Columbia SIPA 2017

[ArellaV]

2 hours ago, Katekm said:

yeah I was wondering about that too!

Regarding the funding, you received additional funding notice I guess? Mine showed only acceptance letter, so probably I did not get any funding..

Yes, at the bottom of the acceptance letter there was a link to another letter. 

[Student007]

11 hours ago, HisGrace said:

Is SIPA ever worth full tuition?? Im meeting with a current student in a few days,  and he didn't receive funding

It depends on your financial background. I think SIPA full tuition PLUS NYC's rent is just outrageous. The ROI would not be worth it if you're planning to work in public service. IR/PP are fields that don't particularly result in very significant salaries unless you work up the private sector ladder. I have heard that SIPA is more generous with funding after the first year. Someone can correct me on that.

[Abby22]

I got in too but no funding :(. Are there other external funding sources anyone else knows of? is it too late to look for funding? 

[Leeannuhw]

Accepted with no funding as well, but I am really attracted to SIPA's program curriculum and location. Price tag is ridiculously high though compared to the half tuition USC Price is offering me. 

It sounds like the international fellowship is announced separately?

Edited March 12, 2017 by Leeannuhw

[ArellaV]

3 hours ago, Leeannuhw said:

Accepted with no funding as well, but I am really attracted to SIPA's program curriculum and location. Price tag is ridiculously high though compared to the half tuition USC Price is offering me. 

It sounds like the international fellowship is announced separately?

If you refer to the IFP then yes. Last year decisions were sent around 03/15, so I assume we will know by the end of this week. 

[Surfbordt]

In! But with no funding (sighs). I never really paid attention to the cost of attendance until I got the acceptance, but after taking a look 

[ArellaV]

Could we please talk debt? I am crunching numbers and feeling extremely angsty. 

How much debt is too much debt? Anyone? Thoughts? 

And isn't SIPAs estimate for living expenses a tad underestimated?

Edited March 15, 2017 by ArellaV

[ironheart]

2 hours ago, ArellaV said:

Could we please talk debt? I am crunching numbers and feeling extremely angsty. 

How much debt is too much debt? Anyone? Thoughts? 

And isn't SIPAs estimate for living expenses a tad underestimated?

Hi Arella,

Indirect costs for SIPA seem to be fair for me, but this is assuming your rent is at a maximum $1200 per month (but if you're okay with living in the Columbia dorms, rent can be as low as $800 per month) and you get a Columbia dining plan. A subway card is $116.50 per month. Books can be a lot cheaper if bought used from Amazon (and SIPA students get free 6 months of Amazon Prime). While New York can be very expensive, it's also a city with some good and reasonably priced options if you know where to look

As for debt, I'm sorry I can't help you with this, but consensus here on the forum seems to be not to take out more than 60k. SIPA has a lot of fellowship opportunities during the second year that can count as tuition waivers/discounts, so it would be great to look at those opportunities as well.

Hope this helps!

[Merantau]

Hi all. Thank you for elaborating the costs @ironheart

I'm in the same predicament too. Would love to go to SIPA more than any place else, but even with a scholarship I still need to come up with around 90k. If anyone knows any info about any kind of financial aid or low interest loans, I'd really appreciate it. I've been searching but I haven't found anything suitable yet.

[Katekm]

22 hours ago, ironheart said:

Hi Arella,

Indirect costs for SIPA seem to be fair for me, but this is assuming your rent is at a maximum $1200 per month (but if you're okay with living in the Columbia dorms, rent can be as low as $800 per month) and you get a Columbia dining plan. A subway card is $116.50 per month. Books can be a lot cheaper if bought used from Amazon (and SIPA students get free 6 months of Amazon Prime). While New York can be very expensive, it's also a city with some good and reasonably priced options if you know where to look

As for debt, I'm sorry I can't help you with this, but consensus here on the forum seems to be not to take out more than 60k. SIPA has a lot of fellowship opportunities during the second year that can count as tuition waivers/discounts, so it would be great to look at those opportunities as well.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the elaboration! So are there more chances to get funding later on? I wonder how many students actually grab fellowship oppts during the second year .. 

[ArellaV]

23 hours ago, ironheart said:

Hi Arella,

Indirect costs for SIPA seem to be fair for me, but this is assuming your rent is at a maximum $1200 per month (but if you're okay with living in the Columbia dorms, rent can be as low as $800 per month) and you get a Columbia dining plan. A subway card is $116.50 per month. Books can be a lot cheaper if bought used from Amazon (and SIPA students get free 6 months of Amazon Prime). While New York can be very expensive, it's also a city with some good and reasonably priced options if you know where to look

As for debt, I'm sorry I can't help you with this, but consensus here on the forum seems to be not to take out more than 60k. SIPA has a lot of fellowship opportunities during the second year that can count as tuition waivers/discounts, so it would be great to look at those opportunities as well.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for this @ironheart, very helpful. 

