The earliest memory I can seem to muster of the idiom, “That is like comparing apples to oranges” is from high school. I can not remember if it was my personal finance teacher or my cross country coach, but it was one of the two (and comparing those two certainly is like comparing apples to oranges).

I remember being stumped by the idiom at first. I did not understand the context and asked around until some other examples finally brought the point home to me.

While Wikipedia delves into the validity of the usefulness of the idiom, to me the admission decision season provides a scenario where the idiom makes perfect sense.  Most applicants apply to several different schools and it is only natural not only to compare the characteristics of those schools, but the admission decisions of those schools.

When decisions go out each year applicants will often contact our office to discuss their SIPA admission decision. Statements and questions like the following are not uncommon:

• I don’t understand why I was put on the waitlist at SIPA when I was admitted to all of the other schools I applied to. Can you explain why?
  

• I received a fellowship offer from another school but not from SIPA. Why didn’t I get SIPA fellowship funding?

• SIPA’s letter said that I should get more experience and apply again at a later time but other schools admitted me? Why?

• My decision letter from SIPA said I could benefit from more quantitative preparation but I was admitted to other similar schools. Why is this the case?

• My decision letter from SIPA said I could benefit from additional English language study but I was admitted to other U.S. programs. Why?

• Why have I heard from other schools but not SIPA?

From an administrators point of view statements and questions like these are, well, like comparing apples to oranges.

If it were an apples to apples comparison, every single applicant would have had to apply to the same exact schools, have been read by the exact same committee, and the committees would need to share the exact same budget. Obviously this is not what happens.

Sure policy schools are similar in many ways. We have similar core classes, faculty that study, teach, and practice common subjects, and we seek to prepare students for similar careers. However, each school is quite different in many ways when it comes to shaping an incoming class.

Each school has its own unique Admissions Committee structure. Each school has its own unique applicant pool. Each school has a different fellowship endowment and can choose to use it in different ways. Each school has different donors who set different criteria for awards. Each school has its own time lines.

I am not going to pretend that by reading this entry all of your questions or concerns about admission decisions will be put at ease, but I hope it does provide insight into “the big picture.” Each policy school is different in its own way and will make decisions based on its history, goals, preferences and yes, limitations.

Thus, comparing a decision from one school to another is often like comparing apples to oranges.  I will attempt to address many of the questions posted in future entries, but for now I just wanted to provide a bit brief insight into the process from the prospective of someone on the other side of the process.

I know there are still many applicants anxious to receive an admission decision and the Admissions Committee is moving steadily along.  The first big “burst” of decisions that were sent (approximately 65% were sent out last Monday) represented hundreds of hours of review.  Even with over 7 weeks of meetings the Committee still needs additional time to complete the process.  As I have stated before, a lot of this has to do with the simple act of scheduling.  Getting Committee members together is a task in itself.

Since Monday of this week we have sent out another 10% of decisions so we have crept up to the 75% mark.  We are still deliberating on all three classes of admission offers:  admit, waitlist, and those we will be unable to offer admission to.

I’ll keep this entry short so I can get back to the file review process . . .

A few questions have come in since we started to release decisions yesterday and I wanted to take an entry to address some of the common inquiries.  Many of the questions have had to do with whether the decisions we sent out in the first batch were limited to a particular category of admission status.  The answer to this question is both yes and no.

The first batch of decisions we sent out included MIA and MPA applicants from all three categories that I commented on in recent posts:  waitlist candidates, admitted candidates, and candidates not admitted to the program.  It is true however that the Admissions Committee is still meeting to discuss scholarship offers and thus the first batch of decisions did not include any candidates offered a first-year scholarship award.

I should also note that no MPA-DP decisions have been posted yet.  The Committee that reviews MPA-DP candidates is still meeting but decisions should go out very soon.

Related to the topic of scholarships, some have asked how we will notify candidates that applied for the International Fellows Program (IFP) if they were selected.  If a candidate has been chosen as an International Fellow this information will be included in the admission letter.  To say it another way, if no information about the IFP program is present in the admission letter this means a candidate has not been chosen for the program.

Some questions asked were also about whether the decisions sent in the first batch were related to country of origin or citizenship.  The answer to that question is no.  The decisions we sent or will send in the future are not divided by country of origin or citizenship.

The question was also posed of whether decisions are released in alphabetical order.  The answer to that is most definitely no.

For those waiting, I know it is hard, but again our process is a bit complex and the availability of Committee members has a direct impact on how fast we can make final decisions.  We appreciate your patience as we work as quickly as we are able to make final decisions.  When decisions are made we will post them to the system and an email will be sent to the email address listed on the application.

The final category of admission decision is always the most difficult – those we are unable to admit. As you have gathered by now, admission to SIPA is competitive.  We field applications from around 100 countries each year and the pool is very “deep” with talent and potential.

We seek to admit candidates that clearly demonstrate the ability to handle our rigorous curriculum and who are able to articulate their professional goals and how a SIPA education will help to achieve the stated goals.  It is also true that most of those admitted to SIPA have accumulated full-time work and life experience since graduating from college.

The Admissions Committee is quite aware that there are number of variables associated with differences in culture and education systems.  In some countries for example, it is normal for a student to go directly from college into a graduate program and then on to full-time employment.   We also understand that some students spend considerable time completing internships during their course of study (or participate in extended leaves to work or intern) and that yes, this does constitute professional development.

However, one the greatest strengths of SIPA is the interaction that takes place between students in the program – interaction flavored by experience that can only be gained over time.  I could try to elaborate with details from my own background (I entered graduate school at age 28 after working for 5 years) but rather than do that, let me quote an alumna of SIPA that did come straight out of college into our program, Olutayo Akingbe.  Below is a question we asked her along with her response:

What was the most challenging part of your SIPA experience?

I would have to say that being very young (21 when I entered SIPA) while my colleagues were years older than me was a challenge for me. I didn’t have the work experience, or the life experience, that a lot of my classmates could bring to the table that enriched class discussion.

I turned the challenge into my advantage by using it as an opportunity to learn from the experience of my classmates but in hindsight, I wish I had a little more world experience before attending SIPA. I think I would have gotten more out of my education in the end.

On the topic of rejection, I will offer some personal thoughts.  It is never easy for me to sign off on a rejection letter, but I take some solace in the fact that I know I would not be where I am today without having experienced rejection of my own.

Many, many years ago when I was a senior in college (and the walk to classes was uphill both ways) I knew that I wanted to get out of the U.S. for a while after graduating.  I had my heart set on the Peace Corps and enthusiastically submitted my application.

A few months later I got a letter in the mail telling me a story many people hear this time of year: it was a very qualified and deep pool and I did not make the cut.  It was very hard news for me to hear at the time, but looking back, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

I still wanted to go overseas so I applied for English teaching jobs in several countries and ended up taking a job in Pusan, South Korea.  I not only had a wonderful time in Korea, I met my wife while teaching.  Looking back, I could not be more thankful that the Peace Corps letter was not the one I had hoped for; even though at the time I received it I was dismayed.

When I think about it a bit more, some of my greatest “failures” have turned into success stories.  I played soccer most of my young life but did not make the team in high school.  I was devastated but a friend recruited me to run cross country and I ended up getting a distance running scholarship in college.  Shortly before moving to New York I had applied for what I thought was the perfect job for me on the west coast.  The school took a pass on me and a short time later the door opened for me to move to New York which was the best thing that has happened for me professionally.

I share these stories to provide encouragement.  Life is full of twists and turns.  We often grapple to understand why things do not always turn out the way we want them to, only later to realize that difficult news opened doors we were later happy to walk through.  Many of you will receive offers of admission and you will come to SIPA and do wonderful things.  I have no doubt that those who do not come to SIPA will also go on to do wonderful things to help make the world a better place.

We have yet to start sending decisions but stay tuned for updates.

This is the second of three posts targeting the topic admissions decisions.  Decisions have not started to be released yet – this series is meant to provide an understanding of what you will see when decisions are released.  The first post covered the waitlist category and this post covers the admitted category.  The admitted category does have some different groupings.

The first and largest category in the admitted group is standard admission.  Due to our limited fellowship budget for first-year students, most admission offers to SIPA do not include first-year funding.  Most of our funding is reserved for second-year students.  It is very difficult to select recipients for first-year awards and those that receive an admission offer without funding should not take this as an indication that the Committee was not extremely impressed with your background, experience, and potential.

Approximately 15% of admitted candidates will receive funding to help pay for costs during their first-year of study.  Awards vary in amount and specifics will be included in the admission letter.  All first-year students, whether receiving funding or not, can apply for a second-year award.  Applications for second year funding are submitted in the spring semester.  A first-semester GPA of 3.4 or higher is required to apply for second-year funding.

One common question we get from admitted candidates that do not receive funding is, “If someone is offered an award but decides not to attend SIPA, can I be considered for the money that is ‘freed up’ when they decline their funding offer?”

While I can understand what might lead one to a conclusion like this, the Admissions Committee knows that not everyone we offer funding to will choose to accept our offer.  We thus spend about twice the amount of money we have in our budget, meaning it is not as simple as offering funding to another candidate if one candidate chooses not to attend.  It is thus incredibly rare for us to be able to make a funding offer to a candidate that is not initially chosen to receive an award in the first year of study.

Admitted candidates will have until May 2^nd to pay a $1,000 deposit to secure a space in the fall 2011 class.  A variety of resources will be made available to admitted candidates including a Welcome Page, Admitted Student Day (April 12^th), an Internet based message board, and a summer math tutorial.

One final note is that we do have one category of “conditional” admission.  Some admitted applicants that do not speak English as a native language will be required to attend an intensive English language class in the summer on the Columbia campus prior to enrolling in the fall.  If this program is required, information will be included in the admission letter.

One more entry on admissions decisions to go . . . and no, admissions decisions have not started to go out yet.

I am starting to prepare many of the resources that we will provide to applicants admitted to our program and a lot of what we provide is logically based upon common questions posed after offers are made.  Some questions raised are quite particular and will require personalized answers based upon certain circumstances, however other questions and topics are a bit more broad and there is no reason to wait to start your investigation to avoid consternation at a later time.  It can be frightening sometimes to get what you wish for, only to be unprepared to act on it.

I was watching a news special recently and a part of the story reminded me of wishing wells.  I have always thought that the tradition of tossing coins into fountains, streams, ponds, water falls, or wells is a bit strange.  When I was a kid I remember coming across a fountain filled with coins.  I asked my mom something like, “Why are people throwing money away? Shouldn’t they save that money?”

She tried to explain that some people felt satisfaction in doing so because making a wish provided a bit of hope.  I think I was born with a cynic gene because I responded by saying something like, “Well they must not have much hope because a penny is not worth that much.” (the fountain was filled with pennies).

The news story I saw that made me think of this was about students in South Korea leaving padlocks inscribed with their hopes and dreams locked on a lookout with a view over Seoul (story is here).  I also ran into a padlock tradition in Paris where lovers visit a bridge, secure the lock to a bridge, and then throw the key into the river to symbolism their unbreakable love.  It is interesting how sometimes we find comfort in symbolic actions.

Any way, it is nice can be nice to have dreams and engage in symbolic acts, however I am big fan of preparation and action.  My hope is that you did not submit your application with the intent of just waiting for an answer to come – wishing for a letter or email telling you what you want to hear.  When you get the news you should be prepared in some capacity.  I will do my part to help in the coming weeks.  I have a series of entries planned on the major categories of letters we send for example.  But there are also things you can already be doing.  Here are a few ideas and thoughts.

