Applying to NPSIA for 2018

[StrawberryFields67]

Hey everyone,

I hope you don't mind if I post here, I've applied to the Master of Public Policy and Administration (MPPA) program at Carleton! Normally, there's a significant MPA/MPP presence on this forum though I haven't heard from anyone else yet. Has anyone here also applied to the MPPA program?

I hope that the offers of admission will be earlier this year for the MPPA program too!

I am currently taking both economics courses online. I'm a bit behind though hopefully I should be able to catch up. Getting a B+ in both micro and macro is also a requirement for the MPPA program. Even if I don't get into Carleton, they're still useful for public policy in general.

[Omie]

Has anybody else's status changed from "preliminary review required" ? 

I know it's only been a week, but I'm wondering if I should email them to get an update... The wait is killing me lol

[Delidas]

@StrawberryFields67 I applied for the MPA at Queen's, but not Carleton. I wouldn't be surprised if others on this forum applied to it, though. Was there any reason you opted for the MPPA over the MIA? I mean, we might as well shoot the breeze while we waste away and wait, right? 

@Omie Mine hasn't changed either; I think they might be progressing alphabetically. I'm an 'M', so I'm holding out hope that they'll get to me soon. If they truly are planning on getting first round offers out by the third week of February, I'd hope to be at least 'recommended for assessment' by next week. 

[StrawberryFields67]

@Delidas Exactly!  I'm more interested in domestic policy. Canada does some great work abroad though we have some issues here that I'd like to work on i.e. sustainability and indigenous issues. What got you interested in IR?

It's funny you ask that, I did a Career Cruising quiz last night and it told me that my best match would be Foreign Service Officer (#2 was Public Policy Analyst). So who knows, maybe I'll still end up in IR. It's not like a master's in public policy could preclude me from going down that route.

Any reason why you applied for the MPA at Queen's but not at Carleton? I thought of applying to Queen's too. It's just that I lived in Kingston for five years and I would really like a change of scenery.

[Sagnik_G]

54 minutes ago, StrawberryFields67 said:

@Delidas Exactly!  I'm more interested in domestic policy. Canada does some great work abroad though we have some issues here that I'd like to work on i.e. sustainability and indigenous issues. What got you interested in IR?

It's funny you ask that, I did a Career Cruising quiz last night and it told me that my best match would be Foreign Service Officer (#2 was Public Policy Analyst). So who knows, maybe I'll still end up in IR. It's not like a master's in public policy could preclude me from going down that route.

Any reason why you applied for the MPA at Queen's but not at Carleton? I thought of applying to Queen's too. It's just that I lived in Kingston for five years and I would really like a change of scenery.

Hey, since you lived in Kingston, do you mind me asking what you've heard about Queen's as a University?

I thought of applying to Queen's as you did, but then didn't. Not only is their MA program for Pol. Sc. very limited apparently, but being an international student, it's even more limited for me. I wrote to their graduate chair and he wrote back saying they usually accepted only 1-2 outstanding international students. Didn't feel I'd have a chance with those odds. Welp.

 

[StrawberryFields67]

@Sagnik_G I did my bachelor's degree at Queen's in History. I loved some aspects of Queen's and had issues with some other aspects. 

Queen's is a fun and vibrant school with a great sense of community. The Scottish traditions give the school a unique vibe. Queen's also has an abundance of resources and opportunities.

However, there is a lack of diversity at Queen's compared to other Canadian universities. Part of this is because Kingston is not a big city like Ottawa, Montreal, or Toronto. The other part of it is that Queen's has a stereotype for attracting rich, white people, which has some truth to it. That's why I'd like to go to a school like Carleton so I could have a more urban and diverse educational experience for my master's degree. I know there is some important anti-racism work being done right now though in response to past incidents.

Of course, this is just one person's experience. Also, please keep in mind that a grad student's experience is usually different from that of an undergrad student.

