gardentomato

I'm also coming from a career change without relevant planning background. My interests are in environmental justice and environmental planning. I didn't think I was going to get into UCLA and due to the astronomical costs of other programs I was admitted to ($47k per year for Michigan not including books, fees, living costs, moving costs...omg. compared to UCLA $17k/year for in-state. I asked Michigan for more funding but got nothing), I was leaning towards not attending this year. I considered reapplying to schools next year that are cheaper and nearby (such as Cal Poly, UCI). I also started seriously thinking about a plan B because UCLA took so long and I started doubting my application and decided not to hold out hope on an acceptance! I'm still debating what to do but I'm glad to have options and closure now lol. I think not having previous planning-related experience affected the amount of funding I got, which was little or none. So for future applicants in a similar career change position, my advice would be to focus on schools with in-state tuition and schools that aren't as "highly ranked" because you'll be a stronger applicant. Here are my stats: Age/Gender/Citizenship 29/F/US Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated BA Psychology, MS Design GPA - GRE - TOEFL 3.6 / 3.7 Work Experience: 3 years in design and research, some work at a company focused on sustainability, various volunteering experience Despite my non-planning background, my SOP highlighted how my past experiences brought me to urban planning and how my work related to it. I leaned hard on the SOP/PS. Letter of recommendations: 1 prof, 2 professional Schools applied to: Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan (dual degree with Env and Sustainability), Tufts In: Michigan SEAS (no funding), Michigan MURP (no funding), Tufts ($14k funding) Out: Berkeley Wait-list:

I'm curious what everyone's ideal job or goal is after they graduate from a MURP program? Do you envision yourself as a traditional planner working in government or maybe something entirely different? For me, I'm focused on environmental work. I could see myself in roles related to environmental policy and research, sustainability advising, food systems, waste/sanitation. I'm leaning towards a role in government.