You likely applied to more than one school.  So what happens if you are admitted to more than one program?  My recommendation would be to start a pro/con list.  Some of the categories will need to be filled in at a later time (i.e. scholarship offers if applicable) but there are other categories that you can start on now.  Geography, faculty, curriculum, and housing are just a few of the things that you can start to consider.

You will likely only go to graduate school once so you want to make the right decision.  Sometimes it pays to pay more – or at least to sacrifice.  On somewhat of a tangent, before moving to New York City I owned a home.  I had lots of space, a front porch, a back deck where I could BBQ in the rain, two bathrooms, three bedrooms, a refrigerator with water and ice in the door, a garbage disposal, dishwasher, and a clothing washer and dryer – my little slice of the “American Dream.”

I knew that if I made the choice to move to New York City I would have none of these things.  I would be moving into a small apartment that I did not own and would not build equity in with none of the aforementioned amenities, but I still sold my house and moved.   It does not seem logical on a spreadsheet, but I also knew that New York was unlike any place I had ever lived and there is no way I was going to pass on the opportunity.  I had done a lot of thinking about life and decided that trading a suburban life for a city life was a choice I was willing and ready to make – and boy am I glad I did.  It was something I had thought about for a while and my mental preparation made the decision easier.

Maybe the school you really want to go to will not offer you as much money, but you still really want to go there.  Maybe it is worth it, maybe it is not.  However starting to think about it now is certainly a wise investment.  You might be moving to an entirely new place and it is not a bad idea to start cruising rental or housing sites.  As I wrote in a previous post, you should also definitely not just wish that scholarship aid is going to cover your expenses.  Rather than wishing for aid I would definitely recommend setting aside time to investigate possible options.

So, my wish for you is that you spend time contemplating, researching, thinking, and talking to people you know and who can act as a sounding board.   As for me, I do have one wish – I wish I had more hours in the day to read applications – if I could just padlock my calendar and keep it from moving forward I would be in good shape.  Since this wish will not happen I guess I should stop writing and get back to reading.

We have completed our first sweep of all applications printed and about 80% were completed.  Most of these files were completed because 100% of the information needed was submitted on line via the application Web site.

We are now left with around 20% of the total submitted for our second sweep and this will involve looking for documents submitted to our office off line.

In addition, we are starting to distribute files to Admission Committee readers this week.  As I have mentioned before, not all readers start reading at the same time so if your application is not complete, please do not panic.

As we complete our review of incomplete files we will email applicants if we have a question about a missing document.  We will continue to distribute files to Admissions Committee members over the next few weeks and we are right on schedule.

Everyone out there reading might not be familiar with professional baseball, but sometimes I compare the admission time line to a season of professional baseball in the United States.  Professional baseball teams in the U.S. play 162 games over a six month period, up to seven if a team makes the playoffs.  Baseball teams spend roughly half  their time away from home and my work life is similar, although my “road season” for the most part takes place during an intense period of time rather than month-to-month.

I feel like I play many different positions during the season, from catching applications as them come in, to pitching them to the Admissions Committee, and most of all fielding questions from applicants.  From the time our application goes live to day that we ask admitted applicants to make a decision is roughly eight months and we are quickly approaching May 3rd – the initial deadline for admitted applicants to inform us of their intentions.

You could call this final few weeks before enrollment decision time “the home stretch.”  I am not certain of the origin of this expression (probably horse racing) but it is often used to describe the end of a baseball season where teams are competing for the final spots in the playoffs – the end is in sight.

The end is in sight as well for applicants that have pitched their applications to different schools.  It could be a matter of which school to choose or how to finance the school you wish to attend.  I do not want to pressure anyone to make a decision before the date stated in the admission letter, however I do want to encourage admitted applicants to let us know when you do make your final decision.  I know many other schools require responses sooner than we do and you might have already made a commitment.

