SIPA Essay 2 Advice

[MPPant]

SIPA Essay #2: What one policy (national or local) would you create or change and why? (200 words maximum)

Out of all the application materials I've had to submit so far (including the WWS policy memo), I find this task most excruciating. How can I possibly address a policy recommendation seriously in 200 words? Can anyone offer advice on this one? How "strategic", or "big" did you go with this essay? 200 words limit suggests going for a very limited, specific policy. However, I do want to show SIPA some creativity and resourcefulness, which is much harder to do in 200 words. I actually did think of some policies that might fit this assignment, but none of them are reflective of my interests (I'm interested in public budgeting and economic development).

Any advice?

[Yang0616]

Hi, 

I've applied for the early action round of SIPA and I discussed about the NGO regulation in essay 2 writing. 

You said "How can I possibly address a policy recommendation seriously in 200 words? ", I definitely felt the same. 

In my writing, I did not focus on offering detailed recommendation to address my "resourcefulness",  but my critical  thinking about existed regulation articles. In other words, I focused on "why" I want to change the policy but not on "how" I want to change it.

After all, I am no professional but only a student with some internships in related fields. So I chose not to offer perfect suggestions but analyses of the "problematic" policy as in-depth as possible.

But, everyone definitely has different approaches because of different backgrounds, experiences and different policies to discuss. 

I hope what I said make sense to you, and good luck~

[Guest SIPA_MPA18]

I also applied for Early Action and wrote about a specific immigration enforcement policy. I'm not an immigration professional at all, though the topic is interesting to me, so I looked around for think tank/academic summaries of the issue to inform me.

I boiled it down to a few key arguments about why the policy was being criticized and a quick opinion of "why" it should be changed. You should show you are capable of delivering succinct, but informed recommendations with limited space. 

Hopefully your essays have a central theme that can tie them together and relate to 1) your background, 2) your future path, and 3) SIPA's ability to get you there, whether you are changing careers or continuing on. 

This may be common sense, or maybe it's not, but relate the policy you choose to your central theme. In a way, you can set yourself up and address certain aspects of the policy/theme (why you want to study it, why it's important, etc.) in the other essays without taking up precious words in a 200-word limit. Use the 200 words to be specific and avoid the fluff and generalities that would limit your effective delivery. 

Think of the other essay as a cocktail party before the big speech where you butter everyone up to your proposal that's delivered during the main event. 

[MPPant]

Thanks Yang and mpp2016! Your comments were useful. I actually managed to find a good subject to talk about and it turned out quite well.

I have another question, this time about the optional essay. Unlike spring 2016 essays, this time there's no word limit for the optional essay. Now, having already written a few essays to other schools, I have an essay of about 700 words that fits well with the optional essay's directions and is ready to go. However, I am reluctant as to submitting such a long essay, given that the word limit for the spring optional essay was 300 words.

What do you say? I'm actually looking for somebody to tell me I'm overthinking it, and that 700 words when no word limit is mentioned is just fine

[marco_p]

I limited my optional essay to 300 words, despite the lack of such limitation for the fall admission. I just thought that it is applicable also for this admission (maybe it even was when I first looked at essays' requirements, and they later removed it, or I was just confused). Anyway my optional essay had 300 words and I did not address any weaknesses but it was rather an addendum to my statement of purpose. It looks it worked well so I'd recommend this approach to you as well.

If you want to have your optional essay longer (but keep in mind that 700 words is almost double the length of your SoP), I think I read on their blog that they recommend limiting the length to one page. I'm not 100% sure where I read it, and certainly it was a "soft" requirement, but probably you should stick with one page (so you should only slightly abridge your text).

[Guest SIPA_MPA18]

For your optional essay, I would limit it to around 400, give or take some, if you can (mine was slightly over one page, double spaced). I also recall seeing somewhere (maybe an old admissions blog post) that said even though there is no limit, you shouldn't use it to write a novel, so to speak. There should be a clear purpose to it. I used mine to address some weaknesses and explain a little more of my professional quantitative background. You can use it to explain away weak points, if you have good reasons, but don't forget to highlight good mitigating factors as well, which is probably even more important. 

[MH2]

Hi,

I have two topics in my mind. One relates to the current work I am doing and the entire story line, but this one is multidimensional and will need more than 200 words if I have to do justice to it. The other one is not directly related to my SOP, it is also extremely out of the box  but I think it's quite narrow and simple and can be achieved with minimum effort. What do you suggest? Which one should I write about? Also, could you please share your GRE scores with me? Not sure if my scores are competitive.

Thanks

[marco_p]

Maybe you could think about describing the first topic in a more simplistic way? I used this essay as an opportunity to show why my career goals are important (I put them in the broader context of a policy reform) and that I have some understanding of the most important facets of the policy issue that I want to focus on while on (and after) SIPA. On the other hand, writing about completely another topic could show that you have broad horizons. Either way, it's your call. Maybe you will find some guidance here: http://admissionsblog.sipa.columbia.edu/2015/11/27/how-to-answer-the-fall-2016-short-essay/

 

When it comes to my GRE, I had 163V, 167Q and 4.0 AW (and got accepted for Fall 2016 MPA).

[Guest SIPA_MPA18]

6 hours ago, marco_p said:

Maybe you could think about describing the first topic in a more simplistic way? I used this essay as an opportunity to show why my career goals are important (I put them in the broader context of a policy reform) and that I have some understanding of the most important facets of the policy issue that I want to focus on while on (and after) SIPA. On the other hand, writing about completely another topic could show that you have broad horizons.

I agree that either way is possible. By abiding by the short word count, it can showcase your ability to summarize a complex issue and concisely get your point across. You can do your issue justice by highlighting its complexity and the reasons why it deserves to be on the radar of society / why you want to study it. Briefly state why/how SIPA can help you find solutions to it in the future. 

On the other hand, discussing a completely separate issue is not necessarily a bad route to take either. It would allow you to showcase some diversity in your interests / personality.

And my GRE was 159V, 154Q, 5.0 AW and got accepted for Fall 2016 MPA. 

[AlphaStep]

On 12/28/2015 at 2:03 PM, MH2 said:

Hi,

I have two topics in my mind. One relates to the current work I am doing and the entire story line, but this one is multidimensional and will need more than 200 words if I have to do justice to it. The other one is not directly related to my SOP, it is also extremely out of the box  but I think it's quite narrow and simple and can be achieved with minimum effort. What do you suggest? Which one should I write about? Also, could you please share your GRE scores with me? Not sure if my scores are competitive.

Thanks

@MH2 Also agree with the responses above... I chose a topic that I was knowledgeable about so just did some fact-checking and pulling relevant statistics.  The topic was in the sector i'm interested in but not in my geographic area of interest - ultimately I felt in the short space it was something I could write well on and showed my passion/knowledge of the issue.  For me, the key was to not really write a policy paper - as I did for Johns Hopkins/Princeton - but rather sort of write an 'elevator pitch' on why the policy is important and a few supporting reasons for my position.  

@MPPant I also think if you can shorten that is ideal, 700 words is a lot considering the other prompts.  But ultimately no one knows your application better than you - if you really think it adds something vital to your application that's not there otherwise, go for it.  I used the optional essay just to give some clarifications on my transcript - explain some course names and why two were pass/fail and not graded - it was under a page.  I was admitted to MIA early notification round, 169V, 159Q, 4.0AW.

[MH2]

Thank you for your suggestions. It helped. 

@marco_p and @mpp2016 If it isn't too much to ask, can I share my essay with you guys? Have a look and tell me if I should add/subtract anything? It'll really help.

[marco_p]

yeah sure, just PM me