We just finished one top 10 list and now we are on to another.  The first list dealt mostly with communication advice, this list will provide insight on the process of submitting your admission application to SIPA.

One of the ways we seek to make the application process fast and easy is to accept self reported test scores for admission application review. To repeat, to be considered for admission to SIPA we do not require that official test score reports be on file. This includes the GRE, GMAT, TOEFL, and IELTS.

At SIPA, we only require official test scores reports if an admitted applicant chooses to enroll. Here are a few common questions we receive and reminders of how the process works in our office.

Question: I sent my scores to SIPA some time ago, can you tell me if they have been received?

Answer: Applicants self report test scores as a part of the online application process. When assembling a file for admission we do not look for official reports. When you request that official test reports be sent to SIPA, they are downloaded into a centralized computer system. We will not match application records to this system until after admission decisions have been made.

Therefore, you should self report your scores when applying online. We print your application, do a manual check to make sure the necessary information has been included and then will update your record accordingly. We appreciate your patience as we work as quickly as possible to print and manually check each application after it has been submitted.

Question: I emailed my scores to your office or mailed a paper copy, do I still need to self report the scores when submitting my application?

Answer: Yes. Every applicant should self report the results of each test taken when filling in the online application. If the scores are not entered they do not appear when we print the application and this slows down the process.

Question: I took the (GRE, GMAT, TOEFL, IELTS) several times. How should I report my scores? Should I only list my top scores?

Answer: As you can see in the screen shot below you can self report the total results for thee different exams for both the GRE/GMAT section and the English as a Second Language section. You should therefore report each test individually.

Let us say that you take the GRE three times. We DO NOT want you to take your top three scores achieved and enter them as one exam. You should report your scores from all three exams in the three separate sections that are available to you. If you have taken a test more than three times, report your most recent three scores.

Screen Shot From Application Site Showing Multiple Entry Areas to Report Test Scores

Question: How late can I report my test scores?

Answer: The application deadline is January 5th at 11:59:59 PM EST. This means that all of your application and all of the associated information should be submitted by this time. Therefore, you can report your test scores up until this time. Because we do not need official test scores to consider an applicant for admission, you do not need to worry about how long it will take the testing agency to report the scores to us, only concern yourself with being able to self report your scores by the deadline.

Question: If I am admitted, when will my test scores need to be received by SIPA?

Answer: Applicants that are admitted and pay a deposit to enroll are required to have official test scores in our office by June 15th. We will provide guidance on this process after admission decisions go out. If you have listed our test code when taking the exam more than likely we will have an electronic record in our mainframe system.

Question: Is there a time limit on how long scores are acceptable?

Answer: TOEFL and IELTS scores up to two years old are acceptable. GRE and GMAT scores up to five years old are acceptable.  The year periods relate to the admission deadline – January 5th.  The tests must have been taken within 2 or 5 years of this date respectively.

Question: When I am taking the exam and it asks for your school code, what number should I enter?

Answer: See below – we highly encourage you to list our code so that if you are admitted, we can work through the process faster.

GRE Code: 2161 (do not list a department code)

GMAT Code for MIA: QF8-64-56

GMAT Code for MPA: QF8-64-99

TOEFL Code: 2161

As interested applicants are likely aware, the Education Testing Service (ETS) is making changes to the GRE.  The test in its current format will be offered until July 31st and starting August 1st only the revised test will be offered.

The good news is that the new test will not negatively impact applicants to SIPA in any way.  As a matter of fact the test should be more friendly to test takers and to the SIPA Admissions Committee.  Here are a few questions people have been asking along with some general notes regarding the new test.  Do note that some of the text below is taken directly from a handout given out by ETS at a recent seminar.

Question:  If I took the GRE previously are my scores still valid?

Answer: GRE scores, no matter the version of the test, are valid for 5 years.  SIPA will accept any GRE test scores that are no more than 5 years old by the date of application.  If you are applying for fall 2012 admission and you took the GRE on January 5, 2007 or after, your scores are valid for fall 2012 admission consideration.

Question:  When reporting my scores to SIPA should I convert old scores to the new scores?

Answer: No, do not convert your scores.  Applicants to SIPA self report test scores on the admission application.  You should report the scores and the associated percentages exactly as they appear on your GRE test report.  If you took the older version of the test and the newer version, report the scores exactly as given to you by ETS.

Question:  Should I report my individual scores from each time I have taken the test, or should I only report my highest scores?

Answer: Applicants should report individual scores from each time the test has been taken.  In other words, if you have taken the test more than once, do not simply take the highest scores achieved and report the scores as one test.  List your full score report history.  If you took the test on January 15th, 2009 and on April 29, 2010 you will be asked to report the full results of each test by date on the admissions application.  Do not attempt to average your scores or take the highest score from each individual test.  When the Committee reviews applications we take the highest scores achieved, we do not average the scores.

