Planning Admission 2021

[yellowsurf]

28 minutes ago, ojireojire said:

Just a heads up! For those of you who got into UNC, I just received an Email updating my funding offer to something substantially higher! Be on the lookout! I'm guessing they just wanted to hand out acceptances first. 

That’s really motivating to hear! So you previously got a funding offer but they just sent you a completely new, higher number? And it’s “substantial,” you say? Congrats! I hope they send out those emails to more people, since like @daxdim said, I was also surprised by their low offers to OOS students, comparatively to previous years.

[CanPlan]

I haven't seen anyone ask about this program and I know it isn't common here, but if anyone is wondering I was accepted into the planning program in the School of Environmental and Resource Management at Simon Fraser University today. I was notified personally by my potential supervisor, with an official offer coming from the university at a later date. 

[GMK]

@educationtoplanningI think we are the only ones who have posted thus far who have applied to Ohio State.  They are taking their time with decisions this year!

[venkatsiva]

18 hours ago, drew.m.b said:

For those in the UCLA and USC boat... I'm with you! Still waiting to hear back from them both here. @jgiara is right in saying that we're still on target for a UCLA decision release in the next week or so, given that their usual timeline is sometime in early March. However, I continue to believe that no news from USC is not necessarily bad news. The only USC decisions I have seen yet are from individual professors emailing some students (perhaps they know those students, networked with them, etc). I do not imagine a Professor would individually reach out to all admitted students at this point, so I believe there is still hope for us that have not yet heard back. Official decisions are still to come. Hang in there, we'll know within the next week or so! 

USC is saying that they can take up to early May for decisions, this is so painful! 

[MildlyJaded]

Any word from toronto yet? Also. People who applied to UBC, McGill, and Toronto: how do you rank the three? Anxiously waiting for word from McGill. Also. Any tips for the SCARP interview? 

[Stackase]

6 minutes ago, MildlyJaded said:

Any word from toronto yet? Also. People who applied to UBC, McGill, and Toronto: how do you rank the three? Anxiously waiting for word from McGill. Also. Any tips for the SCARP interview? 

I only applied to UBC because it had a niche area of study I was interested in. So I cant really compare the three but I believe McGill is generally ranked higher and has a very good international reputation. I was also invited for the interview at UBC. The format seems new and I am curious as to how it went for those who have taken it already.

[planning]

For anyone else wondering about the UNC funding update - I also got an email about it this morning. It’s a substantial increase from my initial offer, so now I can consider it as a serious option! It’s still not the most affordable school for me, even with the potential for in-state tuition in the second year, but I was pleasantly surprised to receive more funding.

[planningfor2021]

26 minutes ago, venkatsiva said:

USC is saying that they can take up to early May for decisions, this is so painful! 

If you applied by the December 15th deadline? In my conversations with admissions, I was told that we should hear by early March. 

[anxiousplanner]

3 minutes ago, planningfor2021 said:

If you applied by the December 15th deadline? In my conversations with admissions, I was told that we should hear by early March. 

Yeah, this is very much my understanding as well - the website says early March, and when I spoke to Sarah earlier in the week via email, she said decisions should be released within the next week or so. I'm not sure where the May timeline is coming from. 

Unrelated, but congrats to everyone who just got a UNC funding increase....makes me wish I'd applied there! With funding so hard to come by this year, that's great news.

[venkatsiva]

4 minutes ago, planningfor2021 said:

If you applied by the December 15th deadline? In my conversations with admissions, I was told that we should hear by early March. 

Yes I did by the Dec 15 deadline, they said its in the hands of the committee and there is no particular order or a fixed date before May that we will know. 

[numenor]

2 minutes ago, MildlyJaded said:

Any word from toronto yet? Also. People who applied to UBC, McGill, and Toronto: how do you rank the three? Anxiously waiting for word from McGill. Also. Any tips for the SCARP interview? 

Haven't heard anything from Toronto yet. Still waiting on McGill. No interview at UBC so for sure out.

UofT is my top choice for a number of reasons. There are specific faculty I am gunning to work with, the Collaborative Specialization in Community Development would compliment my project, and I am very interested in research opportunities with the Cultural Economy Lab. I am contemplating a PhD down the road, so UofT's theory-heavy program appeals... as does their commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion in the field. ?

For me, McGill is second for faculty and fit. Great program reputation doesn't hurt.

UBC has a fantastic program... though admittedly, it is not a great fit for me. I am not surprised by my result. I did undergrad there and would love to study elsewhere.

 

[venkatsiva]

3 minutes ago, anxiousplanner said:

Yeah, this is very much my understanding as well - the website says early March, and when I spoke to Sarah earlier in the week via email, she said decisions should be released within the next week or so. I'm not sure where the May timeline is coming from. 

Unrelated, but congrats to everyone who just got a UNC funding increase....makes me wish I'd applied there! With funding so hard to come by this year, that's great news.

Yes, I wrote to the admissions email and they replied this! I am also quite unsure.

[MildlyJaded]

6 minutes ago, numenor said:

Haven't heard anything from Toronto yet. Still waiting on McGill. No interview at UBC so for sure out.

UofT is my top choice for a number of reasons. There are specific faculty I am gunning to work with, the Collaborative Specialization in Community Development would compliment my project, and I am very interested in research opportunities with the Cultural Economy Lab. I am contemplating a PhD down the road, so UofT's theory-heavy program appeals... as does their commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion in the field. ?

For me, McGill is second for faculty and fit. Great program reputation doesn't hurt.

UBC has a fantastic program... though admittedly, it is not a great fit for me. I am not surprised by my result. I did undergrad there and would love to study elsewhere.

 

You seem to have given it much more thought than I have lol. I'm an international student coming from a very econ/development background so the whole field is pretty new to me, but 'development' is also how I'm approaching it. I'm mostly interested in how planning fits in with the larger development process (lol). Toronto's program seem good but the cost is pretty prohibitive. That's why i'm hoping for a yes from McGill. I applied to a few unis last time around but deferred because of corona (didn't want to do online; let's see what happens this year)

[ojireojire]

1 hour ago, yellowsurf said:

That’s really motivating to hear! So you previously got a funding offer but they just sent you a completely new, higher number? And it’s “substantial,” you say? Congrats! I hope they send out those emails to more people, since like @daxdim said, I was also surprised by their low offers to OOS students, comparatively to previous years.

Yeah, so initially I got the $1,000 offer that a bunch of us seem to have gotten and then they basically just sent me an updated offer. Just to reiterate, it makes sense that they might be waiting a bit before handing out larger sums, or maybe just haven't gotten around to dispersing it all yet. COVID hit hard, but I don't think they suddenly ran out of money entirely! I'd be willing to bet good money that you're still in the running for funding consideration! 

 

[numenor]

Just now, MildlyJaded said:

You seem to have given it much more thought than I have lol. I'm an international student coming from a very econ/development background so the whole field is pretty new to me, but 'development' is also how I'm approaching it. I'm mostly interested in how planning fits in with the larger development process (lol). Toronto's program seem good but the cost is pretty prohibitive. That's why i'm hoping for a yes from McGill. I applied to a few unis last time around but deferred because of corona (didn't want to do online; let's see what happens this year)

Econ/development is super relevant to planning! I come from a humanities background (Art History–focus on architectural theory and social space) with completely unrelated professional work experience... so I feel like it's a total crapshoot. I got into UofT's M.Arch program a couple of years ago but decided I didn't want to become an architect, so here we are. We'll see how it goes! ?

UofT is super expensive... so is COL in Toronto (and Vancouver for that matter). Montreal would be a dream!

[yellowsurf]

6 minutes ago, ojireojire said:

Yeah, so initially I got the $1,000 offer that a bunch of us seem to have gotten and then they basically just sent me an updated offer. Just to reiterate, it makes sense that they might be waiting a bit before handing out larger sums, or maybe just haven't gotten around to dispersing it all yet. COVID hit hard, but I don't think they suddenly ran out of money entirely! I'd be willing to bet good money that you're still in the running for funding consideration! 

 

Thank you and @planning for sharing! This is really helpful, and I’m grateful to them to continue to help their admits. Fingers crossed the rest of us hear good news! 

Also, seeing several people get considerable funding to USC makes me wish I had applied there too haha. I’ll just anxiously continue waiting for UCLA (and hope they have some funding too). Best wishes everyone!

Edited March 4, 2021 by yellowsurf

[oliviaplanning]

1 hour ago, MildlyJaded said:

Any word from toronto yet? Also. People who applied to UBC, McGill, and Toronto: how do you rank the three? Anxiously waiting for word from McGill. Also. Any tips for the SCARP interview? 

Also wondering about SCARP interview if anyone has completed yet!

[heyhey101]

I haven’t completed the UBC interview yet. I don’t think we can really prepare for it. My plan is to just go natural and genuine. I’m thinking that’s probably what they want as well. 

[MildlyJaded]

15 minutes ago, heyhey101 said:

I haven’t completed the UBC interview yet. I don’t think we can really prepare for it. My plan is to just go natural and genuine. I’m thinking that’s probably what they want as well. 

That's what I think as well but last year I took one for Cornell (which turned out to be a joke) and they literally just gave you 60 seconds to record a response and my slow butt took 30 seconds to think of what to say. Still got in tho but I think UBC is more serious about this

Edited March 4, 2021 by MildlyJaded

[jgiara]

49 minutes ago, venkatsiva said:

Yes I did by the Dec 15 deadline, they said its in the hands of the committee and there is no particular order or a fixed date before May that we will know. 

What? May? How is that even possible. I too was told March when I asked. 

[urbanplanning2021]

Is anyone else still waiting to hear from UIC? I know a couple people heard from them a while ago, but I haven’t seen anything since.

[willplanning]

I did the SCARP interview this morning; glad to answer any questions anybody may have. 

It's four questions, 3 minutes each. The questions relate to you and to urban planning as a profession. Nothing out of the ordinary, or anything you would have to do research for. 

The strangest part, for me, was just speaking to myself. I wish it was a real interview. As strange it sounds, I would recommend talking out loud to yourself for 10-15 minutes before answering the questions. I won't disclose the specific questions I got, but glad to help out otherwise!

@MildlyJaded, I applied to UBC, UofT & Ryerson, and would rank them in that order. I'm finishing my McGill undergrad, so would love to go somewhere else. Nothing against McGill, loved my experience here, but it's also my hometown and I would love a change. I've heard great things about UBC, and 2 years in Vancouver sounds great, albeit expensive. 

 

[hayamate]

On 3/2/2021 at 10:07 AM, hayamate said:

After a couple of years working in transportation advocacy, I decided to plan my next steps and attend planning school to give back to the communities I've served.

Age/Gender/Citizenship

31/M/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in Communications/Flagship state university at a Spanish-speaking country/2011

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

3.62 - no - no

Work Experience:

- 5 years at a transportation advocacy group in a major US city. Spearheaded projects in BIPOC communities for alternatives mode of transportation, as well directed strategy at a city-level.

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Three: Former supervisor/professional mentor, former colleague that has a Master's in urban planning, Deputy Director of current employer

Schools applied to:  Penn, Tufts, Temple, Hunter College, George Washington

In: Penn, Tufts, Temple, Hunter College, George Washington

Out:

Wait-list: 

Awaiting:

Results: Penn ($ pending), Tufts ($31k scholarship), Temple ($ pending), Hunter College (no $), George Washington ($10k scholarship)

Waiting on financial aid packages from other programs before making a decision.

Updating to reflect Tufts scholarship offer of $31k. That's close to covering full tuition. Curious to see how much (if any) financial aid Penn provides.

Edited March 4, 2021 by hayamate

[oliviaplanning]

1 hour ago, willplanning said:

I did the SCARP interview this morning; glad to answer any questions anybody may have. 

It's four questions, 3 minutes each. The questions relate to you and to urban planning as a profession. Nothing out of the ordinary, or anything you would have to do research for. 

The strangest part, for me, was just speaking to myself. I wish it was a real interview. As strange it sounds, I would recommend talking out loud to yourself for 10-15 minutes before answering the questions. I won't disclose the specific questions I got, but glad to help out otherwise!

@MildlyJaded, I applied to UBC, UofT & Ryerson, and would rank them in that order. I'm finishing my McGill undergrad, so would love to go somewhere else. Nothing against McGill, loved my experience here, but it's also my hometown and I would love a change. I've heard great things about UBC, and 2 years in Vancouver sounds great, albeit expensive. 

Thanks so much for the answer!! I am going to do mine tomorrow, did they ask anything specific about UBC, or was it more so why you want to go into planning? 

 

[oliviaplanning]

Just now, oliviaplanning said:

 

 

1 hour ago, willplanning said:

I did the SCARP interview this morning; glad to answer any questions anybody may have. 

It's four questions, 3 minutes each. The questions relate to you and to urban planning as a profession. Nothing out of the ordinary, or anything you would have to do research for. 

The strangest part, for me, was just speaking to myself. I wish it was a real interview. As strange it sounds, I would recommend talking out loud to yourself for 10-15 minutes before answering the questions. I won't disclose the specific questions I got, but glad to help out otherwise!

@MildlyJaded, I applied to UBC, UofT & Ryerson, and would rank them in that order. I'm finishing my McGill undergrad, so would love to go somewhere else. Nothing against McGill, loved my experience here, but it's also my hometown and I would love a change. I've heard great things about UBC, and 2 years in Vancouver sounds great, albeit expensive. 

 

Thanks so much for the answer!! I am going to do mine tomorrow, did they ask anything specific about UBC, or was it more so why you want to go into planning?