jbourne1

You'll get in-state. I am in the same boat as you (not UCLA but CA/NY), I am in NY now and doing a GIS program at a community college in CA paying in-state tuition. You'll fill out a form called the California Nonresident Tuition Exemption Request (under AB540 which was actually intended for DACA students but casts a wide net) and you'll write down your school history in the state and you're good to go. Took a matter of days for mine to get verified. Granted UCLA is a bigger institution than the community college I went to but it was a painless process and I can all but guarantee you'll be okay.

In at CPP but don't really think I see myself there not having any connections in SoCal and not wanting to live anywhere but LA (within Socal). It seems like a nice program at least in talking to the Grad Advisor and one of the Professor's who was also a practitioner, and it's very affordable but it just seems too far from anything but a small section of LA and maybe Pasadena and I don't want to live any further east. Having relied 100% on public transportation for the last 5+ years, I don't know if I'd want a 1hr+ car commute from LA/Pasadena to Pomona. Anybody else considering CPP and if so, why? Cheers!

I asked if there was a waitlist ranking and where I was at if so. Did you or anyone else here ask? I'm a bit surprised they didn't give any indication of that. You would think someone on the top end of the waitlist would be far more inclined to keep options open while those at the bottom could begin to look elsewhere.

Waitlisted UCLA crew reporting for duty! In all seriousness, would've been cool to get in - but for many reasons, finances included, I was kind of hoping they rejected me just to make my decision easier. I quite literally applied on a whim when I heard that the GRE was being cancelled. Probably spent the same $280 applying and getting rejected/not going to Cal/UCLA than if I just took the damn test haha. For all those who didn't get in to UCLA or are waitlisted and it was your top choice, seems like most of you at least got into some other really good schools. I tried and failed going the non-school route, by applying for jobs in the planning field after 3-4 years as a paralegal. Went to like 4-5 interviews in early 2020 pre-pandemic and got reeeejjjjjeccctteed from all, "not enough experience". I had zero relevant work experience and my undergrad was in IR where I wrote my thesis on Serbia's EU integration chances haha. All of us going to school now will be getting some of that relevant experience both in school and with internships, no matter where we go. We've got our foot in the door! Keep your head up!

Can't speak for SLO and I believe I might've touched on this earlier in the thread but I've done the most research into SJSU and spoke to the most people affiliated with the school there than any of the other schools I've applied to (Grad Advisor, 2 professors, and about 4-5 students). It seems there is definitely a significant chunk of students that go to SJSU part-time or while they work as a way to get ahead within the field in the Bay Area (almost all of them seemed to view the school as public sector-oriented except for one person who worked for Lyft). One of my contacts said that a number of her colleagues today (she worked first for MTC and then for SF County) were her peers from school. Planning, Community Development, and Transit agencies across the Bay are choc full of SJSU grads. As she said "It's a small planning world so I know a lot of the planners in the public sector through SJSU. Your reputation from grad school definitely follows you." Of those I talked to, they all said SJSU's program is well known throughout the Bay Area (in part because it's just one of two Bay Area programs - the other being Cal). The Capstone Community Planning course is really unique and not something I necessarily saw duplicated elsewhere since most community-involved work at other schools seems to be reliant on your internship choice. I think this gives you a built-in opportunity to network within the San Jose/Santa Clara County community even beyond your internship so you get to double down on potential job opportunities. I also asked each school's (SJSU, Cal, UCLA, CPP) Grad Advisor "Do you help students find internships?" and SJSU seemed to give the most help - I think in part because, at least for UCLA/Cal, they expect the prestige and connections of the institution to make securing internships easier. The certificates are also an interesting twist. I talked to both Cal (which I didn't get into) and UCLA and both said the concentrations are just within the department and your course planning, there's no official documentation stating it on your transcript or diploma, whereas you actually receive a certificate at SJSU. Not that important knowledge wise but could be an edge at face-value re: resume. That being said, I'm still holding out hope for UCLA (even though it's a big reach for me) in part UCLA's program seems to draw from social justice/critical race theory principles. I feel like the theory vs. practical argument always finds a way to put down "theory" - but if the planners of the past were schooled in the "theory" we might expect from UCLA today, perhaps there wouldn't be so much harm left to undo. There's one really telling statistic about UCLA's planning program though - the largest employer of UCLA planning grads... UCLA. That tells me that the program is probably 1) PhD Heavy and 2) More focused on contributions to the field of planning than making planners out of students. Phew, essay over. Bored on a Sunday... lol

I spoke to one of the MURP Grad Advisors back in August or September of last year and I got the impression from him that the Admissions Office was not having the easiest time working virtually. They deal with a lot of physical mail so I think they hadn't quite had a system in place to run as smoothly as they liked. He didn't really confirm whether this would delay decisions, but since then I've always just figured I'd hear sometime by around mid/end of March. Similarly, after I sent in my department application to the Cal Poly Pomona Admissions Committee I asked when to expect a decision (this was early November) and they said to expect it mid-Feb. Well here we are in late Feb so I asked the Grad Advisor for an update and she said they're targeting mid-March. They don't have a timeline on their website though so I guess that leaves them more wiggle room. Long story short I feel like this year some of the expected timelines are just a suggestion haha

