To help those near and far with their last-minute application questions, I’m hosting a special Facebook Live session to go over your application questions about the MIA and MPA programs. We’ll walk through the application checklist and address any last-minute concerns you have as an applicant. Just click the link below to register.
Facebook Live: Application Tips
Thursday, February 2, 2017
09:30 AM until 10:00 AM EST (UTC -5)
You’ve probably noticed our weekly emails about our Facebook Live chats with the concentration directors. The series kicked off with MPA-DP Director Glenn Denning (not a concentration, but still), and continued down the line with our six MIA/MPA concentration directors. If you missed any of the sessions, I encourage you to take a look at them. The format’s basically the same, but the content is what any applicant will want to learn more about.
But the real point of this post is to inform you about our final Facebook Live Friday session before the application deadline. I’m chatting with two SIPA students — Ayanda Francis, MIA ’17, and Andrew Liu, MPA ’17 — about their time in the program. It’s your opportunity to ask them any questions you have about student life and the curriculum. So if you’re finalizing your application and need some last-minute encouraging words from students just like you, then you should join us. If you were admitted in early-action round and want an unfiltered account of life at SIPA, then you should join us. Or if you’re thinking about applying and don’t know where to begin, then you – should – join – us.
Just click below to RSVP for the event. I promise we’ll have some fun.
Facebook Live Friday: Student Life
Friday, February 3, 2017
12:00 PM until 01:00 PM EST (UTC-5)
Happy watching and I hope to see you this Friday!
Some applicants have run into technical problems submitting their video essay responses. If that’s you, here are some steps you can take to submit your video response by the upcoming deadline.
Troubleshoot with these steps first…
If all else fails…
We’ve updated our application system to allow you to submit your application without the video response. So after you’ve reviewed all of your materials, you can hit that submit button and pay the application fee. Then you can return your Status Page, scroll down to the Application Details section and click on the link to record your video response after the fact, but by the application deadline. (See screenshot below.)
If you continue to have issues uploading your video response and have exhausted all options, please connect with us immediately. We can see everything you do in the application system and can walk you through the process if need be. Just keep in mind that all application materials are required for admission, so please plan ahead so you have plenty of time to upload that missing video essay.
Here’s a HUGE shout-out to two recent grads who were named to the Forbes Social Entrepreneurs 30 Under 30 List. Tsechu Dolma MPA ’15, and Sabrina-Natasha Habib MPA-DP ’16.
From Forbes.com:
Dolma is a native Tibetan, and founded the Mountain Resiliency Project to address the poverty and food insecurity prevalent in mountain communities. They are working to create stronger communities from within to combat the already apparent impacts of climate change.
Habib cofounded Kidogo. Kidogo is working to improve access to high-quality, affordable, early childhood care and education in East Africa’s urban slums. They use a “hub and spoke” model in which best-practice early childhood centers (the “hubs”) provide childcare and preschool services. The hubs also serve as models for the “spokes,” which are childcare micro-businesses run by local women as part of a social-franchising program.
Congratulations to these two amazing women! You can read more about the 30 Under 30 program here.
I’ll try to keep things short because I know you’re busy finalizing your application for admission. (Hint, hint.)
Anyone who wants to be considered for Fall admission to the two year MIA/MPA/MPA-DP program has until this evening to submit their completed application. When I say completed, I mean absolutely everything on the checklist. Every recommendation letter, essay response, transcript, and test score. If any part of your application is missing it will be considered ineligible for review as part of the fellowship round. If that happens you’re still eligible to apply for admission (without fellowship consideration), and you’ll have an extra month to get your materials together.
If you don’t know what you’re missing, take a look at your Status Page for a little help. You’ve also been getting weekly or biweekly emails detailing what’s missing, so there shouldn’t be any confusion on what’s needed. (The last missing materials email went out on Dec. 26.)
When you submit your application you’ll receive three messages: One message confirming you paid your deposit (an auto-response from the system and another within 24 hours from us after you’ve paid it); one message confirming you’ve submitted your application within 24 hours; and a third message within two to four weeks confirming your application is complete. As long as you receive the submitted email, you’re golden — we’ll consider you under tonight’s deadline. The completed email just means we’ve physically reviewed all of your materials by hand and that it’s good to move on to the Admissions Committee. Some of you may be missing something minor and won’t receive this email right away. In that case, we’ll contact you directly to update your application, and you may or may not still be considered under the appropriate deadline (it’s at the discretion of the Admissions Committee). For example, if you made an honest mistake and uploaded your personal statement twice and your policy essay as an additional document or a transcript, we’ll fix the error and will still consider you for the round. But if you upload a blank document in place of your required score report because you failed to take an exam (which is required), then that could be considered a fraudulent action.
(Still confused on the difference between submitted and completed? Read this.)
I don’t want to stress anyone out, but just be aware of what you’re doing in your application. Take advantage of the Review tab in your application and preview your application proof prior to submission. What you see is what Admissions Committee sees when they review your app, so there shouldn’t be any surprises regarding what you’ve submitted to us.
So how late can you submit your app today? Well, for all of you who love to teeter on the edge of procrastination and sheer luck, you have until 11:59 p.m. EST (UTC-5) tonight to hit that submit button. I recommend you turn in everything earlier in the day in case you run into any technical glitches. Why? Well, unfortunately our helpline closes at 5:00 p.m., so if you run into any issues afterward you’re on your own.
"The most global public policy school, where an international community of students and faculty address world challenges."
—Merit E. Janow, Dean, SIPA, Professor of Practice, International and Economic Law and International Affairs
