A confidential look at our Fall 2017 applicants COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog

A confidential look at our Fall 2017 applicants COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog As a member of the Admissions Committee, I finally have a chance to breathe after long days trapped in conference rooms and even longer evenings and weekends strapped to my home office desk. So Im spending my down time to address some looming questions I get every year, which drills down to what do your applicants look like? Dont shake your laptop in frustration, but the truth is there is no hard-and-fast rule on SIPAs ideal applicant. And I wouldnt want there to be one. The Admissions Committee values diversity in all facets because that diversity makes for more dynamic and interesting conversations both inside and outside of the classroom. We want you to learn from both your professors and your peers! However, I know no ones ever satisfied with that answer, so I went data mining in our application system to give you  an insiders look at our applicants and their behaviors. Heres a backstage peek of our Fall 2017 MIA, MPA and MPA-DP applicants. This first chart doesnt seem to change each year. It shows a timeline of when everyone submitted their applications for review to the Fall 2017 term (full-time students only). If you remember this years deadlines, its easy to tell where the spikes in applications occurred. The application went live in mid-August 2016 and they quietly trickled in for the Spring 2017 deadline (Oct. 15), and the Fall 2017 early-action deadline (Nov. 2). Then they skyrocketed in time for our scholarship deadline (Jan. 5) and the final application deadline (Feb. 5). As you can see, everyone is a fan of procrastinating, and thus, waits until the last minute to submit their application for review. I understand the  reasoning behind it, but it can be a real challenge for everyone in the Admissions Office when so many applicants wait until the end and  want  their hands held from  someone in our office (did I mention there are only five of us for all of you?). So do me a favor: if your friend applies to SIPA in the future, encourage them to turn in things well before the deadline. Thanks. ?? Never surprising is the fact that most of you said you want to be considered for fellowship (1/blue = yes and 0/green is no). So thats  why our scholarship/fellowship deadline is a month before the final application deadline; and why we cant consider anyone for aid past the deadline. The Admissions Committee needs the extra time to review everyones materials and make decisions. While  awards can go up to full tuition and fees, the average award for incoming students is half tuition and fees; but that can vary depending on how strong the applicant pool is.  So if you’re still researching funding sources, check out  our External Funding database  today and browse the SIPA Funding page for insights into the average awards for assistantships (which are only available to second-year students). This chart gives you a sense of the applications by degree program, which  reflects that of the class size in general. The MIA/MPA programs are larger, around 425-450 students combined, and theres another 50 for the MPA-DP program. Another question Im often asked is which concentration is the most popular. My answer is theyre pretty evenly split among the six degree programs, and this chart supports that for the most part. The next question Im asked is if your odds of admission increase or decrease with a programs popularity. The answer: absolutely not. Im never comparing one applicant to another. As long as youre qualified, put your best foot forward, and apply by the application deadline, your application will be reviewed and youll have an equal chance of admission. With advancements in technology, I can actually link the application system to the blog and easy tell  who has visited  the Admissions Blog this year.   So when applicants call or email me asking for advice about something they read on the Blog, I can just access their account to get a sense of which articles they were reviewing so I can better assist them. (Creepy or cool?!) While digging through this tracking data, I found it interesting to see that when I break down our applicants by concentration they closely mirror that of the ones who have visited the blog. I like to interpret it as meaning the blog is so  popular that  everyone  is reading it! (OK, so it’s not an exact link, but you get the hint.) A couple more questions I get are about if theres a particular track  applicants can travel to increase their odds of admission. Of course its a no but to put that in perspective I wanted to share a look at how many applicants are Peace Corps and Armed Forces members. Both designations are a sliver of our overall pool, and no one should ever feel obligated to pursue a path that isnt for them. However, we recognize the importance of creating a diverse class so we are slowly increasing these figures in order to help these communities have access to an advanced education. Speaking of diversity, youve also probably heard us discuss our large network of more than 20,000 alumni from 150 countries, and were not kidding. In fact, just looking at our applicant pool its easy to see just how far we reach.  This year, our applicants called 152 different countries home: Afghanistan Greece Philippines Albania Guatemala Poland Algeria Guinea Portugal Angola Guinea-Bissau Qatar Argentina Haiti Romania Armenia Honduras Russia Australia Hong Kong S.A.R. Rwanda Austria Hungary Saint Barthelemy Azerbaijan Iceland Saint Kitts and Nevis Bangladesh India Saint Lucia Belarus Indonesia Saudi Arabia Belgium Iran Senegal Benin Iraq Serbia Bhutan Ireland Sierra Leone Bolivia Israel Singapore Bosnia and Herzegovina Italy Slovakia Botswana Jamaica Slovenia Brazil Japan Solomon Islands Bulgaria Jordan Somalia Burkina Faso Kazakhstan South Africa Burundi Kenya South Korea Cambodia Kosovo South Sudan Cameroon Kuwait Spain Canada Kyrgyzstan Sri Lanka Cape Verde Laos Sudan Central African Republic Lebanon Sweden Chad Liberia Switzerland Chile Libya Syria China Macau S.A.R. Taiwan Christmas Island Madagascar Tajikistan Colombia Malawi Tanzania Congo (Brazzaville) Malaysia Thailand Congo (Kinshasa) Malta The Gambia Costa Rica Mexico Timor-Leste Cote DIvoire Moldova Trinidad and Tobago Croatia Mongolia Tunisia Cuba Morocco Turkey Cyprus Mozambique Uganda Czech Republic Myanmar Ukraine Denmark Namibia United Arab Emirates Dominican Republic Nepal United Kingdom Ecuador Netherlands United States Egypt New Zealand Uruguay El Salvador Nicaragua Uzbekistan Ethiopia Niger Venezuela Fiji Nigeria Vietnam Finland Norway Yemen France Pakistan Zambia Georgia Palestine Zimbabwe Germany Paraguay Ghana Peru Lastly, decisions will go out in mid-March 2017 on a rolling basis. I cant give you an exact date, but I can tell you were finalizing the review process as I type out this sentence. There are checks and balances in place that the Admissions Office has to do by hand to ensure accurate results, so please be patient with us. As soon as your admissions decision is ready we will email you the news. Just be patient. And good luck to all of our applicants! [Modified Photo Courtesy of CreateHER Stock]