futureplanner

Idk about Penn but Michigan gave me a lot of funding that covers 75% of the cost of attending (including estimated living costs). This doesn't seem to be the trend for most accepted students so I wouldn't even consider it if they hadn't offered so much. The program seems to be very good (if you want to do planning in the Midwest area, specially Detroit). The faculty and staff seem to be very accessible and the program seems to be somewhat connected to the greater U-M community. My main concern was hating life with Michigan's long, cold winters (they say winter term instead of spring semester!!). I also don't want to have a car but people said that if you wanted to visit Detroit then you'll need a car. I rather live near bigger, warmer cities and with more faculty doing research closely related to my interests but their funding offer makes my decision a bit harder.

I'm starting to stress out a bunch about my decision cause I just got an additional funding offer from one school and another is being super nice after I asked for an extension on my decision because I had a family emergency but my top program didn't offer much and isn't as responsive. I'm willing to pay more for my top school since it has amazing location (thinking about my mental health here.. the other schools are in SAD prone locations so I'm thinking about the potential therapy costs I could avoid by living somewhere sunny and warm). But also my second choices offer full tuition for the whole program!! But my top choice only covers 20%. My top choice does offer need-based aid later on (but that's not guaranteed) + the option to get in-state tuition after a year + research or TA positions come with tuition fee waivers/insurance/stipend while my other choices only offer an hourly wage for research and they stated that TA-ships are almost impossible to get. What would you do?

Decisions, decisions.. Is anyone planning to reject an offer from their top choice schools based solely on lack of funding?

Rutgers emailed admission decisions in February for most people. For funding, they'll been slowly sending financial aid letters. I barely got mine.

I've never heard of anyone just focusing on this (or seen professors that only did research on this) but this is certainly something many planners and future planners are thinking about (I mentioned accessibility on my essay but that's not sole focus at all). Even the whole idea of 'complete streets' is supposed to ensure that there's space for everyone. I think that's something you could explore as your main focus (even if you didn't mention it in your admissions material at all.. in October during open houses all the schools kept saying that many students change their concentration after starting the program)

For those with multiple options, how are you narrowing down your decision? (besides $$, since most schools seem to have limited funds this cycle so I'm hoping to land a TA or GSR gig to help pay for tuition/living)

I got offered ~10,000/year and got nominated for other funding with Rackham (but i guess i might not get it). I'm a bit stressed since my other options have offered little or no funding as of now too.

UCLA takes a bit longer than other schools to release admission decisions because of their process (they have faculty + current students review applications)

The difference is that Harvard enrolls twice as many people than Berkeley! Berkley is one of the smallest programs out there

Anyone in at USC already know how much financial aid they are being offered (aside from scholarships from the department)?

I'm hoping to focus on environmental health justice so anxiously waiting to hear back from the more social justice-centered schools ========================================================================== Age/Gender/Citizenship 25/F/US Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated business-economics undergrad / mid-size private university / 2017 GPA - GRE - TOEFL 3.5 GPA - did not submit GRE Work Experience: 4+ years in urban planning related jobs/internships in economic development and transportation Research Experience: currently a volunteer on a research-heavy project, economic development researcher in undergrad Letter of recommendations: (from whom) Two professors from undergrad and a previous manager (CEO/Founder) Schools applied to: Rutgers, Berkeley, UCLA, Harvard, USC, Michigan In: USC, Rutgers Out: Wait-list: Awaiting: Berkeley, UCLA, Harvard, Michigan