Jump to content

Planning Admissions 2020


Recommended Posts

Hi fellow urbanists! Not sure if this will catch on, but I wanted to see if there might be interest in providing application stats and then results once they're released? I noticed that past iterations of this forum haven't include stats, but I'm hoping this will be useful, if not for us current applicants, then hopefully any future MURP/MCP/MUP applicants. Obviously feel free to tailor this template.

Best of luck to all!

Age/Gender/Citizenship

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

GPA - GRE  - TOEFL (for Int'l students) 

Work Experience:

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Schools applied to:

In: college name + course + scholarship amount

Out: college name + course 

Wait-listcollege name + course 

Awaiting: college name + course 

Results: (the school you plan to attend and why)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Age/Gender/Citizenship: 25, male, USA

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated: landscape architecture, flagship state school, 2019

GPA: 3.5

GRE: 167V/165Q, awaiting results of AW but will likely retake for higher verbal score

Work Experience: Internships with local LA firm and my city’s public works org in the transportation engineering and design component. Currently working for a housing nonprofit

Letters of recommendation: Director of the nonprofit I work for, LA department head from my university, and a prof with whom I am fairly close. Department head and professor are GSD alumni

Schools applying to: Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, Penn, maybe 1-2 others. Pretty comfortable with the prospect of applying again next year hence the lack of “safety” schools

 

Leaning hard on my GRE scores and personal statement/writing samples

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Age/Gender/Citizenship: 26, woman, USA

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated: anthropology, flagship state school, 2015; masters in urban planning from highly ranked international school, 2017

GPA - GRE  - TOEFL (for Int'l students): UG 3.74, G 4.0/Q 165 V 166 W 4.5

Work Experience: currently at national housing nonprofit

Letter of recommendations: (from whom) mix of master's professors, work supervisor, and social design firm principal

Schools applied to -- all doctoral programs: 

UP: UCLA, UPenn, MIT (Comm Dev), USC, UBC (maybe)

Geography: CUNY, UC Berkeley

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello everyone! I'm going to share my stats for anyone who is interested. Yesterday I received an offer of admission to UIUC in their Master of Urban Planning (and good offer to say the least), but I was also admitted to the university's Geography program. I am most likely to accept the latter offer, so my spot in the MUP will be available :)

I was quite surprised to be admitted because my scores aren't very good and although my heart's in the right place in regards to planning, I am more inclined towards urban geography.

Age/Gender/Citizenship

23, F, US (Puerto Rican)

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

University of Puerto Rico, Psychology major and Linguistics minor, graduated in Dec. 2019

GPA - GRE  - TOEFL (for Int'l students) 

3.9, 152 Verbal, 151 Quant, 4 Writing, 109 TOEFL

Work Experience

Uni jobs and currently working in a non-profit, not related to planning.

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Past professors & past boss at uni job.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I must admit, the anticipation is already starting to get to me... March seems so far away! Good luck everyone!

Age/Gender/Citizenship: 

26/M/USA

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated: 

Geography major, Environmental Studies and Human-Centered Design double minor /Ivy League University/2016

GPA - GRE  - TOEFL (for Int'l students):

167 V / 158 Q / 5.5 W

Work Experience: 

Postgraduate Climate Change Fellowship/UN Migration Internship; Program Assistant for NYC Mayor's Office Youth Civic Engagement Program; Development at a Architecture Preservation Nonprofit

Letter of recommendations: 

1 undergrad geography professor; 1 environmental studies undergrad professor; 1 NYC Mayor's Office Supervisor

Schools applied to

Awaiting: 

MIT (MCP), Harvard GSD (MUP), Rutgers (MCRP), Berkeley (MCP), UCLA (MUP)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Age/Gender/Citizenship

22/Male/ United States

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

Public Affairs/ State School / 2020

GPA - GRE  

3.85/4.00 - 151 Q 158 V 5 W

Work Experience:

Housing Voucher Intern Indiana State Government / Land Bank Intern City of Dallas, Texas

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

2 from past internship supervisors one from urban geography professor

Schools applied to:

In: 

University of Cincinnati (MCP)

Awaiting: 

PSU, UIC, UT Austin, UCLA, UMichigan, UNC

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/16/2020 at 5:35 PM, jlc816 said:

Age/Gender/Citizenship: 26, woman, USA

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated: anthropology, flagship state school, 2015; masters in urban planning from highly ranked international school, 2017

GPA - GRE  - TOEFL (for Int'l students): UG 3.74, G 4.0/Q 165 V 166 W 4.5

Work Experience: currently at national housing nonprofit

Letter of recommendations: (from whom) mix of master's professors, work supervisor, and social design firm principal

Schools applied to -- all doctoral programs: 

UP: UCLA, UPenn, MIT (Comm Dev), USC, UBC (maybe)

Geography: CUNY, UC Berkeley

 

 

Update:

Accepted: USC ($$$$)

Waitlisted: CUNY (geography)

Rejected: UCB (geography) -- not surprised. I did poorly on the interview ?