17 hours ago, Merantau said:

Hi all. Thank you for elaborating the costs @ironheart

I'm in the same predicament too. Would love to go to SIPA more than any place else, but even with a scholarship I still need to come up with around 90k. If anyone knows any info about any kind of financial aid or low interest loans, I'd really appreciate it. I've been searching but I haven't found anything suitable yet.

@Merantau, are you an international student? Else, aren't Plus Loans an option? 

1 hour ago, Katekm said:

Thanks for the elaboration! So are there more chances to get funding later on? I wonder how many students actually grab fellowship oppts during the second year .. 

@Katekm, I understand that students can appeal the fellowship decision and be given a form, which has to be completed by April 15th to see if they can receive any funding for the first year. Also, I hear it is very common for students to receive fellowships for the second year: usually a combination of scholarships that are credited towards your tuition and a assistantship. For the assistantship though, I read somewhere on the SIPA website that you need to maintain a 3.4GPA.

Hope this helps!

[Merantau]

8 hours ago, ArellaV said:

Thanks for this @ironheart, very helpful. 

@Merantau, are you an international student? Else, aren't Plus Loans an option? 

@Katekm, I understand that students can appeal the fellowship decision and be given a form, which has to be completed by April 15th to see if they can receive any funding for the first year. Also, I hear it is very common for students to receive fellowships for the second year: usually a combination of scholarships that are credited towards your tuition and a assistantship. For the assistantship though, I read somewhere on the SIPA website that you need to maintain a 3.4GPA.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the reply, @ArellaV Yeah, I'm international, so options for student loans are pretty limited for me. Btw, does fellowship decision appeal apply only to students offered funding? 

[Vanessa1991]

On 3/12/2017 at 8:59 PM, ArellaV said:

If you refer to the IFP then yes. Last year decisions were sent around 03/15, so I assume we will know by the end of this week. 

@ArellaV do you know if the IFP decision are announced seperately for newly admitted students and for current students? I just checked their website and it says the application deadline  is April 13 2017 so that means if decisions are released jointly with current students then we won't find out until after the deadline as people are still technically applying. 

Edited March 21, 2017 by Vgpmc

[ArellaV]

On 3/17/2017 at 5:19 AM, Merantau said:

Thanks for the reply, @ArellaV Yeah, I'm international, so options for student loans are pretty limited for me. Btw, does fellowship decision appeal apply only to students offered funding? 

@Merantau Not sure if the appeals apply only to those who got funding. I'd suggest you email Grace Han about it. 

Columbia has this program with Prodigy Finance where international students qualify for loans (without co-signers) for up to 80% of full cost of attendance. Check it out and see if it works for you: https://prodigyfinance.com/get-a-loan/columbia-columbia-school-of-international-and-public-affairs/loan

Also, I recently talked to a friend from CBS and she told me that private banks will not deny loans to international students, but the interest rate will be higher if they do not have a co-signer (doesn't hurt to pay them a call and try! If you go for this, I would suggest the Chase branch that is near Columbia). She also suggested variable interest rates for sure.  

On 3/21/2017 at 4:59 PM, Vgpmc said:

@ArellaV do you know if the IFP decision are announced seperately for newly admitted students and for current students? I just checked their website and it says the application deadline  is April 13 2017 so that means if decisions are released jointly with current students then we won't find out until after the deadline as people are still technically applying. 

@Vgpmc No clue!! I wouldn't like to wait that much more, but I guess it makes sense. 

[Student007]

On 3/24/2017 at 0:39 AM, ArellaV said:

@Merantau Also, I recently talked to a friend from CBS and she told me that private banks will not deny loans to international students, but the interest rate will be higher if they do not have a co-signer (doesn't hurt to pay them a call and try! If you go for this, I would suggest the Chase branch that is near Columbia). She also suggested variable interest rates for sure.  

If you have to take a private loan for this degree, it's really not worth it. I would try to pursue Plus Loans as much as possible. Even with a co-signer, the interest between private loans and student loans definitely make a difference in the long run as it accumulates. I don't know how much an international relations career earns in your country, @Merantau, but you have to consider post-graduate about your possible income when you go back home or even if you decide to stay in the US. If the average person in the field you want to pursue earns significantly less than how much debt you're taking, that's a clear red flag. That's why as ironheart has mentioned, the general amount thrown around in this forum is $60k for an acceptable student debt.

