misuny

Not part of the official agenda, but there is a way to reserve a spot for class visits and schedule meetings with an NYU student and/or alum in advance.

This is such a great idea. I sent out handwritten thank you cards that I put some time and thought into. I'm currently deciding between two schools, and once I commit, I plan on buying a piece of school swag to give to them along with some other personalized gift based on what I know they like/inside jokes/etc. Nothing too large or expensive -- just thoughtful and specific. I'll be delivering in person to two recommenders and mailing to the third.

@tristatequeen thanks so much for the info! @aaprabhakar I didn't see anything planned for the 19th or 20th (a typo, maybe?), although I guess you could technically do things like visit classes, chat with a student, etc. during that time.

I'm not sure what that is, so I'm guessing I didn't get it. How was it sent to you?

I’m in (yay!), but no aid for me either. I knew Wagner was known for being sparse with aid, but zero funding is harsh. Still, being able to work while attending part time leans things a little towards Wagner. NY is expensive, though. What to doooo Wondering if it’s worth making the trip out for admit activities. I live in LA and would lump the trip with a visit to another school that will reimburse some of my travel. Anybody have any wisdom on how useful admit days are?

Of course today is the day I have off of work so I’ve got nothing to distract me. I’m going to bake something. Maybe two somethings. Then at least I’ll have some cake whether or not the news is good.

Yup yup yup. I'm in the same boat. Completing subsequent apps had me faceplanting.

Currently sitting at a temp job where I feel like my brain cells have been slowly disintegrating. Opened up the portal, ran outside and called my sister, happy tears happy tears, and now I'm back at my desk feeling suddenly alive. Texted my friend who lives in Michigan and told her I'M COMING TO VISIT MY POTENTIAL NEW HOME.

I love this thread. I found it a while ago, and I think a lot of you can relate to how much I love being able to post on here with happy news. I also know the feeling of utter dread waiting for this moment, but hold on. And if it doesn't work out this year, study/work/volunteer and try again. Undergrad GPA was 3.009 -- literally the cutoff mark listed for a lot of schools. And I just found out I got into University of Michigan's Masters in Urban Planning program. Maybe it's the only school I'll get into, but I don't care. I don't know who this helps at this point (maybe for a future reader), but I studied hard for the GRE (164V/160Q/4.0W), had strong LORs (2 professional, 1 academic), worked my a** off in a nonprofit for about 3 years (I seriously gave it my everything. I also switched teams halfway through so I grew my interdisciplinary skills), did a short but intense post-baccalaureate at UC Berkeley, and worked on my SOP for a couple of months. Undergrad doesn't define us. I want to scream it from the rooftops.

That hurts, but I wouldn't take it too personally. There are a lot of applicants, but also a lot of jobs. The advice I got was to stay on top of my temp agency because people get lost in the shuffle. Keep on their radar, be nice and professional, be specific about what you're looking for, and treat interviews/meetings (with the agency as well as prospective employers) as though you're going in for a job you actually care about. I hope this helps if you end up going down the temp route!

My sister and I are the first ones to pursue anything higher than a bachelor's degree. It was always expected that we would go to a 4-year university (which I'm sure was influenced by my parents having already achieved that level of education), but the decision to go any further was never really put out there directly. Indirectly, though, I think our parents influenced our decision to pursue higher education because they never felt that their degrees were "enough." They never achieved, earned, or saved as much as their 2nd+ generation/white/wealthier colleagues. They also instilled this mantra of "do better than us, go further than us" that I think a lot of 1st gen kids (and others, I'm sure) carry around.

I've been holding down multiple part-time jobs, one of which I found through a temp agency. I'm applying for paid summer fellowships (there are a lot out there if you do your research), and if it comes down to it, I'll increase one of my jobs to full-time in the evenings/weekends and use my mornings to volunteer at another organization to get my foot in the door/do something more aligned to my career. I've also been actively networking, which might prove useful if the fellowships don't pan out, but is also just a good way to keep on top of things in the field.

I was trying to hold off on posting anything, but in an effort to distract myself from the anxiety... Field/Program: Masters in Urban Planning Schools: NYU Wagner, UMich, UPenn, UCLA, MIT, Harvard Status? Irrationally refreshing email and checking spam folder even though there are still a good couple of weeks before results come out and wondering if finding GradCafe made things better or worse. Some of the schools I applied to are honest-to-goodness reaches, but it doesn't hurt to try. I only applied to schools that I really want to attend, so if I considered something a "safety" or couldn't imagine myself living/working somewhere for 2+ years, I took it off the list. If I get rejections across the board, I can always work full-time, save up, and try again. But it would be really nice to get in somewhere. And get money for it. Lots of money.