Previous threads:
2012-2013: http://www.cyburbia.org/forums/showthread.php?45079
2011-2012: http://www.cyburbia.org/forums/showthread.php?41653
2010-2011- http://www.cyburbia.org/forums/showthread.php?38769
Discussion of planning, MSRED, architecture/LA, and other allied programs welcome.
Here we go...
Major: Environmental Science
GPA: 3.4
GRE: 153 verbal, 154 quant ( I think a 510 and 690 on the old scale)
Experience: A couple month long internship at a a city planning and zoning department. Also a summer internship at a county Natural Resource Management office doing GIS work.
Here are the schools I'm applying too:
I'm applying for Environmental Planning.
Florida State
Florida
Univ of South Florida
Georgia Tech
Temple
Hi, I'll graduate Fall 2012 from Florida International University (FIU), and my GPA on the moment is 3.82 which I don't expect any major change on it. For GRE I'm taking it this upcoming Monday, so we will see.
Now, my question(s): yesterday I registered on Georgia Tech admission website to complete my MS application, and what I understood from their procedure that I need to give my username and password to the recommanders. So, today I was discussing this with one of my recommander, and she told me, she will write it for me, but she doesn't want to go through the username and password thing, so she wants me to upload it in her behave without Georgia Tech notice.
Don't misunderstand me I like this idea. In fact, my question is about if MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, University of Illinois, cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Purdue, Princeton , and UPenn do the same thing as Georgia Tech. Because what I found that asking for recommendation letter(s) is a tedious job if there a way for simplifying it such as: uploading a PDF file to their website, and I'm done then that's great. Of course, all the PDF's will be written by professors not me.
Thanks in advance.
I'm planning to apply to PhD programs late this year/early next year. It's been in the back of my mind for some time, and I'm ready to seriously pursue the degree. I have to admit that giving up my current salary will be challenging!
I graduated with my master's degree in 2007. My first challenge to applying to PhD programs is retaking the GRE. Most schools require your test results to be no less than five years old and my results are 8 years old (time flies!). I just began studying for the exam this week and plan to take the test in either September or October.
I'm trying to stay focused on the GRE prep, but have also been thinking about my SOP. I have been fortunate to have worked on numerous planning-related issues during my career, and it will be challenging to determine a specific area in which to focus. At this point, I'm considering community development, urban revitalization, smart growth, and resiliency (but am open to other niches). I know that my interests lie primarily at the crossroads of urban planning and public policy (as opposed to being design-focused; although, good design is essential for quality growth outcomes and is guided by appropriate policy instruments).
One other question I haven't fully answered yet is whether to apply to Planning and Policy programs or Economics programs. I'm strongly leaning toward Planning and Policy programs at this point as it would be most consistent with my previous educational training and professional experience, and I'm confident of finding a research topic about which I am passionate. However, the quantitative skill set gained through a rigorous economics program is also appealing, and I do have interests in urban and regional economics and demography. I guess another one of the benefits of planning and policy programs is their multidisciplinary nature, which could allow me to gain greater knowledge in economics while pursuing my PhD.
At this point, I know that I will apply to Rutgers and have looked into UNC (for their resiliency focus) a bit, and need to start exploring other programs in greater depth once my GRE prep is complete.
Would be great to hear from others interested in pursuing a PhD in planning!
Hello!
I’m a longtime reader of the forum, and I’m just starting the stressful process of putting together my graduate school applications. I’ll be graduating from a small liberal arts college at the end of this year.
Major: Political Science
GPA: 4.0
GRE: 168 verbal, 154 quantitative, 4 written
Experience: Land use internship with regional planning agency, staff assistant at foreclosure relief nonprofit for over half a year, honors thesis, and author of a conference paper presented to the Northeastern Political Science Association.
Applying to:
MIT
Harvard
Tufts
NYU
Columbia
University of Maryland-College Park
University of Illinois-Chicago
I would like to apply to the University of Massachusetts too for financial reasons, but the campus is just too rural for me. I might switch out one of the reach schools for either U-Colorodo or U-Washington, but as someone who has never been out of the Northeast, it's tough to evaluate whether I would enjoy living there.
Lets bump this...everyone getting started on applications?
Also, have a couple updates to what I posted earlier: I received a 5.0 on the analytical writing portion of the GRE. Some much bigger news is that I just started a PAID internship as an environmental planner with a regional water supply agency. It's a big opportunity and I plan on taking full advantage of it!
Quote:
Originally posted by Boot
It seems that some of you have taken the GRE already. Of those of you that haven't, when do you plan to? I was thinking of October or November since I don't think I'll send my applications until January.
With the GRE, it just depends on how long you intend to study and whether you might want to retake it. If you push it to October or November, you may only get one chance to take the test.
I guess I should bear all my stats, given that someone may tell me if I’m realistic or not:
GPA: 3.24 (3.66 in major, which was interdisciplinary economics, poli sci and communications)
GRE: 600 V, 660 Q
Experience: Eighteen months interning/working at a commodity futures trade association doing policy analysis and communications work, and almost a year of business development for an education company (the first experience was concurrent with undergrad, if that’s a factor).
Recommendations: Two professors who know me very well, and the former president of the trade association I worked for, who also knows me very well.
My schools
• Cleveland State College
• Georgia Tech
• Hunter College
• Ohio State University
• University at Buffalo
• University of Illinois, Chicago
• Virginia Tech
At the risk of boasting, I feel I can write very strong personal statements for each school. I am the best writer I know, and can spin anything to my advantage.
I've just considered applying for a Masters in planning after coping for years with the desire to do work in planning while staying in the social sciences. My home discipline of anthropology is getting more and more interested in Asia, but my heart is with public transportation in the US. For those reasons, I have no idea what to expect in this process...
Undergrad GPA: 2.77 cumulative, 3.7 major... how, you ask? I took a lot of astronomy and calculus. No idea why. I have my BA in Anthropology.
Grad GPA: 4.0, MA Anthropology.
Experience: 2 years field work assessing the impact of post-Jim Crow era notions of social inequality on public transportation my city (US- Deep South, metro area 100,000). Presented information to three different disciplines at 7 major international conferences. 2 publications on this data.
GRE: circa 2008: 610 quantitative, 590 verbal, 4.5 writing; circa 2011: 141 quantitative, 159 verbal, 4.5 again in writing.
But I have no idea what types of schools I can even attempt to get into. I have a broad background in urban and social theory, geography and cartography, and obviously urban anthropology, but an abysmal undergrad GPA and little practical experience outside of research. So the schools I've settled on are:
CU Denver (top)
Boston University
UMD
Rutgers
UNC
My biggest concern is funding, and a close second is location, but we'll see what happens. Good luck to everyone.
Your background seems great, you would be a good fit for most policy based programs! If you want to maximize your chances, look into programs with a policy / equity focus.
141 in quantitative GRE is pretty bad though... Hard to tell how that will impact your chances, Rutgers and North Carolina are very strong, and competitive, schools. I haven't heard about much financial aid from Boston University and Colorado Denver, too.
Quote:
Originally posted by Geograph
You know, I was recalling from memory, and as soon as you said that, I realized you were right. Logging back into ETS, my score was actually 153, which is good, but by no means stellar. The other two are correct (so V: 159, Q: 153, W: 4.5). The GRE is important for me at several schools because of my miserable undergrad GPA.
Like I said, too, I'm not sure what types of schools I should be looking at. I do know that I want to work in transportation, and I'm still toying with policy (I really just don't know much about it). As usual, I feared I was aiming quite high... Perhaps I should add some more variety. I do still feel good about Denver, though, and was told that a high percentage of students get at least tuition remission.
Thanks for the feedback. I really appreciate it.
I wouldn't worry about your undergrad GPA too much. Write a sentence about it in your statement of purpose and that's all. More recent experience counts more. A 4.0 grad degree sounds promising, don't you think? Especially with those better GRE scores.
Keep in mind: Most programs look for a diverse student body (in experience, education, nationality etc.). About half of the applicants don't have work experience; your's is right on track, and will make you stand out. For certain professors and programs it'll make you very appealing.
I think you have a good shot in getting into UNC and Rutgers!
From a freshman in grad school to all the grad school hopefuls, GOOD LUCK!! This will be an incredibly exciting time in your life. If you have questions or concerns about the process, I'd be more than happy to provide any help I can.
Hello All,
I just took the GRE today (and while it was paper-based, since I live overseas), I'm guessing more scores will be about what they have been on my practice tests:
V: 162
Q: 158
Undergraduate GPA: 3.85
Major: Political Science and Interdisciplinary Studies (Space/ Place Studies)
Experience: sitting on my city's planning commission in high school, summer planning internship, year long internship doing community research for policy in Chicago, publications/ presentations, and working for a year at ESRI doing GIS things. I also started and run a GIS non-profit. I'm currently living in Eastern Europe on a Fulbright where I'm working with community development and doing civil society research.
Intended Outcome: I'm interested in working with cities that are in the midst of globalization. I want to help cities reduce spatial inequality rather than increase it. I want to help make the margins of cities more like the interior of cities.
Schools I'm applying for (and I'd appreciate any feedback on these!):
Harvard-
Berkeley-
MIT-
Rutgers
UCLA
UIUC
Really committed to applying for Fall 2013 after deciding against it last Winter. Glad to have found this community.