[nebula]

Anyone else debating between SIPA and SAIS? Could someone knowledgable about both pitch in about which would be better suited for someone considering a career in consulting and international finance?

[Merantau]

On 3/23/2017 at 10:39 PM, ArellaV said:

@Merantau Not sure if the appeals apply only to those who got funding. I'd suggest you email Grace Han about it. 

Columbia has this program with Prodigy Finance where international students qualify for loans (without co-signers) for up to 80% of full cost of attendance. Check it out and see if it works for you: https://prodigyfinance.com/get-a-loan/columbia-columbia-school-of-international-and-public-affairs/loan

Also, I recently talked to a friend from CBS and she told me that private banks will not deny loans to international students, but the interest rate will be higher if they do not have a co-signer (doesn't hurt to pay them a call and try! If you go for this, I would suggest the Chase branch that is near Columbia). She also suggested variable interest rates for sure.  

@Vgpmc No clue!! I wouldn't like to wait that much more, but I guess it makes sense. 

 

On 3/26/2017 at 3:37 AM, Student007 said:

If you have to take a private loan for this degree, it's really not worth it. I would try to pursue Plus Loans as much as possible. Even with a co-signer, the interest between private loans and student loans definitely make a difference in the long run as it accumulates. I don't know how much an international relations career earns in your country, @Merantau, but you have to consider post-graduate about your possible income when you go back home or even if you decide to stay in the US. If the average person in the field you want to pursue earns significantly less than how much debt you're taking, that's a clear red flag. That's why as ironheart has mentioned, the general amount thrown around in this forum is $60k for an acceptable student debt.

Thank you so much for the insights @ArellaV and @Student007! I've been thinking long and hard about this whole funding ordeal and still haven't made up my mind, haha. I know for sure that I want to go to SIPA, but with other choices I have--some with a certain amount of funding, some with a lot that I don't need to pay for anything at all--it's really hard to decide. I agree, though, that taking out loans would be a bit too risky for me as an international student. I want to go back to my country after graduating, and human rights advocacy is not exactly a profitable career choice, hehe. Even if I end up working for the UN or other international organizations, I would need to sacrifice a lot of my comfort from having to pay out massive debts from grad school.

I'm thinking of approaching a few institutions here at home to see if they have spare money to fund this poor student, as well as emailing SIPA Admissions director. If none of that works out, then maybe I'll take out loans (no more than 60k). We'll see.  

[ArellaV]

@Merantau Where are you from?

[Merantau]

I'm from Indonesia. What about you, @ArellaV?

[lanhoang]

Hi everyone, congrats to those who have been admitted to SIPA!

I got into the MPA program with the HR/HP concentration and most likely will attend this fall. Just out of curiosity, has anybody been successful in getting a response from Grace Han?

I met her in person at a grad school fair last year and was given her personal contacts. I've been trying to contact her via her personal email about several issues (dual degree/fin aid appeal) but so far no response. I know there are dedicated emails and offices that take care of those issues but it has been rather impersonal and the responses they gave me have been generic. So in case you guys have any better/different experience, it would be nice to know. Thanks a lot in advance for any insights! 

Edited April 11, 2017 by lanhoang

[Merantau]

Hi @lanhoang! Congrats to you too! I am also going to concentrate in HRHP. Which specialization are you going to take? 

I emailed Grace Han and David Sheridan (Director of Financial Aid) last week, cc-ing the FinAid Office, in an attempt to appeal for funding. I got an immediate response, but from the FinAid office. And just like your experience, their reply was pretty much generic. 

Good luck, and let us know if you receive any encouraging response!

[nebula]

Just to confirm, a prospective student at SIPA does not need to complete intro to micro/macro before enrolling?

[ironheart]

Did anyone go to Admit Day? Would love to hear your thoughts!

[ArellaV]

@Merantau from Peru.

@lanhoang I wrote to Grace Han few days after we got the admission results to see if I could get additional funding. She referred me to the form we have to complete for the appeal process, but that was about it. 

Are you guys submitting an appeal? If so, what amount are you considering? I too will submit one, but I am unsure of how much is too much. 

 

[lanhoang]

@Merantau Thanks and congrats to you too! Excited that you are also in the HRHP track, hopefully we'll bump into each other in some of the classes. My intended specialization for now is Management (since I hope to learn more about program design and M&E) But that might change - so many interesting things going on in other specialization as well. What about you? 

@ArellaV thanks for sharing your experience. Seems like the system is somewhat rigid and there is no/little wiggle room. 

I also emailed the FinAid office about the appeal amount. From their reply, I got the impression that it doesn't matter the amount we requested, it all depends on the availability of funding (which might be small and incremental). So I suppose you could lodge any number that is within reason. Hope that helps