hello everyone!!!!! its september and you know what that means.....grad school apps!!!!!!!!!
last year they started at the same time, so i thought it would be only appropriate.
location:san gabriel valley
stats: ucla undergrad, 3.5GPA, history, '09
work experience: 2 years in low income health care/preschool [headstart] dev.
applying to: cal poly pomona, usc, ucla, uc irvine.
looking into: low income housing/community development
Location: Boston.
Stats: Brandeis U undergrad in economics + art history; masters degree from Brandeis in international economics + finance. 3.65 GPA; 1410 GRE.
Work: 5 years working as a consultant in the healthcare industry (so this'll be a big switch for me).
Applying to MIT, Harvard, UPenn, Cornell, U of Illinois at Chicago
location:northmen San Joaquin Valley
stats: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo undergrad, 3.4 GPA, City and Regional Planning with an economics minor, '03
work experience: 5 years planning in a private consultant firm writing specific plans, master plans, community plans, public outreach/workshops/charretes , zoning ordinance updates, design guidelines and policy writing
applying to: usc, ucla, cal state northridge.
looking into: public policy and implementation of policy at a local level rather than state or regional mandates.
Brotip #2418 - know when it's time to switch from being "the little engine that could" to the "little engine that said, 'f*ck it'"
Location: Columbus, OH
Stats: 3.2 GPA, Geography (Urban Studies) major and Sociology minor at Ohio State
Work exp: No field experience but I intern at my Congresswoman's District Office
Applying to: Ball State, U. New Mexico, Toledo, OSU, maybe some others.
Location: Huntsville, AL
Stats: 2.8 GPA, Community Planning & Urban Studies major at Alabama A&M
Work experience:
Main Street Birmingham, Inc. (community-development corporation), Summer 2008
Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham (summer 2009)
Applying to: University of North Carolina, Ohio State, Clemson, Morgan State, and still deciding between Georgia Tech and Rutgers.
Location: Athens, GA
Stats: 3.2 GPA, Geography Major at the University of Georgia
1150 GRE (probably taking it once more)
Work experience:
Northeast Georgia Regional Commission, Summer 2009
Couple of non-planning part time jobs since October 2006
Applying to: University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Auburn, Oregon, UT-Austin... still considering a couple more out these: Memphis, Cornell, UVA, UNC, FAU
Planning programs for all of those -- no MLA or Historic Pres. for me, and not a whole lot in regards to design either
Location: Montreal, Canada
Stats:
B.A. Honours Urban Planning '10, 3.52 GPA
Concordia University, Montreal
Work experience:
Events coordinator for my urban planning student association
Doing a urban planning/design proposal for my thesis
Tried to start my own web site development company, didn't work out.
Applying to:
University of Pennsylvania, Cal Poly SLO, University of Washington, University or British Columbia, University College Dublin and others
Applying to urban planning programs with strong hands on emphasis and concentration in physical planning and urban design.
Location: San Diego, CA
Stats: 3.1 GPA (3.6 Major), Political Science, Geography Minor, '07 (GRE Pending)
Work experience:
Two years as a Planning Intern with an international A/E consulting firm. Mainly working on general plan amendments, specific plans, and EIRs. Also did some fiscal impact work.
Two years (hopefully 3 by the time I start classes) as a full time Planner with another international design firm mainly working on various transportation projects. The projects run the gamut from transit plans, congestion pricing studies, to TOD development scenarios.
Applying to: USC, UCI, UCLA, Cal Poly SLO, Cal Poly Pomona, also thinking about Portland State, UVA, and UWash.
Ideally I would like to study sustainable urban development from the physical perspective.
Location:Seattle
University of Washington Tacoma Urban Studies Major 3.91 GPA
several years of non planning work experience
currently working as a writing tutor at UW
volunteer English and Math tutor @ local elementary school
'09 summer internship w/ the City of Renton in their planning department
Plan on taking GRE this fall (November)
I'm more interested in policy than design
I think I'm going to apply to: University of New Orleans, San Diego State University, University of Washington Evans School of Public Affairs, Seattle University MPA program, and Portland State University
Location: Cambridge, MA
Background: Bowdoin College '08, GPA 3.7 (last 2 years, taking GRE in Oct)
Work: Currently, the Sustainability and LEED Coordinator for a University here, getting a lot of the technical side....
Undergrad Fellowship in GIS/population/transport/enviro analysis
Applying (enviro. planning): MIT, Harvard, Upenn, Tufts, UMass Amherst
Interested in PhD eventually, but I know these are pretty much all reach schools. Open to suggestions for Environmental Planning programs!
Location: Boston.
Background: MIT undergrad in Architecture (building technology) with hopefully an Urban Planning minor '10, 3.3 GPA. Will take the GRE soon, practice scores are ~580V, 790Q
Work: None really, save for a month internship under an MIT MCP alum in low-income green communities.
Applying to MIT, Harvard, UPenn, Cornell, and perhaps Hunter in the spring. I have no desire to go into academia.
Location:
Williamsburg, VA
Background:
the College of William & Mary '10, history and geography double-major
1330 GRE, 590V, 740Q + 5.5A
Work:
little directly related to planning, lots with transferable skills
honors thesis on urban morphology
Applying to:
VCU; Virginia Tech; UNC-Chapel Hill; Clemson; Georgia Tech; Cal Poly- SLO; Portland State University. I would prefer practician-oriented work, but a dosage of policy is necessary to get work done and a dab of theory is necessary to think rigorously.
Biology and Environmental Studies
Kenyon College '10
3.70 GPA
Semi-weak GRE: 700 Q, 580 V, 4.5 A (but I don't want to take it again)
Winter 2009: Internship at Gund Partnership: Cambridge, MA
Summer 2009: Internship Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, Environmental Planning: Philadelphia, PA
I've been working in a quantitative ecology lab throughout college and I presented research at a conference on metabolic scaling (oddly related to Richard T.T. Forman's planning work).
I'm really interested in environmental planning, sustainable development, and may eventually go for an M. Arch.
Applying all over: OSU, U Cincinnati, UPenn, MIT, Harvard, U Michigan, UVA, V-Tech, U Houston, U Texas, Columbia (any other suggestions?)
Thanks!
Location: Florida panhandle.
Background: the world is my fried oyster.
Stats: Jacket: 44 regular; trousers: 34 waist, 32 length; shirt: 16-1/2 x 33 - 34 (subject to change depending on wine consumption)
Work: as little as possible; just keep the paychecks coming.
Applying to: you're kidding me, right? Actually, Sunny Acres Retirement Home.
Looking into: becoming a wine cellar rat.
A nuisance may be merely a right thing in the wrong place — like a pig in the parlor instead of the barnyard.
Unless you're dead set on attending a school in the northeast, I think you'd be wise to look into UNC-CH, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and Portland State. Don't overlook state schools - they house some of the very best planning programs and can often be the more affordable route (especially important considering the relatively modest pay scale of most planning jobs).Originally posted by JLedewitz
Process and dismissal. Shelter and location. Everybody wants somewhere.
I'll be applying soon, but am still trying to finalize where - any thoughts about which schools have good resources/programs the following three areas?
- participatory planning and use of information technology
- real estate
- China
From what I can gather from their websites University of Washington and MIT have these types of programs, so I'd be interested if anybody has opinions about these schools, and would love to know of any other recommendations.
stats...
Location: Beijing (for the last two years, I'm from the US)
BA in economics '07 - 3.9gpa
800/720/5.5 (quant/verbal/ana writing)
work experience
a few relevant internships during college
real estate consulting in Beijing
editor for a planning magazine (also in Beijing)
Location:
San Francisco, CA
Background:
MIT '08, B.S. in Architectural Design
4.1 GPA, GRE high 1200s (didn't do any studying, might take again)
Work:
2 yrs @ a financial Nonprofit, very similar environment to The Office, cannot wait to get back in school!
Applying to:
CALPOLY SLO, maybe UC Berkeley but I highly doubt they would take me
I would like to go onto a PhD in environmental/land use planning.
Concerns: letters of recommendations (struggled a lot in undergrad)/writing sample (lost all academic work when defective macbook harddrive failed)
A 4.1 GPA is struggled a lot? You have to be kidding me right?
Brotip #2418 - know when it's time to switch from being "the little engine that could" to the "little engine that said, 'f*ck it'"
Yeah MIT degree with a 4.1 is pushing it. Might want to go to your local community college to help with that worthless degree of yours.
GPA at MIT is calculated on a 5.0 scale, so a 4.1 would be about a B average.
Location: Shanghai, China.
Background:Major in Chemistry '10, GPA 3.3
Minor in Finance '09, GPA 2.8
Working: in a urban design institution, a relevant project (09 Summer)
I'm wondering if related volunteer work can be taken into account.
Applying to: Upenn, UNC, Rutgers, Ohio State, etc
Interest & Concentration: Environmental Planning, Sustainable Planning, Land Use, Ecology
Last edited by unxnx; 09 Sep 2009 at 12:34 AM.
thanks for the insight...now i feel better
Brotip #2418 - know when it's time to switch from being "the little engine that could" to the "little engine that said, 'f*ck it'"
Is anyone here a graduate of any of the programs I'm applying to? Can anyone offer any insight as to what my chances are looking like for admission and what I need to work on to help boost my application? My stats again -
Location: Huntsville, AL
Stats: 2.8 GPA, Community Planning & Urban Studies major at Alabama A&M
Work experience:
Main Street Birmingham, Inc. (community-development corporation), Summer 2008
Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham (summer 2009)
Applying to: University of North Carolina, Ohio State, Clemson, Morgan State, and still deciding between Georgia Tech and Rutgers (now leaning towards Rutgers).
Location: NY
Stats: 4.0 GPA in Urban Studies
Work experience:
internships in planning and various industries.
Applying to: Harvard, Cornell, MIT
Location: Gambier, Ohio
Background: Kenyon College '10, Music, 3.6 GPA
Work: Nothing directly in the field of planning. 1 summer working with an attorney on environmental law issues. Also, I have completed 2 independent studies related to planning and the built environment. Served on a sustainability committee in my town.
Applying to: Columbia, Penn, MIT, Harvard, OSU, Michigan, Cornell, Berkeley
Interested in land use, urban design, sustainability/environment, and RED.
Looking into the possibility of a dual MUP/MLA.
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