takeitorleaveit97

Hi all! Congrats to everyone who has had good news so far. Are there any phd applicants on this thread? Has anyone heard back yet? I applied to: MIT, Cornell, Columbia, and Harvard. Would love to hear from folks in the same boat!

Has anyone heard back about the YSE open house that’s supposed to be in early Feb? (PhD)

Haha yes definitely agree on the joint three year bit. MIT's program was my favorite of the bunch. I was so upset they weren't accepting MCP students this cycle. Did Harvard give you funding? (if you don't mind me asking) I know Berkeley's isn't out yet.

Hi @acardigan! Great minds eh? ? Where are you most leaning toward?

i got an email to check the portal!

In at Harvard

This is a valid concern. Do you watch the Dave Ramsey show on YouTube? I’m extremely terrified of student loan debt especially when I’m not quite sure just how much money I can expect to make after getting an MUP. Considering that I don’t plan on spending the rest of my twenties paying of debt, I am limiting myself to $20k in loans. It sounds impossible but I really don’t think it makes sense that a graduate program that really wants me to be part of their cohort wouldn’t fund my studies. Once they’ve accepted you, it means they want you and so I think you should consider some hardcore negotiating in March. (Eg: Cornell can afford to offer way more than they gave you) In my case, if I’m unable to get proper funding this cycle, I don’t think I will attend grad school this year. I’ll wait another year and reapply when I have more money saved (also I heard MIT is really good at giving scholarships but they weren’t accepting any students this year.) Yeah, I wanna be an urban planner but I also don’t want to spend the rest of my twenties paying of debt. I’ll stick to sims city if that’s the case.

In at Michigan (no email, just checked portal)

In at UPenn

Congrats! I received an email that had an attached pdf with all the information. I actually haven’t checked the portal since then.

100% agree. Even the 40k is a little iffy for me. The job market right now is looking extremely tough.

Can we chat a little about finances while we wait? What is the highest amount per year you would take out in loans for a grad program?

Just heard from Cornell!

Does anyone know if covid will be a valid reason to defer acceptance this cycle? I have a feeling that the fall might be blended and I am not interested in doing online grad school again. I’ve had my fill ?