Planning Admission 2021

[jbourne1]

Hello all! My first collective sigh of relief after submitting my applications is here. Now time to hold my breath for the next 4 months as I wait to hear. I wanted to restart this post for this year, and what a strange year it is. Copying the format from last year's thread, for future MURP/MCP/MUP hopefuls where they posted all the info as applicants, and updated as the weeks and months went by. Good luck to all and stay positive!

Age/Gender/Citizenship

27/M/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in Int'l Relations / run of the mill Cal State school / 2015
MA in Public Policy / Central European University / 2017
GIS Certificate / Community College / est. 2021

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

3.4 BA/3.8 MA - No GRE, part of the reason I applied this year

Work Experience:

3+ years in immigration; 1 recent community development internship (really leaning on strength of references, GIS cert, and SOPs since I don't have the typical background)

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Combination of MA Thesis Advisor, Boss at Immigration Firm, GIS professor, Boss at Internship

Schools applied to: SJSU, Cal Poly Pomona, UC Berkeley, UCLA,

In:

Out:

Wait-list:

Awaiting:

Results:

Edited November 19, 2020 by jbourne1

[nc2nyc]

Hi everyone. Glad to have some support through this journey. I'm actually a current MRP applying to PhD programs in planning. I'm happy to talk about both journeys. 

Age/Gender/Citizenship

24/M/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in Public Administration / large southern flagship university / 2019
BS in Environmental Design / same large southern flagship university / 2019
MRP / ivy league / 2021

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

3.8 BA/3.6 BS/3.5 MRP - Less-than-satisfactory GRE scores in 2019, but good enough for most masters programs I applied to; not submitting this time around

Work Experience:

Internships in urban planning, non-profit, urban design, economic development, and public education

Research Experience:

Transportation planning, community development, education policy

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Program chair from undergrad, Program chair from masters, current internship supervisor, former internship supervisor

Schools applied to: Stanford (education policy), USC, UNC, Michigan, TAMU

In:

Out:

Wait-list:

Awaiting: Stanford, USC, UNC, Michigan, TAMU

Results:

[cityplace_uptown]

Almost done with my first round of apps! Current undergraduate looking for Masters programs next fall.

Age/Gender/Citizenship

21/M/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

B.S. Urban and Regional Planning – Expected May 2021

Minor in Geographic Information Science & Technology

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

4.0 GPA, 161V - 158Q - 5.0AWA

Work Experience:

Volunteer event experience and APA student involvement.

I had an internship planned for last summer but then the coronavirus happened. ?

Research Experience:

3 semesters undergraduate RA experience in hazards planning. Looking to pivot to transportation.

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

PI and former professor, former studio professor, academic advisor.

Schools applied to: 

Rutgers MCRP, NYU Wagner MUP, Columbia MSUP, CUNY Hunter MUP, UT Austin MSCRP 

(Will likely add schools over the next month)

Will update with results when they come!

[ameger]

Hi all! Just finished my last application this weekend- decisions can't come soon enough. Best of luck to everyone!

Age/Gender/Citizenship

22/M/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BS in Economics / midsize jesuit university / 2020

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

GPA: 3.85 / GRE: 163V - 163Q - 4.5AW

Work Experience:

Internships in bicycle transportation outreach, transit agency operations, and public policy. Working since graduation in safety & security data analytics for a mid-sized transit agency.

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Economics professor, theology professor, mentor and internship supervisor

Schools applied to: UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC, Portland State, Univ of Washington, CU Denver (all MURP/MUP/MCP- no dual degrees)

In:

Out:

Wait-list: 

Awaiting: UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC, Portland State, Univ of Washington, CU Denver

Results:

Edited November 23, 2020 by ameger

[mightybruinss]

Hey JBourne! I think I bumped into you on reddit. I'll be one of the people submitting my apps just before my deadlines next week... but can't wait to finally get it done. Good luck to everyone applying this round. Being able to submit applications with everything going on is an achievement within itself.

Age/Gender/Citizenship

26/M/US
1st Gen Graduate/Applicant

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in History / UCLA / 2016
Transfer from CA Junior College / 2014

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

3.55 GPA (Upper Divs) - No GRE

Work Experience:

2+ years in Community & Economic Development for a Local Govt Agency (focus on Affordable Housing, Community, and Economic Development)
2 years in local community development and public works construction non-profit orgs

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Undergrad prof, 2 former supervisors

Schools applied to: UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, Cal Poly Pomona

In:

Out:

Wait-list:

Awaiting:

Results:

Edited December 7, 2020 by mightybruinss

[yungzuko]

Age/Gender/Citizenship

20/M/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in Public Affairs (Urban Planning concentration) and Economics / Jesuit University / 2021

