prokem

Adding to what @Boolakanakasaid, which I agree with - at YSE there are a couple of urban planning classes and a very strong urban learning community. Can’t speak for the other MEM schools but I imagine they might have some too, to scratch your urban planning itch

For class of 2022, a ton of people were admitted off the waitlist, I think because the school was really worried about covid related uncertainty. For class of 2023, I heard that all admitted students accepted, so no one was admitted off the waitlist. I don't have any firsthand knowledge of that year's waitlist stats though

Not to invalidate this person's bad experience at SEAS, but from the first half of their post it sounds like they didn't do their homework on the school before matriculating. It is very true that SEAS is in a period of growth (and is very open about it), which has pros and cons and is something each of you should take into consideration when weighing your options. Being upset at a lack of classes in a specific field is also something that you can anticipate, because course offerings are posted online. Personally, I found my SEAS advisor and professors there in general to be incredibly accessible. And from speaking with them and current students, I would definitely say I was encouraged to work (like a TA position) and that many students do that. They are apparently very competitive positions though. Just wanted to offer my 2 cents to contrast with that reddit thread. I think all of the people in this forum probably have a better idea of the schools they've applied to than the poster there. I personally decided against SEAS for a number of reasons, but those discussed in the first half of that post were not at all what I experienced as a prospective/admitted student. I'm sure many of you are doing this, but it is really valuable to speak with multiple current students, not just those that the admissions offices make available, but ones who you find on LinkedIn/through your network etc who have similar interests to you, in order to get a more holistic and unfiltered view of these schools.

YSE MEMs will be out fairly soon. For PhDs looking for more info, I recommend looking at a different thread or forum, as this one is primarily for professional programs

To fill in a gap from GSG's response: I would say YSE might be tough for two reasons. For one, their admits skew older/more experienced than other environmental programs. Second, and relatedly, those who go in with 1 or less year of work exp are almost universally extremely linear candidates who have had lots of internships/other experience in the field they're interested in. Your work experience doesn't seem to be related to energy/sustainability, so you would probably be at a disadvantage. But there's not much harm in applying if you have your heart set on YSE. from your list, I think SIPA and Tufts sound like great fits for your interest, and you probably have a decent shot at getting in, though like @GradSchoolGradsaid you may be at a disadvantage when it comes to getting scholarships.

When you're choosing between some of the top env programs, I would focus less on their rankings and more on how each program and their alumni outcomes aligns with your career goals. Bren sends people to very different places than Columbia for example, as far as I know.

YSE poached Dorceta this year

And Gerald Torres! YSE is slowly overtaking/equaling SEAS in terms of EJ curriculum and opportunities.

They may not admit the people who stormed the capitol on the ground, but they and other elite institutions have certainly fomented those who have laid the groundwork for and created the ideology behind the insurrection (steve bannon - HBS, ted cruz - HLS, mike pompeo - HLS, dan crenshaw - HKS etc...)

Nic and YSE are both great for policy!

No idea. Heard a rumor that they freaked bc of covid and accepted everyone off the waitlist last year, but have no idea if that's actually true

I did! Got off in mid/late March. There are roughly 120 or so MEMs per cohort.

I went through the process last year and would not say SEAS is a research oriented program. I think it differed within the program based on the tracks (policy, ej, etc) to an extent, but I think they are moving more towards a practical model which characterizes the other big professional environmental programs. Your "thesis" can be research or the more client-based approach that other big programs (YSE, Nic, etc) use. In terms of funding, first years with a strong work or educational background can get GSI positions, though like you said there is stiff competition and limited spots. Their GSI $+benefits are way more generous than any other school I know of. At YSE TAs get a couple thousand per semester (thank you UMich unions!). I also got the impression that funding opportunities are limited outside of the need/merit based $ announced with admissions. There are fellowships like Ford but they're hard to get afaik.

They definitely do value work experience heavily, more so than the other big 4 environmental programs in my perspective, but every year there are a handful of people with 0-1 years of exp, so don't count yourself out!

Last year they released funding info in the acceptance email (for some people at least). Could very well be different this year though

Agree with @GradSchoolGrad, your major doesn't matter. You could be an engineering major or an art major, but as long as you can craft a compelling and coherent narrative as to why you want an mpp and what you want to do with it, you'll be fine (along w work exp, some quant background, leadership, etc). Rather than using undergrad to set yourself up for what you think schools look for in an MPP candidate, use it to figure out what specific areas of policy you're most interested and gain leadership and work exp that helps you figure that out and beefs up your skills and knowledge base.