Regarding the format of the test, the revised General test should be more friendly to test takers.  For one, the test will allow you to move back and forth between questions, edit or change answers, and skip and return to previous questions.  The questions asked on the test will also more closely reflect the kind of thinking needed to succeed in a graduate program.

For example, in the past antonyms and analogies were part of the test, but this is not really the type of thinking you will utilize at SIPA.  The learning at SIPA is contextual and vocabulary on the old exam was often tested out of context. In the quantitative section more emphasis is going to be placed on real-life scenarios and there will be an on-screen calculator.

In regard to the scoring scale, it is changing from 10 point increments to 1 point increments.  This will make it easier for the Admissions Committee to compare scores.  The new scale makes a small difference in scoring look like small differences, while bigger differences will continue to stand out.

Those that plan on taking the test in the future also have the opportunity to take advantage of free test preparation materials on the ETS web site.  Free software that simulates the test taking experience can be downloaded here. You can also sign up for free alerts regarding the GRE by visiting http://www.takethegre.com/.

And as a general note, SIPA does not use GRE scores as a sole indicator of the ability to succeed in our programs.  We do not have an absolute GRE cutoff nor do we use a mathematical matrix to make admission decisions.  Every applicant, no matter the GRE score, will have their file reviewed by the Committee.  For a full blog entry on this topic please click here.

SIPA will also take the GMAT in place of the GRE.  Just as with the GRE, GMAT scores are to be self reported on the admission application when applying.  We do encourage applicants to list our test code when taking the GRE or GMAT, however we will not look for official test reports until after admission offers are made an enrollment deposit has been paid.  Here are our test codes:

• GRE Code: 2161 (do not list a department code)
• GMAT for MIA: QF8-64-56
• GMAT for MPA: QF8-64-99

As all admitted applicants that will be joining us in the fall are aware, we need official transcripts and test scores to complete admission files so that we may forward all of the files to the Office of Student Affairs.  Your file will become part of your permanent academic record.

Josh Dennee is the person in our office responsible for managing this process and I asked him to write a blog entry on the topic to provide direction and put people at ease.  Take it away Josh . . .

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In our continuing effort to provide complete transparency about the admissions process to avoid causing too many heart-attacks during a period fraught with anxiety and excitement, I am going to provide some insight into Official Documents processing. I understand that many of you newly admitted students are somewhat concerned about the status of your official transcripts and test scores with the impending June 15^th deadline. Assuming that your scores and grades are consistent with your application, there is no reason to worry. Let me explain how the process works.

If you requested to have your GRE, GMAT, or TOEFL scores sent to SIPA, they will be entered in the information system within the coming weeks. Every few days I receive an electronic file from the ETS containing either GRE or TOEFL scores. These scores are then compiled and uploaded in a rather time-consuming process. Currently, I am still uploading scores received as early as last year, so even if you had your scores sent in months ago, they may not yet be in the system. And, although it is not our preferred method, we also have the ability to verbally confirm scores with the ETS if for some reason there was a problem with the electronic file. Meanwhile, GMAT scores are downloaded directly from GMAC and uploaded in a similar fashion.

Official transcripts are mailed to our office, recorded in Apply Yourself (the system through which applications were submitted) as official, and then filed alphabetically with other similar documents. This process is obviously subject to a certain degree of human error, thus the transcripts are carefully double-checked before we begin notifying students that they are missing.

I highly suggest that, if you have not yet requested your schools to send us official transcripts, you do so as soon as possible as some schools take a substantial amount of time to accommodate such requests. Over the course of the next month you may receive an email from us requesting an official transcript. If you have already previously requested an official copy to be sent to us, please do not fret, there is a strong chance that it is somewhere in our office. Once we have received everything we need, you will be sent an email exclaiming “Your SIPA File is Complete” and you can rest easy.

Lastly, I would like to note that, although June 15^th is our preferred deadline, we are perfectly willing to accommodate late materials if delays are encountered. I hope that this helps assuage any anxieties that you have about the status of your documents. I look forward to seeing you all in the fall.

This is the first entry in our “Top 10″ list to assist you with understanding the process of submitting your admission application to SIPA.

One of the ways we seek to make the application process faster and easier is to accept self reported test scores for admission application review.  To repeat, to be considered for admission to SIPA we do not require that official test score reports be on file.  This includes the GRE, GMAT, TOEFL, and IELTS.

At SIPA, we only require official test scores reports if an admitted applicant chooses to enroll.   Here are a few common questions we receive and reminders of how the process works in our office.

Question:  I sent my scores to SIPA some time ago, can you tell me if they have been received?

Answer: Applicants self report test scores as a part of the online application process.  When assembling a file for admission we do not look for official reports.  When you request that official test reports be sent to SIPA, they are downloaded into a centralized computer system.  We will not match application records to this system until after admission decisions have been made.

Therefore, you should self report your scores when applying online.   We print your application, do a manual check to make sure the necessary information has been included and then will update your record accordingly.  We appreciate your patience as we work as quickly as possible to print and manually check each application after it has been submitted.

Question:  I emailed my scores to your office or mailed a paper copy, do I still need to self report the scores when submitting my application?

Answer: Yes.  Every applicant should self report the results of each test taken when filling in the online application.  If the scores are not entered they do not appear when we print the application and this slows down the process.

Question:  I took the (GRE, GMAT, TOEFL, IELTS) several times.  How should I report my scores?  Should I only list my top scores?

Answer: As you can see in the screen shot below you can self report the total results for thee different exams for both the GRE/GMAT section and the English as a Second Language section.  You should therefore report each test individually.

Let us say that you take the GRE three times.  We DO NOT want you to take your top three scores achieved and enter them as one exam.  You should report your scores from all three exams in the three separate sections that are available to you.  If you have taken a test more than three times, report your most recent three scores.

Screen Shot From Application Site Showing Multiple Entry Areas to Report Test Scores

Question:  How late can I report my test scores?

Answer: The application deadline is January 5th at 11:59:59 PM EST.  This means that all of your application and all of the associated information should be submitted by this time.  Therefore, you can report your test scores up until this time.  Because we do not need official test scores to consider an applicant for admission, you do not need to worry about how long it will take the testing agency to report the scores to us.

Question:  If I am admitted, when will my test scores need to be received by SIPA?

Answer: Applicants that are admitted and pay a deposit to enroll are required to have official test scores in our office by June 1st.  We will provide guidance on this process after admission decisions go out.  If you have listed our test code when taking the exam more than likely we will have an electronic record in our mainframe system.

Question:  Is there a time limit on how long scores are acceptable?

Answer: TOEFL and IELTS scores up to two years old are acceptable.  GRE and GMAT scores up to five years old are acceptable.

Question:  When I am taking the exam and it asks for your school code, what number should I enter?

Answer: See below – we highly encourage you to list our code so that if you are admitted, we can work through the process faster.

GRE Code: 2161 (do not list a department code)

GMAT Code for MIA: QF8-64-56

GMAT Code for MPA: QF8-64-99

TOEFL Code:  2161

I wanted to take a moment to provide some insight to those that plan on applying for a future semester.  While it is possible to log in to our application at the current time to create an account, it is not yet possible to apply for the spring 2011 or fall 2011 semesters.  Our goal is to have the application live and running by August 15th.  I will keep you updated on our progress on this blog.

At this point we recommend that you wait to log in to create an account as we will be making some changes to the application in July and August.  It is fine if you have already created an account, however after the new application goes up you will want to make sure to start at the beginning of the application and review any information you filled in as some of the required fields might change.

The deadline for spring 2011 admission will be October 1st and the deadline for fall 2011 admission will be January 5th.

We will be taking the application down for a few weeks to implement the technical changes for the coming year.  This will likely occur during the first two weeks of August so we can test the system.  Our changes should not stop you from starting to work on your application materials.  Many of things we ask for will remain constant.  For example:

• We will still require transcripts from all schools attended since graduating from high school.  Thus you can start accumulating copies of your transcripts for submission.  We do allow applicants to scan copies and upload them to our application site.  This is the recommended method.

• We will still require two résumés.  A full description of this requirement can be found by clicking here.

• We will still require either the GRE or the GMAT, and for those that speak English as a second language, the TOEFL or IELTS.

• We will still require three recommendations.  These should be academic or professional, in other words, individuals that have supervised you in the classroom or in the work place.

We will most likely be making some changes to the personal statement so that is something at this point in time that is not decided.  The Admissions Committee hopes to have the final questions/statements ready by the end of July and I will post them to this site as soon as they are finalized.

A reader adroitly pointed out that in my original post I mentioned 2010 below, when in actuality the changes will be made in 2011.  This does not change our policy of accepting unofficial scores for admission consideration.

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If you have not heard yet, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) is making some changes to the GRE test and to the scoring system in the near future.  The changes will  go into effect in August 1st, 2011.  For applicants to SIPA there are a few important pieces of information to consider.

First let me state that SIPA does allow applicants to submit unofficial scores achieved on the GRE on the admission application.  Let me repeat, we do not have to have an official score report on file by the admission deadline.  We are fine with applicants self reporting their GRE scores by the admission deadline.  If an applicant is admitted to SIPA, we then will ask that official scores be sent to us.  We do recommend that you include our score code when taking the GRE, it is 2161.  We need the official scores for your permanent academic record if you are admitted and decide to enroll.

