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2011 Application Process Notes

Posted by Columbia SIPA

· Monday, July 5th, 2010

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I wanted to take a moment to provide some insight to those that plan on applying for a future semester. While it is possible to log in to our application at the current time to create an account, it is not yet possible to apply for the spring 2011 or fall 2011 semesters. Our goal is to have the application live and running by August 15th. I will keep you updated on our progress on this blog.

At this point we recommend that you wait to log in to create an account as we will be making some changes to the application in July and August. It is fine if you have already created an account, however after the new application goes up you will want to make sure to start at the beginning of the application and review any information you filled in as some of the required fields might change.

The deadline for spring 2011 admission will be October 1st and the deadline for fall 2011 admission will be January 5th.

We will be taking the application down for a few weeks to implement the technical changes for the coming year. This will likely occur during the first two weeks of August so we can test the system. Our changes should not stop you from starting to work on your application materials. Many of things we ask for will remain constant. For example:

We will still require transcripts from all schools attended since graduating from high school. Thus you can start accumulating copies of your transcripts for submission. We do allow applicants to scan copies and upload them to our application site. This is the recommended method.

We will still require two résumés. A full description of this requirement can be found by clicking here.

We will still require either the GRE or the GMAT, and for those that speak English as a second language, the TOEFL or IELTS.

We will still require three recommendations. These should be academic or professional, in other words, individuals that have supervised you in the classroom or in the work place.

We will most likely be making some changes to the personal statement so that is something at this point in time that is not decided. The Admissions Committee hopes to have the final questions/statements ready by the end of July and I will post them to this site as soon as they are finalized.

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Categories : Admissions, Application Tips

Tags : Application, application tips, deadline, resume, test scores

Spring 2011 and Fall 2011 Application Notes

Posted by Columbia SIPA

· Friday, June 18th, 2010

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For those interested in applying to SIPA for coursework beginning in 2011, please note that our goal is to have the new application live on August 15th. The deadline for spring 2011 consideration will be October 1st and the deadline for fall 2011 consideration will be January 5th.

Each summer we make some technical changes to the application as well as review the content of the application. The Admissions Committee begins a series of meetings each June. In these meetings we discuss everything from the review process to the questions or topics applicants will be asked to respond to on the application. I am confident based on how the review process went last year that the bulk of what we ask applicants to submit will be the same. I am also confident that we will not be asking applicants to respond to the same essay questions/topics.

Although the application will not be live until August 15th, I will provide updates throughout the summer on this blog. For example, as soon as the committee determines what applicants will be asked to write on, I will make sure to post the information on the blog.

I would recommend that interested applicants review what we asked for last year. You can review everything we asked for by clicking here. There should be no major changes in our asking applicants to submit the application, fee, three recommendations, two résumés, transcripts, a personal statement composed of one or several questions/topics, and appropriate test scores.

It is entirely possible to start working on your application now by ordering transcripts, starting on your résumés, making contact with recommenders, and studying for appropriate tests (GRE, GMAT, TOEFL). I will provide further guidance on the personal statement at a later time, but sufficed to say, it should incorporate what you wish to do in the future and how you see SIPA playing a role in your development.

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Categories : Admissions, Application Tips

Tags : Application, application tips, personal statement, test scores

Transcripts and Test Scores

Posted by Columbia SIPA

· Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

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We have started to get some emails about receipt of official transcripts and test scores so let me provide a bit of guidance. We receive some test reports electronically and others via mail. The vast majority are sent to us as electronic files and they are downloaded into a centralized Columbia University computer system. We then have to sync that system with our admission software. As you know, applicants self report test scores on the admission application and these are the scores we use for the review – not the official reports.

The process of getting official test scores into our system can take some time and we are still busy wrapping up the admission review process, managing the message board, preparing for Admitted Student Day, and responding to a flurry of emails on a variety of topics. If you choose to enroll at SIPA we will need to confirm receipt of official test scores by June 15 so we have plenty of time. We really do not actively start to undertake this process until after the date to pay a deposit passes (May 3rd).

I will provide some updates on the process in the near future and for now, if you feel you have submitted your official test scores and/or transcripts, we would just ask for your patience while we work on integrating this information into our system.

