WakeMeUpB4UGoGo

hi all, i just popped back into this forum at random, congrats all Maxwell accepts!~ i attended accepted students day last year and my summary of the event is on the old maxwell thread: side note, i was offered the option of dual track last year but decided to defer and spend a year doing other things. currently i am debating whether to attend Maxwell or UCSD MPIA for fall 2014.

so I attended todays admitted student day and here is a synopsis mixed in with my thoughts. if anyone has more specific questions pls PM me and ill try to get back to you in a timely fashion. Bottom Line Up Front: Maxwell is a great modestly-priced option for those seeking domestic employment in the government and/or private sector, as well as anyone who desires an intimate grad school experience with cohorts and faculty. However, the downside is the school lacks a significant overseas profile and doesn't seem to have the upper hand regarding placement into multinational organizations. Maxwells biggest strength is probably that graduates are basically guarenteed employment in The Hill/DC if they so choose. - First off, the overall pitch for both the MPA/MAIR was very good. The faculty and student speakers were well-versed on selling the strong points of Maxwell when compared to the bigger brand name IR schools. The overall message was very polished and professional. - The sell for Maxwell was basically this in a nutshell: Yes, we know there are bigger sexier name brand schools out there, but Maxwell has a near-century long tradition and will get you a nationally-renown degree while also giving you the "small school" experience. There was a heavy emphasis on the small cohort and class sizes, as well as how the professors here will give you the personal mentorship and tutoring that someone at a big-city school may not recieve. - This years class sizes were 125 for MPA and 85-ish for MAIR; the incoming class will be around the same size. - For both MPA and MAIR, they stress a lot about how the courseload will keep you very busy, especially for the one year MPAs. The feeling I got is that Maxwell students are generally discouraged from taking up internships or volunteer work during semesters not designated for internship work. The course seems fairly rigid and there are not that many elective slots. For MAIRs, Maxwell recommends having all or most of the foreign language done before you get there so you dont waste electives on meeting the language requirements. - Director of Admissions Christine Omolino is a wonderfully warm woman, congenial and personable. One of the other students there introduced himself in a self-deprecating way and she stopped him and told him she remembered his SOP clearly and that she was very impressed, which genuinely caught the guy off guard in a good way. - Merit-based financial aid (which also includes TA/GA positions) were supposedly finalized and emailed out last Friday, but literally zero of the admits (including me) knew anything about that, so if you're still waiting, check your spam folders, and if its not there then call up the PAIA office. They should have everythign settled already regarding who got what from the school. - After the meeting with Christine, the Office of Career Development was up and their part focused on how well connected the "Maxwell Mafia" is in DC and nationwide. This segment was easily the weakest part of the presentation. While the reach was impressive for a smaller school, almost 50% of Maxwell grads ended up in NYC or DC, with lots of other east coast placement, a handful in the west coast and single-digits going abroad. In fact, Maxwell hasnt had more than 10 graduates in any one year go overseas for employment between 2007-2012. There were multiple questions about whether the career office would help place graduates in addition to just providing access to the alumni network, and the consensus answer was that Maxwell would rather candidates go out and get at their own placements. Whether this was out of principle or because Maxwell doesn't have the private-sector pipeline that big name schools provide, I couldnt tell. - Some current students gave a tour of Maxwell and Eggers Hall afterward, and their talking points was also to place emphasis on the small, family-themed cohort size. Eggers hall is where most of the grad students hang out and while it is small and slightly cramped, its fairly modern and the ambience gives off a sense of intimacy which played in well with the tour guides message. - We had lunch in Eggers with a larger group of current students and about a half dozen faculty members afterwards, and there were enough people there between professors, current students, and admissions staff so that every admit who was there today probably felt spoiled with attention. I spent most of the time chatting with a former USN Admiral-turned-Head of Security Studies and Leadership Studies at Maxwell. Since we were both intelligence professionals and both still members of the intel community I basically monopolized his time looooool. I almost felt smothered with attention by the time the official part of the tour was over. - After that I attended two classes, one which was basically Quant Analysis 101 and the other on Economic Development; both were moderately interesting but a lot of it flew over my head so I wont go into detail.

hi all, i was told last week that i would likely be getting off the waitlist and today it was confirmed. i'm really not pleased with how the UCSD application process went however and will most likely decline admission barring some kind of miracle development/brain aneurysm

i emailed them yesterday and this is what i got back: "Thank you for your email. Thank you for your patience. The committee should have a decision made by the end of this week."

deferring and retaking the GRE was exactly what i was thinking as well. i was originally going to retake the GRE anyway because my Q score was so bad but i got sent to JRTC at the last minute and that ruined all my plans. im going to take the rest of the day to feel sorry for myself but tomorrow i will reread the rejection letter, formulate a plan to be better, and things will be fine

so i can add SIPA to my rejection list. sigh... for everyone who put in for MIA and havent heard back, it may be because you were on the bubble like myself. ive taken all my rejections so far in stride as i had zero expectations when i started applying to schools, but this one really unexpectedly crushed me. the rejection letter was personalized and basically spelled out my terrible quant was the reason i didnt make it and even though i knew that my math was bad, for some reason being told that straight up in a rejection letter makes me feel extra bad. congrats to everyone who made it in!

i am not a UCSD admit but i do share your interest in the intelligence field so i will throw in my two cents. i am currently in the US Armys MI Corps and my colleagues from USSOC/JSOC have gone on to work as intel analysts in every three-letter agency I can think of, as well as all the big contractors who aid the military. I am entertaining those same offers and would probably have accepted one already if i wasnt so set on getting a MA. in the current intel field enviroment i actually feel that quant is the subject looked at the least when it comes to intelligence careers. while this is purely anecdotal, the impression i get that is that those hiring for level 2 positions (a masters degree holdier usually wouldnt put in for a level 1 position) first evaluate SOC-level military experience, then how socially well-networked the candidate is, then regular military experience/leadership experience, then degree and degree focus. for example, the last time i worked in a paper-publishing intel job, our think tank consisted of grads from Penn State (myself), UC Irvine, UNC Chapel Hill, USF, and U of Hawaii. none of these are known to be major IR schools and none of us knew much about generating stats (only knew how to read em) but ive found that both in the military, government, and even the civilian intel field, the specifics on your program is far less important than the amount of field work and connections you possess.

haha, i saw your post from earlier as well and thats exactly what i am going through, wondering if SIPA ever even recieved my application. hope is a hard thing to kill though, so fingers crossed for the both of us!

well maxwells my only choice right now looool. but i will post thoughts on my visit with pix and also try in investigate graduate housing while im there. i have no others schools to consider (the shame, i know...) but i have strong job offers on the table which may make me defer if i dont like what i see on the 2nd. im MAIR and the 16 months which includes the global internship makes maxwell a very attractive option for me. I am aiming to spend as little time in school as possible!

is anyone besides myself still waiting for a response? on one hand ive already started looking into housing for syracuse but on the other i really want closure with all my applications

lol dont say that... there will always be other schools and other chances, and if your heart is set on SIPA you can always improve your application and put in for the next cycle. if i havent been emailed yet, can i assume rejection? sounds like a lot of MIAs have already gotten a decision.

you may enjoy the last day mock job interviews. since you wont pick up much knowledge at TAP at least go for the lulz.

i will be visiting Maxwell on April 3, I've also scheduled visits to at least three housing complexes to look at studios and ask them about move in procedures for grads who plan to arrive in early August. If nobodys answered you before then I'll let you know what they tell me. if you are taking the summer sessions then mid june should be just about enough time to get settled imo. As for facebook groups, I don't know if theres any group made for 2013 admits but the PAIA group may be of help to you: https://www.facebook.com/pages/PAIA-At-Maxwell-School/195975013808977

i am sort of in the same boat as you, although i was an early-deadline waitlist for UCSD and am basically waiting for final confirmation of rejection. i was going to clear travel today but i realized that without getting final word from SIPA and UCSD i would have no idea what date or where i needed my belongings sent to. i might just bite the bullet and pay for that out of pocket if i still havent heard back from the schools by next week because i will be final out-ing my post by then.