hammyc

I chose Duke Nicholas! Where are you going?

Yeah it does suck. Now I have the difficult decision of UCSB Bren or Duke Nicholas. Cost of attendance is about the same for me. My heart tells me UCSB but my head tells me Duke. Where are you and everyone else going this fall?

In a sea of MPP, MPA and MIA discussions, I hope this helps future Environmental Policy and Management applications. Program Applied To: (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.) and Schools Applied To: MPA-ESP (Columbia SIPA), MEM (Yale FES, Duke Nicholas), MESM (UCSB Bren), MPP (UCSD GPS), MA in Global Environmental Policy (American SIS), MA in Environmental Resource Policy (GWU Trachtenberg), MGP Environmental Policy (Boston Pardee)Schools Admitted To: Columbia SIPA ($15k), Duke Nicholas ($10k per year), UCSB Bren ($0), UCSD GPS (full-tuition), American SIS ($0), GWU Trachtenberg ($0), Boston Pardee ($22.5k)Schools Waitlisted From: NoneSchools Rejected From: Yale FES Undergraduate institution: Top 250 school on the West CoastUndergraduate GPA: 3.18Undergraduate Major: Environmental StudiesGRE Quantitative Score: 162 GRE Verbal Score: 159GRE AW Score: 4.0 Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 5 Years of Work Experience: 5Describe Relevant Work Experience: 5 years of irrelevant work in communications, 2 years of relevant volunteer experience in a climate change NGO Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I felt good about my SOPs. I think I crammed everything necessary into mostly 500-600 word essays. I told a story of my passion and interests and how my experience backed those up. I also managed to speak about my irrelevant experiences and created a narrative where they would be helpful in grad school.Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): Two of three I feel would have been good -- they came from my current boss at work and supervisor at my NGO, who know me well. The third was from a professor I did well with in undergrad, who I had not spoken to for four years. Other: I didn't think I would get into Duke, Yale or Columbia. While I was right about Yale, I was surprised by Duke and Columbia -- both providing some form of funding. The programs I was expecting funding from gave me none at all.

@sara501 @hakunamatata1 I was poking around the UCSB Bren site and realized this: "If an applicant is selected for a Recruitment Fellowship, that person will be notified of this at the same time he or she is notified of admittance into the program." Does this mean that we did not receive funding at all?

I also received two years of in-state tuition and fees, but I am an out-of-state applicant. I would email them for clarification. I would but I'm most likely declining the offer. Good luck!

Has anyone heard from Bren on funding yet? Do you think we'll expect something in the next two days? I'm on the verge of emailing them.

Thank you @mapiau for the detailed response. I think the newness of the MPP program is a concern for me that I won't be able to get over. I feel extremely privileged to have been awarded full-funding, but I have offers from other programs that suit my goals better. Am I insane to turn down a full-ride?

I am about to decline my offer to the MPA-ESP and I can't believe I am about to say no to Columbia. It's been a dream school of mine for a while now but I just can't justify the cost for a 1-year program. I can't imagine the burden of a two-year program. I received aid of $15,000 so I hope it goes to someone who would benefit from it more than I would.

This is exactly the thread I need at the moment. Thanks for starting it OP. Coming from: 5 years of professional experience in public relations and 2 years of volunteer experience with a climate policy group in Southeast Asia. Looking to get into international climate change and energy policy, and to pick up data analysis skills. Deciding between: Duke Nicholas School, MEM (~20% tuition ); UCSB Bren School, MESM (still waiting for funding info); UCSD GPS, MPP (full tuition) Other factors: Duke is my #1 choice but the most expensive so I was quite disappointed at getting a low amount of funding. UCSB is a solid #2 choice. I’m sure I would be happy there. I was not considering UCSD before the full tuition scholarship news came in. I can’t ignore that now. I have two dilemmas: 1. I want to attend a program that is focused on the environment. I am concerned that the MPP at UCSD GPS would be too broad and won't have the depth that UCSB and Duke offer. Is it worth paying to attend one of the environmental management programs? Or should I just take the money and attend the MPP program? Money is not a huge issue right now but of course it's always great to save as much as possible. 2. If I opt to attend one of the environmental management programs, is Duke Nicholas worth the extra money over UCSB Bren? Bren would be ~$15k cheaper, and could cost even less when funding info comes in. I am drawn to Duke for it's stronger focus on international climate issues and energy, with a stronger network in DC. While UCSB has a strong career center for California/West Coast, their DC/East Coast network is not strong. How I'm leaning: I would need to hear some amazing things about the energy/environmental specialization at UCSD GPS to get me excited about that program. And I really want to attend Duke. But if I am not able to negotiate for more funding, I may have to attend UCSB Bren and work my butt off to network to get me to DC post-graduation. Really hope someone can share their thoughts and experiences. Thanks. ?

