Planning Admission 2021

[earlpe]

On 2/23/2021 at 4:26 PM, earlpe said:

hi all--I've been lurking on this thread for a while and thought it was time to make my own post

Age/Gender/Citizenship

28/M/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in Urban Studies w/planning concentration & political science minor / good public university in northeast / 2015

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

3.7 BA (3.4 overall--I transferred) - No GRE

Work Experience:

5ish years overall

3.5 years in planning at an urban transit authority in a small northeastern city, 1 year at a design-focused community development nonprofit, internships in bike/ped and transit advocacy

Letter of recommendations: 

current supervisor (planning director at a transit authority), undergrad professor/advisor

last letter was split between a former supervisor for 3 schools and a current colleague for the rest

Schools applied to: Rutgers, Michigan, UNC, Georgia Tech, Toronto, SUNY Albany (all masters in planning)

In: Rutgers, SUNY Albany, Michigan (still awaiting funding info for all three)

Out:

Wait-list: 

Awaiting: UNC, Georgia Tech, Toronto

Results:

Also got into Michigan.  No email, just checked Wolverine Access after I saw that other people had decisions posted.

[ojireojire]

36 minutes ago, 808sAndCheesecake said:

Lurker here who just received Berkeley acceptance today. Was really nervous after seeing others hear back earlier, so wanted to share to let others waiting still that there's hope!

CONGRATS!

I wish Berkeley would just tell me something either way...  this wait is unbearable ?

[JSW_Planning]

53 minutes ago, 808sAndCheesecake said:

Lurker here who just received Berkeley acceptance today. Was really nervous after seeing others hear back earlier, so wanted to share to let others waiting still that there's hope!

Thank you and congradulations! I wonder when did you submit the application to Berkeley. Curious if they are releasing results in a time sequence of sumissions.

[planning]

On 1/20/2021 at 12:03 AM, planning said:

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: Tufts

Out:

Wait-list:

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

Results:

In at Tufts!

[nola360]

On 1/28/2021 at 12:21 PM, nola360 said:

 

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, NYU

In: USC, UIC, Duke, UPenn, Michigan 

Out: Berkeley 

Wait-list: 

Awaiting:  Yale, UCLA, UCI, UNC, NYU

Results:

In at Michigan!

[ojireojire]

On 2/23/2021 at 2:20 PM, ojireojire said:

Okay going to join the bandwagon of folks who decided to stop lurking. 

Age/Gender/Citizenship

24/M/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

B.A Political Science/Berkeley 2019

GPA - GRE  - TOEFL

3.86 GPA, 163V - 160Q - 4.5 AWA

Work Experience:

Worked at an Urban Planning nonprofit for one summer, director in a student-run nonprofit, internships at city

Research Experience:

4? semesters assistantship (don't remember on top of my head) on unrelated subject (terrorism)

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Two professors and a political figure

Schools applied to:   Rutgers, Cal (never happening), Penn, Florida State, Portland State, Harvard (never happening), UCLA, USC, UMN, UNC

In: UMN, Rutgers

Out: 

Wait-list: 

Awaiting:  Everything else

Results:

In at USC with full tuition! 

[butter_chicken]

11 hours ago, planning said:

In at Tufts!

Congratulations! 

Did you get an email regarding an interview from them? I recently did and it has me on edge

[cityplace_uptown]

Notifications going out for UT Austin. Happy to say I'm 3 for 3 so far! ?

[planning]

6 hours ago, butter_chicken said:

Congratulations! 

Did you get an email regarding an interview from them? I recently did and it has me on edge

Thanks! Nothing about an interview, just that more information would follow in the coming weeks 

[venkatsiva]

Age/Gender/Citizenship

22/M/India

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

Development Studies/Best Technical(Public/ 2021

GPA - GRE  - TOEFL

3.8 GPA/ 165V, 163Q, 4 AWA/ 110 

Work Experience:

NGO related Urban Issues

Research Experience:

Couple of research fellowships (MITAACS, Shastri, Canada), Masters Research Thesis

Letter of recommendations: 

Two professors with PhDs from Top Schools in US, One senior Professor on campus

Schools applied to:   Berkeley, UCLA, Harvard, USC, UNC, UIUC, Cornell

In: UIUC, Cornell

Out: Berkeley

Wait-list: 

Awaiting: UCLA, Harvard, USC, UNC

[yellowsurf]

On 1/29/2021 at 3:49 PM, yellowsurf said:

Age/Gender/Citizenship:

21, M, US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in Urban Studies, UC, 2021

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

3.9 GPA, 152Q 168V 6.0AWA GRE

Work Experience:

Not much actual work experience besides a general sustainability-related internship. But tried to be really involved in school. Founded a planning club and did a fair amount of projects, research, TAships, and competitions.

Letter of recommendations:

Two planning professors and one internship supervisor. Known them for a few years each, should be all very strong.

SOP:

Pretty good, I think. Talked about my internship, club, and a research project. I had a few current graduate students from the programs I'm interested in look at them.