Second, SIPA will take either the new or old GRE scores, as long as the scores are less than five years old.

Third, for an application to be complete, we need both the scores and percentages for each section of the test (verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing).   Each score and percentage must be entered in order to submit your application.  We do not require a GRE subject test.

Fourth, we also accept GMAT scores and the same applies.  We need both the scores and percentages achieved self reported on the admission application by the deadline and the scores can be no more than five years old.

So as long as you are able to receive your unofficial GRE or GMAT scores by the admission deadline you can meet our application requirements.

The following text appears on the ETS Web site in the FAQ section:

___________________________

Can I view scores online?

Yes. You can now view your scores online free of charge. You will need to create or have a My GRE Account to use this service.

• For computer-based General Test takers, the View Scores Online service is available approximately 15 days after your test date.
• For paper-based General Test takers, the View Scores Online service is available approximately six weeks after your test date.

___________________________

For applicants applying for spring admission the deadline is October 1st.  Therefore, if you have not taken the GRE and plan on doing so in the future, it is important that you give yourself enough time to get your scores and self report them on your admission application.  The fall 2011 admission deadline is January 5, 2011.

We continue to receive emails from applicants regarding test score submission.  Here are a few of the questions and reminders of how the process works in our office.

Question:  I sent my scores to SIPA some time ago, why are they not appearing as received on the application site?

Answer: Applicants self report test scores in Part 2 of the application.  When assembling a file for admission we do not look for official reports.  When you request that official test reports be sent to SIPA, they are downloaded into a centralized computer system.  We will not match application records to this system until after admission decisions have been made.

Therefore you should self report your scores in Part 2 of the application.  Even after you self report and submit your application the scores will not show as “Received – Not Official” right away.  We print your application, do a manual check, and then update the tracking status.  We appreciate your patience as we work as quickly as possible to print and manually check each application.

Question:  I emailed my scores to your office or mailed a paper copy, do I still need to self report the scores in Part 2?

Answer: Yes.  Every applicant should self report the results of each test taken in Part 2 of the application.  If the scores are not entered in Part 2 they do not appear when we print the application and this slows down the process.

Question:  I took the (GRE, GMAT, TOEFL, IELTS) several times.  How should I report my scores?  Should I only list my top scores?

Answer: As you can see in the screen shot below you can self report the total results for thee different exams for both the GRE/GMAT section and the English as a Second Language section.  You should therefore report each test individually.

Let us say that you take the GRE three times.  We DO NOT want you to take your top three scores achieveded and enter them as one exam.  You should report your scores from all three exams in the three separate sections that are available to you.  If you have taken a test more than three times, report your most recent three scores.

My staff and I know the stress that surrounds the submission of an admission application.   This entry is meant to help applicants understand how our application system works as well as how we update our system and communicate with you.  I hope this will help to ease any concerns you might have during this busy time.  This entry is somewhat long, but if you read it thoroughly it should answer any questions or concerns you might have.

First let me state that 100% of the application process can be completed on the Web – we do not require that a single document be mailed to our office to consider a candidate for admission.  The only documents we might expect to receive by mail are academic transcripts and letters of recommendation.  We encourage applicants to upload copies of transcripts to our system, the personal statement and two résumés are uploaded, and applicants self report test scores in Part 2 of the application.

If letters of recommendation or transcripts are sent by mail, the important thing is the date the documents are received, not the date documents are tracked into the online system.  Our deadline is January 5^th so documents sent by mail should be received by this date.  However, it can take 10-15 business days from the time a document is received via mail for us to manually track it in our system.

So do not panic if you have submitted Part 2 and/or mailed something to our office and it does not show as received on January 6^th.  It actually may take us up until late January to track all documents sent to our office or uploaded to the system.  Rest assured that we will work with applicants if we believe a good faith effort was made to supply a necessary document by our deadline date.  There is no need to send a document a second time to us unless we reach out to you first (we will do so by email if necessary).  Sending documents a second time typically leads to delays.

Also note that if you do plan on mailing your transcripts, you should upload a single sheet with your name and short statement noting the names of the transcripts that are being mailed (in Part 2 where you are asked to upload your transcripts).

The following are details related to the two parts of the application, along with notes on each required document or piece of information we require and how receipt is tracked.

Part 1

Part 1 of the application is quite simple and only requires an applicant to fill in personal information and answer basic questions along with entering the names of three recommenders, along with whether an applicant expects them to submit their letters online or via mail.

If an applicant indicates that a letter writer initially was going to submit a letter online but then later decides to submit by mail, we do not need to be notified.  When we open the letter we will match it to the online record.

If a recommender submits a letter via our online system, the applicant will receive an email from the system informing him/her that the letter has been uploaded and the status will change to “Submitted.”  If we receive the letter via mail, we will have to manually update the applicant record.  In this case, no email will be sent to the applicant, rather the applicant can log in and check the status on the main page.

The receipt of letters of recommendation should not impact an applicant submitting other documents.  Applicants are encouraged to submit all of the documents and information they are responsible for as soon as possible.  As letters are received they will be tracked into the system and the status updated.

The final step in Part 1 is payment of the $85 application fee.  After paying the fee and submitting Part 1, applicants receive a confirmation email and Part 2 will become visible on the application site.

Part 2

Below are descriptions of all of the documents/information we require in Part 2 of the application.  Please read carefully as we receive many questions about the receipt and tracking of documents in our system.

Transcripts

Transcripts can be uploaded to the application site or mailed to our office.  We do not require official transcripts to consider an applicant for admission and uploading unofficial copies is perfectly acceptable. Do note that all coursework must show the grade received and the grading scale notes should be included with the transcript.

Do note that if transcripts are uploaded to the site they will not automatically be tracked as received.  Rather the status will read as “Not Received.”  Why does this happen?  The reason is that we must print the application and manually check to see if the transcripts are legible and complete.  Thus it can take some time for us to manually change the status to “Received – Not Official” which is acceptable for admission consideration. 

Note that any transcripts uploaded to our system will be tracked as “Received – Not Official.”  If an offer of admission is made and an applicant accepts the offer, we would then require an official copy to be sent via mail by June 15^th.

If an applicant does send official transcripts via mail and they are received by the deadline, they will be tracked as “Received – Official” in the system.  Again, the tracking process can take time so we appreciate your patience.

Test Scores

All applicants should self report applicable test scores (GRE, GMAT, TOEFL, IELTS) in Part 2 of the application.  We do not require official test reports to consider an applicant for admission.

While we do encourage applicants to list our test code when taking exams, we do not pay the testing organizations to mail paper reports to our office, rather the score reports are downloaded into a centralized Columbia University computer system.  However, we do not match application records to this centralized system until after admission decisions have been made.

Because of this, every applicant must enter self reported scores in Part 2 of the application.  If self reported scores are not entered, it will slow down our processing of the file.  While we understand that some applicants have requested that official test reports be sent to our office, if you have left the self reported test score section blank, you should log back in and self report your scores before the January 5th deadline.

Just like with transcripts, test scores that are self reported in Part 2 will not automatically be tracked as received.  Upon submission of Part 2 the status will read as “Not Received.”  Again, the reason is that we must print the application and manually check to see if the scores have been entered and printed out correctly.  Thus it can take some time for us to manually change the status to “Received – Not Official” which is acceptable for admission consideration.

If an offer of admission is made, we will then match your admission record to the centralized system the university uses for test score reporting.  If an applicant entered our code we will match the official scores to the application record.  If we run the matching process and the scores are not present, we will notify the applicant that he or she should contact the testing service to ensure that the official scores are sent to us no later than June 15^th.  Once official scores are received they would be tracked as “Received – Official.”

Personal Statement and the Two Required Résumé /CV Documents

When you upload these documents to the system they will automatically track as “Received – Official.”  We will still manually review the application and will notify the applicant if there is an issue when these documents print, but this happens so rarely that we are comfortable with tracking as “Received – Official” upon submission of Part 2 of the application.  The status change is automated, but it can take a day for the system to update so do not panic if they are not tracked as “Received – Official” right after submission.

Forwarding the File to the Admissions Committee

Once we have manually checked a file to ensure that all of the required documents have been submitted and are legible, we will send an email to you stating that the application has been forwarded to the Admissions Committee.  Please realize this may take up until late January.  Again, if there is an issue, we will reach out to applicants via the email listed in the application.  When a file is completed has no impact on the admission decision (as long as all of the documents were received by the deadline).

Keeping Up With the Admission/Enrollment Process

Thank you for your attention to this message and we look forward to reading your application.  Decisions will start to go out in early March.  When a decision has been posted, applicants receive an email with instructions to log in to the online application site to view the decision.  Please continue to visit this blog for updates on when decisions will be sent.

I encourage all applicants to thoroughly review this PDF document which describes the admission process from beginning to end, including when decisions are sent, when our Admitted Student Day will take place, and how you can best research financial aid opportunities.

One of the most common questions we receive centers around the question of what could be called “eligibility” for our program. I completely understand where applicants are coming from regarding such questions, but I do want to emphasize that the Admissions Committee at SIPA does not use any sort of formula to admit students. The process of evaluating applicants for admission is very holistic and we look at each part of the application.

Besides possessing a college degree, there are no specific criteria for admission. There are surely things applicants can do to strengthen their candidacy for our program but we do not require a specific GPA, certain test scores, a particular major, or a certain number of years of work experience. We get questions such as the following all of the time:

There certainly are generalizations that can be made about the majority of those who are admitted to SIPA. The average age of an admitted SIPA applicant is approximately 27. However we have had students as young as 21 join us. The majority of applicants that apply to SIPA have completed a microeconomics and macroeconomics class. Is it a requirement that all applicants have completed such a sequence prior to being admitted? No.

I do not want to sound like a politician who is dancing around the question and I understand the desire applicants have for “concrete” answers, but admission decisions really come down to an applicant’s story – a story the encompasses each and every part of the application.

In the past I worked for a school with a strong focus on arts, entertainment, music, and media. One faculty member left an impression upon me because he constantly stated something along the lines of the following:

“The success of a movie has everything to do with the story. You can have the best actors, the best special effects, the best soundtrack . . . but without a good story such resources just go to waste.”

Something similar can be said about applicants.  Some applicants possess very relevant experience but are unable to bring everything together in their application.  This may result in a scattered application with no real discernible theme or story.

On the other hand, there may be an applicant with seemingly unrelated experience and a major that was far afield from what they wish to study at SIPA, however s/he does a superb job of making sense of all of the parts by weaving all of the parts of their application together into a compelling story.  This might be accomplished through the choice of recommendation writers, compelling volunteer work, and a focused personal statement.

The personal statement really is the “glue” that holds the entire application together.  We would love to interview each candidate for admission but are unable to do so.  Thus your personal statement is where we get to know you.  It is divided into three questions and in question #1 you really should focus on your passion, future goals, what you hope to gain from SIPA, and what you will contribute to SIPA.  Questions 2 and 3 are wide open, but you should write wisely and try to include information that contributes to the story you are trying to convey in your application.

In sum, there are general characteristics that we look for in an applicant, but in the end a compelling story, mixed with evidence of academic and professional competence that will allow one to handle our curriculum, is really what helps an applicant to stand out.

One final note, some applicants have questions concerning our desire to see evidence of success with quantitative methods/economics at the undergraduate level.  Why is this important?  Well all SIPA students, regardless of degree or major, are required to take a full year of economics, a quantitative analysis class, and a financial management class.  As you might imagine, those with little to no previous experience in these areas would likely struggle greatly with our curriculum.   Also, second year fellowship consideration is tied to academic performance in the first year of study and a certain way to disqualify oneself from fellowship consideration is to do poorly in these classes, which are all first year requirements.  Thus, we do like to see evidence in an application of success in classes that relate to quantitative methods.

I am hesitant sometimes to use personal experience/opinions when blogging about admissions issues, but every once in a while I will toss in a cultural reference that I understand maybe not everyone will understand.  We have applicants from over 100 countries each year and I understand that not everyone may understand the context, but I try to add enough detail to make the point understood.

One of my favorite movies is The Matrix.  I remember pondering the plot for days after I first saw it.  A good movie for me is one that makes me think for a while after seeing it.  I was not huge fan of the second and third installments, I think they should have left it at one movie, but such is the Hollywood model of producing sequels when a first installment of a film is a hit.

Anyway, for those who have not seen the movie the plot is based upon machines that set up a virtual reality called the Matrix.  Computer programs are written to provide humans with a world that they believe is real, but is not.  Humans are connected to the Matrix and do not physically live in the world, rather they live life as if a character in a computer program.  Why?  Well the machines wanted to tame humans and use them as energy sources after the war between machines and man cut off sunlight to the earth of course!  If you have not seen the movie, no, sleep deprivation from my travel schedule has not caused me to go off the deep end, it really is the plot =)

What does this have to do with admissions?  Well I think that sometimes we buy into a sort of Matrix regarding goals we wish to accomplish in life.  In some cases our society convinces us that there is a formula associated with the goals people have or achievements we seek to accomplish.  Admission to graduate school is a goal many have and society has led many to believe that admission to a graduate program is a Matrix.  Why do I believe this?  Primarily because two of the most common questions I have been asked as I have been traveling this fall are:

• What is the average GPA required for someone to gain admission?
• What are the average GRE scores of an incoming student?

These are two questions that I dodge like an adept politician (or should I say like Neo dodging bullets?).  Why?  Well two primary reasons are the diversity of age in our applicant pool along with the fact that we receive applications from over 100 countries each year.  Last year we received transcripts from close to 900 different universities and the youngest enrolled student this year is 21 and the oldest is 51.  With so many countries, universities, teaching styles, and grading systems you might think that it would not be fair to establish a singular standard for all applicants.  I agree – no single standard should be used to judge all applicants to SIPA.

We evaluate each applicant as an individual and the process is very holistic.  There is no Matrix.  Each person has a different story, background, education, experience, and goals.  Yes, we do look at GPA and test scores, but we put them in context and scores and grades are relative to the experience of an applicant.

Another example I could use to state why average GPA is not important is strength of schedule.  One applicant may have a “soft” academic record in terms of courses chosen while another applicant chose very challenging courses and achieved a lower GPA than an applicant who chose an easier pathway.  Should we punish the applicant that chose the more challenging path?  The Admissions Committee does not believe so.

How about the GRE?  Would it be fair to expect that an applicant that speaks English as a third language should score as well on the verbal portion of the GRE as someone who speaks English as a native language?  Again I believe the answer is “no.”

I do understand the desire of applicants to have information regarding GPA and GRE.  It is valid to seek an answer to the question, “How can I tell where I stand in terms of previous successful applicants to your program?”
I will offer up a few comments, none of which ever puts anyone totally at ease, but bear with me.

First, the younger someone is the more attention we pay to grades and test scores.  Why?  Well younger people have less work experience.  The older someone is, the more we might give them a “break” in terms of grades and test scores.  I would not expect that a 51 year old applicant would do as well on the GRE as someone that is 21 and just graduating.  However the 51 year old has decades of experience that the 21 year old does not.

Second, overall GPA is not as important as grades in particular courses.  Let’s say that an applicant majored in Economics and had a GPA of 3.1.  Perhaps this applicant went “off the board” and took some challenging classes that were unrelated to their major.  Maybe he or she got a “C” in a Sociology of Religion class.  Intellectual curiosity is admirable and average grades in a few classes may not be looked upon as a negative, but rather as a positive for wanting to expand one’s intellectual development.

I hope you understand where I am going with all of this – there is no formula we use to admit a student.  I know this still will not put you totally at ease so I will offer one final comment on test scores.  On the GRE we look more at percentiles than we do number scores.  Let’s say you scored a 680 on the quantitative portion of the GRE.  This may have put you in the 71st percentile meaning that 29% of those that took the exam scored better than you, and 69% scored lower than you.

As a general guideline I can say the following regarding percentiles as viewed by the Admissions Committee at SIPA:

• The low 80s to the high 90s could be considered superior
• The low 70s to the low 80s could be considered excellent
• The low 60s to the low 70s could be considered good
• Scores in the 50s could be considered fair

However, again realize that this scale is relative and we have no cutoffs.  An applicant may speak English as a third language and thus might have scored below the 50th percentile on the verbal portion of the GRE.  At the same time, this applicant could have scored very well on the TOEFL exam and the Committee will take this into account.

And perhaps someone completed extensive quantitative coursework in college but is not a good test taker and does not do well on the GRE.  It is typical for us to use academic transcripts as more of a barometer of ability than test scores.

I realize this entry will not put everyone at ease (just like watching the 2nd and 3rd installments of the Matrix left me unsettled) but I hope it helps provide insight on how we review applicants for our program.  We do not use a formula or Matrix to admit students and you simply need to do your best in telling a compelling story in your application.  A compelling story is told by how you weave your application together.  Who you choose for recommendation writers, what you choose to write about in your personal statement, what you choose to include in your resume, and yes your grades and test scores also are all parts of your story.

We look to admit applicants that are intellectually curious, committed to causes, possess diversity of experience, and are capable of handling our rigorous curriculum.  This mix does not lend itself well to formulas.  I have learned over the years that a bit of skepticism can be a healthy thing.  Be skeptical when society tells you there is one way to achieve something.  In the policy world is takes all kinds of people to make a difference, and we look to admit a class that we believe will assist the coming generations in addressing challenging policy problems – hopefully problems that do not include machines taking over our minds =)

We have been getting many questions recently about test score submission and I want to emphasize an important point: SIPA does not require official test reports (GRE / GMAT / TOEFL / IELTS) for admission consideration.  We accept self reported scores on the application for admission consideration.

Thus applicants need not worry about SIPA receiving official test reports by the admission deadline.  Applicants simply need to enter the scores achieved on the application site.  These scores can be entered up to the deadline, even after submitting Part 2 of the admission application.

So for example, let’s say you submit Part 2 of your application on December 15th after having taken the GRE one time.  If you take the GRE again on December 28th and ETS provides you with your scores within a few days, you log back into your application and report your scores up until January 5th.  We do not need the official score report by January 5th.

SIPA will require official test scores only if an applicant is admitted and pays an enrollment deposit.  The enrollment deposit is due by May 1st and official test reports will need to be submitted to our office in June.  Details will follow once admission offers have been made.

We still encourage applicants to list the appropriate SIPA code when taking these exams, but you need not worry about the official test reports reaching our office by January 5th.  Also note that we do not average test scores, so you can take test multiple times and we will always take the highest scores achieved.   See below for the appropriate SIPA test codes:

• GRE Code: 2161 (do not list a department code)
• GMAT for MIA: QF8-64-56
• GMAT for MPA: QF8-64-99
• TOEFL:  2161

My staff did a great job during crunch time this past week and we were able to meet our deadline to make the new application for this year available. We are most excited about the fact that 100% of the required documents and information required to be considered for admission can be submitted on the application site – there is no need to send us a single document via postal mail.

We changed our philosophy this year and rather than requiring official documents from every single applicant, we will only require that official copies of transcripts and test scores be submitted if an applicant is admitted and chooses to enroll. It did not make a lot of sense for us to require official documents from everyone when in the end, required documents are only really necessary for those who enroll.

So, applicants now have the ability to upload academic transcripts and we will allow applicants to self report test scores – official score reports are not required to be considered for admission.

The application is broken into two sections:  Part 1 and Part 2.

Part 1 is comprised of three sections:

1. Application form (mostly biographical information)
2. Names of those who will be submitting letters of recommendation
3. Application fee

That’s it.  Part 1 is quite simple and does not take long to fill out. We recommend that you complete Part 1 as soon as possible so that you become an active applicant in our system and so that the system can send out messages with detailed instructions to those that will be writing recommendation letters for you.

Part 2 will not become visible until Part 1 is submitted.  Part 2 will allow you to:

1. Upload your personal statement
2. Upload the two required résumés
3. Indicate your native language and second language ability
4. Submit your test scores
5. Upload academic transcripts

Please note that test scores can be updated anytime in the system up to the deadline.  This means that you can submit Part 2 anytime you like, and come back before the deadline to update scores.

Let’s say that it is early December and you have everything finished, have taken the GRE previously, but will be taking the GRE again in late December. In this example there is no need to wait to submit Part 2.

You can go ahead and submit/upload everything and return later in December to indicate your new test scores.  Do note that once you submit Part 2 the only section you will be able to update is the test score section.  The system will not allow you to update your personal statement, résumé, or transcripts once Part 2 has been submitted.

That’s it.  Be sure to read the instructions on the site carefully and to get started simply click here.  The deadline for spring consideration is October 1st and the fall deadline is January 5th.  We look forward to working with you!

The last major change that is being made to the application process for the 2010 cycle is that the Admissions Committee will allow for the submission of unofficial test scores for application review.  Similar to the policy of accepting unofficial copies of transcripts for admission review, if an applicant is offered admission official copies of test reports will then need to be submitted to confirm enrollment.  Specific dates by which official test scores need to be submitted will be communicated after admission offers are made.

This requirement includes the submission of the following tests:  GRE, GMAT, TOEFL, or IELTS.  SIPA will not accept LSAT scores in lieu of the GRE or GMAT.

In the past we required that a waiver form be filled out to submit the GMAT in lieu of the GRE.  Starting this year the waiver form is no longer required – we will accept either the GRE or the GMAT.

Applicants will have the ability to update scores achieved on the application Web site up to the deadline date.  Applicants should not wait until a test has been taken to submit the application.  The priority should be to submit the admission application as soon as possible.  It is not important that all admission documents be submitted at the same time.

For example, let’s say an applicant has all of the required documents ready, including a test score, on December 2nd and the official submission deadline is January 5th.  The applicant has another test scheduled for December 10th.  It is fine for the applicant to submit the application package via our application Web site and then later return to add additional test scores.  We will allow for test scores to be updated until the deadline, we will not allow for other documents once they have been submitted to be updated.

Once again we are hopeful that by allowing applicants to submit scores via the application Web site that we will be able to expedite the admission review process.  In previous years one of the great complications has been the receipt of official test scores by the deadline and we are pleased to offer a solution that should better serve both applicants and the Admissions Committee.

The January 5^th fall admission deadline is almost here and we are fielding many questions about the receipt of official GRE and TOEFL test scores.  We are aware that there have been some problems with the administration of the tests at some ETS (Educational Testing Service) testing centers.  Problems include tests being rescheduled, problems with certain portions of the tests, and possible delays in reporting the results.  We are also aware that the holiday season has an impact on how fast test scores can be processed by ETS.

We understand that situations such as this are out of the control of the applicant.  Therefore in certain circumstances we will accept official test reports that are received after the January 5^th deadline.  First, if a test has been taken prior to the admission deadline and we receive the test report after the deadline, the late receipt of the score report will not hinder the review of the application as long as the date the test was taken was previous to the admission deadline.

Second, if you encountered a problem out of your control that delayed your ability to take either the GRE or TOEFL, please send an email to sipa_admission@columbia.edu and clearly explain the particular circumstances. Explain the problem you encountered, what action you plan to take, and an estimation of when you have or will take the necessary test. We can then work with you to ensure that your test score is received and is added to your file so that it can be passed on to the Admissions Committee for review.