nacohhhhh

From what I heard, Rutgers might be better for transportation. Other than that they’re both great programs so I would just pick based on where you want to work after graduation

I’m also probably going to UPenn and also trying to negotiate aid. I’ve also heard that the aid they gave me is about the highest they usually give anyone so not getting my hopes up too much. I did however talk to one past applicant who managed to negotiate 75% funding after several rounds of back and forth. Did you get into any other schools that are either cheaper and/or gave you more funding? If so it would probably make it a lot easier to negotiate

They said April 15. I’m deferring my acceptance there to next year, hope that opens up a spot for this year

Sean Campbell emailed me around noon pacific. Almost didn’t notice what it was at first

Waitlisted at UCLA. Anyone know if they usually accept anyone off their waitlist? If anyone’s planning to turn them down please let them know

UPenn is definitely very strong for urban analytics, especially with the MUSA program also housed within Weitzman. Then again, iirc Harvard lets you take almost half your classes at MIT which is arguably even better for smart cities and analytics (and does some amazing work at the intersection of analytics and housing, if that’s your interest). Personally I’m probably going to UPenn but if I had applied and been accepted to Harvard, I probably would’ve gone there instead. That’s partly because my interests lean more towards design though. What are your specific areas of interest within HCED?

Damn yeah it’s probably for 9 credits then (assuming you’re out of state). Very annoyed that they would send us cost of attendance offers that don’t actually reflect anywhere close to the cost of the credits necessary to graduate

Did your banweb say $6882 for tuition + fees per quarter?

@Quincy_Taft_Coolidge @colime or anyone else who got into PSU with or without funding: is there any chance I could take a quick look at your award offer page on banweb? I just talked to the financial aid chat people and now they are making me even more confused. The tuition and fees estimate either reflects a course load of 15 credits… or 9 credits. Have literally no idea which at this point and tuition might literally be almost double what I thought it was

Update on PSU funding: I looked at their financial aid glossary and it said tuition and fees is an estimate based on 15 credits per quarter. However, urban planning students only need 12 credits per quarter to graduate, so basically we can shave up to 20% off of the estimates… I think? For me I figured out that if you divide my quarterly tuition and fees by 15, you get ~$450 which is the Oregon resident tuition. So I think they’re basically giving me an out of state tuition waiver. Weird that they didn’t really explain it at all but grateful regardless!

Also finally got my PSU financial offer. It’s really unclear and the page doesn’t actually say I got funding, but it says my tuition is $20K/year which I’m pretty sure is cheaper than the normal out of state price? Either way excited to have another somewhat manageable option and will definitely be considering PSU. Congrats to everyone hearing back!!

$30,000/year from Penn !!!! I might cry lol. They didn’t email me but results should be on your portal!

Have you checked your MyStatus?

Congrats!! Did you just hear today?

Lol no I’m just speculating after not getting an email yet. I know they usually do waitlists though so staying hopeful

UCLA???? To be fair they did hire her so they must have liked what she had to say!

Well folks it looks like referencing my love for an Ananya Roy article about how the academy is where radical scholarship goes to die may not have been the best strategy for getting into a university??

Just got into Pratt with a $28K/year scholarship! They also strongly implied that I would probably be able to get a GA position after enrolling (although from what I’ve seen, their GAs seem to just get a regular salary, not tuition remission). While I still probably won’t be attending (it would still be more expensive than UT or UNC without funding), I’m just excited to finally get an actual big funding offer. They sent me an amazingly detailed note that referenced the personal details of my statement of purpose, writing sample, and even connected me to some professors I should talk to who share my interests. Very excited to look into the program more! Now just waiting for UCLA??

Where/when did you hear about PSU funding? I’m wondering if I missed an email or something. Or did they just send you that email about not having graduate assistantship funding to offer at this time?

Does anyone know how funding matching tends to work between an expensive private and a cheap public school? I’m thinking of turning down UNC if an increased funding offer doesn’t come soon (they gave me no funding), but I don’t want to undercut my chances of successfully negotiating funding with other schools. Is there any chance that, say, Penn or PSU would give me extra funding if I told them I was considering UNC (a higher ranked and much cheaper school)? Or do schools only match literal funding offers?

I don’t see how it can hurt to reach out tbh, as long as you’re honest about your situation. If anything it’s probably a good thing just to start making connections with those researchers now

Yes lol, I’m sure there’s a better way to finesse this situation but I don’t know about it. I’ve also heard that it’s sometimes possible to get an assistantship at Toulan later on during the first year of the program even if we weren’t offered one upon admission, but I’m not sure that’s a gamble I want to make…

For anyone looking at Portland State who was spooked by the email about no grad assistantship funding, I’m pretty sure that doesn’t apply to other PSU departments outside of Toulan! There’s a ton of interdisciplinary planning-related labs run by the geography, environmental science, and civil engineering departments for example. I’m reaching out to a few of them right now

Yikes that’s a big number. did they email you?

Also out at MIT. As expected it all comes down to UCLA for me which was always kind of my top choice… this wait is killing me. Congrats to everyone!