fact that USC is one of the largest private employers in LA. In any case, I think that their famed Trojan network is very strong in Socal, but I don’t want to stay there for long. I also think that USC is too tied up with business (health, real estate), is not as progressive as I would like it to be, and its international reach is limited to East Asia, Mexico, and Brazil. I may be wrong, though.

 

Now, the schools on my list:

 

In terms of financial aid, here’s where I am at.

 

Michigan: full out-of-state tuition and fees, health insurance, and a $9,500 stipend per semester.

Duke: $37,500 tuition + $4,000 assistantship = full tuition, renewable for the second year

UCLA: Graduate Opportunity Fellowship (1^st year: full tuition for one year, not including professional degree supplementary tuition, plus $20,000 stipend; 2^nd year: 1/2 tuition, 1/4 assistantship,1/2 fee remission)

Stanford: tuition for one year, non-renewable

UC Berkeley: $5,000 for one year

 

I must say that Berkeley is my favorite program, but it is hard to turn down some of the other offers and choose Berkeley. I know most of their students end up being GSIs, but I have been teaching for 3 years and I am not looking forward to teach again. More importantly, I don’t want to sacrifice time. Two years is not a very long time, and I don’t want to give up time in order to teach. The current student I spoke did admit to me that teaching does sometimes feel like giving up time that could be devoted to other ventures, but she did appreciate the opportunity to develop communication and class management skills. That said, I would be very open to a GSR position, but I have been told that those are scarce.

 

Regarding class size, I like that all of these programs are small or moderately sized. Last year, Stanford welcomed 25-30 students, Michigan about 110, Berkeley 90, and Duke 60-65. I am not exactly sure about UCLA, but their core classes have a limit of 75.

 

In terms of program focus, I am interested in education and economic policy, and I think that all of the programs will allow me to explore them, though the Stanford program will be decidedly more international because it a program in International Policy. Moreover, all of the programs are highly interdisciplinary, so I am not worried that I will not be able to take classes I am interested in from other departments.

 

I must say, though, that the main point of all of these programs is not to specialize in one particular field, but to gain analytical and practical skills. I want to have skills that are transferrable from one field to another and that can be applied domestically and internationally. I feel that all of the programs I am considering will offer that.

 

As for location, I am partial to California, but it’s more because I have family in the Bay Area, not so much because of the weather. I have never been to Michigan or North Carolina, so I don’t know what life is like in Ann Arbor or Durham. I am open to moving though, but the cold in Michigan kind of scares me!

 

I wish I could just choose Berkeley, but I am being pulled away from it. I went there for undergrad, so it would nice to come back as a grad student. The undergrad program is huge, and it is easy to get lost in that crowd. Berkeley takes good care of its grad students, so I am sure that being a student at GSPP would be significantly different from my previous experience.

 

I feel humbled by the offers and don’t want to give the impression that I am so fantastic that I think Berkeley should give me everything. I don’t think so at all. I am just weighing the pros and cons of all my choices, and funding is a major consideration that is important for all of us here.

What are your thoughts on Stanford IPS? Now I am having second thoughts about turning down Stanford for Berkeley. Do you need to take a pre requisite course before enrolling at Stanford?

[kooyah]

kooyah,

I also got the email from a GSPP alum and a current student. I spoke to them on the phone as well, and they are both doing fantastic things. Both of them also praised the program very highly.

Regarding how I narrowed down my list of offers, I started by cutting out programs that were too big and too expensive. Chicago offered me no aid and its program has no built-in practical experiences. There is a practicum class, but you have to compete for a spot. Not everyone does a client-based project, which makes me think that the program is too theoretical (quant/econ-based) and not very committed to getting their students to apply what they learn. I am definitely looking for a program that is strong in quantitative analysis but not if that comes at the expense of applying quantitative skills to real-world scenarios. The program is also rather large: the incoming class last year was 167.

I like the structure of the program at Columbia—it fits my interests perfectly and does require an internship and a practicum project in the second year. However, the school is huge and I would need to get $125,000 worth of loans to be able to attend.

As for Georgetown, I would love to be able to do an internship in DC while in school. I always wanted to do that but could never drop everything to take an unpaid internship there. (The internships I was interested in were all unpaid.) Georgetown also requires three semesters of quantitative coursework. It is one of the most quantitatively rigorous programs out of the ones to which I applied. It is also very practical in nature. Unfortunately, I did not get too much funding from Georgetown. 

USC: I feel the school is too regionally centered in Socal. I talked to a current student about this, and she replied, “It is the University of Southern California after all. Besides, we own half of LA!” I am not sure what she meant, but it may have had something to do with the fact that USC is one of the largest private employers in LA. In any case, I think that their famed Trojan network is very strong in Socal, but I don’t want to stay there for long. I also think that USC is too tied up with business (health, real estate), is not as progressive as I would like it to be, and its international reach is limited to East Asia, Mexico, and Brazil. I may be wrong, though.

 

Now, the schools on my list:

 

In terms of financial aid, here’s where I am at.

 

Michigan: full out-of-state tuition and fees, health insurance, and a $9,500 stipend per semester.

Duke: $37,500 tuition + $4,000 assistantship = full tuition, renewable for the second year

UCLA: Graduate Opportunity Fellowship (1^st year: full tuition for one year, not including professional degree supplementary tuition, plus $20,000 stipend; 2^nd year: 1/2 tuition, 1/4 assistantship,1/2 fee remission)

Stanford: tuition for one year, non-renewable

UC Berkeley: $5,000 for one year

 

I must say that Berkeley is my favorite program, but it is hard to turn down some of the other offers and choose Berkeley. I know most of their students end up being GSIs, but I have been teaching for 3 years and I am not looking forward to teach again. More importantly, I don’t want to sacrifice time. Two years is not a very long time, and I don’t want to give up time in order to teach. The current student I spoke did admit to me that teaching does sometimes feel like giving up time that could be devoted to other ventures, but she did appreciate the opportunity to develop communication and class management skills. That said, I would be very open to a GSR position, but I have been told that those are scarce.

 

Regarding class size, I like that all of these programs are small or moderately sized. Last year, Stanford welcomed 25-30 students, Michigan about 110, Berkeley 90, and Duke 60-65. I am not exactly sure about UCLA, but their core classes have a limit of 75.

 

In terms of program focus, I am interested in education and economic policy, and I think that all of the programs will allow me to explore them, though the Stanford program will be decidedly more international because it a program in International Policy. Moreover, all of the programs are highly interdisciplinary, so I am not worried that I will not be able to take classes I am interested in from other departments.

 

I must say, though, that the main point of all of these programs is not to specialize in one particular field, but to gain analytical and practical skills. I want to have skills that are transferrable from one field to another and that can be applied domestically and internationally. I feel that all of the programs I am considering will offer that.

 

As for location, I am partial to California, but it’s more because I have family in the Bay Area, not so much because of the weather. I have never been to Michigan or North Carolina, so I don’t know what life is like in Ann Arbor or Durham. I am open to moving though, but the cold in Michigan kind of scares me!

 

I wish I could just choose Berkeley, but I am being pulled away from it. I went there for undergrad, so it would nice to come back as a grad student. The undergrad program is huge, and it is easy to get lost in that crowd. Berkeley takes good care of its grad students, so I am sure that being a student at GSPP would be significantly different from my previous experience.

 

I feel humbled by the offers and don’t want to give the impression that I am so fantastic that I think Berkeley should give me everything. I don’t think so at all. I am just weighing the pros and cons of all my choices, and funding is a major consideration that is important for all of us here.

 

Sounds like your mind is truly being exhausted in making a decision! If I remember correctly, you're going to Berkeley's admitted students day yes? If so, looking forward to your synopsis.

 

Since you're used to California and I'm a California native myself, I gotta warn you about *extended periods* of cold having braved two of them in Asia these past couple years for the first time (finally started warming up last week). For me personally, environment plays a major role on my physical and mental health. I've since come to learn that I do not thrive in cold weather. Maybe you will, and people do. Just my experience coming from CA.

 

Looks like Duke and Michigan are really raining it down on you! Tough choice indeed when it comes to a matter of funding. Maybe you can try to leverage your position with Berkeley right now to yank some of the cash others aren't accepting. Also, I've talked with other friends that have done the GSI and they tell me they work something like 8 hours for 50% payment on down weeks and something like 12-13 during midterms. I too have taught the last 3 years and think it would be interesting teaching undergrads (I've taught the breadth of Kindergarten - High School formally) and don't feel like it'll take a terrible about of time from grad school things I could be doing. Most important is the fact that practicums are built into the program to what seems like great effect. Something I highly value. Proximity to all sectors in the Bay area are league above what you might find in Durham or Michigan. I could be wrong. 

