Applying to Munk 2018

[limbsun]

1 hour ago, lily22 said:

Does anybody know the specific exchange opportunities available for Munk students? I am aware that there are a select few exchange programs available to MGA students due to the nature of the program, but I'm having a really hard time finding a concrete list of destinations (for the MGA) anywhere online. 

@lily22 Having the same problem as well. They used to list out the universities for exchange opportunities, like if I can remember correctly, they listed American University, Hewbew Uni, Sciences Po, Korea U, etc., but now they don't list them in the MGA website and I can't even find the list in the CIE website.

[sunshine18]

8 hours ago, limbsun said:

@lily22 Having the same problem as well. They used to list out the universities for exchange opportunities, like if I can remember correctly, they listed American University, Hewbew Uni, Sciences Po, Korea U, etc., but now they don't list them in the MGA website and I can't even find the list in the CIE website.

From what I read on the website a few months ago, all of those universities ^ are partnered with Munk. I also think there's one in Japan and Germany.

Edited February 6, 2018 by sunshine18

[FT1994]

@mppmgaapplicant2018 & @lily22 

I think people tend to quote their final year GPA, but then again, I'm not used to the GPA grading system or how people use it. 

I'm pretty certain we were told 750 because I remember thinking at the time, "that's almost 10:1." I don't know which is the true number. 

Coming from a top university in the UK, I've personally found the workload very different to my undergrad but also pretty easy so far. It is intense in the sense that, firstly, the lectures are compulsory and often have a 'participation mark', and secondly, the assignments are frequent. However, while frequent, the assignments are really quite short and they're often group assigned. I wouldn't say I know anyone who is struggling with the work.

You'll find the exchange unis here: https://sites.studentlife.utoronto.ca/opportunity/Studenthome/login. This year we could apply to any of those universities, so long as they accepted both graduate level and fall semester exchange students, (which is a lot of them). @lily22 @limbsun @sunshine18 I think there might be some unis that are/were MGA exclusive, but that doesn't limit one from looking beyond those universities. 

Edited February 6, 2018 by FT1994

[lily22]

10 hours ago, FT1994 said:

@mppmgaapplicant2018 & @lily22 

I think people tend to quote their final year GPA, but then again, I'm not used to the GPA grading system or how people use it. 

I'm pretty certain we were told 750 because I remember thinking at the time, "that's almost 10:1." I don't know which is the true number. 

Coming from a top university in the UK, I've personally found the workload very different to my undergrad but also pretty easy so far. It is intense in the sense that, firstly, the lectures are compulsory and often have a 'participation mark', and secondly, the assignments are frequent. However, while frequent, the assignments are really quite short and they're often group assigned. I wouldn't say I know anyone who is struggling with the work.

You'll find the exchange unis here: https://sites.studentlife.utoronto.ca/opportunity/Studenthome/login. This year we could apply to any of those universities, so long as they accepted both graduate level and fall semester exchange students, (which is a lot of them). @lily22 @limbsun @sunshine18 I think there might be some unis that are/were MGA exclusive, but that doesn't limit one from looking beyond those universities. 

Ohh okay thank you so much! I had read somewhere that MGA students are only allowed to apply to certain programs/schools abroad due to the nature of the program. But it's exciting that you were able to apply to any one of those universities!  

[Kaspara]

Hey folks, I'm currently an MGA1 at Munk. If anyone has questions about admissions or any aspect of the program, let me know!

[limbsun]

Hi @Kaspara What made you choose Munk over programs like GSPIA? also, would you happen to know the average undergrad cgpa and final year gpa of those who were accepted to the Munk program last year? 

Thanks!

[Kaspara]

17 minutes ago, limbsun said:

Hi @Kaspara What made you choose Munk over programs like GSPIA? also, would you happen to know the average undergrad cgpa and final year gpa of those who were accepted to the Munk program last year? 

Thanks!

Munk has, far and away, the best reputation of all the professional IR Master's programs in Canada. It has the best course selections, the best instructors, and the best professional development opportunities (workshops, networking, internships, etc.).

However, think very hard about which program you choose if you get multiple offers. I love the program, but the MGA has many glaring issues.

First and foremost, the cost is absolutely insane. You will be paying $50,000 for the two years, so you either need to be rich, get a lot of external funding, or be willing to accumulate huge student loans. I got offers from both NPSIA ($27,000 scholarship) and GSPIA ($10,000 scholarship), and there are times where I seriously wished I had chosen them. If you think that money will be a concern really think about other options, since Munk is super expensive, and will not give you much support (particularly after cutting UTAPS funding last year). There are other issues with the program, but I'll stop there for now.