Hey thanks for taking the time. I was wondering if you could shed some light on how strong the energy / environmental specialization is at GPS. For some context, I got an admit to the MPP program with full funding, and I’m looking at a career in climate change policy. I also got admits to UCSB Bren and Duke Nicholas. I am trying to weigh the pros and cons between a program that is dedicated to environmental management/energy vs. a broader MPP, with a specialization in energy/environment. UCSB and Duke are my top choices, but I can’t ignore a full ride offer from UCSD so I’m looking to learn more. Thanks so much.

Duke's funding info is out. I received an offer of $10,000 for my first year, that is renewable for the second year with good academic standing. Can't say I'm not slightly disappointed. I was hoping for it to be a little higher. Did anyone else get funding info?

Holy crap I just got the same email too! Full funding for the MPP. This is going to make my decision extremely difficult now.

Rejected from Yale FES, kinda bummed. But accepted to UCSB Bren just a couple hours later! Now gotta get funding info from Bren and Duke Nicholas then it’s time to make a decision! Anyone else with news to share?

I submitted Yale FES on Dec 15 and Bren on Jan 5. I’ve been checking the status page for both every day!

I haven’t received anything yet and this is making me anxious. I’m only waiting on Yale FES and Bren right now and I’ve seen people receive admits to both schools already. Is it normal for decisions from one school to go out gradually over a couple weeks? I would have thought that all decisions would go out at the same time.

Decisions are rolling out. Got a message from the GPS admissions office that my application has been "nominated for admission"! Now I'm just waiting for official communication after review by UC San Diego's Graduate Division. Anyone else got in?

That's some really good insight. Pretty rare to have people stick around these boards after getting into grad school. So far it seems like Duke is the undisputed leader for energy, but I'd like to focus on climate change policy and economics. I got into Duke as well and I'm curious to know if you have any insight into the EEP concentration? Also, would you be able to speak more about the flexibility (or lack thereof) within the MEM? For example, if I focus on EEP, would I be able to take classes from the EE concentration as well?

@hardikpokhrel @QL1998 When did you submit your applications? I submitted on deadline day so I'm hoping that's the reason why I haven't received a decision yet.

Congratulations! I saw this and anxiously checked my email and portal. Nothing for me yet. ?

I did! It's my third choice behind Yale and Duke. I am not hopeful about getting in at Yale, and I doubt Duke will cost less than UCSB. So I'm really hoping I get in. My only concern is that I want to focus on international climate policy, so it would be quite important to be on the East Coast. I am actually quite curious to know how successful I would be to go to UCSB Bren and end up working in DC after graduation.

@hardikpokhrel Not quite environmental management programs, but I've received admits from Columbia SIPA MPA-ESP, American SIS GEP, and Boston Pardee MGP Environmental Policy. I'm still waiting on Yale FES, Duke Nicholas and UCSB Bren.

I was accepted to the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy. I'm in a sticky situation now of having to confirm my attendance before the end of February. Most decisions from the other programs I've applied to don't come out until March. Because of that, I lack the leverage of other offers to request more funding from SIPA. Does anyone have advice on what I should do? I was thinking of requesting for an extension to my deadline, then requesting more funding. I also thought that this would be a good opportunity to start the 2019 thread. Ayyone else get in?

I got accepted into the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy at Columbia SIPA. And the deadline for me to accept admission is 22 February. I am pretty concerned because this would be before the decisions for the other programs I applied to are release. It's important for me to wait to see where else I got in and what kind of funding I will receive elsewhere. Does anyone have any advice for me? Should I request for the admissions office to delay my deadline until mid-March? Also, if anyone can share insights into the MPA-ESP program, that would be great. Is it worth the money, and what's the best way to get more funding? I got offered $15k, which means I'd still have to cough up $70k myself.

@bigdreamer2018 Apologies for going off-topic here, but I have a question of my own for you. I find myself in a similar position to you in that I have had the opportunity to be interviewed by news media in my country on a couple occasions. Most recently I was on a cable news network talk show speaking about my policy area of interest and related topics. How do I best highlight these media appearances in my application? In my resume? Do you think admissions committees will see value in me highlighting the fact that I was interviewed by newspapers and cable TV on my opinions on policy?

Hello! Would anyone be interested in reviewing my SOP? I am applying to a bunch of Environmental Management and Policy programs. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uIoun1IXWnKmcoKrSa-UMA6ajss1FN8E0JRjFt1xmYE/edit?usp=sharing I've linked my SOP above; feel free to leave comments on the Google Doc. For some context, this version is meant for a California school, which is why I mention the state. I, of course, tweak my SOP according to the program I am applying to. This version is slightly long. For the other applications, I will cut it by 200 words, so please be brutal in telling me where I can cut redundancy or irrelevancy.