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

GPA: 3.44 / GRE: None

Work Experience:

- Research associate with a community organization doing work on placemaking and cultural asset mapping
- Senior thesis on ethnic enclaves
- Housing development internship with affordable housing nonprofit
- Advisory board member with an ethnic enclave organization doing preservation through community engagement and advocacy
- Started and manage an instagram account about ethnic communities and urban planning
- City planning intern with the city planning department
- Volunteer GIS tutor

Letter of recommendations: 

Public policy professor/thesis advisor, GIS professor, work supervisor/mentor

Schools applied to: UCLA, USC, UW, UPenn, PSU, Harvard

In:

Out:

Wait-list: 

Awaiting: UCLA, USC, UW, UPenn, PSU, Harvard

Results:

[planningfor2021]

Good afternoon all! 

Super nervous because I can only apply to two schools and have a non-traditional background (high UG GPA/low Law School GPA). GPA suffered as I balanced law school, holding family together and parenting infant daughter. For personal reasons after law school I opted to be a stay-at-home dad to infant daughter. Since then, I want to think i've grown up and learned from that experience, which I conveyed in diversity statement. 

Age/Gender/Citizenship

32/M/US (first generation student)

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

UG: Best public in CA/BA History/2009

Law School: Ivy league/JD 2014

GPA - GRE  - TOEFL

No GRE (worried that might ding application)

UG: 3.8; Law School: >3.0

Work Experience:

after college:

Full-time senior research assistant at UG institution for 2 years; Ran federally funded summer program for migrant students

Post Law school:

ran home-based business that allowed me to focus on raising daughter. 

Recently (since daughter entered primary school):

Policy & marketing research Intern w/ PBID since mid-2019 (created policy guidebooks, pro-forma, affordable housing work)

early-member/national strategist for advocacy movement featured regularly in Washington Post /NYT/ Bloomberg/etc) that Achieved licensure reform through state-wide and national legislation & petitioning state supreme courts. 

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

- PBID President (very strong letter); highly-cited Supervising Professor (law school letter said one of 10 top students in 50 year career); Financial Economist at SEC who I am Collaborating with on forthcoming Urban Economics paper (very strong letter describing our research)

- SOP and PS read strong, but I hope ad. com agrees 

Applying: USC/UCLA (can only apply to two schools)

in: 

Out:

Wait-list:

Awaiting:

Results:

Edited December 19, 2020 by planningfor2021

[cigkofte92]

Age/Gender/Citizenship

28/F/US

Degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in History / smallish, underfunded, unranked state school / 2014
MA in Public History / unranked state school, but notable in my field / 2017

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

3.6 BA/3.8 MA - GRE was Q160/V162/W5, but I'm not submitting.

Work Experience:

3+ years in historical and environmental consulting as an analyst/planner; 4 internships in archives, museums, historic preservation planning, and cultural resources management

Letter of recommendations:

MA Thesis Advisor, MA professor of history and theory, and former boss as historical consulting firm

Schools applied to: Cornell is the only one for Urban Planning. The others (MIT, UC Berkeley, BU, UW, UVA) are all architecture/built environment history.

In:

Out:

Wait-list:

Awaiting: All

Results:

[freakoutphd]

Best luck to everyone! Just really glad that my applications are due.

Age/Gender/Citizenship

27/M/Int'l

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in Economics
MS in Urban Planning

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

3.92 BA/4.0 MS - V161/Q169/AW5.0 - 118

Work Experience:

1+ years at research institution / several community & economic development research projects

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Professors from BA/MS

Schools applied to: UC Berkeley, UCLA, Upenn, Harvard, UIUC, USC, MIT, UNC Chapel Hill (PhD Programs)

In:

Out:

Wait-list:

Awaiting:

Results:

[jbourne1]

On 11/19/2020 at 10:29 AM, jbourne1 said:

Schools applied to: SJSU, Cal Poly Pomona, UC Berkeley, UCLA,

In: SJSU

Out:

Wait-list:

Awaiting:

Results:

SJSU got back to me very early! No assistance but the whole program is less than a year at one of the UCs!

[bikepedkait96]

Sent in my few applications and I am very excited to be on the journey with everyone. I am so incredibly passionate about this field and I realllly want to go to a graduate program that will allow me to be my best so I can make changes to our build environment. I am looking forward to being in this field with everyone! 

