Plannerlady
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Posts posted by Plannerlady
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On 3/24/2023 at 12:39 PM, ChristineWang said:
So I'm in a little bit of a dilemma and I'm hoping that you guys can help me out. Here's my situation. I was admitted to both USC and UMich for graduate programs in urban planning. My focus will be in housing as my background is in nonprofit housing development and my aspiration is to work in housing development management in a leadership position. I'm a foreign national so I'll be an international student.
The locations of both programs appeal to me as Ann Arbor seems like the perfect little college town but no one can say no to LA. I went to UCLA for college so LA holds a special place in heart but I quite like the idea of moving to a new city, not to mention Ann Arbor which sounds absolutely lovely. I didn't receive funding from UMich and I'm waiting for funding information from USC. I'm not expecting any funding from USC either since my undergraduate GPA was below 3.0 due to my mental health at the time. I know that the general consensus is to choose the cheapest option but that probably won't be applicable in my case. I do plan to ask for funding from both schools but I doubt I'll be successful. think I'm fine with working either in California or in the Northeast so that won't be much of a contributing factor as well.
Both schools offer certificates in real estate development and seem to offer a significant number of classes in housing policy and development. I know that the USC MUP is known to have a focus on real estate development and I'm unsure about UMich. I guess my question is, which school has a greater focus on housing development and better career prospects in the field of housing development. I look forward to any advice. Please help me out!
You really cannot go wrong with either so don't stress too much about it! I suggest you ask the departments to connect you with current students so you can ask them questions about their experience (especially students specilizing in housing or real estate). I would just warn against Michigan weather, it gets very cold and you'll be suseptable to seasonal depression so just be careful
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6 hours ago, The Penguin and Podiatrist said:
Oh haha, that makes sense! Philosophy doesn't really do internships (but they help us with conferences and stuff like that), but I knew someone in Social Work who got work/an internship through their department, so I think if that's common in your field then they'll probably help you.
I found my own internship at the center for the advancement of human rights. I saw the center and walked in and asked them if I could help. It didn't really have anything to do with my degree, but I just wanted to do it because I believed in what they were doing (helping immigrants and refugees).
That sucks that the rent has gone up so much! I felt like the affordable rent was one of the selling points of Tallahassee/FSU. That's actually one of the big reasons I chose it over a school in Colorado-- I didn't want to have to live with other people haha
I hate the idea of living with other people tbh XD that comes with a hefty price right now! (one I'm strangely willing to pay so long as I can make money during the summer too).
Funny you should mention that, immigrants and refugees are the area of my research interest so thank you for giving me an idea of where I could potentially get an internship or even volunteer when I have the time. I'm excited for FSU though, thank you again for easing a lot of my worries.
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2 hours ago, The Penguin and Podiatrist said:
I think summer funding will depend on your department. I was in the philosophy department and usually it was pretty easy to get summer funding, but I remember that one year there was a lot of competition for it, so they gave it to newer students and people who really needed it. I am not sure how other departments handle it, but I found that if I needed it I could usually get it.
I am sorry, I am not sure what you mean by internship interviews! Do you mean will they help you find an internship? They might be able to help you find an internship or employment elsewhere on campus or something, but that would be something to ask your specific department.Thank you so much for your reply! It seems to be a similar case for summer funding in my department as well so it's quite the relief. (The rent has shot up to crazy amounts)
Oh gosh XD sorry my phone decided to autofill it. I just meant internships in general. Thank you.
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On 3/16/2023 at 5:43 AM, The Penguin and Podiatrist said:
Hey so I was a grad student at FSU until 2019 (so a few years back), but I lived off-campus (only very technically, it was basically on campus since the campus is integrated into downtown Tallahassee) by myself in a studio apartment just fine with my stipend. If you want to save a lot of money, then living with roommates will help you do that, but I hate living with roommates, so I was willing to pay more for a studio. I lived in a complex called Jefferson Arms and paid about $675 (utilities/wifi included) for my studio within walking distance of campus (but it was near some frat houses which was occasionally very annoying). There are some similarly priced studios nearby. The graduate student union at FSU is very strong (I highly recommend joining it) and they always get us good raises, so I know that stipends have increased since I've been there too and will likely continue to go up (assuming DeSantis doesn't do something evil like destroying the unions). Tallahassee as a whole is very affordable.
Tallahassee is not very walkable, but the FSU bus system is good and free with your student ID, so as long as you choose an apartment on one of the bus lines (there are many apartments on the bus line) or you live close enough to walk, then you won't need a car. All your essentials are accessible by bus or on foot. HOWEVER I, a notoriously car-hating person and biking fiend, caved and ended up buying a moped to get around (a popular option amongst students) because I didn't feel safe biking outside of campus, but I do have several friends who biked everywhere and I did for a few months, so it is possible. If you want to go anywhere outside of the general campus-area then not having a car would make that more difficult.
I found Tallahassee very safe overall except for the cars/traffic (it's a very car-centric city). I, a small woman, walked alone at night a lot and did not feel unsafe. Tallahassee has a huge divide between the wealthy and the poor and when people say that there's "a high crime rate" in a city, they usually mean that there's over-policing of lower income and predominantly black neighborhoods. I saw that happen in Tallahassee where the police would harass houseless people for just existing. This is not unique to Tallahassee at all, but it happens there. I felt more unsafe around the police than anyone else in Tallahassee.
The university itself is very pretty and has a lot of great facilities and there was always something going on.
I am happy to answer any specific questions you might have. I felt very at home in Tallahassee and loved the community as a whole.Thank you so much ! This was a really thorough response that eased a lot of my worries!
Can you share any experience you had with summer funding? I didn't get guaranteed funding in the summer and don't know how easily funding is accessible during the summer (through assistantships). If not, do you know if internship interviews were avaliable? -
Hey, I'm a new perspective graduate student at FSU and was wondering if anyone has current/up-to-date insights on the city. Is it best to live on-campus vs off-campus? What's the general Cost of living there? Will I need roommates or can I find studios or one-bedroom apartments that are affordable? Is the city safe? I would appreciate any insights on the city and Uni
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Tbh, all these universities are great so you couldn't go wrong choosing any of them. Don't stress too much about prestige and consider other factors in your decision (UCLA vs NYC weather is very different for example) and don't just take tution into account, consider living expenses and transportation costs too.
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Hello Everyone!
Does anyone know of MUP/MURP/MCRP programs that give full funding ? Specifically research ones. I'm looking for more research based programs. I already have a MURP but it was pretty technical, I want more theory based master's but I'm finding it quite difficult to diffrentiate between the 2. (I will apply to PhD programs but want to also have a backup plan too) -
40 minutes ago, Vegetablecities said:
Maybe this is a silly question, but I’m curious what you all think:
I got into NYU MUP and Harvard MUP. Both have concentrations, course selection, opportunities, etc… that would make me equally happy.
NYU is giving me a full ride.
Harvard is giving me no aid other than loans.
I have money saved up from work for grad school and would only need about $40k in loans for Harvard, but is it really worth it? People are telling me the Harvard brand will take me far, but this is planning and that seems fishy.
Not Worth it AT ALL. Go to where you are given a full ride imo. NYU is a great school too! It's amazing to have a chance to do grad school for free
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2 hours ago, smartcitydude said:
Sure i intend to
Congraduations! It's a great choice honestly. All the best
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14 hours ago, smartcitydude said:
got admission letter and full funding to Planning PhD Cornell today
Congrats!! That's awesome. Will you be going there or still waiting on other decisions?
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Has anyone else heard from UNC? (for PhD) there was an acceptance posted yesterday
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For those who applied to UCLA there were a couple of updates today through the portal
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17 hours ago, smartcitydude said:
I did apply too but haven't received any invite yet
I honestly don't know if they're doing the interviews later than previous years (they usually do them late Jan, early feb). I tried emailing the department but only got (decisions will be out by beginning of March and didn't get an answer regarding interviews)
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Any PhD applicants got an interview invite from the university of Michigan? It is my top program so I want to know if I should just lose all hope. Anticipating things hurt and I would just rather know I didn't get an interview than wait.
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Rutgers and USC results went out (according to Gradcafe). I didn't apply to them, I just wish the universities I did apply to would hurry and release results.
I know MIT for sure release results first week of March and UMD does late March. But all other universities are supposed to be in February and the wait has been painful.
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Age/Gender/Citizenship
28/F/International
Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated
BA in Architectural Engineering / Top School in my country / 2017
MURP in Urban and Regional Planning/ Mediocre university but was through a Fulrbight/2021
GPA - GRE - TOEFL (for Int'l students)
3.6 GPA undergrad (top 10% of my class)
3.99 MURP - Didn't submit the GRE (avoided unis who wanted it)
Work Experience:
My work experience has been in academia as a TA and Lecturer (4 years)as well as some RA experience (6 months)Letter of recommendations: (from whom)
3 professors from MURP, thesis advisor, Professor I worked with as RA, Professor I worked with as TA
Schools applied to: MIT, Cornell, Michigan, OSU, UNC, UVTech, FSU, UofL, UMass, UMD
In:
Out:
Wait-list: OSU
Awaiting: MIT, Cornell, Michigan, UNC, UVTech, FSU, UofL, UMass, UMD
Results:
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Is this Forum for Master's applicants or does it also include PhDs?
Planning Admissions 2023
in Architecture and Planning Forum
Posted
A bit of a rant, but honestly universities who list "International Planning" as one of their specializations when they only work or do research in one other country and don't consider any other geographical location when admitting students shouldn't be having it as a specialization at all.
I applied to many universities who claim they do international planning only to be told "Sorry, we don't actually have experience in X region". Like if you only consider China and India to be your "international planning" say so before one wastes an application.
What's more frustrating is that I have previously talked to each of the universities to make sure they would be willing to work with me if I applied and I always got a positive response. They literally only cared about the application money and increasing the number of applicants.