A follow-up note to recent applicant emails COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog

A follow-up note to recent applicant emails COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog On Tuesday, the Fall 2016 fellowship application came and went. In the days  preceding and the days since, weve received hundreds of last-minute visits, calls and emails about the application. Thanks to our Program Assistants, were answering the messages in record time. But that doesnt mean  weve gotten to all  of them yet. To help with the potential email bottleneck, Im covering some of the common questions weve received this week. Proofread your  application Keep it mind this is your application and you  are responsible for submitting a complete,  truthful and polished application for admission. Before hitting the Submit Application  button, please make sure you preview your application proof. Weve found that applicants have submitted applications with missing  pages,  resumes with too wide margins that are cut off in the proof, and even  required materials addressed to the wrong school. So look at your application proof carefully before you hit submit. Because once you send it, there are no take backs. Yes, you read that correctly. We cannot update your application (e.g. add documents)  after youve submitted it. Thus, you should also  review your Application Checklist to ensure everythings been submitted by the deadline. About those e-transcripts Yes, we only require that applicants submit copies of their transcripts for admission to SIPA. (We only require the official record once youve been admitted to the program.) If you decide to upload an official digital version provided by a service like eSCRIP-SAFE, keep in mind this is technically still a copy because it was delivered  directly to you (which you uploaded), and was not delivered to the Admissions Committee. So while thats still  acceptable, chances are when you upload it we cant actually read it because we dont have permission to access it. Thus, when we try to open your transcript, we get a blank page that reads simply, This page is encrypted, or something similar. (Hint: Youll see this too if you proofread your application!) As a work around, applicants should download their transcript as they normally do, print it out, scan it and upload the scan into their application. Avoid  non-credit certificate programs SIPA appreciates the fact that our students come from various professional and academic backgrounds.  And we really like to see it when applicants take the additional step to improve their application by taking additional quantitative coursework they feel they need prior to applying to the program.  But were finding that some applicants  attempt to list certificate programs that were  from nonaccredited institutions and/or  werent graded. If youre uploading a certificate program as part of your application, please make sure you provide sufficient documentation that outlines the coursework and grades obtained. Afterall, you wouldnt upload a copy of your college diploma without the transcript, right? Listing your test scores on the application While SIPA does allow applicants to submit test scores from multiple exams, you cant just pick and choose which scores you want to submit, nor can you combine your best scores as a single exam set. Thats what we call submitting inaccurate information. To make sure youre application is truthful, please record all exam dates (with the matching score dataset) that youd like the Admissions Committee to review. For example, make sure you complete every field prompt (as pictured below), and do not combine the highest scores from multiple exams under the same test date. Dont trick us with a blank page Its 7:30 p.m., a day before the application deadline. Your application is nearly  complete, but youre missing your TOEFL score report, which ETS still hasnt emailed you. The real problem is the application system wont let you submit it until you upload that missing document.  So you upload a blank page that says TOEFL scores to come.  I understand the temptation to bypass this requirement and upload a blank page, but please do not do it. Its ultimately making more work for everyone involved since youre telling us your application is complete when it really isnt. When you submit your application youve signed an honor contract. Stick to it, and email us about the problem so we can come to a mutual solution. Still have questions? Check out Eloy’s Top 12 Application Questions, or send us an email at sipa_admission@columbia.edu