Age/Gender/Citizenship

24/F/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in Environmental Studies / NC Uni / 2019
 

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

3.2 BA - V158/Q150/AW4.5

Work Experience:

- Environmental Law Internship with professor and a GIS spatial analyst with a Non profit 

- Clean Cities Internship with Council of Government 

- Transit Internship with a Municipal Planning Organization 

- VP of events with a solar renewable energy student organization 

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Transportation Professor, Sustainable City professor, Supervisor at Internship

Schools applied to: UC Berkeley, UCLA, UIC, UNC, Clemson

In:

Out:

Wait-list:

Awaiting: UC Berkeley, UCLA, UIC, UNC, Clemson

Results:

[jgiara]

Posted in the wrong forum (public policy) months ago - finally found my people! Very anxiously awaiting my results, so posting here to help out my fellow neurotics.

Good luck everyone!!

Age/Gender/Citizenship:

29/M/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in IR from well-regarded private university in DC, 2014

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

3.2-3.3 cumulative (due to extenuating circumstances), depending on how they calculate it. Wrote a brief academic addendum to address this. 
GRE Score:  waived this year

Work Experience:

~8 years in sustainability and renewable energy (solar). Really banking on this to offset my poor gpa. I have been working in renewable energy and sustainability since a year into undergrad across all sectors, with internships and full-time positions with numerous prominent environmental non-profits, federal entities, and companies. Attended an international urban design workshop with a university in Europe two summers prior and found my passion. Currently a project manager at a promising solar company. Close to 1k volunteer hours with community development non-profits. Stoked to use my Americorps educational award!

Broad experience in research, outreach, advocacy, design, and project management, domestically and abroad.

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Urban planning professor emeritus who I studied under in Europe, workforce dev. manager at local non-profit that I worked at, professor from undergrad.

SOP (adding because this is the most important part of the application):

Should be quite strong - addressed my interest in switching the focus of my career from renewable energy to urban climate resilience and mitigation, looking specifically at questions of environmental justice. Had alums of both programs review and they thought it was very strong, but we'll see.

Schools applied to:  USC, UCLA

in: 

Out:

Wait-list:

Awaiting: USC, UCLA

Results:

[austinplanning256]

Hey everyone! Best of luck, finishing up my last apps this week. 

Age/Gender/Citizenship

25/M/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BS in Sociology /  2018
 

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

3.1 BS

Work Experience:

- Current Data Analyst for a non-profit focused on food insecurity and food systems

- 1 year planning fellowship in California with a municipality 

- AmeriCorps VISTA for a municipality's housing department

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Geography PhD whose also a development manager for a municipality/ University Professor & Mentor at housing department/ Work supervisor in California

Schools applied to: NYU, UCLA, UT Austin, Cornell, Maryland, Columbia, Georgia Tech, Oregon, Cal Poly SLO

In:

Out:

Wait-list:

Awaiting: 

Results:

[planningfor2021]

How's everyone else doing through this process? Such a tense purgatory.  

Edited January 17, 2021 by planningfor2021
changing bold

[yellowsurf]

@planningfor2021 Trying to keep myself busy, but I find myself returning to this thread too often! It's gonna be a longgg few months.

[GMK]

Applied at the last minute after two professors strongly encouraged my application after emails/Zoom meetings.  Now I'm waiting on pins and needles and checking the application portal multiple times per day.  Unlike many of you, I have no option to move for school, as my husband is firmly planted in his career.  OSU or bust for me!

Age/Gender/Citizenship

52/F/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in Linguistics, Ohio State University, 2012

MBA, Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University, 2014
 

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

3.5 BA, 3.5 MBA

GRE: V158/Q152/AW4.5

GMAT: V39/Q37/AW5.0/Total 640

Work Experience:

many years in real estate

experience with city planning and development department

multiple international teaching and consulting experiences

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

3 MBA professors

Schools applied to: Knowlton School at Ohio State University

In:

Out:

Wait-list:

Awaiting: Knowlton School at Ohio State University

Results:

[planning]

feeling anxious now that apps are done and the waiting begins - best of luck!

Age/Gender/Citizenship

23/F/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in urban studies/geography, 2019

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

3.8 BA - No GRE

Work Experience:

- ~2 years GIS experience in tech
- GIS internship with the city
- planning internship at a transit agency
- undergrad research experience

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

senior thesis mentor/professor, professor/department chair, and advisor/instructor

Schools applied to: UNC, CU Denver, UT Austin, Georgia Tech, UC Berkeley, Tufts

In:

Out:

Wait-list:

Awaiting: UNC, CU Denver, UT Austin, Georgia Tech, UC Berkeley, Tufts

Results:

[cityplace_uptown]

Just got an email from Rutgers that they will start reviewing apps next week!

Other Rutgers applicants — did you have to upload your resume after-the-fact? Because it said to do so in the email if you haven't already, but there was no indication for resumes on the status page. Hopefully my app will be considered "complete" enough to review in this wave, because I only uploaded it just now. Everything else looked to be in order. 

[wwjanejacobsd]

Good luck to you all!!

