You want to pursue your MIA/MPA degree at Columbia SIPA but you’re not confident that you have the right credentials to compete with the other applicants. One of the reasons we don’t like to state our admissions rate is because it discourages prospective candidates from applying, who may have been good candidates. They get stuck on the number and they second guess their value. My word of advice (and I am sure my colleagues would echo it), JUST APPLY. You have a 50/50 chance of being admitted if you try and a 0% chance of admission if you don’t try.
Of course, you should put together the best application you can and not haphazardly pull something together for submission. You also should be clear about why you are applying to the school and what you wish to get out of the degree. If you can’t answer those two basic questions, you should take some time to think about it before you invest your time and money in pursuing a degree you may not need or really want.
The most daunting part of the entire application is gathering and submitting all the requested materials within the posted deadlines. Don’t procrastinate – You don’t want to accidentally miss the deadline for getting all your materials in for consideration and/or miss an opportunity to be considered for a scholarship because you didn’t submit your application in time. If you have time, consider submitting your application several weeks prior to the deadline so that if the office of admissions finds pieces of your application missing, you have time to gather and submit them. You may also view your status on your application status page.
| MIA, MPA SPRING 2015 DEADLINE | ||
| OCTOBER 15 – Preferred
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ROLLING ADMISSIONS | We accept and consider applications during a broader period of time and will render decisions once an application has been reviewed. Class closes November 30.
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| MIA, MPA, MPADP FALL 2015 DEADLINES | ||
| NOVEMBER 1 | EARLY ACTION | You receive a decision from us by January 1 (Merit Scholarships to top candidates will be awarded). Non-binding.
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| JANUARY 5 | FELLOWSHIP CONSIDERATION
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You will be considered for a SIPA scholarship.
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| FEBRUARY 5 | FINAL DEADLINE | All applicants who wish to be considered for fall 2015 admission, must submit by this date.
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Note that our spring term uses a “rolling admissions” process. This means that the admissions office accepts and considers applications during a broader period of time and will render decisions once an application has been reviewed – Applicants do not all receive their decisions at the same time on a particular date far in the future. It’s a good idea to get your application in as early as possible since will review and allocate scholarships and fellowships to admitted students on a first come, first serve basis during the spring rolling admissions process. The earlier you apply, the better the chance you will receive the financial help you need to go to school.
The key to a successful application is time – giving yourself enough time to collect materials, find and instruct the best people to write letters for you, write and edit your essays. Good luck!
