jd212

I've applied to UBC, haven't heard anything - apparently there's an interview but haven't heard of anyone being contacted for it thus far. 

Same here!

Especially for people who have been working for a few years post-undergrad like myself, you have to keep in mind other financial implications beyond tuition.

Even with half-scholarships at in-state schools, you are probably going to have to borrow for cost of living alone, which will probably max out the 20k/yr federal loan limit. On top of that, in the United States at least, leaving the full-time workforce for two years forces you to address issues like what you'll do about heath insurance and losing two years of retirement savings. I'm finding myself doubting whether pursuing two years of planning education full-time is a sound investment when I'm making nearly the median salary in my current career.

 

Especially for people who have been working for a few years post-undergrad like myself, you have to keep in mind other financial implications beyond tuition.

Even with half-scholarships at in-state schools, you are probably going to have to borrow for cost of living alone, which will probably max out the 20k/yr federal loan limit. On top of that, in the United States at least, leaving the full-time workforce for two years forces you to address issues like what you'll do about heath insurance and losing two years of retirement savings. I'm finding myself doubting whether pursuing two years of planning education full-time is a sound investment when I'm making nearly the median salary in my current career.

 

Especially for people who have been working for a few years post-undergrad like myself, you have to keep in mind other financial implications beyond tuition.

Even with half-scholarships at in-state schools, you are probably going to have to borrow for cost of living alone, which will probably max out the 20k/yr federal loan limit. On top of that, in the United States at least, leaving the full-time workforce for two years forces you to address issues like what you'll do about heath insurance and losing two years of retirement savings. I'm finding myself doubting whether pursuing two years of planning education full-time is a sound investment when I'm making nearly the median salary in my current career.

 

Especially for people who have been working for a few years post-undergrad like myself, you have to keep in mind other financial implications beyond tuition.

Even with half-scholarships at in-state schools, you are probably going to have to borrow for cost of living alone, which will probably max out the 20k/yr federal loan limit. On top of that, in the United States at least, leaving the full-time workforce for two years forces you to address issues like what you'll do about heath insurance and losing two years of retirement savings. I'm finding myself doubting whether pursuing two years of planning education full-time is a sound investment when I'm making nearly the median salary in my current career.

 

Especially for people who have been working for a few years post-undergrad like myself, you have to keep in mind other financial implications beyond tuition.

Even with half-scholarships at in-state schools, you are probably going to have to borrow for cost of living alone, which will probably max out the 20k/yr federal loan limit. On top of that, in the United States at least, leaving the full-time workforce for two years forces you to address issues like what you'll do about heath insurance and losing two years of retirement savings. I'm finding myself doubting whether pursuing two years of planning education full-time is a sound investment when I'm making nearly the median salary in my current career.

 

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. 

This topic was addressed earlier in the results thread, but I'm having a tough time figuring out how much debt is justifiable for pursuing a MUP. I went into this understanding that as a professional degree is not going to be fully covered like a PhD, but now that I have offers, I'm finally confronting how expensive a prospect it really is. Do any of you have a calculation / viability threshold for this?
Personally a career in planning would be more rewarding for me, but pay in the field would be roughly comparable to what I'm currently making now in a perfectly dull but stable job with good benefits. When I factor in the opportunity cost of two years of lost wages, retirement savings, robust healthcare coverage for my chronic illness etc, it seems almost irrational to pursue.
I have offers at Cornell ($40K Tuition) [12k merit, $8k 5/hr week assistantship] and SUNY Buffalo ($14K In-State Tuition/Fees) [$6k merit, $5k 10/hr week assistantship], but they're only valid for full time attendance. When I look at what I'd need to cover a frugal cost of living, I'm likely beyond the $20k/yr federal loan limit. 
I realize that grad school is an investment in myself and I'm not expecting a full ride, but it's a prospect with real material tradeoffs (health coverage, standard of living) beyond the psychic impact of a future student debt burden. I'm wondering if waiting this cycle out and pursuing a MUP part time is a sounder move.
If anyone is willing to share how they're weighing their decision to attend, I'd love to hear your perspectives. 
 

Hi there! I applied pretty early in November, but my recommendations came through in early January. I imagine you'd still be under consideration if it's rolling, best of luck!

This topic was addressed earlier in the results thread, but I'm having a tough time figuring out how much debt is justifiable for pursuing a MUP. I went into this understanding that as a professional degree is not going to be fully covered like a PhD, but now that I have offers, I'm finally confronting how expensive a prospect it really is. Do any of you have a calculation / viability threshold for this?
Personally a career in planning would be more rewarding for me, but pay in the field would be roughly comparable to what I'm currently making now in a perfectly dull but stable job with good benefits. When I factor in the opportunity cost of two years of lost wages, retirement savings, robust healthcare coverage for my chronic illness etc, it seems almost irrational to pursue.
I have offers at Cornell ($40K Tuition) [12k merit, $8k 5/hr week assistantship] and SUNY Buffalo ($14K In-State Tuition/Fees) [$6k merit, $5k 10/hr week assistantship], but they're only valid for full time attendance. When I look at what I'd need to cover a frugal cost of living, I'm likely beyond the $20k/yr federal loan limit. 
I realize that grad school is an investment in myself and I'm not expecting a full ride, but it's a prospect with real material tradeoffs (health coverage, standard of living) beyond the psychic impact of a future student debt burden. I'm wondering if waiting this cycle out and pursuing a MUP part time is a sounder move.
If anyone is willing to share how they're weighing their decision to attend, I'd love to hear your perspectives. 
 