Personally, I found some of the deepest insight was looking into a specific city and reading about the planning/urban history there. If you're not from or not planning to go to school in a big city or at least a town/city/region with a deep history and canon, just choose one you have an affinity for. Here are some I've read: LA: City of Quartz by Mike Davis Bay Area: American Babylon by Richard O. Self; The Road to Resegregation by Alex Schafran; City for Sale by Chester Hartman NYC: There Goes the Hood by Lance Freeman

The program at SJSU, from what I gathered, seems a bit like a factory to get you what you need to know to be a planner and get you out in the field. I don't mean that in a bad way, it's highly practical. I just mean that in contrast to schools like Cal and UCLA which are probably just as (if not more) concerned with the program's contributions to the planning field's body of academic work. The CPP website is straight out of like 2009 haha. Somehow, Columbia's also somehow manages to channel 2009 looking like it tried to imagine 2099 with those colors and font choices lol: https://www.arch.columbia.edu/ But yeah, I skipped SLO mainly because of location. I just didn't want to live in a small town. Can't beat the school's reputation though. There are plenty of USC/Cal/UCLA haters out there but SLO seems to be universally respected/beloved (the school itself not necessarily just the planning program). Oh and just a quick edit. I don't think SJSU/CPP are really entertaining the idea of more esoteric theory like Edward Soja might have at UCLA for example.

Oh yeah definitely, I'm fairly realistic about the whole thing I just rarely hear people discuss those schools online and I can't imagine I'm the only one who doesn't want to pay $25-50k per year like most of the other schools I see named on here (not to loan shame anyone! haha) so was just curious if anyone else had them towards the top. Cheers!

Is anyone here seriously considering Cal Poly Pomona or SJSU? I don't really hear either talked about much but I have a friend who works for LA Metro and CPP is a big feeder school into LA City and County agencies. And I've talked to a ton of alumni at SJSU + grad advisor/faculty and got the same impression for SJSU and Bay Area City/County agencies. I've talked to faculty, the grad advisor, and alumni at CPP too and it seems like a great program. The campus is also really nice, if far from LA. Was curious if either school is in anybody's top choices? For CA schools as much as I'd love to get into UCLA - hard to beat the price and flexibility of SJSU and CPP. I just rarely see either talked about. I'm sure they both get overshadowed by their respective nearby UC competition.

Finally rejected from Cal haha! I've more or less been anticipating this. I really only applied because the GRE was waived so no sweat luckily. I would've gone to SJSU over Cal if given the choice due to SJSU's affordability and flexibility, but still would've been happy to have got in! Congrats to all those who did and whose first choice it is! Luckily SJSU and CPP are both hedges for the option to choose between Northern and Southern California. I would personally love to get into UCLA, sort of fell in love with their program, but I wonder if my background is more Cal State than esteemed UC (saying that tongue in cheek as I went to, and loved my education at, a Cal State). It will be interesting to see who got into both, or one, and why in regards to UCLA and Cal. Still good luck to all!

Hey, no harm no foul so long as you got into your top choice. I'm sure it sucks but what made you a great fit at UNC might not have at USC. And perhaps they saw your background and interests as going in a different direction away from what they offered or what they want. It's not always just ability/aptitude. I look at it like NFL draft sometimes. Sometimes sure fire players get passed up on because they don't fit with what the team needs. It's not that the team thinks they're bad, they just are looking for something else. Luckily, you found your #1 team!

I went from checking every hour of every day in November (why did I do that? I dont know lol), to not caring too much when worked picked up in Dec/Jan to now being irrationally angry (how long does it take???) so I think you could say I've hit each stage of application grief. Anyone know when UCLA's supposed to get back? Berkeley sent an email saying if you don't hear from us by 03/05 reach out (so we can deny you to your face haha). But UCLA's been pretty silent. Hope everyone else is hanging in there!

SJSU got back to me very early! No assistance but the whole program is less than a year at one of the UCs!

Hello all! My first collective sigh of relief after submitting my applications is here. Now time to hold my breath for the next 4 months as I wait to hear. I wanted to restart this post for this year, and what a strange year it is. Copying the format from last year's thread, for future MURP/MCP/MUP hopefuls where they posted all the info as applicants, and updated as the weeks and months went by. Good luck to all and stay positive! Age/Gender/Citizenship 27/M/US Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated BA in Int'l Relations / run of the mill Cal State school / 2015 MA in Public Policy / Central European University / 2017 GIS Certificate / Community College / est. 2021 GPA - GRE - TOEFL (for Int'l students) 3.4 BA/3.8 MA - No GRE, part of the reason I applied this year Work Experience: 3+ years in immigration; 1 recent community development internship (really leaning on strength of references, GIS cert, and SOPs since I don't have the typical background) Letter of recommendations: (from whom) Combination of MA Thesis Advisor, Boss at Immigration Firm, GIS professor, Boss at Internship Schools applied to: SJSU, Cal Poly Pomona, UC Berkeley, UCLA, In: Out: Wait-list: Awaiting: Results: