Now that I am into full on admission file reading mode I thought I would give a brief outline of the admission decision and enrollment time line.
First of all, not all admission decisions get sent at the same time. In a perfect world we would like to release all decisions on the same day, however there are a number of files that take a bit longer to review and our fellowship meetings also take some time to coordinate and we do not want to hold up the release of decisions when the majority are ready to go. Thus about 70% of decisions are sent at the same time and around 30% trickle out over time.
I know this is not ideal, but it is the way things are and I want to be honest and upfront about the process. If your decision takes longer to receive it does not mean you did anything wrong, it just means some additional time was needed to reach a final decision.
When your decision is ready to view we will send you an email. Paper letters for admitted candidates will follow a few weeks later, however we do not send paper copies of letters to candidates not offered admission or to candidates placed on the wait list.
The exact date that decisions will start to go out is not set yet but we hope to start very early in March. I will provide more information on the blog as time progresses so stay tuned.
Admitted candidates will be given a link to a Welcome Page with a great deal of information focused on assistance regarding the enrollment process. For example, there will be a Message Board for admitted applicants. The board will give admitted applicants a chance to interact with one another and with current students.
We will also be hosting an admitted student day on campus. The date is Tuesday, April 12th and a registration link will be included in the Welcome Page. It will be a full day event starting at 9:00 AM and concluding around 7:00 PM.
Admitted candidates will have until May 2nd to pay a deposit to reserve a seat in the fall class. Those that pay a deposit must ensure that official copies of transcripts and test scores are submitted to SIPA no later than June 15th. Many applicants already included our test score code when taking GRE, GMAT, and TOEFL. Test scores are sent to a central Columbia University database and we will start to look for official reports after the deposit deadline passes.
Admitted candidates that uploaded copies of transcripts to the application site will have to have official transcripts sent to our office. Official transcripts and test scores will become a part of your permanent academic record.
During the summer there will be a math tutorial. The tutorial is Web based and all that is needed to participate is a computer with an Internet connection. We encourage every admitted student to participate because getting off to a good start is key to your experience at SIPA. Second year funding consideration is tied to first year GPA so achieving good grades in first semester quantitative courses is key.
Over the summer the blog will also play host to photo submissions from admitted candidates. If you have great photos to share be ready to submit them and keep your camera at the ready over the next few months to capture great moments you might want to share.
Those are the major time line dates and resources to be aware of for now. Stay tuned to the blog for more as time progresses.