Relevant links:

Something to keep in mind as a potential Poli Sci grad student at Queen's: http://www.queensjournal.ca/story/2015-11-27/news/updated-reports-of-sexual-harassment-verbal-abuse-in-political-studies/

Anti-racism work being done at Queen's: http://queensu.ca/provost/committees-and-reports/university-council-anti-racism-and-equity

[ZayyQs]

My status changed to "Review in progress by department"! My initials are ZY.

Hopefully it'll be "Recommended for assessment" soon.

The wait is killing me ? 

Edited February 8, 2018 by ZayyQs

[Delidas]

@StrawberryFields67 Yeah, the MPPA is a pretty versatile degree, so I'm sure you could pull off a career switch if you wanted to. I decided to go the MIA route after doing some research in Mexico this past summer; spoke with a lot of would-be economic migrants (and in some cases refugees), and felt as though my areas of interest were more international in scale. 

Honestly, I applied to Queens on the advice of one of my referees. I'm a small town, blue collar kid. I was the first member of my family to do anything after high school, so I've been riding on the counsel of a very involved professor for the past few years. When she told me Queens would be a good idea, I figured $95 was a small price to pay. Besides, I had most of the paperwork done/compiled already, being as I'd already applied to five other schools. There really wasn't a downside to going for it. 

[sandradee]

12 hours ago, Omie said:

Has anybody else's status changed from "preliminary review required" ? 

I know it's only been a week, but I'm wondering if I should email them to get an update... The wait is killing me lol

mine still says prelim review required. I applied on September 10th. Initials are LP. I wouldn't email them considering its only been a week. 

[Sagnik_G]

21 hours ago, StrawberryFields67 said:

@Sagnik_G I did my bachelor's degree at Queen's in History. I loved some aspects of Queen's and had issues with some other aspects. 

Queen's is a fun and vibrant school with a great sense of community. The Scottish traditions give the school a unique vibe. Queen's also has an abundance of resources and opportunities.

However, there is a lack of diversity at Queen's compared to other Canadian universities. Part of this is because Kingston is not a big city like Ottawa, Montreal, or Toronto. The other part of it is that Queen's has a stereotype for attracting rich, white people, which has some truth to it. That's why I'd like to go to a school like Carleton so I could have a more urban and diverse educational experience for my master's degree. I know there is some important anti-racism work being done right now though in response to past incidents.

Of course, this is just one person's experience. Also, please keep in mind that a grad student's experience is usually different from that of an undergrad student.

Relevant links:

Something to keep in mind as a potential Poli Sci grad student at Queen's: http://www.queensjournal.ca/story/2015-11-27/news/updated-reports-of-sexual-harassment-verbal-abuse-in-political-studies/

Anti-racism work being done at Queen's: http://queensu.ca/provost/committees-and-reports/university-council-anti-racism-and-equity

Thanks for the insight! That was really helpful. I did a bit sniffing around when I was researching potential Universities, and I did see a lot of reviews on some Uni. sites about Queen's basically being a very 'posh' institute. One person also called it quite elitist, but on the other hand, I heard lot of good things about the Poli. Sc. MA program.

Still, I decided against applying because 100 CAD with the exchange rate is still a hefty chunk, and with the odds they mentioned, I don't think I'd have liked to risk that.

Thanks for attaching those links, they were interesting. Brings into perspective a lot about being a TA with students just 3-4 years younger. I assume some of us here if accepted will get TA-ships, so it really makes one think how to be friendly and approachable without letting potential students treat you like a doormat or a 'buddy'. 

[LoopyLex]

Heya folks.

Just a heads up in advance, because I know you'll all start worrying about this soon (it sure got to me last year). Don't go panicking and start bothering the poor office if your status hasn't changed, or is behind others. I don't think there's any rhyme or reason in how they do it. Personally, my status didn't change from 'preliminary review required' until two weeks after most others did, and after that it didn't ever change to any of the other steps until after I got an informal invite (although many others had their statuses change). They're not super concerned about updating them to each step, since it's a lot of extra time that could just go in to making decisions quicker. So long as you haven't gotten a 'declined' don't go panicking. These things are not an actual indicator 100% of where you are in the process, and just because someone is ahead of you in it, doesn't mean you're not going to get an invite. 

