thanks hipp5. so as long as people keep declining I may still have a chance! i'm trying to stay positive as best I can at this point.
thanks hipp5. so as long as people keep declining I may still have a chance! i'm trying to stay positive as best I can at this point.
My gpa was not stellar (3.2) but I have some land-use planning internship experience as well as very good references and a letter of intent that I probably spent way too long on, haha. This should be comforting!
(Regarding Dalhousie's recommendation for acceptance)
Thanks aliving. I feel that I can't be too far down the list at this point then. I also have a GPA of 3.2, good community service background siting on a board of directors focused on transportation, what i felt were good references and a letter i spent AGES on. Also took a summer course in urban planning at UC Berkeley last year. hopeful that i am in the next wave of acceptances (if there is one) or top of the wait list....fingers crossed!Originally posted by aliving
Hello everyone,
New to this forum and wanted to provide an update. I applied at 7 schools (I know... switching careers from management consulting so I really want to get the ball rolling) and so far:
Toronto - rejected
Manitoba - Waitlisted
Dal - Accepted via email and was told I should receive the offer in the next 2 weeks.
McGill - Haven't heard anything
Ryerson - Haven't heard anything
Queens - Haven't heard anything
UBC - Haven't heard anything.
Rejected from UBC...my god this is painful.
Waiting on McGill and Ryerson...
Sorry to hear that Angela. How did you hear about UBC?
email or letter?
Email. Received March 25, around 8PM.
Yes, waiting for school is very painful! However, don't give up yet. It's not over until it's over.
So far:
- University of Toronto - rejected
- Ryerson University - "reviewed for consideration" - I am not really sure what this means, but I guess I will find out. Did anyone else receive an e-mail like this?
- York - accepted today
- McGill - we will all hear from them in April/beginning of May.
Happy Easter everyone! Enjoy the long weekend and let's try to not check this forum/Grad Cafe too much over the long weekend. :p
Hi Everyone,
Congrats to all who have been accepted to the various schools so far!
I have been patiently waiting to hear back from the three schools I applied to and am being hopeful.
My background is in Landscape Architecture and the schools I applied to are:
McGill- Seems like a lot of people haven't heard back either.
Ryerson- No word yet.
University of Toronto (Not for the Planning program but Urban Design). Did anyone apply here? If so have your heard back?
hope everyone has a wonderful spring either way!
Hi kg,
I also applied to the Master of Urban Design Studies program at UofT and haven't heard back yet. I have called them a few times, and it sounds like they're running behind schedule. Hopefully we'll hear back in the next few days. I'll keep you posted if I hear anything. Good luck!
I just received a letter of admission to the University of Calgary. Anyone know much about the program? I know that they are currently working on being re-accredited by the Canadian Institute of Planners, but has anyone had experience with the program/school?
Hey,
Goodluck to you too!!! Still waiting on my end.
Hey again everyone - this waiting is killing me!
Here's what I've heard so far:
- Queen's - Accepted with scholarship [Deposit paid]
- Dalhousie - Accepted with scholarship + research funding [Deposit paid]
- Ryerson - Accepted with scholarship [Declined Offer]
- McGill - ?
I think my first choice is McGill with Dalhousie a close second at this point, although I haven't yet ruled out Queen's.. I haven't heard from McGill so I'm not sure what I will do if I get in there. When I called McGill at the beginning of March I was told that I would hear by april but that obviously hasn't happened yet... Has anyone heard from McGill??
For those who asked about background - I took Civil (Environmental) Engineering with an International Dev. specialization with a GPA of ~3.3. I have been very involved in student government/clubs/teams, and have done quite a bit of volunteer work. Although not directly related to urban planning, I have done a number of relevant engineering design projects throughout my undergrad and completed an undergraduate thesis in my final year. In the end I would like to be involved in transport planning/engineering, eventually working in the mass transit sector in Canada.
Hopefully we all hear back soon. As soon as I hear back from McGill, in or out, I will make a final decision and will decline at either Queen's, Dal, or both which should open up another spot for someone.
On a side note, how would you compare Queen's, Dalhousie, and McGill? Transportation is most developed at McGill, but I was offered funding as a research assistant at Dal with their new DalTrac lab. The transport program is essentially in infancy at Dal, but the faculty seems very good. Any comments or thoughts appreciated!
Good luck everyone!
This is possibly where I am going to go next September, having just received an offer of admission (still waiting on a couple of others). U of C is a fairly well regarded school and its planning program has been considered to be reputable by a number of my professors. However, they are glaringly not yet accredited still, but I think with the changing of the program name from Master of Environmental Design into Master of Planning, and their notices throughout their website indicating every intention to seek accreditation this year leads me to believe they will get it by the time the entrants into their program this fall graduate. I have a friend that is graduating from their inaugural entry class - he has told me the program had good teaching and coursework, but questionable students. I'm hoping the cohort coming in 2013 will be pretty strong (and that they are doing a better job of selecting the applicants).
Hi Element89,
I have a quick question about your acceptance from Dalhousie. Did you receive info about funding in the email of acceptance or when you received a letter in the mail? Thank you and congratulations!
Another update regarding admissions: I received a recommendation for acceptance from Guelph for their Rural Planning and Development program (international stream).
Still no word from Ryerson or McGill
The main actor for transportation at Dal is Dr. Ahsan Habib. As you mention, the program is in its infancy there; I was in Ahsan's first transportation class in the spring of 2010. That being said, Ahsan is really truly committed to making Dal a player in the transportation planning realm. He has great connections, has done an amazing job getting funding, and some of his students have done really exciting research. The fact that he got this new DalTrac lab built is the icing on the cake (I took a look at it last month, it's going to be nice!). So in short, I don't think you're going to get the "establishment package" that you'd get with McGill (and Halifax as a city is a little behind on transportation initiatives verus Montreal), but I do think there's a real excitement and dynamic atmosphere with transportation at Dal right now. It seems to me that there is an opportunity there to stand out. As an analogy, I'd put Dal transportation as the internet startup, while some of the other schools are the IBMs of the world.
No word from Ryerson but I just called McGill and she told me that they are sending out acceptances and we should all be hearing back by the end of April and early May..
Last week I received an email from Ryerson telling me that my application is ready for review (two months + after submitting a complete application). It looks like there's still some waiting to do on that end.
Hi everyone,
I applied to the Masters in Urban Planning at Dalhousie, York, and McGill. Thanks to everyone for their tenacity in reaching McGill and reporting back! I'm dumbfounded by their poor communication with us applicants. On the other hand, Dalhousie has been extremely forthcoming and enthusiastic in providing information. If this a reflection of each university's administrative policies or of the culture within the program, I'm not sure.
Status of applications:
Dalhousie- accepted by email end of March-early April, still waiting for official letter
York- accepted by email early April after they informed they had not received one of my reference letters, must have been an online glitch.
McGill- who knows
I'm waiting on the letter acceptances and for a response from McGill.
Background:
GPA- A-
Honours Bachelor International Development
Work experience- cumulative 2 years government through co-op and extension of contracts, international affairs and sustainable development
Internship- human rights law
Volunteer- food security groups, bicycle co-op
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