Depends on the school and the program. When colleges switched to mandatory P/F or something similar which applied to all students, most grad programs explicitly stated it was fine. If you're choosing to do P/F on the other hand, I think that's often looked down on/viewed suspiciously by grad programs, but again it depends on the specifics. It's hard to say right now because there's no precedent, but I think if you have the option to take a class for a grade and don't it's probably viewed negatively (can't say how much so) unless you have some specific circumstance (like having covid, caring for a sick family member, bad internet connection if you're taking online classes etc) I think poli sci programs won't care as much about a P in music, but they might for the Econ class, especially bc it's your major. Afaik high grades are critical for PhDs, though I don't have any exp with them myself and haven't come across any undergrads who went straight in.

I'd also recommend that @als14 look at the Ford School, and that your SOP not focus as much on the connection between your undergrad education and your current work, and more on what drives you to do that work in the first place

I think to some extent it depends on the kind of program you're applying to. In general though, I would say option C is the best. I had a somewhat similar situation myself: I had recs from 2 professors who knew me extremely well and a former work supervisor who I was definitely going to have write a letter for each school I applied to. There was a third professor who I knew pretty well but wasn't quite as close with. They had gone to and taught at one of the programs I was applying to, and their field was also a bit different than the other two and more in line with this program, so I decided to ask them for a rec for just that one school. I was upfront about applying to other schools, and explained how they would be able to shore up some weaknesses in my app, speak to my fit there, and expound on my aptitude in a way that the other profs couldn't and which wasn't as relevant for the other programs I was applying to. They completely understood and were happy to write it. I was also clear about the situation with my other two academic recommenders, who were supportive of me doing that. I may have had a better relationship with all three of them than you have with your three options, so take this story with a grain of salt I suppose. But I do think C makes the most sense, and that it would be best to be upfront with your recommenders (at least with the rockstar one) about your plan to avoid any awkward situations later. Just my 2 cents!

Agree with the above on #2. I think you should be fine to do that. In terms of how to decide which to go with, I think that you should prioritize 1) how close you were with the professor, and relatedly, how well they can speak to your abilities, and 2) how relevant the content of their letter can be to the curriculums of the programs you're applying to. I would choose based on those two factors rather than the grade you got (imo). I think that it's also important for you to zoom out a bit and assess the strengths and weaknesses of your application (for example, quant experience/GREs, relevant work/research experience, etc) and how one of these recommenders may help balance out a weak point, if at all possible, though that bit of advice might not be relevant based on what you said. Hope that helps a little!

Maybe things have changed since you last looked into it? As far as I can tell, it's open to all Yale degree holders ? https://www.yaleclubnyc.org/membership

Fwiw, there is also a Princeton Club!

I think I disagree slightly with @GradSchoolGrad. I do not think Ford would be a waste of time for you. I was accepted there with less undergrad econ coursework and without the apparently data-heavy work experience that you have. A lot of the accepted students I met had similar backgrounds to yours: econ undergrad, worked in local gov or analytical research oriented positions for a few years. I think you can mitigate some of the concerns around the low Calc grade and the GRE by highlighting the quant-nature of your work and asking one or more of your recommenders to speak to your ability to handle that. For schools like HKS (and maybe Harris, I'm not really familiar with their application), that may still be something holding you back no matter how much you can mitigate it. So if I could give you some advice it'd be: 1) try your best to improve the GRE quant score 2) ask one of your recommenders to focus on your quant abilities in their LOR 3) spend a lot of time working on your essays: make sure you drill down into what specific policy area you want to get into and why it's so important to you (make it compelling) 4) use linkedin or your school's career services office to find any alums who have gone to some of your options and talk to them about how they handled the lack of name rec (and how they enjoyed their exp in general) 5) find some current students or ask admissions to connect you to people who are doing part time at Gtown. In talking to current students when I was applying, I found that many were happy to be candid about their experiences, and I think it would be helpful to get insight on how part time has worked out for them.

Depends. I think if you can get some sort of job or other fulfilling thing to fill up your time, definitely do Fall. I think it'll be easier to make connections and bond with your classmates when you come in with a class rather than dropping in in the middle of the year when those who started in fall will have already made close friendships etc. If you don't have any options for things to do between now and the fall, then I'd say defer to spring

just to add on, at both Michigan and Duke you can do a great dual degree program between the public policy and environmental schools. At Ford they also have a specific track for nonprofit management. I don't know anything about your work experience, but I wouldn't count yourself out at schools like that. If you look through the forums, you will find people who got acceptances and aid despite having limited relevant work experience or less than stellar undergrad transcripts. I think for you, having a great GRE score will definitely mitigate some of the concerns about GPA or class grades etc, as will great recommendations and a compelling SOP. Most schools look at apps holistically so even if you think you have one or two glaring weaknesses, that doesn't mean your app is hopeless.