As always, if you have questions, feel free to bother me.

Edited February 9, 2018 by LoopyLex

[sunshine18]

My status has changed to recommended for assessment 

[Irwi]

On 2/7/2018 at 11:52 PM, StrawberryFields67 said:

I hope you don't mind if I post here, I've applied to the Master of Public Policy and Administration (MPPA) program at Carleton! Normally, there's a significant MPA/MPP presence on this forum though I haven't heard from anyone else yet. Has anyone here also applied to the MPPA program?

Hi, I applied for NPSIA and the MPPA program at Carleton. I don't know which I would choose if I am offered both.

On 2/8/2018 at 10:51 AM, Omie said:

Has anybody else's status changed from "preliminary review required" ? 

I know it's only been a week, but I'm wondering if I should email them to get an update... The wait is killing me lol

My status updated to recommended for assessment. But I also applied last year and was waitlisted for months before eventually being rejected. You shouldn't email them yet. They're just going through everyone's application for the first time right now.

[sandradee]

I have now been recommended for assessment as well, but echo everything everyone else has been saying about taking this with a grain of salt. Could still be a long process with waitlists etc. 

[DCrSS]

Since we won't get any updates, weekends are going to be worse than weekdays this month lol

[Chuupa]

I am going everyday, though I know we won't have any results until a couple of weeks. This is going to be long...

[Delidas]

For what it's worth, my status changed this afternoon. I'm 'recommended for assessment' now. 

[JackFr]

Me too. I'm assuming that's good news?

[DCrSS]

12 hours ago, JackFr said:

Me too. I'm assuming that's good news?

We will have to see cause looking at the forum from last year, some people were waitlisted then rejected. Let's hope for the best  

[Irwi]

7 hours ago, DCrSS said:

We will have to see cause looking at the forum from last year, some people were waitlisted then rejected. Let's hope for the best  

This was me last year. Recommended for assessment is good news in the sense that it means the application is moving through the process, but last year my application stayed on recommended for assessment long after my friends had received offers. I don't want to be a downer, but NPSIA is notorious for being slow and having problems with their system. I was waitlisted, but not told I was waitlisted until after several attempts to email and call in May. Also, I did not receive an actual email telling me of my rejection until October 24, well after the semester had started. Kind of a slap in the face at that point. Still, I remain optimistic for this year.

[Delidas]

@Irwi Sounds rough. Hopefully you (and the rest of us, for that matter) make out better this year. I would guess that lessons have been learned on the admins' part after last cycle.  

[DCrSS]

7 hours ago, Irwi said:

This was me last year. Recommended for assessment is good news in the sense that it means the application is moving through the process, but last year my application stayed on recommended for assessment long after my friends had received offers. I don't want to be a downer, but NPSIA is notorious for being slow and having problems with their system. I was waitlisted, but not told I was waitlisted until after several attempts to email and call in May. Also, I did not receive an actual email telling me of my rejection until October 24, well after the semester had started. Kind of a slap in the face at that point. Still, I remain optimistic for this year.

oh wow that must have been really hard. Hopefully we will all see acceptances this month. 

[ZayyQs]

Spoke with Tabbatha on the phone today, and she said that they're trying to have decisions out by the end of the month. If they can't go through with that deadline, then she said it'll be early - mid March. @LoopyLex was correct!

[srudyk]

21 minutes ago, ZayyQs said:

Spoke with Tabbatha on the phone today, and she said that they're trying to have decisions out by the end of the month. If they can't go through with that deadline, then she said it'll be early - mid March. @LoopyLex was correct!

That's great. Thanks for sharing that!

My status just changed to Recommended for Assessment as well. Seems like the process is working a bit smoother than last year's.

[Omie]

Does anybody know if the JD/MA applications are assessed at the same time as the MA apps ? Or are they assessed separately/after the MA ones?