This topic was addressed earlier in the results thread, but I'm having a tough time figuring out how much debt is justifiable for pursuing a MUP. I went into this understanding that as a professional degree is not going to be fully covered like a PhD, but now that I have offers, I'm finally confronting how expensive a prospect it really is. Do any of you have a calculation / viability threshold for this?
Personally a career in planning would be more rewarding for me, but pay in the field would be roughly comparable to what I'm currently making now in a perfectly dull but stable job with good benefits. When I factor in the opportunity cost of two years of lost wages, retirement savings, robust healthcare coverage for my chronic illness etc, it seems almost irrational to pursue.
I have offers at Cornell ($40K Tuition) [12k merit, $8k 5/hr week assistantship] and SUNY Buffalo ($14K In-State Tuition/Fees) [$6k merit, $5k 10/hr week assistantship], but they're only valid for full time attendance. When I look at what I'd need to cover a frugal cost of living, I'm likely beyond the $20k/yr federal loan limit. 
I realize that grad school is an investment in myself and I'm not expecting a full ride, but it's a prospect with real material tradeoffs (health coverage, standard of living) beyond the psychic impact of a future student debt burden. I'm wondering if waiting this cycle out and pursuing a MUP part time is a sounder move.
If anyone is willing to share how they're weighing their decision to attend, I'd love to hear your perspectives. 
 

Hi there,
I applied to SUNY Buffalo too but yet to hear back. I applied a little late (02/02/21) and since they do rolling admissions I am curious as to when you submitted the application?

Age/Gender/Citizenship
27/M/US
Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 
B.A. Art History and History (Double Honors), urban history and architectural history coursework / Top 15 Liberal Arts / 2016
GPA - GRE  - TOEFL (for Int'l students) 
3.77 / No GRE
Work Experience:
- 4 years in academic publishing 
Letter of recommendations: (from whom)
- 3 undergrad professors, likely strong due to close working relationships. 
Schools applied to: SUNY Buffalo, Cornell University, Harvard, University of British Columbia
In: Cornell 
Out:
Wait-list:
Awaiting: SUNY Buffalo, Harvard, University of British Columbia
Results:

Ah, I'm glad you reached out and they were able to accommodate you! Speaking from my 10 years of experience in grad admissions and financial aid, I can tell you that we really do want to accommodate the applicants (and especially admitted candidates) any way that we are able to, but sometimes our hands are tied by a particular timeline or policy.

In at SUNY Buffalo with $6k scholarship and $5k TAship, which is basically 100% of in-state tuition. Going to be hard to justify Cornell's costs in light of this.

In at SUNY Buffalo with $6k scholarship and $5k TAship, which is basically 100% of in-state tuition. Going to be hard to justify Cornell's costs in light of this.

In at SUNY Buffalo with $6k scholarship and $5k TAship, which is basically 100% of in-state tuition. Going to be hard to justify Cornell's costs in light of this.

In at SUNY Buffalo with $6k scholarship and $5k TAship, which is basically 100% of in-state tuition. Going to be hard to justify Cornell's costs in light of this.

In at SUNY Buffalo with $6k scholarship and $5k TAship, which is basically 100% of in-state tuition. Going to be hard to justify Cornell's costs in light of this.

In at UIC!!! Thrilled because I'm excited about the school, and was getting really nervous that so many others were hearing back about UIC & Berkeley while I hadn't heard anything. Nice to know I will at least go somewhere next year. 

For the Cornell MRP, they sent out manual email decisions with a PDF offer letter (with funding info)  and then shortly thereafter updated ApplyWeb, though that portal letter is more generic and does not include funding info. 

For the Cornell MRP, they sent out manual email decisions with a PDF offer letter (with funding info)  and then shortly thereafter updated ApplyWeb, though that portal letter is more generic and does not include funding info. 

Age/Gender/Citizenship
27/M/US
Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 
B.A. Art History and History (Double Honors), urban history and architectural history coursework / Top 15 Liberal Arts / 2016
GPA - GRE  - TOEFL (for Int'l students) 
3.77 / No GRE
Work Experience:
- 4 years in academic publishing 
Letter of recommendations: (from whom)
- 3 undergrad professors, likely strong due to close working relationships. 
Schools applied to: SUNY Buffalo, Cornell University, Harvard, University of British Columbia
In: Cornell 
Out:
Wait-list:
Awaiting: SUNY Buffalo, Harvard, University of British Columbia
Results: