MIT v. Cal death match(more advice, ad infinitum)

[ouji]

Having just read in the previous post that the school doesn't matter (and by no means disregarding this info or its validity)... I've been accepted to the master's programs at Berkeley and MIT, with full tuition scholarship- so $ is not a consideration. I'm not looking for any definitive answers, knowing that none exist, but simply frank and unadulterated opinions (secondhand or from personal experience from alums of either or both) on which program has better instruction, is more challenging, would provide a broader and richer experience for someone interested primarily in land use planning , growth management, and urban design. I'm not especially concerned with which will get me a better job; at this point the main factor in my thinking is that I want to eventually return to California to work, which would probably be an overriding factor if I didn't keep hearing some bad things about the quality of instruction at cal. I'm just hoping for some honest thoughts that can spur my own thinking.
Thnx

 

[Greenescapist]

It sounds like you should go to Berkeley if you want to end up there anyway. I'm not a planner, but am going into a Masters program in the fall myself. I'm trying to decide between a couple of schools - UWisconsin-Madison and UMass-Amherst. You're fortunate to have been offered money. I've researched schools for a long time now and from what I can tell MIT and Berkeley are the best. If I were you, I would choose whichever you think you'll be happier at. MIT seems to have a huge international development focus- if that's your thing, go there. Do you like cold, snowy winters and hot, muggy summers? Move to Cambridge. You're damn lucky either way. Good luck.

 

[architecton]

planning school choice

Well, I'm not looking at MIT\Berkeley but posting on this link all the same as there are 2 planning schools i have to choose between also- Georgia Tech and University of Southern California. For whatever is better education, better opportunities. And yes, for me better job is a criteria.
Any advice?

 

[Greenescapist]

Again, I'm not yet a planner, but I've been reading the advice on school selection and have talked to quite a few people about this. Both those schools have great reputations, I'd pick it by location. You will get a job either way, everyone here says that it comes down to intern/work experience more or less. If you were choosing between USC and some obscure school, it would be different. Personally, I think I'd go to USC, but that's probably because I don't like Atlanta. I have a friend of a friend who's taking some planning classes at USC and he loves it.

Not that it really matters, but I saw an article the other day on the Planetizen newsletter that said USC, Penn, MIT and Harvard were the four schools chosen to submit plans for some site- perhaps in NYC, but I can't remember. It stuck out in my mind that USC was in that league. Good luck.

 

[rkan]

Go to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Practical training. Diverse student backgrounds. Labour and education.

 

[BKM]

As a Northern California planner, I keep running into planners from one school: Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo. California-educated planners all say the same thing: if you want the practical education, Cal Poly is the way to go. Berkeley is more "theoretical." So, it depends on what you want out of your education.

Good Luck!

 

[cmdrico7812]

Having just read in the previous post that the school doesn't matter (and by no means disregarding this info or its validity)... I've been accepted to the master's programs at Berkeley and MIT, with full tuition scholarship- so $ is not a consideration. I'm not looking for any definitive answers, knowing that none exist, but simply frank and unadulterated opinions (secondhand or from personal experience from alums of either or both) on which program has better instruction, is more challenging, would provide a broader and richer experience for someone interested primarily in land use planning , growth management, and urban design. I'm not especially concerned with which will get me a better job; at this point the main factor in my thinking is that I want to eventually return to California to work, which would probably be an overriding factor if I didn't keep hearing some bad things about the quality of instruction at cal. I'm just hoping for some honest thoughts that can spur my own thinking.
Thnx

I still have a while before I choose between grad schools, but how difficult was it to get into MIT or Berkeley? What is your background in planning and how competitive is thier admission into the planning program? I kinda feel into planning as an undergrad and absolutely feel in love with it and now that I'm looking at grad schools I want to find the program that fits me best. Thanks for your help.