We appreciate you indicating your decision in our application system so that the Committee can take appropriate action.  You can let us know your plans by logging into the application system and accepting or declining your offer. For those that need more time, there is no rush, but for those that have already decided we appreciate a response as soon as possible.

If you have decided to attend SIPA we are truly excited, and if you have decided not to attend SIPA this is important for us to know so that the Committee can determine if we need to make offers to candidates on the waitlist.  Whatever happens, it has been a pleasure to work with everyone that applied this year  . . . from my perspective it has been a winning season for sure.  For this blog the season never really ends so continue to stay tuned for more information throughout the spring and summer, and before I know it the travel season will start up once again.

The Admission Committee continues to move right along in finalizing decisions.  I just wanted to provide quick update and state that over 60% of our decisions have been made.  In addition, I can let you know that decisions will be posted well into next week.  So hang in there, we still have a way to go but are working as quickly, and accurately, as we can and appreciate your patience.

As the title of this entry indicates, I hope you will read this message carefully as I explain where we are in the application review process.  My goal is to answer questions you might have, assuage any fears, and give you the detailed information you need regarding the release of decisions.

First, as I have stated before on the blog, we do not publish all of our admission decisions on a single day.  The structure of our Committee and the coordination involved causes us to spend more time on some applications than others.  How long it takes to review a file is largely dependent upon scheduling and coordination among the Committee members and it should not be a cause of concern if you have to wait longer than some other individuals to receive a decision.

I know this is easy for me to say since I am not the one waiting to receive a decision, however because of the coordination required, neither I nor my staff can tell you the exact date when you will receive your decision.  Our goal is to release decisions as soon as possible, but if you email or call with this question, our answer will be that we are working as quickly as we are able and you will be notified by email once a decision has been posted.

I am happy to share that the Committee has finalized decisions for approximately 40% of those in the applicant pool.  A group of those decisions was posted late Thursday and another group will be posted today (March 5^th).   When a decision has been posted an email will be sent to the address you listed when filling out the application.

The process of releasing decisions can be described as “rolling” in the sense that as decisions are finalized and approved by the Committee, we will post them and send out email notifications.  As hard as it is to wait, we kindly ask for your patience as we work as quickly as we are able.

If your admission decision is favorable, I ask that you pay special attention to the Welcome Page that is referenced in the admission letter.  Admitted applicants are likely to have many, many questions and the purpose of the Welcome Page is to provide answers.

The Welcome Page contains information on a variety of topics including, but not limited to:  housing, Admitted Student Day, Orientation, visa processing for international students, and our summer math tutorial.

Thank you for your attention and we look forward to rolling decisions out as they are finalized.

The earliest memory I can seem to muster of the idiom, “That is like comparing apples to oranges” is from high school. I can not remember if it was my Personal Finance teacher or my Cross Country coach, but it was one of the two (and comparing those two certainly is like comparing apples to oranges). I remember being stumped by the idiom at first. I did not understand the context and asked around until some other examples finally brought the point home to me.

While Wikipedia delves into the validity of the usefulness of the idiom, to me the admission decision season provides a scenario where the idiom makes perfect sense.  No decisions have not started to post to the application site yet, but I wanted to get a jump on some of the questions that might arise after we do start posting.

Most applicants apply to several different schools and it is only natural not only to compare the characteristics of those schools, but the admission decisions of those schools.

Getting down to brass tacks, (sorry, guess I am in an idiom mood) what is the point of this entry? When decisions go out each year applicants will often contact our office to discuss their SIPA admission decision. Statements and questions like the following are not uncommon this time of year:

• I don’t understand why I was put on the waitlist at SIPA when I was admitted to all of the other schools I applied to. Can you explain why?
  

• I received a fellowship offer from another school but not from SIPA. Why didn’t I get SIPA fellowship funding?

