Applying to Munk 2017 - also NPSIA, GSPIA, BSIA etc

[justapersonwhochangednames]

29 minutes ago, msat said:

E-mailing documents to Uottawa is by far the most efficient method. Im excited, because by the end of the month admissions will start going out from OttawaU (as per last year's thread).

Hey, how are you guys checking the status of your application? I haven't received any email about a UofOttawa online portal - just OUAC confirmation of my application submission. 

[msat]

2 minutes ago, justajournalist said:

Hey, how are you guys checking the status of your application? I haven't received any email about a UofOttawa online portal - just OUAC confirmation of my application submission. 

Once OUAC processes your application fee, they send confirmation to UOttawa, who then sends you an email with instructions on how to login to your account on uozone.uottawa.ca 

Once you are able to log in, you can view your application status.

[justapersonwhochangednames]

6 minutes ago, msat said:

Once OUAC processes your application fee, they send confirmation to UOttawa, who then sends you an email with instructions on how to login to your account on uozone.uottawa.ca 

Once you are able to log in, you can view your application status.

Thanks so much for the reply. Did this take long? Because I submitted the OUAC app and paid the fee on Monday. Should I expect an email form UOttawa soonish?

 

EDIT a few mins later: I just noticed on their website >>> 'We acknowledge receipt of all applications by email within two weeks.Save this message, because it contains your student number, uoAccess ID and password to access the uoZone student portal and track the progress of your application'.

So it hasn't been two weeks for me yet, I won't panic lol

Edited February 2, 2017 by justajournalist

[msat]

It took about 2 to 3 business days. In the email you listed, did they provide you with a User id ? if so, then you can log in.

[Norma955]

4 hours ago, msat said:

E-mailing documents to Uottawa is by far the most efficient method. Im excited, because by the end of the month admissions will start going out from OttawaU (as per last year's thread).

So we should find out by the end of February? 

[msat]

2 hours ago, Norma955 said:

So we should find out by the end of February? 

Judging by last year's version of this thread, that what what we can supposedly expect. Theres a post about 2/3 of the way down by a user named VANATRICK, and he states that on Feb 28th he received an offer of admission from GSPIA.

[NPSIA grad]

10 hours ago, PoliticalNerd2017 said:

Yup!!! I had no idea that was a possibility until recently. I dropped my documents off at the Graduate Studies Office last week and so, I should see that update by early-mid next week (hopefully). I'm leaning towards GSPIA and hope to get in as well, so I'm anxiously waiting.

Can you share why you are leaning towards GSPIA? NPSIA was always my 1st choice but lately I have been looking more into GSPIA and I am undecided. I've heard all of the cases made for NPSIA and I'd be interested to hear from anyone who ranks GSPIA as a first choice...

[justapersonwhochangednames]

15 hours ago, msat said:

It took about 2 to 3 business days. In the email you listed, did they provide you with a User id ? if so, then you can log in.

Got the user ID today! I logged in, nothing has been marked as received. But I know for sure the FedEx package got there before deadline, so just a matter of waiting. Thanks again!

[PoliticalNerd2017]

12 hours ago, mchutchi said:

Can you share why you are leaning towards GSPIA? NPSIA was always my 1st choice but lately I have been looking more into GSPIA and I am undecided. I've heard all of the cases made for NPSIA and I'd be interested to hear from anyone who ranks GSPIA as a first choice...

Sure!

I'm a Carleton student currently, and have spoken to people in NPSIA as well as read a bunch online and what I've learned is that:

1) Both schools are great and would be a privilege to attend, and although NPSIA is seen as more prestigious, this has been changing, GSPIA is on the come up..

2) GSPIA, from my understanding has far more co-op opportunities (both in govt and outside of it, embassy internships), funding packages, and smaller classroom sizes.

3) Speaking of classroom sizes, I have heard from a number of people I trust that have attended or are currently in NPSIA, that it has really eroded into a factory machine, simply pumping out graduates...

4) My research interests would be more in line with GSPIA, includes refugee policy and immigration. NPSIA seems like an elitist, neo-liberal, economics driven, conservative school... The faculty doesn't seem very appealing to me at NPSIA, remarkably white, and as a student of colour that has an interest in the Global South, this is a turn off..

NPSIA and GSPIA are both great schools and would be excited to attend either though! Prestige is important but not the only thing, having a degree from either NPSIA or GSPIA will take you far. The University of Ottawa has been putting a lot of resources to compete with NPSIA and has been doing a great job attracting diverse faculty.

[msat]

7 hours ago, PoliticalNerd2017 said:

Sure!

I'm a Carleton student currently, and have spoken to people in NPSIA as well as read a bunch online and what I've learned is that:

1) Both schools are great and would be a privilege to attend, and although NPSIA is seen as more prestigious, this has been changing, GSPIA is on the come up..

2) GSPIA, from my understanding has far more co-op opportunities (both in govt and outside of it, embassy internships), funding packages, and smaller classroom sizes.

3) Speaking of classroom sizes, I have heard from a number of people I trust that have attended or are currently in NPSIA, that it has really eroded into a factory machine, simply pumping out graduates...

4) My research interests would be more in line with GSPIA, includes refugee policy and immigration. NPSIA seems like an elitist, neo-liberal, economics driven, conservative school... The faculty doesn't seem very appealing to me at NPSIA, remarkably white, and as a student of colour that has an interest in the Global South, this is a turn off..

NPSIA and GSPIA are both great schools and would be excited to attend either though! Prestige is important but not the only thing, having a degree from either NPSIA or GSPIA will take you far. The University of Ottawa has been putting a lot of resources to compete with NPSIA and has been doing a great job attracting diverse faculty.

I am also leaning towards GSPIA for a couple of different reasons. 1) For the simple reason that I don't have the intro economics grade thats required for admission. I am really reluctant to spend $2000 for an online course through Athabasca this summer, from which I am not necessarily guaranteed the necessary grade. 2) As PoliticalNerd2017 has pointed out, I have also heard that NPSIA's product is not what it once was (this is anecdotal evidence from individuals I have spoken to who have either studied at Carleton and have known people in NPSIA or have attended NPSIA themselves). Lastly, as a french speaker, I am really drawn by the fact the University of Ottawa is fully bilingual.

[Hopeful2017]

13 hours ago, msat said:

I am also leaning towards GSPIA for a couple of different reasons. 1) For the simple reason that I don't have the intro economics grade thats required for admission. I am really reluctant to spend $2000 for an online course through Athabasca this summer, from which I am not necessarily guaranteed the necessary grade. 2) As PoliticalNerd2017 has pointed out, I have also heard that NPSIA's product is not what it once was (this is anecdotal evidence from individuals I have spoken to who have either studied at Carleton and have known people in NPSIA or have attended NPSIA themselves). Lastly, as a french speaker, I am really drawn by the fact the University of Ottawa is fully bilingual.

 

GPSIA is definitely my first choice. The faculty of professors seems amazing, the funding and coop opportunities, smaller class sizes, etc. Honestly, I wasn't that impressed with the professors at NPSIA. 

I think the people I could have the chance to meet and work with at GPSIA will be the most important thing. They will be the ones that will give job references, etc. That, along with their coop opportunities makes them a winner in my eyes. 

[msat]

29 minutes ago, Hopeful2017 said:

GPSIA is definitely my first choice. The faculty of professors seems amazing, the funding and coop opportunities, smaller class sizes, etc. Honestly, I wasn't that impressed with the professors at NPSIA. 

I think the people I could have the chance to meet and work with at GPSIA will be the most important thing. They will be the ones that will give job references, etc. That, along with their coop opportunities makes them a winner in my eyes. 

I think there is an important caveat, which imho is applicable to any institution: school is what you make of it. That being said, my fingers and toes are crossed for some good news in the coming weeks/months. Good luck to my fellow applicants! 

[PoliticalNerd2017]

1 hour ago, Hopeful2017 said:

GPSIA is definitely my first choice. The faculty of professors seems amazing, the funding and coop opportunities, smaller class sizes, etc. Honestly, I wasn't that impressed with the professors at NPSIA. 

I think the people I could have the chance to meet and work with at GPSIA will be the most important thing. They will be the ones that will give job references, etc. That, along with their coop opportunities makes them a winner in my eyes. 

Absolutely agree on all your points and want to add that I too found the faculty at NPSIA to be rather narrow in backgrounds, whereas GSPIA has a broader set of professors and senior fellows from different backgrounds of IR that makes it more appealing. As I said earlier, the faculty at NPSIA and their backgrounds have little to do with my research interests, and so I believe applicants should take that into account, unless they intend on going with the coursework option there. I find that applicants, including myself at one point, looked solely at prestige and have since peeled back the layers to be somewhat disappointed with NPSIA. Still, this is subjective and ultimately a decision that involves many factors that vary from person to person.

[Hopeful2017]

1 hour ago, PoliticalNerd2017 said:

Absolutely agree on all your points and want to add that I too found the faculty at NPSIA to be rather narrow in backgrounds, whereas GSPIA has a broader set of professors and senior fellows from different backgrounds of IR that makes it more appealing. As I said earlier, the faculty at NPSIA and their backgrounds have little to do with my research interests, and so I believe applicants should take that into account, unless they intend on going with the coursework option there. I find that applicants, including myself at one point, looked solely at prestige and have since peeled back the layers to be somewhat disappointed with NPSIA. Still, this is subjective and ultimately a decision that involves many factors that vary from person to person.

 

For my NPSIA letter of intent, I was researching their faculty and I was like... is this it? You compare to GPSIA's Miles Corak, Finnie Ross and Roland Paris to name a few and the knock it out of the water. My biggest worry with NPSIA was when I heard some students were getting coop jobs as bank tellers - that's not what an applicant likes hearing haha. However, working at GAC, I've met a lot of NPSIA grads and they've said good things. But, something to keep in mind is that there is a reason why most of us are all noticing GPSIA's strengths and questioning NPSIA ( and every thread from previous years have debated this) - another reason why GPSIA is for sure on the rise. 

[Norma955]

5 hours ago, PoliticalNerd2017 said:

Absolutely agree on all your points and want to add that I too found the faculty at NPSIA to be rather narrow in backgrounds, whereas GSPIA has a broader set of professors and senior fellows from different backgrounds of IR that makes it more appealing. As I said earlier, the faculty at NPSIA and their backgrounds have little to do with my research interests, and so I believe applicants should take that into account, unless they intend on going with the coursework option there. I find that applicants, including myself at one point, looked solely at prestige and have since peeled back the layers to be somewhat disappointed with NPSIA. Still, this is subjective and ultimately a decision that involves many factors that vary from person to person.

I definitely agree with you all, I was leaning more towards NPSIA and their clusters are what mainly attracted me to the program, however, GSPIA has a larger diversity of professors in different fields, and my research interests align more with them. On a side note, I am sort of freaking out because I was just reading over my submitted GSPIA statement and I realized one grammar mistake, so I am really bummed out right now

 

Also who here mentioned professors and courses they would like to take in their personal statement? 

[NPSIA grad]

1 hour ago, Norma955 said:

I definitely agree with you all, I was leaning more towards NPSIA and their clusters are what mainly attracted me to the program, however, GSPIA has a larger diversity of professors in different fields, and my research interests align more with them. On a side note, I am sort of freaking out because I was just reading over my submitted GSPIA statement and I realized one grammar mistake, so I am really bummed out right now

 

Also who here mentioned professors and courses they would like to take in their personal statement? 

Never read your SOP/LOI after it has already been submitted. Just don't do it! Yeah, I mentioned profs/courses and linked it to my educational/career goals.

[justapersonwhochangednames]

1 hour ago, Norma955 said:

I definitely agree with you all, I was leaning more towards NPSIA and their clusters are what mainly attracted me to the program, however, GSPIA has a larger diversity of professors in different fields, and my research interests align more with them. On a side note, I am sort of freaking out because I was just reading over my submitted GSPIA statement and I realized one grammar mistake, so I am really bummed out right now

 

Also who here mentioned professors and courses they would like to take in their personal statement? 

I made a mistake too. Tiny one. I wrote iMigration, instead of Migration. I thought I fixed it and uploaded the correct pdf, but turns out, it didn't happen. oh well.

[Duplified]

Hey everyone! 

I just wanted to say hi and good luck to everyone in this thread! I have applied to the Munk School (MGA), School of Public Policy and Governance (MPP), and Carleton (MPPA). My number one choice at the moment is the SPPG, with the Munk School a close second. 

I just wanted to post an update that both of my applications to U of T have been placed into the "under review" category and my application to Carleton still has a "preliminary review required." Hopefully this will help everyone else gauge timelines for applications moving into the queue? From what I can gather first round admissions to the Munk School are made around the first week of March with the SPPG in the 2nd/3rd week and Carleton in the last week? 

Edited February 5, 2017 by Duplified

[NPSIA grad]

1 hour ago, justajournalist said:

I made a mistake too. Tiny one. I wrote iMigration, instead of Migration. I thought I fixed it and uploaded the correct pdf, but turns out, it didn't happen. oh well.

