We just received word that the SIPA Offices will be closing early tomorrow at 2pm. So if you need to reach us, please do so before then. Otherwise you may call or visit us on Friday, July 5th when we reopen. We’ll also try to respond to your emails before the weekend. Happy Fourth of July!
Regular Admissions & Financial Aid Office Hours are Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Our offices will be closed on Thursday, July 4th in celebration of Independence Day. We will reopen on Friday, July 5th at 9:00am EDT.
If you are interested in learning more about our MIA/MPA programs, join our next information session on Wednesday, July 10th from anywhere around the world. We will host our next 1-hour virtual session at 4:00pm EDT. Please register in advance of the session and make sure you have internet access and Adobe Flash so you may join us live.
New York City is experiencing a small heat wave this week. Luckily only a few [PESP & EMPA] students are on campus. Most of us are hiding in air conditioned (fan blowing) spaces and keeping out of the heat. This leaves a lot of time to think… and wonder… So what’s on your mind? What would you like to know about SIPA? About New York City? Or about the admissions process? Let us know what you would like to read about this summer on our Blog.
Throughout the year we post tips and stories from our SIPA students and alumni but at the beginning of each summer we like to feature our incoming new students. For the past few years we have encouraged new students to submit pictures (travel photos, artistic photos, event photos, photos of you) for publishing on the blog and it has been a great success. We wish to continue this tradition but also wish to propose another opportunity for you to be published our Blog. This year you may share photos or a brief post about what you are doing this summer before enrolling at SIPA.
We typically post 2-3 photos per student so the maximum number to send along for consideration should be no more than five. If you are sending a story of your summer adventure (or summer of Zen), please keep it short and no more than four paragraphs.
To participate, simply send along your photos or story as attachments to this address: [email protected]. We will try to post everyone’s submission but it may take a while for us to get to all of them so we appreciate your patience.
Please include the following when submitted your pictures:
If you are preparing to embark on the SIPA adventure this fall to spend the next two years of your life in New York City, here is some advice on what you should definitely try and do before boarding that plane.
Pack Light
I know, you are permanently moving to New York for at least the next two years, and might feel tempted to bring along those pants that you may someday want to wear, or that old lamp you love. But New York is crowded, and space is not precisely a surplus commodity. Whether you live in Columbia housing or on your own, most likely you will have a small room, and an even smaller closet.
Read a novel
For those of you who like reading novels; this will probably be one of the first pleasures cruelly swiped away from your life by grad school. There is so much to read for every class, that reading a novel simply becomes a luxury that a SIPA student cannot afford. So use this summer to indulge in those fictitious adventures, as they will be deeply missed.
Save
New York is an amazing city, but it can also be amazingly expensive. If you want to have an occasional dinner at a nice restaurant, go to a concert, or take a taxi to avoid a 2-hour ride back from Brooklyn on a Saturday night, you should try and save some money to help you enjoy the city more.
Go see nature
You’ve heard the song. New York is indeed a unique concrete jungle where dreams are made of. But as fascinating as skyscrapers can be, they can also be overwhelming. So make sure you get a good dose of wild mountains and blue oceans before you head this way.
Get some rest
SIPA will be lots of fun, but also lots of work. You will have endless nights in our basement library, for which you will need plenty of energy to help you cope. So get some serious sleep and rest before going back to school.
Let go of your prejudices
If you are coming to SIPA, you are probably already on track, but it doesn’t hurt to think about this once in a while. New York is a truly diverse place, and that is a central part of its magic. So open your mind and be ready to learn from other worldviews, cultures, careers and human beings. The more prepared you are to learning new things, the better your experience will be.
Be ready to be merry
Grad school, for most of us, happens once. Chances are this will be the last time in your life to be a student at a formal academic institution. Be consciously grateful for the endless opportunities, experiences and freedom the next two years will give you.
"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
Office of Admissions & Financial Aid
514 West 113th Street, New York, NY 10025
Main: 212.854-6216
Fax: 212.854.3010
[email protected]
[email protected]