 

In regards admissions, it is tough to say. In all reality, you want to have an A- average to be competitive, and even that may not be enough. I got accepted to Munk with a $5,000 entrance scholarship with a 3.79 CGPA and about a 3.9 final year GPA. You can still be competitive with a bit less than this, but you are going to need strong references, a strong personal statement, and other compelling experiences. The current cohort is a mix of people fresh out of undergrad and people with a fair bit of work experience, so you have a shot even if your grades or your work experience are a little lacking.

Hope that helps.

[sunshine18]

1 hour ago, Kaspara said:

Munk has, far and away, the best reputation of all the professional IR Master's programs in Canada. It has the best course selections, the best instructors, and the best professional development opportunities (workshops, networking, internships, etc.).

However, think very hard about which program you choose if you get multiple offers. I love the program, but the MGA has many glaring issues.

First and foremost, the cost is absolutely insane. You will be paying $50,000 for the two years, so you either need to be rich, get a lot of external funding, or be willing to accumulate huge student loans. I got offers from both NPSIA ($27,000 scholarship) and GSPIA ($10,000 scholarship), and there are times where I seriously wished I had chosen them. If you think that money will be a concern really think about other options, since Munk is super expensive, and will not give you much support (particularly after cutting UTAPS funding last year). There are other issues with the program, but I'll stop there for now.

 

In regards admissions, it is tough to say. In all reality, you want to have an A- average to be competitive, and even that may not be enough. I got accepted to Munk with a $5,000 entrance scholarship with a 3.79 CGPA and about a 3.9 final year GPA. You can still be competitive with a bit less than this, but you are going to need strong references, a strong personal statement, and other compelling experiences. The current cohort is a mix of people fresh out of undergrad and people with a fair bit of work experience, so you have a shot even if your grades or your work experience are a little lacking.

Hope that helps.

Would you say that you regret your decision?

[Kaspara]

28 minutes ago, sunshine18 said:

Would you say that you regret your decision?

Overall, no. It's a phenomenal program, by and large. The program opens up a lot of doors that most Master's programs won't. The internship (there are a lot of really cool opportunities) and capstone are great opportunities, and the people and classes are mostly great. However, as I stated before, finances are a huge issue. If you don't think you can pay the tuition without racking up a ton of debt (and stress) and you have other options, seriously consider NPSIA or GPSIA.

[sunshine18]

43 minutes ago, Kaspara said:

Overall, no. It's a phenomenal program, by and large. The program opens up a lot of doors that most Master's programs won't. The internship (there are a lot of really cool opportunities) and capstone are great opportunities, and the people and classes are mostly great. However, as I stated before, finances are a huge issue. If you don't think you can pay the tuition without racking up a ton of debt (and stress) and you have other options, seriously consider NPSIA or GPSIA.

Is it easy to make friends? are you renting in toronto or commuting from the GTA?

[mppmgaapplicant2018]

2 hours ago, Kaspara said:

Overall, no. It's a phenomenal program, by and large. The program opens up a lot of doors that most Master's programs won't. The internship (there are a lot of really cool opportunities) and capstone are great opportunities, and the people and classes are mostly great. However, as I stated before, finances are a huge issue. If you don't think you can pay the tuition without racking up a ton of debt (and stress) and you have other options, seriously consider NPSIA or GPSIA.

Hey! Thank you so much for your time!

Are there any particular internship opportunities especially unique to Munk?

[limbsun]

11 hours ago, Kaspara said:

Munk has, far and away, the best reputation of all the professional IR Master's programs in Canada. It has the best course selections, the best instructors, and the best professional development opportunities (workshops, networking, internships, etc.).

However, think very hard about which program you choose if you get multiple offers. I love the program, but the MGA has many glaring issues.

First and foremost, the cost is absolutely insane. You will be paying $50,000 for the two years, so you either need to be rich, get a lot of external funding, or be willing to accumulate huge student loans. I got offers from both NPSIA ($27,000 scholarship) and GSPIA ($10,000 scholarship), and there are times where I seriously wished I had chosen them. If you think that money will be a concern really think about other options, since Munk is super expensive, and will not give you much support (particularly after cutting UTAPS funding last year). There are other issues with the program, but I'll stop there for now.

 

In regards admissions, it is tough to say. In all reality, you want to have an A- average to be competitive, and even that may not be enough. I got accepted to Munk with a $5,000 entrance scholarship with a 3.79 CGPA and about a 3.9 final year GPA. You can still be competitive with a bit less than this, but you are going to need strong references, a strong personal statement, and other compelling experiences. The current cohort is a mix of people fresh out of undergrad and people with a fair bit of work experience, so you have a shot even if your grades or your work experience are a little lacking.

Hope that helps.

Thanks so much @Kaspara ?

[lily22]

On 2/12/2018 at 10:35 AM, Kaspara said:

In regards admissions, it is tough to say. In all reality, you want to have an A- average to be competitive, and even that may not be enough. I got accepted to Munk with a $5,000 entrance scholarship with a 3.79 CGPA and about a 3.9 final year GPA. You can still be competitive with a bit less than this, but you are going to need strong references, a strong personal statement, and other compelling experiences. The current cohort is a mix of people fresh out of undergrad and people with a fair bit of work experience, so you have a shot even if your grades or your work experience are a little lacking.

Hope that helps.

Would you mind sharing your other stats (i.e. personal statements, experience outside of academia) that you believe helped you get admitted to Munk? Thank you so much! 

[Kaspara]

On 2/12/2018 at 1:30 PM, sunshine18 said:

Is it easy to make friends? are you renting in toronto or commuting from the GTA?

You will be in a cohort of 80-ish people, so it isn't difficult to make friends if you want to.

 

My situation is a bit different than some. It's probably a 60-40 split between renting in toronto and commuting from the GTA.

[Kaspara]

On 2/12/2018 at 2:50 PM, mppmgaapplicant2018 said:

Hey! Thank you so much for your time!

Are there any particular internship opportunities especially unique to Munk?

There are a ton of great opportunities to choose from. They are broken down into Public Competitions, Public with MGA Connections, and MGA Exclusive. There are a lot of the ones you would expect (UN, WB, GAC, Ontario Ministries), some consultancies, NGOs, some banks, and some more specialized opportunities. You also have the opportunity to search out your own internships if you don't want or get the ~150 opportunities listed on our platform.

[Kaspara]

On 2/13/2018 at 4:55 PM, lily22 said:

Would you mind sharing your other stats (i.e. personal statements, experience outside of academia) that you believe helped you get admitted to Munk? Thank you so much! 

As I said, I applied with about a 3.79 from U of T. I had two great references that I knew very well from class (this is key). My personal and research statements were what you would expect; just telling them about myself, why I was a good fit for the program, what I wanted to do after grad school, and what my areas of interest were. 

In terms of experience, I have very little prior to the MGA. A few jobs, only one of which was even tangentially related. A couple of extra-curriculars (eg: Model UN), but nothing stellar. From what I gather the selection process, from most to least important is:

-Grades (to filter out applicants)

-Statements

-References

-Other experiences

I know some people in my cohort who have a lot of really good work experience since they have been out of school for a while, so that would be weighted more heavily.

[DCrSS]

It’s now saying mid to late March for admission decisions on the website. It used to say early March ? lol

[sunshine18]

3 hours ago, DCrSS said:

It’s now saying mid to late March for admission decisions on the website. It used to say early March ? lol

it still says early to mid march on the admission website

[BlndGeo]

Under the FAQ section it is saying that offers will come out mid-late March. This isn't surprising as in 2016 offers came out on March 1st, and then in 2017 they came out March 15/16th.

This wait is so hard...

[sunshine18]

out of curiosity, what field did you guys put under the proposed area of study?

[mppmgaapplicant2018]

19 hours ago, DCrSS said:

It’s now saying mid to late March for admission decisions on the website. It used to say early March ? lol

Did the FAQ web page say early March before? 

 

14 hours ago, sunshine18 said:

out of curiosity, what field did you guys put under the proposed area of study?

I believe it's optional. I left it blank and outlined my broader areas of policy interest in my PS.

[Kaspara]

FYI, the first round of applications were sent in mid-March last year. I was first round, and received it March 16, 2017. Expect a similar timing this year.

If you don't get first round, however, the offers will come in at random times afterwards (one student got an offer in mid-August).

[DCrSS]

2 hours ago, mppmgaapplicant2018 said:

Did the FAQ web page say early March before? 

I'm pretty sure it did and also some of the answers to the FAQ has changed as well since two days ago.

Edited February 21, 2018 by DCrSS

[mppmgaapplicant2018]

22 hours ago, DCrSS said:

I'm pretty sure it did and also some of the answers to the FAQ has changed as well since two days ago.

gotcha. Looks like we've got about another 3-4 weeks  of waiting left.

Edited February 22, 2018 by mppmgaapplicant2018

[BlndGeo]

Someone in the results section of this website posted that they were accepted to the combined MGA and Public Policy degree on Feb 13th!