In my letter to NPSIA I wrote international 'refuge' (not refugee) protection and assistance :S at least I caught it before submitting my letter to GSPIA

[msat]

4 hours ago, Norma955 said:

I definitely agree with you all, I was leaning more towards NPSIA and their clusters are what mainly attracted me to the program, however, GSPIA has a larger diversity of professors in different fields, and my research interests align more with them. On a side note, I am sort of freaking out because I was just reading over my submitted GSPIA statement and I realized one grammar mistake, so I am really bummed out right now

 

Also who here mentioned professors and courses they would like to take in their personal statement? 

 

2 hours ago, mchutchi said:

Never read your SOP/LOI after it has already been submitted. Just don't do it! Yeah, I mentioned profs/courses and linked it to my educational/career goals.

I mentioned two specific professors and tied their research interests/speciality fields into my own research goals. 

18 minutes ago, mchutchi said:

In my letter to NPSIA I wrote international 'refuge' (not refugee) protection and assistance :S at least I caught it before submitting my letter to GSPIA

This is just my opinion so take it for what you will, but I am of the belief that as long your LOI sounds cogent and doesn't have a ton of glaring mistakes, it should be fine. Obviously no mistakes is better than having any at all. If a selection committee disqualifies your application because you forgot to dot a T or dot an I, then perhaps thats not such a desirable learning environment. 

[Hopeful2017]

12 hours ago, Duplified said:

Hey everyone! 

I just wanted to say hi and good luck to everyone in this thread! I have applied to the Munk School (MGA), School of Public Policy and Governance (MPP), and Carleton (MPPA). My number one choice at the moment is the SPPG, with the Munk School a close second. 

I just wanted to post an update that both of my applications to U of T have been placed into the "under review" category and my application to Carleton still has a "preliminary review required." Hopefully this will help everyone else gauge timelines for applications moving into the queue? From what I can gather first round admissions to the Munk School are made around the first week of March with the SPPG in the 2nd/3rd week and Carleton in the last week? 

 

My application to Carleton's MPPA is on 'recommended for assessment'

[msat]

6 minutes ago, Hopeful2017 said:

My application to Carleton's MPPA is on 'recommended for assessment'

Crazy how quick some other programs get down to business

[DefeatistElitist]

13 hours ago, Duplified said:

Hey everyone! 

I just wanted to say hi and good luck to everyone in this thread! I have applied to the Munk School (MGA), School of Public Policy and Governance (MPP), and Carleton (MPPA). My number one choice at the moment is the SPPG, with the Munk School a close second. 

I just wanted to post an update that both of my applications to U of T have been placed into the "under review" category and my application to Carleton still has a "preliminary review required." Hopefully this will help everyone else gauge timelines for applications moving into the queue? From what I can gather first round admissions to the Munk School are made around the first week of March with the SPPG in the 2nd/3rd week and Carleton in the last week? 

Damn, my munk one still says "documents received".

[Duplified]

36 minutes ago, Hopeful2017 said:

My application to Carleton's MPPA is on 'recommended for assessment'

Wow thats quick! I wonder if they are moving through the list alphabetically? My last name starts with J?

Also regarding the Munk School, I had to resubmit my CV as I had an important addition to make that occurred after I submitted my application in the first week of January. Elysha allowed me to re-submit it, but also checked off a couple more boxes and waved the english requirement, so maybe I was just ahead of the queue because of that? Either way, no real difference because we will start getting first round admissions in early March?

Also, I am curious but do we know how many people apply to the Munk School? I ended up meeting with the school during my fall reading break and they mentioned that there are around 1000 applicants yearly for 80 spots? However, I have seen figures of roughly 500-550 on here. Just trying to gauge how competitive the program is haha. 

[Hopeful2017]

4 minutes ago, Duplified said:

Wow thats quick! I wonder if they are moving through the list alphabetically? My last name starts with J?

Also regarding the Munk School, I had to resubmit my CV as I had an important addition to make that occurred after I submitted my application in the first week of January. Elysha allowed me to re-submit it, but also checked off a couple more boxes and waved the english requirement, so maybe I was just ahead of the queue because of that? Either way, no real difference because we will start getting first round admissions in early March?

Also, I am curious but do we know how many people apply to the Munk School? I ended up meeting with the school during my fall reading break and they mentioned that there are around 1000 applicants yearly for 80 spots? However, I have seen figures of roughly 500-550 on here. Just trying to gauge how competitive the program is haha. 

 

My last name starts with an S! So I'm not sure. Mine was on recommended for assessment on January 31. My application has been complete since November so maybe that's why? Hopefully they will be getting back to me soon then!

 

Not sure about Munk I heard around 300 applications per year and accepts 80.