• SIPA’s letter said that I should get more experience and apply again at a later time but other schools admitted me? Why?

• My decision letter from SIPA said I could benefit from more quantitative preparation but I was admitted to other similar schools. Why is this the case?

• My decision letter from SIPA said I could benefit from additional English language study but I was admitted to other U.S. programs. Why?

• Why have I heard from other schools but not SIPA?

From an administrators point of view statements and questions like these are, well, like comparing apples to oranges.

If it were an apples to apples comparison, every single applicant would have had to apply to the same schools, have been read by the exact same committee, and the committees would need to share one big budget. Obviously this is not what happens.

Sure policy schools are similar in many ways. We have similar core classes, faculty that study, teach, and practice common subjects, and we seek to prepare students for similar careers. However each school is quite different in many ways when it comes to shaping an incoming class.

Each school has its own unique Admissions Committee structure. Each school has its own unique applicant pool. Each school has a different fellowship endowment and can choose to use it in different ways. Each school has different donors who set different criteria for awards. Each school has its own time lines.

I am not going to pretend that by reading this entry all of your questions or concerns about admission decisions may be put at ease, but I hope it does provide insight into “the big picture.” Each policy school is different in its own way and will make decisions based on its history, goals, preferences and yes, limitations.

Thus, comparing a decision from one school to another is often like comparing apples to oranges. Okay, now it is time for me to return to burning the candle at both ends . . .

A good number of those reading this blog might have met me, but chances are the majority of you have not.  I thought I would take an entry to introduce myself and provide a bit of my perspective on the admissions process.

My name is Matt Clemons and I am the Director of Admissions and Financial Aid.  My Mom is really the only one who calls me Matthew but I respond to either name.  I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon and in college I majored in history and minored in political science.  In addition to living in New York City I have lived in Pusan, South Korea and Santa Clara, California.  What would I be doing if I was not typing this?  I would likely be riding my bike.  I am an avid cyclist and ride my bike to and from work every day (except in mammoth snow storms).  I absolutely love my job and higher education in general.

Why should you heed the advice I put on the blog other than the fact that I work at SIPA?  Well, I have been working in higher education since George H.W. Bush was in office, but perhaps of more relevance to you is the fact that I obtained a professional graduate degree and borrowed money and received free money to do so.   So the advice I give is based not only on my work experience, but on my personal experience as a student.  Also of note is that I enrolled in my graduate program at age 28, very close to the average age of a new SIPA student.

I will not bore you with other details about me, but I will share a few quick personal stories that are always on my mind this time of year.  This is a tough time of year for me because not all admission decisions can be favorable.  It is tough to deny applicants that really have their heart set on something.  That is where my stories come in . . .

Many, many years ago when I was a senior in college (and the walk to classes was uphill both ways) I knew that I wanted to get out of the U.S. for a while after graduating.  I had my heart set on the Peace Corps and enthusiastically submitted my application.  A few months later I got a letter in the mail telling me a story many people hear this time of year: it was a very qualified and deep pool and I did not make the cut.  It was very hard news for me to hear at the time, but looking back, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

I still wanted to go overseas so I applied for English teaching jobs in several countries and ended up taking a job in Pusan, South Korea.  I not only had a wonderful time in Korea, I met my wife while teaching.  Looking back, I could not be more thankful that the Peace Corps letter was not the one I had hope for; even though at the time I received it I was dismayed.

When I think about it a bit more, some of my greatest “failures” have turned into success stories.  I played soccer most of my young life but did not make the team in high school.  I was devastated but a friend recruited me to run cross country and I ended up getting a distance running scholarship in college.  Shortly before moving to New York I had applied for what I thought was the perfect job for me on the west coast.  The school took a pass on me and a short time later the door opened for me to move to New York which was the best thing that has happened for me professionally.

I share these stories because it is not easy for me to sign off on deny letters and I always hope that people realize that life is full twists and turns.  We often grapple to understand why things do not always turn out the way we want them to, only later to realize that difficult news opened doors we were later happy to walk through.  Many of you will receive offers of admission and you will come to SIPA and do wonderful things.  I have no doubt that those who do not come to SIPA will also go on to do wonderful things to help make the world a better place.

We have yet to start sending decisions but stay tuned for updates.

The most common question we are getting on the phone and via email these days is, “When will I find out about my admission decision?”  In a perfect world I could tell you all the exact date and time, and I could also guarantee that every decision would be published on the same day.  However, we live in the real world and not the perfect world.

The real admission world, just like the real policy world, can be a bit tricky.  With numerous people reading files and some subcommittees meeting to discuss certain applications in more detail, it is a balancing act.

When applications are first completed they are assigned to readers and begin the review journey.  When the readers have made their comments we then compare the comment sheets and break files into groups.  There are three broad groups.  Let me elaborate on the process by describing the following picture -

Pile #1 is representative of applications where there is unanimous agreement among Committee members.  I would say that about 60-65% of applications fall into this group.

Pile #2 represents those where the readers of the file did not entirely agree and they have asked for additional review by a Senior member of the Admissions Committee prior to making a final decision. Approximately 20-25% of applications fall into this category.

Pile #3 represents those who the readers believe should be considered for first year fellowship awards – approximately 15-20%. These files take longer to process because they have to go through additional rounds of meetings.

This is not an exact science and decisions may not go out in this exact order, but this is generally how the process works.  Rather than make the majority of applicants wait until the Committee has reviewed all of the files, we will start to send out decisions as soon as there is agreement.

Our goal is to start sending decisions in the first or second week of March.  When we enter a decision into the system you will receive an email message telling you to log in to the application site to view your decision letter. Thus you will find out your decision on the application Web site.

Admitted applicants will receive a paper copy of the same letter posted on the site a number of weeks later. Applicants who are not admitted will only see the letter on the application Web site; we do not send a paper copy of letters to those who are not admitted. We also do not send a paper copy of the letter to those who are placed on the waitlist.

I hope this provides a bit of insight into the process and please wait to receive an email letting you know when you can view your decision letter on the application site.  I will continue to post updates on this blog so stay tuned.

You might not think it, but the process of assembling and reading admission files can take a physical toll on those that work in the office.  I have gotten burned by hot printer parts, gouged by staples, strained muscles when lifting boxes of paper with my back instead of my legs, and felt pain in my wrist after using a manual stapler for days on end.  But the most common injury by far is the paper cut.  Actually we took it to a whole new level a year or two ago when we moved from paper admission folders to plastic ones.

Okay, I know I probably just made all those interested in environmental studies and policy cringe with that last sentence . . . but wait, there is logic to it.  When we used to use paper admission folders they were one time use.  We would write all over the front of a file and once the year was done we shred them up and ordered thousands more for the following year. Now we simply reuse plastic file folders year after year and the cover sheet is on the inside of the file, viewable through the plastic.  Take  a look . . .

Yes, your file will be placed in a folder just like this one.  All of your precious information is on the inside and when the year is over we can reuse the plastic folder the next year.  Plastic is wonderful for this purpose, but I found out that plastic folders possess the same ability to slice human skin as paper folders.

Little paper cuts are annoying but generally do not cause me a lot of grief.  A single sheet of paper will sometimes slice me and I will wince but move right along because upon initial glance there is an indication of the damage, but little to no blood.  However, there are those paper cuts where I wince, grasp at the cut, and immediately shut my eyes.  From the second the slice occurs I can just tell that what I am going to see when I take my uninjured hand away is not going to be good.

Maybe you know the kind of cut I am talking about.  Like one in the webbing between your thumb and index finger that is really deep and each time you move you can feel the cut separating in the webbing.  Paper cuts from paper folders, which are pretty heavy gauge, can be brutal and it did not take me long to discover that plastic files can be just as potent.