Pending: UCLA, UPenn, MIT (HCED), UBC 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Age/Gender/Citizenship 25, woman, USA

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated BA Urban Studies, Pre-Professional Design, 2016

GPA - GRE  156V, 153Q, 4.5W

Work Experience: Jr. Architectural Designer (1year), NYC Parks (2.5 years)

Schools applied to: NYU Wagner MUP, Pratt Sustainable Environmental Systems, UC Berkeley MCP

In: Pratt SES

Out: 

Wait-list 

Awaiting: NYU Wagner MUP, UCB MCP

 

 
 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/26/2019 at 1:17 AM, allig8r said:

Age/Gender/Citizenship: 25, male, USA

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated: landscape architecture, flagship state school, 2019

GPA: 3.5

GRE: 167V/165Q, awaiting results of AW but will likely retake for higher verbal score

Work Experience: Internships with local LA firm and my city’s public works org in the transportation engineering and design component. Currently working for a housing nonprofit

Letters of recommendation: Director of the nonprofit I work for, LA department head from my university, and a prof with whom I am fairly close. Department head and professor are GSD alumni

Schools applying to: Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, Penn, maybe 1-2 others. Pretty comfortable with the prospect of applying again next year hence the lack of “safety” schools

 

Leaning hard on my GRE scores and personal statement/writing samples

In at Berkeley

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/18/2020 at 5:16 PM, in_cog_nito said:

I must admit, the anticipation is already starting to get to me... March seems so far away! Good luck everyone!

Age/Gender/Citizenship: 

26/M/USA

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated: 

Geography major, Environmental Studies and Human-Centered Design double minor/Ivy League University/2016

GPA - GRE  - TOEFL (for Int'l students):

3.79 GPA - 167 V / 158 Q / 5.5 W

Work Experience: 

Postgraduate Climate Change Fellowship/UN Migration Internship; Program Assistant for NYC Mayor's Office Youth Civic Engagement Program; Development at a Architecture Preservation Nonprofit

Letter of recommendations: 

1 undergrad geography professor; 1 environmental studies undergrad professor; 1 NYC Mayor's Office Supervisor

Schools applied to

Awaiting: 

MIT (MCP), Harvard GSD (MUP), Rutgers (MCRP), Berkeley (MCP), UCLA (MUP)

Congrats @allig8r! I'm also in at Berkeley for the MCP program!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Age/Gender/Citizenship

24/F/Chinese

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

GIS/Urban Planning/California

GPA - GRE  - TOEFL (for Int'l students) 

3.4 - 160(V) 168(Q)

Work Experience: 2 years in transportation planning

Letter of recommendations: 2 from college professors (research, courses), one from current employer

Schools applied to:

(Cornell Urban Tech in NYC)

University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy (MSCAPP)

UC Berkeley (Planning)

UPenn (Planning)
Tufts (Data analytics)

In: 

UofC MSCAPP (20%)

UC Berkeley (TBA)

Out: 

Wait-list

Awaiting: UPenn, Tufts

Results: debating whether I want to fully commit to a planning program and work in the planning field after graduation. MSCAPP seems to offer a more wider range of career options and higher employment rate. There is also a new Cornell Urban Tech program that I'm considering applying to.

Edited by Herstoriess
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Age/Gender/Citizenship

24/M/USA

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

Poli Sci/Tufts/2017

GPA - GRE  - TOEFL (for Int'l students) 

2.62 - 165(V) 162(Q) 6.0(Essay)

Work Experience: 1 year local gov't transportation planning, several years as a professional chef

Letter of recommendations: 2 from college professors, one from current supervisor 

Schools applied to:

Harvard MUP

UT Austin - MSCRP and MPAff (LBJ School/Dual Degree)

In: 

UT Austin (Dual Degree) - funding tbd

Out: 

Wait-list

Awaiting: Harvard MUP

Results: Waiting on Harvard and funding opportunities!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Age/Gender/Citizenship

24/F/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

Architectural Studies + Economics/Tufts/2018

GPA - GRE  - TOEFL (for Int'l students) 

3.84 - 157(V) 163 (Q) 4.5 (W)

Work Experience:

2 Years at Landscape Architecture + Urban Planning Firm, internships at architecture firm and a regional planning council

Letter of recommendations:

College Coach, Undergrad Professor, Current Employer (Principal of Urban Planning at my firm)

Schools applied to:

In: 

UC Berkeley MCP ($TBA)

UPenn MCP ($TBA)

Out: 

Wait-list

Awaiting: 

Harvard MUP

UMichigan MURP

MIT MCP

Results: 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/18/2020 at 11:42 AM, Herstoriess said:

Age/Gender/Citizenship

24/F/Chinese

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

GIS/Urban Planning/California

GPA - GRE  - TOEFL (for Int'l students) 

3.4 - 160(V) 168(Q)

Work Experience: 2 years in transportation planning

Letter of recommendations: 2 from college professors (research, courses), one from current employer

Schools applied to:

(Cornell Urban Tech in NYC)

University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy (MSCAPP)

UC Berkeley (Planning)

UPenn (Planning)
Tufts (Data analytics)

In: 

UofC MSCAPP (20%)

UC Berkeley MCRP (TBA)

UPenn Weitzman MCRP (TBA)

Out: 

Wait-list

Awaiting:Tufts

Results: debating whether I want to fully commit to a planning program and work in the planning field after graduation. MSCAPP seems to offer a more wider range of career options and higher employment rate.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/21/2020 at 11:03 AM, mcasey24 said:

Age/Gender/Citizenship

24/F/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

Architectural Studies + Economics/Tufts/2018

GPA - GRE  - TOEFL (for Int'l students) 

3.84 - 157(V) 163 (Q) 4.5 (W)

Work Experience:

2 Years at Landscape Architecture + Urban Planning Firm, internships at architecture firm and a regional planning council

Letter of recommendations:

College Coach, Undergrad Professor, Current Employer (Principal of Urban Planning at my firm)

Schools applied to:

In: 

UC Berkeley MCP ($TBA)

UPenn MCP ($TBA)

UMichigan MURP

Out: 

Wait-list

Awaiting: 

Harvard MUP

MIT MCP

Results: 

Update: In at UMich

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24/F/International

B.Arch/Country's top/2018

GPA - 3.4 (WES)

 GRE  - 321, 5.0AWA

TOEFL - 113

Work Experience: Solid 1.5 years in urban design, alongside a part-time research fellowship at a think tank in the city. 1 Planning internship, 1 Landscape architecture internship, 1 architecture writing internship. Won a major international competition and worked as a consultant to take that project ahead. 1 semester of teaching at my alma mater (part-time) after graduation

Letter of recommendations: 1 from undergrad thesis guide, 1 from undergrad professor (worked under him for a separate research project), 1 from current employer, 1 from fellowship facilitator

Schools applied to: 

Urban Planning: MIT, UPenn, UC Berkeley & UIUC

Urban Design: Harvard, GATech, Michigan & UT Austin

In: UPenn ($TBA)

UIUC (15k merit)

GATech ($TBA)

Michigan ($TBA)

Out: UC Berkeley

Wait-list

Awaiting: Harvard and MIT (UT Austin Interview soon!)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Age/Gender/Citizenship

24/M/International

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

Economics/2018

GPA - GRE  - TOEFL (for Int'l students) 

3.4- 321 (164 V 157Q) - 112

Work Experience:

Solid research experience in undergrad with reputable publishing professors. TAship in undergrad. Post-graduation, solid 1.5 years at a top development consulting/policy researc firm on major donor funded projects. Worked with pretty well known consultants and researchers. 

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

One from a professor I took 3 courses with. Also did 2 RAships with the same professor. 

One from the chairman/director of current workplace. Ex-WB chap. Adviser to provincial and federal govts. 

One from a consultant/researcher I worked with post-graduation on 3-4 projects (this was a last minute rescue) 

Schools applied to: 

MIT, Rutgers, Cornell, UIUC

In: college name + course + scholarship amount

Cornell, MRP, 7900 usd per year

UIUC, MUP, Graduate Assistantship for the first year with 9000 usd stipend. 

Awaiting: MIT and Rutgers

Results: Cornell is out because can't afford and no inclination to take on debt. Waiting for MIT and Rutgers. UIUC is a very real possibility. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/4/2020 at 3:15 PM, drsteinm said:

Age/Gender/Citizenship

22/Male/ United States

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

Public Affairs/ State School / 2020

GPA - GRE  

3.85/4.00 - 151 Q 158 V 5 W

Work Experience:

Housing Voucher Intern Indiana State Government / Land Bank Intern City of Dallas, Texas

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

2 from past internship supervisors one from urban geography professor

Schools applied to:

In: 

University of Cincinnati (MCP)

Awaiting: 

PSU, UIC, UT Austin, UCLA, UMichigan, UNC

 

 

Update: 

Accepted: PSU, UIC, UT Austin, Univerisity of Michigan, UNC, and U Cincinnati

Pending: UCLA

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyone on here happen to be the person reporting an acceptance call from MIT? I do find it odd that the call would be made on a Sunday... but I'm mostly just anxious about hearing back. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use