Applying to Munk 2018

[ah14]

Hey All, 

First off, congratulations to all those who got accepted and also those who are on the wait list! I got my acceptance letter with no funding earlier this week. This poses a problem as UofT is quite expensive. I applied to NPSIA and waiting to hear back from them. 

 

[jjsmithsonian99]

Hey,

I'm a current MGA student, and I just talked to Megan. This year, they've sent out all funding letters together with the offer of admission, and they're not going to adjust that later, so there's no point in holding out for more funding, it seems. Also, we all got some money for our second year in the MGA program. I don't know what others have received, but I didn't get funding on admission and got a little bit now. Also, we've been told that there will be some TAships for second year MGA students in the future, and some of us have been hired as research assistants by professors.

Of course it's not great that they don't tell you what you'll get in the second year when you're admitted and have to make a decision, but I just wanted to let you guys know that there is some funding later, too. Though most of us are also taking on more student loans to make it work.

JJ

[mppmgaapplicant2018]

40 minutes ago, jjsmithsonian99 said:

Hey,

I'm a current MGA student, and I just talked to Megan. This year, they've sent out all funding letters together with the offer of admission, and they're not going to adjust that later, so there's no point in holding out for more funding, it seems. Also, we all got some money for our second year in the MGA program. I don't know what others have received, but I didn't get funding on admission and got a little bit now. Also, we've been told that there will be some TAships for second year MGA students in the future, and some of us have been hired as research assistants by professors.

Of course it's not great that they don't tell you what you'll get in the second year when you're admitted and have to make a decision, but I just wanted to let you guys know that there is some funding later, too. Though most of us are also taking on more student loans to make it work.

JJ

Thanks for this, JJ! If you don't mind, may I ask what made you choose Munk despite having to pay sticker? Did you apply to any other programs?  

Edit: More importantly, do you think the investment/debt load was worth it? What has your experience with the career services been like? Does your cohort share a similar view as yours?

Edited March 14, 2018 by mppmgaapplicant2018

[ah14]

@jjsmithsonian99Thank you so much for that input. I think it weighs in a lot to my decision. I was thinking of maybe deferring for the year to work and then pay because as an international student I cannot take out loans. However, I don't want to miss this opportunity either and the consequences of deferring if it does not get approved. If you could elaborate on your experiences and have other MGA students who can speak for their's I think it would help us immensely! 

Thank you!

[munkstudent123]

Does anybody know how many people applied to Munk this year?

[mppmgaapplicant2018]

How many of y'all have accepted your offers?

[Scuderia]

45 minutes ago, mppmgaapplicant2018 said:

How many of y'all have accepted your offers?

Me!!!! 

[mppmgaapplicant2018]

2 hours ago, Scuderia said:

Me!!!! 

Awesome! I just looked up your posting history. Any reason you turned down NPSIA for Munk?

Also, should we make a facebook group folks?

[Scuderia]

8 hours ago, mppmgaapplicant2018 said:

Awesome! I just looked up your posting history. Any reason you turned down NPSIA for Munk?

Also, should we make a facebook group folks?

Hey MPP, 

Of course Munk has the cost factor against it, however, I just feel like overall I will come out as a well rounded student, no shade on npsia though. The coursework at Munk seems more diverse, as well as the professional development workshops, and endless flow of guest speakers. 

I’m all for a Facebook group!!

Hope to see you in the fall mppmgaapplicant2018!

 

[mppmgaapplicant2018]

Hey folks, just created the facebook group! Looking forward to seeing you all there!  

https://www.facebook.com/groups/219448248793589/

 

[JackFr]

Um, my SGS portal's status has been set to "Under Review" again despite receiving my offer of admission a week ago. This is normal and I shouldn't panic, right??

 

EDIT: nevermind I'm stupid

Edited March 22, 2018 by JackFr

[Scuderia]

Does anyone know by chance what the cut off grade is for the microeconomics exemption? I’ve seen a B and B+ on the Munk website. Also, just curious if any of you are going to take the course anyways? 

Thank you all. Can’t wait for the Fall. 

 

 

[mppmgaapplicant2018]

12 hours ago, Scuderia said:

Does anyone know by chance what the cut off grade is for the microeconomics exemption? I’ve seen a B and B+ on the Munk website. Also, just curious if any of you are going to take the course anyways? 

Thank you all. Can’t wait for the Fall. 

 

 

There won't be any exemptions for the 2020 batch per Megan. I believe everyone will have to take the course. Someone should double check to make sure. 

[Scuderia]

1 hour ago, mppmgaapplicant2018 said:

There won't be any exemptions for the 2020 batch per Megan. I believe everyone will have to take the course. Someone should double check to make sure. 

Thanks for the reply! I think that would a good way to give everyone the same economics training. 

[mppmgaapplicant2018]

Turned down my offer from the MGA for the MPP program. Probably one of the more difficult decisions I've had to make. Hopefully this opens up a spot for someone on this forum. Good luck all! Hopefully I'll be seeing y'all at the new Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy!

Edited April 9, 2018 by mppmgaapplicant2018

[lily22]

18 hours ago, mppmgaapplicant2018 said:

Turned down my offer from the MGA for the MPP program. Probably one of the more difficult decisions I've had to make. Hopefully this opens up a spot for someone on this forum. Good luck all! Hopefully I'll be seeing y'all at the new Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy!

Congratulations on accepting the MPP program. You must be very excited! 

Now the long wait for waitlisted students begins -- apparently as late as August! 

[mppmgaapplicant2018]

3 hours ago, lily22 said:

Congratulations on accepting the MPP program. You must be very excited! 

Now the long wait for waitlisted students begins -- apparently as late as August! 

Thanks! It was a bitter-sweet moment, but I think I made a choice that best suited my career aspirations. 

Hope you hear back soon, @lily22! 

[lily22]

For anyone on the waitlist, this is what Megan said to me when I asked about second round acceptances now that the deadline has passed: 

"We have an incoming class of 102 for 80 spots. If anytime between now and September our numbers dip below 80 because students withdraw, we will admit off of the waitlist. 

 

So as of right now, we won't be admitting off the waitlist anytime soon. 

 

Best, 

Megan"

 

Edited April 11, 2018 by lily22

[MGA2018]

Hey everyone!

I'm an MGA applicant for fall 2018. I was on the waitlist but just got my admission offer! Super excited, but I didn't get offered any funding and I'm not too sure how I'm going to pay for it. I also applied to the Master of Disaster and Emergency Management at York. I know I'm going to get in and offered funding there, however, I'd much rather go to Munk. I'm a first-gen uni student from a single parent family and I'm solely relying on student loans to go to Munk. Throughout my undergrad I won eight different awards, wrote a book, and have a 3.9 GPA. Is anybody else here in the same boat/ have any advice on finding funding for this? I already applied for OSAP and the estimate they gave me was $7,000 in grants which doesn't do much when the tuition is almost $25,000 a year. Congrats to everyone who got accepted, and good luck to those who remain on the waitlist!

Edited April 12, 2018 by MGA2018

[limbsun]

Got accepted off the waitlist as well yesterday! 

[lily22]

27 minutes ago, limbsun said:

Got accepted off the waitlist as well yesterday! 

Congratulations to both you and @MGA2018!!!! Are you going to accept your offer?

Dang, I guess Megan didn't really mean that Munk "won't be admitting off the waitlist anytime soon." I'm still holding out.

Edited April 13, 2018 by lily22

[lily22]

On 4/12/2018 at 3:52 PM, MGA2018 said:

Hey everyone!

I'm an MGA applicant for fall 2018. I was on the waitlist but just got my admission offer! Super excited, but I didn't get offered any funding and I'm not too sure how I'm going to pay for it. I also applied to the Master of Disaster and Emergency Management at York. I know I'm going to get in and offered funding there, however, I'd much rather go to Munk. I'm a first-gen uni student from a single parent family and I'm solely relying on student loans to go to Munk. Throughout my undergrad I won eight different awards, wrote a book, and have a 3.9 GPA. Is anybody else here in the same boat/ have any advice on finding funding for this? I already applied for OSAP and the estimate they gave me was $7,000 in grants which doesn't do much when the tuition is almost $25,000 a year. Congrats to everyone who got accepted, and good luck to those who remain on the waitlist!

Congrats and sorry to hear that OSAP isn't gonna cover it. I'm not too well-versed in grants but you may want to check out U of T's UTAPS. They assist in covering the financial gap for students who receive the max. amount of government financial aid. I'm not sure if they mean the max. amount of government aid available to that particular student (based on your savings & parental income etc) or the max. amount that the government can offer to any student. 

You can also contact OSAP directly, explain to them, and/or appeal. That, or contact U of T's financial aid office and ask what your options are. Have you also talked to your bank about a Student Line of Credit?

There's quite a few options, in addition to working more hours this summer and/or taking a 2nd job to make extra cash. Otherwise, I don't know a whole lot about U of T's funding -- I've heard the funding options at Munk are terrible lol.

Edited April 13, 2018 by lily22

[limbsun]

5 hours ago, lily22 said:

Congratulations to both you and @MGA2018!!!! Are you going to accept your offer?

Dang, I guess Megan didn't really mean that Munk "won't be admitting off the waitlist anytime soon." I'm still holding out.

@lily22 thanks so much! Yes, I just accepted the offer. I received the email yesterday so I’m confident more people are being admitted off the waitlist. Good luck and I hope you hear good news from them soon! 

[mppmgaapplicant2018]

5 hours ago, lily22 said:

Congratulations to both you and @MGA2018!!!! Are you going to accept your offer?

Dang, I guess Megan didn't really mean that Munk "won't be admitting off the waitlist anytime soon." I'm still holding out.

So on the 11th Megan actually sent out follow-up emails to those who didn't get back to her with a reply to their offer. I think some people might've declined their offer in their reply to that email - which would've opened up spots on the waitlist. 

[Kaspara]

Hey folks, just wanted to bring up a couple of points you might find useful:

1. A poster above was mentioning finances, particularly UTAPS. So you should know, UTAPS does not cover any expenses for the MGA. A decision was made a year ago to discontinue UTAPS funding for all professional programs at U of T, since it was apparently costing too much. It really blows, I know. There are a few opportunities for funding, but they are honestly pretty limited. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

2. The course list has recently been posted on the Munk website: https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/mga/courses/mga-courses. There are some serious changes from this past year, so I suggest you take a look if you were particularly keen about a course. Because of the change-over, there is obviously some uncertainty on how different the classes will be. Nonetheless, I'm happy to answer questions about it.

3. So you're all aware, I'll be the MGA Student Association Director of Internal for 2018-2019, so if you have any questions about Munk, the MGA, etc., feel free to let me know and I will do my best to answer. It's a very exciting and stressful time (it was for me) in the summer before classes start, so I'm happy to help you all out!