The process of submitting official transcripts is straightforward. If you submitted official transcripts with your admission application rest assured we will be tracking them as official. If you uploaded unofficial copies of your transcripts to our application Web site, then you will need to send official transcripts to our office by June 15th. The address to send them to is:

Columbia SIPA – Office of Admissions and Financial Aid
420 West 118th Street
Room 408 – International Affairs Building
New York, NY 10027

Thanks again for your patience and if you asked that your test scores be reported to SIPA they are likely loaded into our campus mainframe, waiting patiently for us to sync them with our system.

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Categories : Admissions, Application Tips

Tags : application tips, test scores, transcripts

Test-Score Reporting

Posted by Columbia SIPA

· Thursday, December 24th, 2009

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We continue to receive emails from applicants regarding test score submission. Here are a few of the questions and reminders of how the process works in our office.

Question: I sent my scores to SIPA some time ago, why are they not appearing as received on the application site?

Answer: Applicants self report test scores in Part 2 of the application. When assembling a file for admission we do not look for official reports. When you request that official test reports be sent to SIPA, they are downloaded into a centralized computer system. We will not match application records to this system until after admission decisions have been made.

Therefore you should self report your scores in Part 2 of the application. Even after you self report and submit your application the scores will not show as “Received – Not Official” right away. We print your application, do a manual check, and then update the tracking status. We appreciate your patience as we work as quickly as possible to print and manually check each application.

Question: I emailed my scores to your office or mailed a paper copy, do I still need to self report the scores in Part 2?

Answer: Yes. Every applicant should self report the results of each test taken in Part 2 of the application. If the scores are not entered in Part 2 they do not appear when we print the application and this slows down the process.

Question: I took the (GRE, GMAT, TOEFL, IELTS) several times. How should I report my scores? Should I only list my top scores?

Answer: As you can see in the screen shot below you can self report the total results for thee different exams for both the GRE/GMAT section and the English as a Second Language section. You should therefore report each test individually.

Let us say that you take the GRE three times. We DO NOT want you to take your top three scores achieveded and enter them as one exam. You should report your scores from all three exams in the three separate sections that are available to you. If you have taken a test more than three times, report your most recent three scores.

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Categories : Admissions, Application Tips

Tags : Application, application tips, iBT, IELTS, test scores

The 2010 Application is Live

Posted by Columbia SIPA

· Friday, August 14th, 2009

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My staff did a great job during crunch time this past week and we were able to meet our deadline to make the new application for this year available. We are most excited about the fact that 100% of the required documents and information required to be considered for admission can be submitted on the application site – there is no need to send us a single document via postal mail.

We changed our philosophy this year and rather than requiring official documents from every single applicant, we will only require that official copies of transcripts and test scores be submitted if an applicant is admitted and chooses to enroll. It did not make a lot of sense for us to require official documents from everyone when in the end, required documents are only really necessary for those who enroll.

So, applicants now have the ability to upload academic transcripts and we will allow applicants to self report test scores – official score reports are not required to be considered for admission.

The application is broken into two sections: Part 1 and Part 2.

Part 1 is comprised of three sections:

Application form (mostly biographical information)
Names of those who will be submitting letters of recommendation
Application fee

That’s it. Part 1 is quite simple and does not take long to fill out. We recommend that you complete Part 1 as soon as possible so that you become an active applicant in our system and so that the system can send out messages with detailed instructions to those that will be writing recommendation letters for you.

Part 2 will not become visible until Part 1 is submitted. Part 2 will allow you to:

Upload your personal statement
Upload the two required résumés
Indicate your native language and second language ability
Submit your test scores
Upload academic transcripts

Please note that test scores can be updated anytime in the system up to the deadline. This means that you can submit Part 2 anytime you like, and come back before the deadline to update scores.

Let’s say that it is early December and you have everything finished, have taken the GRE previously, but will be taking the GRE again in late December. In this example there is no need to wait to submit Part 2.

You can go ahead and submit/upload everything and return later in December to indicate your new test scores. Do note that once you submit Part 2 the only section you will be able to update is the test score section. The system will not allow you to update your personal statement, résumé, or transcripts once Part 2 has been submitted.

That’s it. Be sure to read the instructions on the site carefully and to get started simply click here. The deadline for spring consideration is October 1st and the fall deadline is January 5th. We look forward to working with you!

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Categories : Admissions, Application Tips

Tags : Application, application tips, deadline, IELTS, personal statement, resume, test scores