Schools applied to: UCLA, UC Irvine, UNC Chapel Hill, University of Michigan, Cal Poly SLO, San Jose State University, Berkeley

In: SJSU, University of Michigan, UC Irvine

Out: Berkeley

Wait-list: 

Awaiting: UCLA, UNC Chapel Hill, Cal Poly SLO

Results:

Got in at UCI!

Anyone have any idea when official letters of admission might come out, either for UCI or schools in general? Do they usually take a week or two after the initial email or portal update?

[urbanplanning2021]

On 2/19/2021 at 6:26 PM, urbanplanning2021 said:

Hi everyone! I'm applying for masters programs and hoping to focus in the intersection of housing, data, and equity. Best of luck! ?

Age/Gender/Citizenship

25/F/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BS in Biology and Environmental Science from competitive New England liberal arts school in 2017

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

GPA: 3.62, GRE: 167V, 167Q, 5.5W

Work Experience:

2.5 years at urban planning data internship in city government, recently started as a research assistant at an affordable housing tech startup/non-profit, 4 semesters as a TA for a course in R at a local university, 1 year at a food justice org.

Research Experience:

N/A

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Internship supervisor, undergrad biology professor, and the professor that I'm TAing for.

Schools applied to: USC, Berkeley, UCLA, UPenn, UIC, Rutgers, Harvard

In: USC, UPenn, Rutgers

Out: Berkeley

Wait-list:

Awaiting: UCLA, UIC, Harvard

Results:

In at Rutgers! Surprised to get the email at 11:30pm on a Saturday night...

[austinplanning256]

On 1/12/2021 at 10:46 AM, austinplanning256 said:

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: Cornell 

Out: Oregon, NYU

Wait-list:

Awaiting: 

Results:

Out at NYU. Knew it would be an uphill climb to overcome the low GPA.

[babyurbanist]

Been lurking this thread for weeks and finally decided that I should add my stats on here. Good luck everyone! ?

Age/Gender/Citizenship

21/F/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in Legal Studies / mid tier UC / 2020

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

3.4 GPA - No GRE

Work Experience:

- Current administrative assistant for a real estate firm

- Summer planning internship focused on community planning 

(realized my lack of work experience, so I heavily emphasized my volunteer/community leadership experience throughout college)

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Senior capstone (thesis) advisor / Legal studies professor / Architecture professor

Schools applied to: UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, USC, University of Washington, NYU, Columbia

In: USC (w/ 25% tuition scholarship), UC Irvine

Out: UC Berkeley (not surprised), NYU (a little surprised ? )

Wait-list:

Awaiting: UCLA, University of Washington, Columbia

Results:

[venkatsiva]

9 minutes ago, babyurbanist said:

Been lurking this thread for weeks and finally decided that I should add my stats on here. Good luck everyone! ?

Age/Gender/Citizenship

21/F/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in Legal Studies / mid tier UC / 2020

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

3.4 GPA - No GRE

Work Experience:

- Current administrative assistant for a real estate firm

- Summer planning internship focused on community planning 

(realized my lack of work experience, so I heavily emphasized my volunteer/community leadership experience throughout college)

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Senior capstone (thesis) advisor / Legal studies professor / Architecture professor

Schools applied to: UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, USC, University of Washington, NYU, Columbia

In: USC (w/ 25% tuition scholarship), UC Irvine

Out: UC Berkeley (not surprised), NYU (a little surprised ? )

Wait-list:

Awaiting: UCLA, University of Washington, Columbia

Results:

When did you hear from USC @babyurbanist

[babyurbanist]

4 minutes ago, venkatsiva said:

When did you hear from USC @babyurbanist

I was notified February 19th by email!

[CanPlan]

I received an update from UBC today. 

I was invited to the next stage of the application process, which is a video interview. 

[oliviaplanning]

5 minutes ago, CanPlan said:

I received an update from UBC today. 

I was invited to the next stage of the application process, which is a video interview. 

I also just heard from UBC that I am invited to partake in the video interview!

 

[educationtoplanning]

Just got a waitlist notification from UNC which was my top choice (and also my alma mater)--figured it was time to post my info! 

Age/Gender/Citizenship

25/F/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

B.A. Geography, B.A. Public Policy/UNC/2017 

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

3.4 GPA, 155V - 163Q - 5.0AWA

Work Experience:

1 year of City Year

3 years of teaching middle school math via TFA

Undergraduate experience was very much volunteer/internship experience rooted in public service 

My pathway is such that my final year of undergrad led me to explore education as it relates to urban segregation/diversity in schools (and I intend for that to be a primary component of graduate research wherever I end up).