With paper cuts and staple gouging occuring quite frequntly this time of year, I could easily be mistaken a cat owner.  My hands almost appear as if I have tried to give a cat a bath -  something I tried in my childhood when my parents went out one night and learned quickly never to do again.  Although I could be mistaken for a cat owner, I am instead the owner of several thousand admission files . . . some of which like to exact their pound of flesh.

A few applicants have submitted inquiries regarding the application review process.  Here are answers to some of the questions that have come in recently.

______________________

Does the completion date of my file impact the admission decision?

No, the date a file is completed has no impact on the decision process.  The process of completing files in the office is time consuming and we appreciate your patience as we work quickly to make sure everything has been received so that we may forward the file to the Committee for review.   If we are missing any required documents we will let you know.

When/how will I find out about my decision?

Our goal is to make decisions available in early March.  We do not send out all decisions at once.  Some files take a bit longer to review than others and we do not wait until a decision has been made on every file before starting to send decisions.  When your decision is ready to view you will receive an email from our office letting you know.  The email will instruct you to visit the application site to view your decision letter.

I will post updates on the process on this blog so please make sure to subscribe to the blog by entering your email into the Feedburner box in the right hand menu or add this blog to your RSS reader.

Are interviews a part of the admission process?

With thousands of applicants applying from all over the globe, it is not possible for the Admissions Committee to conduct interviews with students.  In rare cases I may be asked to follow up with an applicant regarding a detail in their application.  As stated, this is rare so you will likely not hear anything from our office until an admission decision has been made.   However, you can stay up-to-date with the admission process by following this blog as I do provide updates on the process.

Will there be an opportunity for admitted applicants to visit SIPA?

SIPA will host an Admitted Student Day on Tuesday, April 13th.  It will be a full day event open to all applicants admitted to SIPA for the fall 2010 semester.  We also have information sessions each Monday and Friday, with exceptions for holidays.  If you wish to register for an information session, you may send an email to sipa_admission@columbia.edu.

Registration for the Admitted Student Day on April 13th will take place after admission decisions have been made.  Registration for Admitted Student Day takes place on a secure Web page and admitted applicants will be given access to this page.

I have more information that I would like to include in my file, can I send it to you?

The application review process at SIPA is paper based.  All of the required documents are placed in a file and that file then is sent to Committee members for review.  Although we know what individuals are reviewing particular files, it is not possible for us to quickly track down files once they are batched and sent out for review.

As you might image, it would not be possible for members of our staff to try to track down a file and add additional documents as this would be incredibly time consuming.  If you submitted all of the required documents and your file is complete, the Committee will have the information it needs to make a final decision.

What size of class does SIPA plan to enroll?

The final enrollment goals may ajust slightly as time progresses, but at this point this is a good estimate of the number of students we wish to actually enroll for fall 2010:

• MIA: 325 students
• MPA: 120 students
• MPA-DP: 25 students

How does being an international student affect my consideration for SIPA fellowships?

First let me say that fellowships at SIPA are mainly reserved for second year students.  Unfortunately we are only able to offer roughly 10-15% of first year students fellowship funding.  Approximately 70% of second year students that qualify to apply (by obtaining at 3.2 GPA at SIPA) receive a second year award and the average award is roughly $20,000.

Second, SIPA fellowships are not based on citizenship.  We have one fellowship budget and it is used to award funding to qualify applicants, no matter the country or origin or citizenship.  Therefore, citizenship has no impact on the fellowship process at SIPA.

______________________

As a reminder, I highly recommend that you print this diagram and place it somewhere where you can see it on a daily basis.  The bottom of the diagram shows that you should be at step 3 and you can review steps 4 and 5 to know what to expect starting in early March.

On the top, steps A-G are meant to help provide you with information that will help increase your chances of making attending SIPA a reality.  A thumbnail photo of diagram is below, but click here for the full diagram.