Location: GA
Stats: 3.8 in Urban Studies, Morehouse College
Work experience: City of Atlanta Bureau of Planning, Urban Institute, MIT Summer Research, various neighborhood organizations
Applying to: MIT, Columbia, Cal, Georgia Tech
Joint Degree MCP/JD
I'm not yet aware if MIT has any joint programs in law with other schools in Boston area (don't think they do, but I just love the DUSP)
Last edited by corncob06; 11 Sep 2009 at 5:56 PM. Reason: correction
i find it interested from looking at the threads from years past that there is a definite switch from applying to expensive-big name private schools to cheaper or public university planning programs.
Location: Somerville, MA
Stats:
Smith College '07 Economics 3.8
GRE to be determined
Work experience:
2 years policy and planning research at the U.S. Department of Transportation most modes and a range of topics from climate change to hazmat safety to long-term community recovery after disasters
Applying to:
MIT, UMass, Tufts, NYU, UNC Chapel Hill, Rutgers, London School of Economics, UMD-CP, Kennedy School (joint MPP/MUP).. maybe more maybe less
Mostly applying to urban planning programs with more of an emphasis on policy than urban design
First time to the site!
Location: NYC
Stats: Reed College '06 B.A. Anthropology, GPA 3.3
GRE (October)
Applying to: NCU-Chapel Hill, UMichicag-Ann, UPENN, Columbia, Harvard, PSU, and many more state schools
Work experience: nothing in urban planning, primarily academic administration, film-making and photography.
What do Urban Planning programs look for, I am still considering going back to graduate school for Anthropology, but I took several classes in urban anthropology, as well as stats and research courses and really fell in love with this field.
Location: Bellingham, WA
Stats: B.S., Huxley College of the Environment, Western WA Univ., 2.9 GPA
Will take GRE in October
Work experience: 8 years at a conservation nonprofit, advocating for protection of wild areas, lobbying at local and state level, staffed a regional planning effort (conversion of resource lands has become a major threat to wildlife habitat).
What graduate schools would you all recomend I consider? I am very interested in New Urbanism. I'd prefer to work (profesionally) in the northwest, is there any reason to therefore limit myself to schools in this region? Is Portland State a good pick?
I just wanted to wish everyone GOOD LUCK! This is definitely a stressful process but remember to breathe every so oftenI went through this last year and will be starting at Cal Poly - SLO this Tuesday. Crazy how quickly it came up!
If anyone has any questions about Cal Poly - SLO (or UC-Denver, where I also applied and almost went), please don't hesitate to PM me.
Again, good luck! It'll be over before you know it
Location: Palo Alto, Ca
Stats: 3.9gpa, BS Geography with Honors, University of Washington, Seattle
-760math 660verbal GRE
Work experience: Was an intern, now a full time program coordinator for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the regional MPO here in the SF Bay Area. Previous work experience in a maps library.
Applying to: MIT, UPenn, UCLA, UC Irvine, Cornell, and maybe USC, UNC, Uwisconsin Madison.
My questions: What are admission boards looking for in essays and recommendations? How focused on a certain field of planning should I present myself (I kind of have some ideas of what I'm interested in)?
Perhaps this is the wrong place for this question - but did you have any exposure to the urban planning program at UW while you were there as an undergrad, if so what did you think? Ever talk to anyone from the dmg?Originally posted by banter
@ beardk^
A few professors from geography also worked in the urban planning school. But to be honest, the urban planning and architecture school is very isolated within UW, to the point of isolationist maybe. It's definitely got great resources, but the program is stand-offish from the rest of the school. One thing I did notice, though, is that the program is very conceptually-based - there are often entries or projects which are more thinking exercises than true planning projects.
Location: Nashville, TN
Background:
Cornell '05 (Political Philosophy) (3.2)
Vanderbilt law '10 (3.3)
Taking the GRE in November.
Applying: MIT, Harvard, Cornell, UVA, maybe UC Berkeley. Not sure where else at this point.
Also not sure whether having my JD would help or hurt me. I'm interested in land use law and would probably only go to get my masters if I got into a good program.
Just take extension courses and bone up on the basics of your state's land use laws. No reason to get a master's once you have a JD imo. Waste of money.
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'"
Background:
Univeristy of Oregon '08 (Planning, Public Policy & Management)- 3.25
Taking GRE in October
3 month Internship with City of approx. 25,000
2 years in an AmeriCorp type program working under the City Administrator on issues related to planning.
Still determining whether I want to get a Masters in Public Admin in Planning which is why I have a long list of schools. My thought was with an MPA I could do planning for a while and then move into a role as say a City Manager whereas with the Planning Master's I think I would be limited to planning. Any suggestions...is it worth doubling up on planning???
Schools I'm considering- Maryland, George Washington, Michigan, UNC, American, UConn
(this is my first post!)
Location: Austin, TX
Background: Cornell '08 BARCH (Architecture) and minor in Urban Studies. 3.5 GPA
GRE: 1340 (610 V, 730 Q) 5.0 A
Work Experience: Americorps VISTA in Food Resources at local food bank for the past year, and various summer internships (children's museum, architecture firm). Also some disease mapping for a biology professor.
Interests: Environmental and international planning with technical/GIS focus (I love mapping!). I'm also interested in housing and community development. I really need to narrow down my focus...
Still figuring out what schools I'm applying to, some possibilities include: MIT, UNC-Chapel Hill, NYU, UCLA, UC-Berkeley, UT-Austin, Cornell, University of British Columbia... and others
Good luck everyone!
Last edited by tjordanova; 27 Sep 2009 at 11:43 PM.
Is U of British Columbia a good planning school? If so, do they have much expertise in New Urbanism, etc?
I sure like the planning that is being done in the city of Vancouver. Far better than anything I've seen anywhere else in America, so much so that I was setting my sights on this institution an looking forward to living there for a time. But someone who attended their architecture school told me that the planning department was quite small and not impressive, and that a lot of the planning work being done in the surrounding communities was not affiliated with the school. Is this in fact true or just someone's skewed perspective? Also, he seemed a little bitter about the debt he accumulated (like me, he's a US citizen).
cartopia,
I know of people who have graduated from UBC's SCARP Program and they currently work as planners at my former municipality (in the area). The program is very much a policy-oriented program and lacks any design or applied focus. They focus more on international development planning and overall sustainability. Being from Vancouver, there is not a lot of talk between SCARP and local planning departments, at least in the planning non-work realm.
goldeneye,
What you say about UBC is interesting. I'm not shy of policy, though while I'm not architect material I respect and see huge value in design. And having the knowledge and perhaps some experience of how to apply my learned skills will be key, (I'm most intersted in learning how to work with community intersts such as neighborhood groups to help them overcome fear of infill. Of course, having the expertise to plan more thougthfully is crucial to actually making neighborhoods better, but the conundrum seems to be the next step of how to help neighbors recognize the benefits and trust that their concerns are being heard.) So, how and where would one learn how to develop like Vancouver? Where were the people who did this planning educated? What schools would you recomend?
Location:
Hartford, CT
Background:
Central Connecticut State University '10, B.A. Geography - Planning
3.90 GPA, GRE:1220 (V620, Q600 A5.5)
Work:
Interning at the State of Connecticut's Office of Transportation Policy, was in the Navy for 6 years
Desired Focus:
Transportation/Infrastructure Planning
Applying to:
MIT, UC Berkeley, Portland St, U Washington, UI Chicago
Concerns: Coming from a no-name college, amount of work experience, would be slightly concerned about the GRE, but from what I have heard it's very low on the priority list
Maybe this is addressed elsewhere, but I'm curious if there is a correlation between visiting during the open houses this upcoming month and increasing chances at getting accepted, or if all it really does is give you a taste of what the program is like.
I know you said East Coast, but University of Oregon has a strong Environmental Planning focus, and Oregon as a whole is one of the most progressive states when it comes to the environment.
Location: Buffalo, NY
Stats: 3.3 GPA, 3.7 Major GPA (taking GRE in two days)
Bachelor of Arts, Environmental Design
Minor, Sociology
Work Experience:
Business Developer, Town of Pendleton, NY
September 2009 - Present
Co-Founding Research Associate, Buffalo CarShare
May 2008 - Present
Student Assistant, Urban Design Project
January 2009 - July 2009
Applying to:
Cornell University
University of North Carolina
University of Michigan
University at Buffalo
Location: Binghamton University
Stats: 3.2 GPA, 158 on the LSAT
BA Urban Planning
Work Experience: Broome County Planning, working on the new Master Comprehensive Plan.
Applying to: (in order of preference)
Rutgers
Cornell
UPenn
Binghamton
Hunter
NYU
Location: Western US
Stats:
3.87 GPA (3.93 major, 3.73 minor)
BS in Urban Planning (accredited undergraduate program), Geography Minor
GRE: 1100 (verbal bad, quantitative better, not sure what the essay score is yet) definitely retaking
Other:
- 3 internships dealing with planning
- Research experience on 3 different projects (completely unrelated to above internships)
- Leadership experience in student organization
Interested in:
Urban Revitalization/Redevelopment (especially downtown areas), Community Development, Housing, Historic Preservation, Land Use
Applying to (still narrowing down the list, will probably only apply to 5-6. Open to suggestions):
Cornell
Cal Poly SLO
UPenn
USC
UVA
VA Tech
UT Austin
UWashington
CU Denver
UHawaii
Arizona State
Binghamton has an urban planning program??
Scratch San Diego State off the list - I visited San Diego and it's not for me
PSU (really nice people) but no planning for me. I might possibly apply to their Urban Studies masters degree with a focus on policy analysis
Location: Charleston, SC
Undergrad: Rutgers U Geography & Urban Studies Dual Major 3.29
Master: Rutgers Bloustein School MCRP 3.66
9 Years of Public Sector Experience:
1 Year GIS Research Assistant
7 Years Principal Planner
2 Years Planning Director (P&Z Administrator)
Exploring my options for a PhD
GRE (first ones are too old) December
Narrowed list:
UDel
FSU
UF
GT
Louisville
Cornell
OSU
Clemson
Cincinnati
Other Possibles:
UNC
Maryland
UW Madison
UMASS
@PortCityPlanner
#ProudlyAICP
I'd like to hear something about this as well. I'm considering flying out to UNC sometime in the next month or two to do just that.
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