Research Experience:

N/A (all volunteer based and not significant enough to be included)

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Former Public Policy professor/advisor, City Year manager, TFA academic coach 

Schools applied to: 

UNC, Berkeley, Michigan, UT Austin, UVA, Ohio State, U Penn

In: Michigan, UT Austin

Out: Berkeley

Waitlist: UNC -- I am extremely curious (and anxious) about the waitlist process, particularly because I believe that I would drop everything to attend UNC if I were to get admitted. Also curious to see if anyone else is waitlisted/who is accepted and plans to attend.

Awaiting: UVA, Ohio State, U Penn

[Guest]

Hey @educationtoplanning! How were you notified by UNC? I am waiting to hear back from them....hope I hear soon. Congrats on your acceptances thus far!

[educationtoplanning]

3 minutes ago, beatlesforever said:

Hey @educationtoplanning! How were you notified by UNC? I am waiting to hear back from them....hope I hear soon. Congrats on your acceptances thus far!

I received an email! My portal has not been updated yet - I would expect that more definitive notifications (acceptances and rejections) will be on their way soon. Good luck and thank you!!!

[happy.planner]

Hello everyone! Good luck to all and stay positive!

Age/Gender/Citizenship

26 /  F / Brazil

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture and Urbanism / University of Fortaleza / 2019
+ Class Rank: 4/131
+ Honorable Mention for Outstanding Undergraduate BA Thesis
+ Recognition of Academic Excellence for achieving an overall GPA higher than 9.00

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

9.17 / 10 - No GRE - 108 / 120

Work Experience:

[Academic Work] 1 year as Teacher Assistant of the course Elements of Three-dimensional Composition
[Academic Work] 1 year as Research Assistant at the Urban Landscape Lab
3+ years of work at Fortaleza-based architecture firms
6 months as Urban Planning Intern at the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) in New York City 
[Community Engagement Work] Founder of Vazios Fortaleza, an online platform for public matters 
[Community Engagement Work] Co-founder of Quartos da Quarentena, a non-profit campaign for civic engagement and social transformation

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

BA Thesis Advisor / Professor / Director of the UN-Habitat New York Office

Schools applied to: UC Berkeley (MCP program), Harvard GSD (MUP program), Columbia GSAPP (MSUP program), LSE (City Design and Social Science program)

In:

Out: 

Wait-list: UC Berkeley (I'm ranked 1 out of 17 on the Housing, Community, and Economic Development (HCED) concentration waiting list) 

Awaiting: Harvard GSD, Columbia GSAPP, LSE

Results:

[bananaghost]

On 2/12/2021 at 11:31 AM, bananaghost said:

Well, I can't stomach this wait any longer, so I guess I'll throw down my stats for future applicants.

Age/Gender/Citizenship

28/M/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in International Studies: Int. Politics and Relations and Latin American Studies / mid-tier public university / 2015

Minors in German and Spanish

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

3.46 - 166V 156Q AW 4.0

Work Experience:

Summer internship in public health, 1 year data entry, 3 years teaching English abroad, 1 year Sales 

Research Experience:

Honors thesis on water use and agriculture

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Thesis mentor and department head, academic advisor (PhD) and former boss from teaching job - I believe they were relatively strong 

Schools applied to:  UIC, Arizona State, UNC, Georgia Tech, PSU

In: ASU , UIC, UNC

Out:

Wait-list:

Awaiting:   Georgia Tech, PSU

Results: 

75% funding from ASU - no info yet from the others

Edited March 1, 2021 by bananaghost

[yellowsurf]

On 1/29/2021 at 3:49 PM, yellowsurf said:

Age/Gender/Citizenship:

21, M, US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in Urban Studies, UC, 2021

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

3.9 GPA, 152Q 168V 6.0AWA GRE

Work Experience:

Not much actual work experience besides a general sustainability-related internship. But tried to be really involved in school. Founded a planning club and did a fair amount of projects, research, TAships, and competitions.

Letter of recommendations:

Two planning professors and one internship supervisor. Known them for a few years each, should be all very strong.

SOP:

Pretty good, I think. Talked about my internship, club, and a research project. I had a few current graduate students from the programs I'm interested in look at them.

Schools applied to: UCLA, UC Irvine, UNC Chapel Hill, University of Michigan, Cal Poly SLO, San Jose State University, Berkeley

In: UCI (awaiting official letter), UNC (2k), UMich (8k), SJSU (no funding)

Out: Berkeley

Wait-list: 

Awaiting: UCLA, Cal Poly SLO

Results:

Got into UNC (yay) with barely any funding (darn). I applied because I’ve heard they’ve historically given a lot of funding, but I guess that’s not the case with me. This seems like a pretty rough year. Updated my results to include my offers. Good luck everyone!

Edited March 1, 2021 by yellowsurf

[bikepedkait96]

7 minutes ago, yellowsurf said:

Got into UNC (yay) with barely any funding (darn). I applied because I’ve heard they’ve historically given a lot of funding, but I guess that’s not the case with me. This seems like a pretty rough year. Updated my results to include my offers. Good luck everyone!

Hey yellowsurf, how did you know if you got any funding or not? I just received my admission as well and I didn't see anything?