Age/Gender/Citizenship

25/F/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in Cultural Anthropology / top public school / 2017

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

3.8 GPA - No GRE

Work Experience:

3 years non-planning related international work experience; volunteer experience in community outreach and pedestrian & bicycle advocacy

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

2 from undergrad professors, 1 from volunteer work supervisor

Schools applied to: Columbia, Cornell, Portland State, Pratt, UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC

In:

Out:

Wait-list:

Awaiting: Columbia, Cornell, Portland State, Pratt, UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC

Results:

[updayday]

Age/Gender/Citizenship

21/F/China

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in Philosophy & Anthropology / top public school / 2021

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

3.9 - no GRE - No TOEFL

Work Experience:

Internship at anthropology research center 

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

2 from undergrad thesis advisors, 1 from intern supervisor

Schools applied to: Yale, Princeton, UChicago, UCLA, Stanford 

In:

Out:

Wait-list: 

Awaiting: Yale, Princeton, UChicago, UCLA, Stanford

Results:

[cigkofte92]

On 12/20/2020 at 11:43 AM, cigkofte92 said:

Age/Gender/Citizenship

28/F/US

Degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in History / smallish, underfunded, unranked state school / 2014
MA in Public History / unranked state school, but notable in my field / 2017

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

3.6 BA/3.8 MA - GRE was Q160/V162/W5, but I'm not submitting.

Work Experience:

3+ years in historical and environmental consulting as an analyst/planner; 4 internships in archives, museums, historic preservation planning, and cultural resources management

Letter of recommendations:

MA Thesis Advisor, MA professor of history and theory, and former boss as historical consulting firm

Schools applied to: Cornell is the only one for Urban Planning. The others (MIT, UC Berkeley, BU, UW, UVA) are all architecture/built environment history.

In: UCB!!

Out:

Wait-list:

Awaiting: Cornell, MIT, BU, UVA, UW

Results:

In at Berkeley PhD in Architecture! They have a new interdisciplinary cluster with CED to allow for more cross-department integration and funding supposedly better this year than in the past, although I don't know exactly what that is yet.

[nc2nyc]

On 11/19/2020 at 6:22 PM, nc2nyc said:

Hi everyone. Glad to have some support through this journey. I'm actually a current MRP applying to PhD programs in planning. I'm happy to talk about both journeys. 

Age/Gender/Citizenship

24/M/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in Public Administration / large southern flagship university / 2019
BS in Environmental Design / same large southern flagship university / 2019
MRP / ivy league / 2021

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

3.8 BA/3.6 BS/3.5 MRP - Less-than-satisfactory GRE scores in 2019, but good enough for most masters programs I applied to; not submitting this time around

Work Experience:

Internships in urban planning, non-profit, urban design, economic development, and public education

Research Experience:

Transportation planning, community development, education policy

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Program chair from undergrad, Program chair from masters, current internship supervisor, former internship supervisor

Schools applied to: Stanford (education policy), USC, UNC, Michigan, TAMU

In: UNC

Out:

Wait-list:

Awaiting: Stanford, USC, Michigan, TAMU

Results:

Could not be more excited! I've checked my email every 10 minutes for the last two months, and now that there is an acceptance letter in it, I am in disbelief. Got a separate email from my POI saying she is "thrilled" to work with me. So so so grateful.

Edited January 28, 2021 by nc2nyc

[nola360]

 

Hi! Best of luck everyone!

 

Age/Gender/Citizenship

21/F/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in Economics and Environmental Studies / top private school in the south / 2021

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

3.6 - 163/157/4

Work Experience:

Internship at renewable energy nonprofit, community gardens internship, tutor/TA

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

intern supervisor/band director/professor

Schools applied to: Yale, UCLA, USC, UCI, Berkeley, UIC, UNC, Duke, UPenn, Michigan

In:

Out:

Wait-list: 

Awaiting:  Yale, UCLA, USC, UCI, Berkeley, UIC, UNC, Duke, UPenn, Michigan

Results:

[dontBuyGME]

A

Edited January 29, 2021 by dontBuyGME

[jphd95]

Age/Gender/Citizenship

25/M/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in Political Science, Urban Studies, 2018

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

3.34 - no GRE

Work Experience:

AmeriCorps VISTA - Economic Development, Regional Strategic Planning

Peace Corps - Community Development Associate

AmeriCorps VISTA - Entrepreneurship Development, Business Support Services

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Undergrad professor x2 / AmeriCorps VISTA supervisor

Schools applied to: Portland State, Oregon, UIC, Wisconsin-Madison, Iowa, Kansas, New Mexico, TAMU

In: Kansas

Out:

Wait-list: 

Awaiting:  Portland State, Oregon, UIC, Wisconsin-Madison, Iowa, New Mexico, TAMU

Results: