Experience applying to UCSB Bren school?

[ksgreen]

Hi everyone! Very new to this website. I am 25 and finally ready to give grad school some thought. I received a B.A. in Psychology from GWU in 2016, graduating with a 3.15 cumulative GPA (health issues caused a really low GPA sophomore and junior year). It wasn't until after college that I found my passion working in the environmental / conservation world. I've since worked at two non-profits that do policy work to fight climate change, and currently work at the National Academies of Science in the Ocean Studies Board. I also volunteer twice a month at the Natural History Museum in the Sant ocean Hall talking to visitors about ocean conservation. I know that my future lies in non-profit work within this field, so I do not wish to pursue a PhD. 

UCSB's MSEM in the Bren school is my top choice, with UC Santa Cruz right behind it. According to their website, 61% of applicants were accepted to this program (UCSB MSEM) in 2016-2017. I have yet to take the GRE, but am prepping. I am wondering if anyone has advice on honestly anything relevant: applying to UCSB grad school, this specific program, a grad program different than your undergrad major, etc... I am really just trying to gauge whether or not my grad school prospects are unrealistic. Thank you!

Edited February 13, 2020 by ksgreen

[monkeycat]

I'm an applicant for Fall 2020 (so i'm finding out where I got in now eek!!). Your grad school prospects are completely realistic IMO! I've been working for the past 4 1/2 years doing ecological economic consulting (mainly focused on terrestrial natural resource conservation and land management). I've always been interested in marine conservation, and having this time off school has helped me realize that I would like to apply the knowledge I've gained over the past few years to the marine conservation world. So although I studied environmental science/ public policy during my undergrad, I am also shifting focus in what I want to study. You have relevant experience in the field and the admissions committee will definitely note that. In the advice I've gotten from friends in other grad programs, highlighting your specific story is what will help you shine as well as having a clear purpose for why you want to go back to school. Bren is a professional school, so the purpose of the program is to give you practical skills that you can apply right after you graduate!

There are pre-reqs for a lot of the MEM programs (I can't remember off the top of my head if Bren had them, but it should be on their website). I would say that may be your only hindrance, given your undergrad major. Reach out to current students and professors in the programs that interest you and ask for course lists to see if your research aligns with the program!

I also applied for the MESM at Bren, the Coastal environmental management specialization at Duke, University of Washington's SMEA school, Hawaii's MEM program, and Yale's MEM. 

I considered applying to Scripps' one year MAS MBC (heard amazing things, admissions staff were sooo helpful, and so were the professors I spoke to!!) but because so much of my purpose for going back to grad school is getting more formal training in higher level econometrics/environmental modelling/learning more about marine conservation, I ultimately decided on a 2-year program with more flexibility in course loads. I also looked at Miami, some of the MPP and MPA schools, but I really like the interdisciplinary nature of the MEM programs (given the work I do cuts across so many sectors). I have opinions about traditional policy graduate programs but I won't go into them here lol.

Last piece of advice I can think of is study for the GRE. I did well on my SAT's by just working through a book and thought I'd be fine doing that for the GRE too. Wish I gave myself more time to prepare (don't try to cram for the test in 1 1/2 weeks like me) because with 4 1/2 years out of school, I definitely was not able to cram/retain information in the same way!! If you're worried about your academic background, elevate other areas of your application. But also remember, it's 5 hours of your life and it's literally a test of riddles and math that you learned in high school... Yale didn't even consider GRE scores this year.

We'll see if I get into Bren/Duke/Yale so for now, take my advice with a grain of salt hehe.

Love that you want to do marine conservation!!!