The purpose of this entry is to try to address all of the different groups of applicants that have applied for fall 2011 admission.  Even though the Admissions Committee is almost done reviewing files, our situation is actually much more complex than the singular act of reviewing files because we now have many groups with questions and needs.  So if you have been admitted, waitlisted, have not received a decision yet, or been denied admission this entry has something for you.

First let me start with those that have been admitted.  We have some wonderful opportunities that relatively few admitted applicants are responding to at this time.  For example, we would love to have admitted applicants join us for a Columbia University event in Washington D.C. on Saturday, April 2nd.  There are events taking place in other locations as well and an RSVP is required for all of the events.  The RSVP deadline for the D.C. event is this Friday, March 25th. We also have a message board that is available and many admitted applicants have yet to register.

For information on all of our activities and instructions for logging in to the message board, be sure to visit the Welcome Page referenced in your admission letter.  Also note that the only thing that we send via postal mail to admitted applicants is an admission letter.  All other information will be communicated to applicants via email, this blog, and the Welcome Page.  Our financial aid representatives are working on packages each and every day and admitted applicants will receive an email with instructions on how to view their financial aid package on the Internet.

Second, there are some people that are still waiting for an admission decision.  At the end of last week we hit the 91% mark for released decisions and the Committee continues to work fervently to make final decisions on those files that remain.  As soon as the decisions are ready we will send an email encouraging applicants to log in and view their decision.

Third, those that have been placed on the waitlist can expect the first communication from our office in early April.  I am not saying we will be able to make any offers of admission in early April, however at a minimum we will provide an update on the process and timeline.

Finally, some of those that we were unable to offer admission to have been sending us emails asking for feedback on their application.  At present the Committee is still working on reviewing applications and once the process is complete we must still dedicate our energy to a variety of projects related to providing information for admitted applicants.  I have two pieces of advice for those seeking feedback.

First, we have a page set up for just this purpose.  It provides information on common reasons we are unable to offer admission to applicants.  You can find the feedback page here.  Second, applicants not offered admission to our program are welcome to send our office an email in June requesting feedback.  Over the summer a member of our staff can review the reader comments and provide some feedback.

Last, some have contacted us asking to unsubscribe them from this blog.  We cannot perform this action, instead action must be taken by the individual receiving the email updates.  It is simple to unsubscribe from emails generated by this blog, simply visit the bottom of any email message received from this blog and you will find a link entitled “unsubscribe now.”

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.

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.

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.

The hot topic on email, the phone, and information sessions is, “When will decisions start to be released?”  The Admissions Committee is still feverishly reviewing applications and as stated in previous blog posts, hopes to start releasing decisions in early March.  I understand that “early” is not an exact term, and it matches the fact that I do not know the exact date yet.  I can tell you that this blog will be the first place where you can find out when decisions start to be released.

As a reminder, we do not release all decisions at once. The majority of our decisions will be made soon but a decent percentage of applications take additional time to review.  Once we start to release decisions we do move to what you could call “rolling release.”  In other words, after the first large batch of decisions goes out we will start to release the decisions as they are made.

The one question I cannot answer from an individual applicant is, “When will MY decision be released?”  The Committee has a system set up and that system does not accommodate individual requests for a decision.  I understand it is difficult to wait, but you will have to be patient and understand that we work as quickly and accurately as we are able.

I thought I would take a few entries to describe the basic categories of decisions.  The categories are not complex and you could probably guess them, however providing an overview might help with digesting your letter when you view it.  Let me start with the waitlist category.  Do note that we do not release decisions in a specific order, the categories can be mixed.

Admission to SIPA is competitive.  Sometimes the Committee must make tough decisions between applicants that might have similar backgrounds, qualifications, and potential.  While the Committee might agree that a candidate is certainly qualified for the program, the strong number of candidates and limited number of seats means that we cannot make an offer to everyone we feel is admissible.   Therefore, we will place a limited number of qualified candidates on the waitlist.

Just like waiting for a decision requires patience, waiting for waitlist updates requires patience.  We will give admitted candidates until May 2^nd to pay their deposit, and we likely will not have a strong feel for the number of accepted offers until after May 2^nd passes.  The Admissions Committee does meet frequently to gauge the response to our offers and I will send out email updates to those on the waitlist after each meeting.

There is no specific waitlist window so to speak, we have made offers to candidates on the waitlist as early as late April and as late as early August.  Circumstances in life can change and if candidates that have accepted an offer and pay a deposit inform us that they will not be able to come, it might open up a seat to someone on the waitlist.  We cannot predict if or when this might happen.

If you are placed on the waitlist you will be given the opportunity to tell us whether you wish to remain on the waitlist.  Instructions will be provided in the waitlist letter.  I can say that candidates admitted from the waitlist will not be offered any scholarship funding from SIPA in the first year.  More information on funding will be provided in a future entry on the admit category.

One final note about that waitlist is that we do not have a strict rank order.  The size of the waitlist changes over time as candidates notify us that they no longer wish to be considered.  When it comes time to consider candidates from the waitlist, files are read once again.  Although a “full read” might not be necessary, Committee members will review reader comment sheets and reference particular parts of the file that were highlighted in the comments.  As the reading is done we get a feel for the overall landscape of those on the waitlist and make decisions as appropriate.

I am working on two more entries on admission categories that will be posted soon so stay tuned.

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.

Today I sent an email update to those on the waitlist for our two-year MIA and MPA programs as well as the MPA in Development Practice.  If you are on the waitlist please check the email account that you listed on your admission application to view the message.  If for any reason you did not receive the message please send an email to sipa_admission@columbia.edu so we can forward you what was sent.

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.

I have been meaning to shed some light upon how waitlist process is handled by the Admissions Committee SIPA.  I will start off by saying that the process of considering applicants placed on the waitlist can possibly best be described as “organic.”

What I mean by this is that the process of making waitlist offers does not follow a strict format or specific timeline.  Rather, it is a process that has a life of its own due to the fact that availability of seats in the fall class once initial admission offer are sent out is dependent upon factors over which the Committee largely has no control.

To provide some background, this year we have given admitted applicants until April 20th to respond to their offer of admission.  Some admitted applicants have already paid enrollment deposits, however past history shows that the vast majority waits until the very last minute.  Thus we will not have a clear picture of responses for another week or so.  Once the enrollment deposit deadline passes the picture becomes clearer, but the picture is subject to constant change over the summer.

In past years we have made offers of admission to select candidates on the waitlist as early as April and as late as August.  The reason I describe the process as organic is that we never know when a candidate who has paid a deposit will contact us and let us know that circumstances have changed in a way that will not allow them to enroll.

For example, international students sometimes face the unique challenge of trying to complete government paperwork for a Visa.  This process does not always go smoothly and late in the summer we may be notified by a candidate that the paperwork will not be completed on time, thus opening a seat in the fall class.  We have no way to predict this, but with such a large number of international applicants it is not uncommon for this to happen.

For other applicants, something unexpected happens and they contact us to let us know they will not be able to enroll and will thus forfeit their seat.  The Admissions Committee obviously has no way of predicting such circumstances.

So part one of the waitlist story deals with uncertain circumstance and part two of the story is process.  When we are able to make an offer to candidates on the waitlist, how does the process work?

If you are on the waitlist you know that we ask you to fill out a form indicating your interest in remaining on the waitlist.  The vast majority return this form indicating that they do wish to remain on the waitlist, but just like circumstances with admitted applicants change, so do circumstances with waitlist candidates change.

Once the enrollment deposit deadline for admitted applicants passes (April 20th) every few weeks the Admissions Committee will meet to evaluate fall enrollment.  After these meetings I will send out emails to those who have chosen to remain on the waitlist providing them with an update.  At a minimum I try to send out one email per month.

If spaces are available how are waitlist candidates chosen?  Again it is an organic process.  We do not have number rankings for the waitlist and the size of the waitlist changes over time as candidates notify us that they no longer wish to be considered.

When it comes time to consider candidates from the waitlist, files are read once again.  Although a “full read” might not be necessary, Committee members will review reader comment sheets and pay particular attention to areas of concern that were noted during the first review.  As the reading is done, we get a feel for the overall landscape of those on the waitlist and make decisions.

Candidates offered admission from the waitlist receive an email from our office indicating that the decision is available on the application Web site.  Those not offered admission remain on the waitlist and continue to get email updates.

I realize the process of waiting is not easy.  We will do our best to keep those on the waitlist updated, but as you can see, the process does not give us the ability to provide specific answers at specific times.  In summary, if you have chosen to remain on the waitlist we will contact you intermittently with updates, along with asking if you wish to remain on the waitlist.  The Committee will read files of those on the waitlist “as is” – meaning we will not accept additional documents or information for consideration.  Our first update will likely go out before the end of April.

Please also note that SIPA is unable to award fellowship funding to those admitted from the waitlist.  U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents can qualify for Federal and possibly State based aid, but SIPA funding has already been allocated.  I would advise both domestic and international students to review the financial aid information on our Web site so that if we are able to make an offer, you are prepared to complete the appropriate paperwork.

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.

I know discussion about this goes on, quite passionate discussion in fact, because occasionally I will visit discussion boards pertaining to graduate schools and graduate school admission.  I visited a few yesterday and the discussion is quite . . . lively.

I do not comment on the boards, the boards are for applicants and students, not administrators.  The discussion on the boards provides a unique perspective on the graduate school admission process for sure – especially from the standpoint of an administrator.  I often try to learn from the discussion and comments to develop more clear communication strategies.

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 . . .