javagdss

I will be attending University of Minnesota/Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs for my Master of Urban and Regional Planning. Anyone else moving from really far away? I'm coming from California and have never lived anywhere cold in my life. Cheers!

I can personally vouch for San Diego and parts of Los Angeles. San Diego: I did my undergrad at UCSD without a car, and it was enjoyable. You get a free sticker on your student ID card that gets you unlimited rides on all bus routes that connect with campus or the medical center. A bike will get you around the campus neighborhood, transit will get you downtown and to some fun parts of town, and zipcar/friends with cars can get you to the less accessible places. Los Angeles: I've spent the past two years living in Koreatown, commuting to USC for work daily. Bus access to campus is wonderful, and many routes run 24/7. The subway is ideal for getting downtown or into Hollywood. Parts of this area are even decently bikeable - I bike to the Hollywood Farmers Market and Trader Joe's on weekends with no problems. Driving is a chore, and parking is obscenely expensive. There's zipcar on campus if you need it. Staff can get a subsidized Metro pass through USC very easily. Students *can* get a discounted Metro pass, but it's a hassle. A group of students and I are currently working to make the pass easier to access and cheaper to purchase, so by the time you get here, you should have an easier time of it. Oh, also, the Expo line is due to open soon, which will connect USC to Culver City and downtown LA by lightrail!

Okay, what does "high crime" really mean in Minneapolis? I'm thinking that I will probably end up at UMN, but I'm moving from a semi-dodgy part of Los Angeles, which means it's really difficult to put things like crime, cost of living, etc. into a relative picture. Can someone give me some perspective? Also, how diverse are the twin cities? For housing, do most places allow cosigners? How important are references? (my current landlords hate me because I actually call them when the front gate breaks, or the plumbing has issues, etc. you know, basic habitability stuff.) Any tips for adapting to the cold?

USC is a great place to work, and they let you take one class at a time for free! While you're employed they'll probably let you take a class or two with your desired department, which would strengthen your application a lot. Plus the health benefits and things are good. Good luck with the job

For UMN's MURP, I received an e-mail from the department last Friday saying I was accepted. Then today the applyyourself application status changed from "Submitted/complete/whatever" to "Graduate School Final Review". So this probably means you'll get a decision soon, and I can't imagine why they'd do a "final review" if you had been rejected by the department, so I'd bet it's good news.

That is incredibly misleading.

Wait! Does this really happen? I freaked out when I saw someone already got a phone call from one of the programs I applied to, and it's just a professional masters program, not the sort of thing where you'd expect a phone call. Were they just messing with us???

I blame the Results Page Drinking Game. When I get rejected, I will be sorely tempted to put "You're missing out on a great dissertation". We don't even write dissertations in my program, but everyone playing along will have to drink twice.

My brain goes back and forth in dreams and while awake between two scenarios: 1. 6/6 rejections and getting fired from my job all on the same day 2. A phone call saying "You're our top applicant, and despite the fact that we're not supposed to send out decisions for a few more weeks, also despite the fact that Masters students never receive stipends, we want to offer you admission with full tuition and 35k/yr, plus a shopping spree because you're moving from LA to a city with real winters." Really, both of those scenarios are quite unlikely. But my brain won't let me daydream about getting to pick between two schools and ponder what 60k of grad student debt will feel like in a few years.

Actually, it looks like the Embark system does this. Davis hasn't given me an admissions decision yet, so I'm not sure how they'll do it, but the "Track Status" page has all these "Deny Reasons" that they can check off: 1 Application is inappropriate for this program. 2 No major professor available in proposed specialization in major. 3 Application received after deadline. 4 Not competitive with other applicants because: (reasons listed below) 5 Scholarship below minimum 6 Scholarship below that of admitted applicants. 7 Inadequate preparation for advanced study in the proposed program. 8 Statement of Purpose/Written work. 9 Personal History Statement. 10 GRE scores. 11 Letters of Recommendation. 12 Audition/tape or portfolio. 13 Personal Interview. There's no option for "You were fully qualified and this was just bad luck/random number generator/dice roll/pick-a-hand/etc." but otherwise, it could be quite helpful (and/or humbling).

Getting transcripts from my old community college, where I took a whopping 3 summer classes. The fastest they can mail them is with 7-10 business day processing time and normal snail mail. If you want rush processing, it's still 3 days, and you have to pick them up physically, and I live 500 miles away. Also, you have to mail or fax them a paper signed document authorizing the release of your transcript after you request and pay for it online, for Every. Single. One. Seriously? Get your act together and offer rush service! And stop making me print and fax things! Previously I thought any application that had paper components (my Oregon schools) were annoying, but now that I'm in the waiting stage, I think these are my favorite. Once I put the application in the mail, I stopped thinking about it. There's nothing more I can do. They sent me an e-mail saying the app was complete, but there's no online site to check compulsively for months. Those other applications with beautiful, seamless online forms and uploads and status pages are incredible teases now. They haunt me in my dreams, and during the day it takes all my willpower not to check them 100 times per day. If they look at the number of times each applicant logs into the system, they'll probably think I'm insane.

Although I haven't been in this situation, I imagine there's no harm in saying "Actually, I only applied to this program because x, y, z." It shows you're serious about this specific program as much as the field, and if they make you an offer, you'll definitely accept it. I can't really imagine any drawbacks, but maybe other people can.

Davis (Embark system) just updated my status today... it previously listed my application as complete and showed all my transcripts. Today it no longer says it's complete, and removed the record for my UG transcript, which it had previously listed by name, so it can hardly have been a mistake. Weird.

I think "offered" means they're covering or waiving your health insurance fees in the campus program as part of your funding package, which can be $hundreds per term. In most schools I've looked at, the grad student health fees are marginally more expensive than the undergrad health insurance. If you're not offered insurance, you can go on buying it as usual through the school.

Ahem! Berkeley...

Do the programs have any idea how often we compulsively check the application status page? Do they care?

USC is doing relatively well, and has added several big names to the faculty in the past couple of years.

Portland sent out some scholarship opportunities for bicycle and pedestrian planning, and my first thought was, "Oh! They must have read my personal statement, and they think this is relevant to me, and I have a chance at being admitted!" Then they sent out another general scholarship e-mail that included the bicycle/pedestrian ones, and I realized, no. They're just sending these to all applicants.

I pictured this as I was filling out the one paper app I had to submit: *Looks at first page "GRE is solid, but the GPA is way too low, and the transcript has too many W's. No way." *Flips to second page on auto-pilot from mind-numbing and redundant work "Wait a sec. Statistical programmer? Survey design? Stata and SPSS? Wants a graduate research assistantship? We NEED her! Full ride!! Get her here NOW!" I can dream, right?

I need a boost right now - something to keep my spirits high while waiting it out. So here it goes... -My GRE was high (700V, 790Q, 6AWA), so schools should take me seriously. -Solid LOR's -Volunteer work related to my field -I'm a statistical programmer. If I get into the program, they'll DEFINITELY want me as a research assistant and waive my tuition, right?

I asked my grandparents to proofread my statement of purpose for a Master of Urban Planning (concentration in community/social development). My grandfather (an engineer and a Republican, if it makes a difference) sent an e-mail back saying I should remove all of my community development volunteer work and talk more about sewer systems.

Two of my schools have too many paper components no integration between departments. WHY do the admissions office, the department, and the scholarship/finaid office ALL need OFFICIAL copies of my transcript? Can't you share? Can't I just send two of you a copy and you can verify with the third? Are you really that distrusting of your applicants and unwilling to play nice with others?

I like this plan because it requires zero effort on my part right now. Apps are exhausting!

If your friend opens one copy of each letter, they will be short 1 copy of the better one and will have to send the weaker one to at least one school (assuming one letter is weaker than the other). Logistics aside, opening them seems to cross the line. True, many references show you the letter, and many more will do so if asked. But your friend didn't ask. Now how does this situation compare to holding the sealed envelopes up to the light? (Just curious...)

I work at USC and just enrolled in one of their Planning classes. (It's free! Hooray for staff tuition benefits!) I'm not sure whether I should contact the departments where I've already submitted an application. Anybody can enroll in a class, and it's not like I have grades to show for it yet. But it's with Bill Fulton, who's respected in this field. What do you think? Also, should I mention it in the applications I haven't submitted yet?