Fall 2016 Admissions Cycle

[Danbrenn]

Thanks man.  I had applied to the MGPS program in Austin.  

[RCtheSS]

Aha, that was my assumption. The MGPS program has been hearing back sooner than the MPAff program, which I applied to. Just had to double check. 

[NRG_]

1 hour ago, Danbrenn said:

Thanks man.  I had applied to the MGPS program in Austin.  

Congrats! If you don't mind me asking, how large was the fellowship? 

[Danbrenn]

Thanks! I'm stoked! I ended up with $50k.  Extremely generous of them.  

[shrimps]

Just got my package from USC with Dean's Merit full-tuition scholarship! Feeling excited but weird, and sort of eyeing it in the middle of the table like it might get up and run away if unattended.

Edited February 25, 2016 by shrimps

[beefmaster]

Also in at USC for the MPP but with 50% Dean's Merit scholarship. 

Still far too pricey for me so I will unfortunately be declining (unless by some miracle I can negotiate a full ride from them!)

[RCtheSS]

Just received acceptance into UT-Austin LBJ for the MPAff!! Since I'm a dual degree applicant, my fellowship offer is $24,000 and a waiver of the non-Texas resident portion of tuition.

[RCtheSS]

3 minutes ago, kayaker7235 said:

Just heard great news from the LBJ School of Public Affairs! That's where I'll be going this fall, for a dual Social Work/MPAff degree. Any other LBJers? So excited to live in Austin. 

 

Whoa - RCtheSS we posted at the same time! Congrats!!

[shrimps]

Big congrats, @kayaker7235 and @RCtheSS!!! Awesome news for both you! Also, A+ GIF usage, this totally made my morning.

[Guest SIPA_MPA18]

Congrats to everyone on their acceptances and fellowships so far!

My hat is off to you sir, @RCtheSS for the Step Brothers GIF. That was just pure genius. 

[RCtheSS]

Hahaha, you can never go wrong with some Step Brothers in your day. Thanks everyone!

[CakeTea]

@shrimps and @beefmaster: Congratulations on USC Price admission and funding. Well done, you must be delighted

@RCtheSS and @kayaker7235: Wow, LBJ came through big time for you. Good for you.

[sfe510]

@shrimps I noticed you also got into Penn MSSP. Congrats! I'm curious what you think of the program? I also got into USC and UCLA (both for MPP) as of yesterday and I'm wondering how Penn compares?

 

Edited February 25, 2016 by sfe510

[coasts]

In at LBJ MPAff too with a $20k fellowship and in-state tuition. Happy with the offer but (and I know this is ridiculous) wishing I had gotten the $50k so that living expenses could be covered too...

Anyone know if they have an open house/when it is?

Edited February 25, 2016 by coasts

[RCtheSS]

25 minutes ago, coasts said:

In at LBJ MPAff too with a $20k fellowship and in-state tuition. Happy with the offer but (and I know this is ridiculous) wishing I had gotten the $50k so that living expenses could be covered too...

Anyone know if they have an open house/when it is?

This is my question as well. I was able to find that they held an open house event for admitted students last year on April 6, so if they do have one in mind this year I'd guess that it will be around that same time.

I've already emailed them about coordinating a campus visit, so perhaps they'll provide some specific dates in a reply.

[shrimps]

2 hours ago, sfe510 said:

@shrimps I noticed you also got into Penn MSSP. Congrats! I'm curious what you think of the program? I also got into USC and UCLA as of yesterday and I'm wondering how Penn compares?

 

Sure! Penn's MSSP program is definitely one of the less well-known/talked about programs on GC (it's also fairly new). I liked that the degree is specifically focused on social policy, and that the college in general has a strong history of placing an emphasis on equity and diversity work. It seemed like a small program where you'd get a lot of personal attention from the institution - which has definitely been confirmed by all my interactions with the AdCom there. The real selling point for me though was that they added the additional Data Analytics certificate this year, which teaches you programming languages like Python, Java, GIS, R, and Strata to work with large data sets. I've been working in nonprofits for a bit now, and there's a real need in the field for better data analytics, especially when it comes to measuring results and securing funding, so the idea of learning some more computer science-y skills sounded awesome.

That being said, it's always a little nerve-wracking being in the first cohort of a program, and I do worry a bit about the smaller size of the alumni network. Ultimately, I think a lot of my eventual decision will be made mostly by what my financial aid offers are. I only applied to schools that I thought I'd be genuinely excited to go to if I were accepted, and I'd rather go to a slightly less prestigious one that offered better aid so that when I graduate, I'll (hopefully!) be less tethered by debt when looking at next jobs.

 

 

Edited February 25, 2016 by shrimps

[coasts]

9 minutes ago, shrimps said:

 

@shrimps noticed you learned about CMU already! I'm kicking myself for not getting it together to submit my FAFSA yet, which I think might be the hold up with my notification (assuming I got in). Got an email a couple weeks ago from the admissions office nudging me to do it...

[shrimps]

7 minutes ago, coasts said:

 I'm kicking myself for not getting it together to submit my FAFSA yet, which I think might be the hold up with my notification (assuming I got in). Got an email a couple weeks ago from the admissions office nudging me to do it...

I think that is definitely a FAFSA thing, so I hope no one else is stressing out! I submitted my FAFSA super early, and I also have heard absolutely nothing from CMU admissions about officially being accepted, but the financial aid dept. sent me my scholarship award letter this afternoon.

[sfe510]

@shrimps yeah I've found that too with Penn. I'm very much drawn to the social policy aspect but I worry about a one year program... and although it is Ivy League I have found myself wondering if it's better to attend a somewhat less prestigious school that has a stronger Public Policy program with a larger alumni base.

I also haven't found much information on the program hardly anywhere which makes the decision more difficult.

[sp108]

48 minutes ago, shrimps said:

I think that is definitely a FAFSA thing, so I hope no one else is stressing out! I submitted my FAFSA super early, and I also have heard absolutely nothing from CMU admissions about officially being accepted, but the financial aid dept. sent me my scholarship award letter this afternoon.

For my CMU application, it only says "Application Complete and Ready for Review".  What's that suppose to mean?

[shrimps]

1 minute ago, sp108 said:

For my CMU application, it only says "Application Complete and Ready for Review".  What's that suppose to mean?

No idea! For what it's worth, that's what mine still says too - no messages in the inbox up top either. I'd imagine that while Admissions and Financial Aid are clearly communicating with each other on decisions, they might not have coordinated their applicant outreach super well, since you usually hear this info in the opposite order.

[coffeeandtravel]

Can I just say how jealous I am that all of you MPP/MPA etc. folks are already hearing back? The IR/IA deadlines seem so late !!

[pubpol101]

8 hours ago, shrimps said:

I think that is definitely a FAFSA thing, so I hope no one else is stressing out! I submitted my FAFSA super early, and I also have heard absolutely nothing from CMU admissions about officially being accepted, but the financial aid dept. sent me my scholarship award letter this afternoon.

@shrimps, are you saying that  you have already been awarded a scholarship from CMU? Wouldn't it make more sense for them to send us an admit letter before merit scholarship announcements? I've gotten nothing from them thus far.

[shrimps]

11 hours ago, AAAAAAAA said:

@shrimps, are you saying that  you have already been awarded a scholarship from CMU? Wouldn't it make more sense for them to send us an admit letter before merit scholarship announcements? I've gotten nothing from them thus far.

You'd think, right? Definitely an odd way to do it. To answer your question, yes, I got an email yesterday from Heinz financial aid with instructions on how to review/accept/reduce my offer and an attached financial aid award letter addressed to me and dated Feb. 25. The award had not only my scholarship award, but my federal work study and loan offers as well, which is part of why I think it may be connected to how dang early I did taxes/FAFSA this year.

Also, I've been surprised by how much variation there is in how financial aid notifications work program to program - the other two places I've heard back from have alternately told me about merit scholarships in the acceptance letter and sent follow up info in the mail weeks later. Neither of those places told me anything about loans/work study yet, only scholarships. Financial aid at CMU seems to tell you about scholarships and loans all at once, which is why I think it's FAFSA-related. I'm haven't seen anything else on GradCafe about Heinz yet, but I know a lot of people here applied and a lot of them will get awesome scholarship offers, since Heinz is pretty great about those, so I bet they'll start trickling out soon.

Hope that all helps - and congratulations! It looks like you've heard back from some great programs plus aid already.

Edited February 26, 2016 by shrimps

[Chicago]

anyone applying to Chicago CIR?