So here's what I'm working with:
UC Santa Barbara Class of 2011
B.S. in Environmental Studies, Restoration Ecology emphasis
GPA: 3.45
GRE: 165 V, 160 Q, 5.0 AW (690/760 on old scale)
Experience: 9 month internship in undergrad working with urban agriculture/sustainable food systems development, 12 months as director of a student food cooperative, past 15 months as a community organizer and fundraiser with an environmental nonprofit.
I'm applying for Environmental Planning and/or Community Development (depending on the program). Very interested in environmental justice in urban settings, as well as the role cooperatives can play in achieving sustainability.
Recommendations: Two professors who I've taken multiple courses with and who know me well, two other options who know me fairly well but I have less experience with.
Schools I'm applying to, I'm in California so I'm hoping to stay on the West Coast.
- UCLA
- UC Irvine
- Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
- UC Berkeley
- University of Washington
Anything stand out as too much of a reach, or any schools that may be a good fit but I've glossed over?
Hi everyone,
I read through last year's version of this thread and it was helpful so I'll play along.
Undergrad: Graduated in '06 with a 3.8 GPA, Philosophy major with conflict transformation minor (I had no clear career goals back then).
GRE: 166 V, 154 Q, 3.5 AW (No idea what happened on AW. I studied for verbal and quant sections but not AW. I'm confident in my writing and now I have something to prove in my SOP)
Experience: Six years working in web design/development, database administration. I just kind of fell into a career in web design because I learned it in high school and college. I'm involved in bicycle/pedestrian advocacy. I serve on the oversight committee of a nonprofit that is planning and building a bike/ped greenway. Also serve on the board of directors of a nonprofit that is developing a multi-tenant nonprofit center in my city.
My recommenders are two former professors whom I know well and my current boss. I've met with each of them and they all seem excited about this direction and are eager to help.
I'm applying to these schools:
VA Tech
University of Virginia
UNC
University of Maryland
Rutgers
Cornell
I might apply to these schools:
U. Penn.
MIT
I'm interested in the connection between transportation and land-use policy, especially policy that favors sustainability, efficiency and healthy lifestyles. I've been considering applying to planning programs for a couple of years and this year I finally decided to go for it. I'm nervous about how admission committees will view my education and work experience but I'm very motivated and I'm sure I'll regret not trying! My wife finished her MA a couple of years ago and we have quite a bit of debt so I need some funding or I probably won't go. Best of luck to everyone!
Will be taking the GRE next week
Schools I'm definitely applying to:
NYU
Portland State
University of Oregon
UCLA
I'm undecided whether there will be a fifth school
Can't wait to have the applications off my hands
I just took my GRE an hour ago. Got 148 V, 154 Q. Really bummed about it. Should I retake it?
Here are some MURP programs I want to apply to:
Cal Poly Pomona
UCI
UCLA
UCB
University of Illinois
San Jose State
Graduated from UCI 2012, Urban Studies major with a 3.5 GPA, 3.39 overall GPA. Had 7 months experience as a planning intern at the City of Santa Ana. Researched with some professors--some GIS work.
Give me your thoughts! I need to decide soon. :(
Schools
University of Virginia
Virginia Tech
Virginia Commonwealth University
Cornell University
UC Berkeley
University of Southern California
Background
B.S. Geographic Science
3.65 GPA
GRE: 151 verbal, 146 quant, 3.5 writing
Senior Thesis: “Landscapes: Social Division in Urban Areas.”
First in my family to go to college (or grad school for that matter)
Latino, first generation to live in US
Don’t have much experience in terms of internships in planning
I know that my GRE scores and my lack of experience are probably really hurting my chances at some of my schools. If you have any feedback or more information about any of the schools I am applying to please let me know!
Quote:
Originally posted by tokks
Our scores are almost identical. I don't plan on retaking mine, the GRE is only one part of the application. Your app should be strong in all the other areas.
I went to Cal, what specialization are you interested in?Quote:
Originally posted by rivasja
Thought I might as well get amongst it.
Undergrad: economics and actuarial science at one of Australia's top universities. We don't do GPAs here, but I was the top economics student in my cohort.
GRE: 166Q/166V/5.0AW
Experience: three years as a TA (first-year economics), and one year as an economist in the Australian federal government.
Research: undergraduate thesis in transportation economics.
I am keen on programs that have a strong transportation focus. I am applying to (roughly in order of preference):
MIT
Rutgers
VA Tech
Cornell
UVA
NYU-Poly
RPI
Is there anywhere else in the northeast region I should look at applying to?
I'm interested in Housing, Community, and Economic Development concentration.Quote:
Originally posted by WooTang