 

Also, depending on where you want to work and have long term connections, each schools locality will likely have a market for you. Not sure how strong Duke and Michigan are in the Capitol but it seems like most big school's roads can lead there. I know that's true for Berkeley since students literally fly to DC specifically for networking and learning about the place. Also, I learned how 'small and mighty Goldman's alum are -- 1200 alumni in 40 years is what the career professional told me who's in prominent role for the State. Hyper responsive to fellow alum and current students alike.

 

But yeah, funding is and should be a concern. Goldman is probably the best bang for your buck school there just about is. Try to see if you can get some money to your favor and be specific about what it'll take for you attend Goldman (I'm above what you truly would settle for, negotiation 101) and back your claim with other offers you've received and why Goldman is the best fit for you.

 

Those are my thoughts anyway. Good luck! 

Edited March 30, 2015 by kooyah

[freeverse]

@Kooyah congrats on your offer! I got through to HKS (no funding), Columbia ($$$$), and Berkeley (no funding, but expected), and have chosen to go to Berkeley regardless - mostly because I was absolutely blown away by the close knit community + everyone I spoke to there was just singing praises about the program. Just submitted my SIR too - wondering if your status on the online application page changed? I did get an email from GSPP when I submitted my intent to enrol, but nothing from the graduate division after submitting my SIR. Have you recieved any official communication yet?

I didn't receive that email but I'm definitely going to enroll. I wonder WHO the email was aimed at. I won't be able to attend the open house since it's far out of my budget and I'm in Asia. But, hopefully we meet in the fall! I skyped with a friend that graduated last year and she's still singing praises about the school. Definitely a close-knit, collaborative school with responsive and available professors and a wealth of networking opportunities. She also noted that the Berkeley base in DC is quite strong and a lot of great things about the Bay Area in general. I'm from California and am absolutely THRILLED to finally have the opportunity to study, work, and play in the Bay!

[kooyah]

@Kooyah congrats on your offer! I got through to HKS (no funding), Columbia ($$$$), and Berkeley (no funding, but expected), and have chosen to go to Berkeley regardless - mostly because I was absolutely blown away by the close knit community + everyone I spoke to there was just singing praises about the program. Just submitted my SIR too - wondering if your status on the online application page changed? I did get an email from GSPP when I submitted my intent to enrol, but nothing from the graduate division after submitting my SIR. Have you recieved any official communication yet?

 

 

Freeverse,

 

Congrats! I really wish I was able to attend but I'm in Asia *trying* to save money haha. Good to hear we'll be classmates! I hear from alum and friends that GSI's are easy to come by so it'll shave your debt load considerably.

 

So after you send you intent to register, the official email from the Graduate Division won't come for 7-10 days about. This prompts action from the Graduate Division and when you get the email it7ll send you to your app status page where it'll portal you to the formal intent. From there you submit a formal intent to register with the Graduate Division (no deposit) that asks you some personal info necessary for their records. Then, in another few days time you receive sensitive information including your student ID and what you need to do to register as a student, read some disclosures etc. That's where I'm in the process -- getting my CalNet ID (campus ID/email) and all that well and good. And then we wait for more info I suppose. Class registration isn't until August and I need to go back and read what we should be expecting. I'm guessing there will be a mass email of sorts and FB invitation groups after the April 15th deadline.

 

I'll also note that Kari is in charge of things like student employment including GSI's. The intro packet thing says signing up for her (or someone's) list serve with GSI opportunities. It's too early to try to sign up for positions since no lists or department bulletins are up yet for the fall term. It's said that anyone who wants to GSI, can. The majority of listings go out in the summer, especially August as registration begins. Goldman students have a solid rep on campus and from what I hear, professors, more often than not, just wave lazily in approval of GSI's from Goldman. 

 

Congrats on your admits and final decision! I'm sure these will be some well spent years in the Bay for you and I. I'm looking forward to a FB group so we can huddle in our excitement and sort things out like housing... which is my only concern at this point!

[freeverse]

@Kooyah thanks! Will now just wait around twiddling my thumbs for grad division to get back to me with CalNet ID and what not I suppose. I've heard there'll be a facebook group set up a few days after April 15 - so it'll be great to get to know other people too Totally with you on the housing issue - that'll be something I'll be looking into too. 

 

Looking forward to all the Bay Area awesomeness to come our way real soon!

Edited April 1, 2015 by freeverse