[As the saying goes] To put your best foot forward, below are some helpful tips to be aware of as you prepare your SIPA application.

• Graduate School is expensive so finding money to fund your education is important.  Begin your search for scholarship early – Don’t wait until you have been admitted into a program before beginning that process – It may be too late by then to even be considered for some of the funding opportunities.  Many times scholarship application deadlines occur around the same time as an application deadline for the program you seek entrance.
• Along the lines of scholarships, SIPA considers all admitted applicants for all applicable first-year fellowships. The only requirement for most awards is to complete and submit the admissions application and all supporting materials by the appropriate deadline.  SIPA also offers first-year students an opportunity to compete for additional named fellowships that require a separate application*; there may be specific eligibility requirements for each of these scholarships.    You will be able to access the scholarship application once you have submitted your fall admissions application, which will appear once you click “submit”.  This opportunity will offer applicants an additional chance to secure funding for their education at SIPA.  Awards vary with each scholarship.  *Available SIPA scholarships for first year students outside of the first year Merit Scholarship process: Dasturdaza Doctor Jal Pavry Award, Financial Women’s Association (FWA) Scholarship, Harriman Institute Fellowship, International Fellows Program, Ipeknur and Shwan Taha Fellowship, Julie Rasmussen Fellowship, Karen Klitzman Memorial Fellowship, Magzhan Auezov Fellowship, Ranjit Jayanti Fellowship, Rachel Spear Fellowship, Robert Kopech Fellowship, Romita Shetty and Nasser Ahmad Fellowship, Sainsbury Fellowship, Sara Jacobs Fellowship, the Most Honorable Bapsy Marchioness of Winchester Award, Robert Legvold Fellowship
• Please make sure you proofread and edit your personal statement/essays before submitting them.  Tailor your essays to the school, even if it means writing different essays for each school you apply — Make sure you use the right school name if you are submitting similar essays to multiple schools.  And make sure you address the questions asked.
• Recommendation letters – If the recommender cannot submit it online, they can email it to the SIPA Admissions Office.  Make sure you send them a reminder if they have not submitted the recommendation letter by the end of December — Give them enough time to write and submit it before the application deadline if they haven’t done so already.  And remember you do not need to wait for your recommendations to be received to submit your application.
• While we do not have a minimum score for the GRE/GMAT, we do have one for the test that measures your English language proficiency (TOEFL/IELTS).  There is a minimum score needed for your application to be considered for admission.  So be mindful of it when you submit your application.  SIPA’s TOEFL/IELTS minimum scores are: TOEFL ibt: 100, TOEFL (computer): 250, TOEFL (paper): 600, and the IELTS is 7.0.