Geography 2021 Application Thread

[tfgsap]

I've been lurking hoping someone will post news, but it looks like all the aspiring geographers had the same idea.  Figured I'd go ahead and get us started to see if anyone has heard anything yet. 

I'm applying to the following PhD programs: 

• Kentucky (Apps not due until 1/15 so not surprised I have not heard)
• Berkeley 
• Michigan State
• UW Madison
• CUNY  (EES Program)
• Washington

Have not heard anything. It's a weird year to be applying, so I'm eager to hear how this round shakes out. Good luck to the rest of you! 

 

Edited January 12, 2021 by tfgsap

[cangrad11]

I was lurking too! I've applied to a mix of human geography and urban planning programs:

Geography:

Berkeley

Washington

CUNY EES

Urban Planning:

UCLA

MIT

 

Nothing yet, 4/5 programs I spoke to told me they're planning to admit less students than their typical application cycles (except Washington). Wonder if their usual admission timelines will also be shifting. What a turbulent application cycle, but very grateful the GRE was waived for most programs. Good luck all! 

[mes]

thanks for starting this! I applied to...

• CUNY (EES)
• LSE
• Rutgers
• Oxford

the last two applications were due in the second half of this month, so I'm similarly expecting a bit of a wait. I've now interviewed at LSE but nothing yet from CUNY...hoping to hear here when people do start hearing from them.

fingers crossed all around!

[BenFin]

Thanks for beginning this discussion.  

My chosen schools were Texas A&M, University of Tennessee, Michigan State, University of British Columbia, Rutgers, Syracuse and Clark. All for geography. 

I had the chance to talk with a reviewer at Michigan state and they stared their review process on January 6. Also, Rutgers is supposed to have a meeting on February 4 to rank applicants.
 

Best of luck to all who applied!!

[SG1993]

I haven't heard from any universities too. Here are the universities I applied to:

Clark University

Syracuse University

University of Florida

Universoty of Hawaii

University of Kansas

University of Calgary

Guelph University

York University

[joona]

Hey y'all

Just wanted to drop by and ask if anyone is heard from Berkeley, UWisconsin-Madison or CU Boulder? 

 

I can see an interview invite for Berkeley and Wisconsin on the results page. Has anyone else been contacted? 

[findsyouwell]

48 minutes ago, joona said:

Hey y'all

Just wanted to drop by and ask if anyone is heard from Berkeley, UWisconsin-Madison or CU Boulder? 

 

I can see an interview invite for Berkeley and Wisconsin on the results page. Has anyone else been contacted? 

Wondering the same re: Berkeley – can anyone claim the interview? 

[joona]

29 minutes ago, findsyouwell said:

Wondering the same re: Berkeley – can anyone claim the interview? 

I seems that this year's interview dates were exactly the same timeline as last year's? So, interviews on the 22-23rd of Jan. Decisions by first week of feb. 

 

Really hoping against against odds here in the case that all interviews have already taken place.

Edited January 31, 2021 by joona

[j0k3r]

Berkeley (interviewed 2 weeks ago, but wasn't the poster from results page)
UCLA
Wisconsin-Madison
U of T

Haven't heard back from any of these places. Spoke with multiple potential supervisors in Dec/Jan - more apps than most years, but accepting "regular" amount of PhDs.

[joona]

1 hour ago, j0k3r said:

Berkeley (interviewed 2 weeks ago, but wasn't the poster from results page)
UCLA
Wisconsin-Madison
U of T

Haven't heard back from any of these places. Spoke with multiple potential supervisors in Dec/Jan - more apps than most years, but accepting "regular" amount of PhDs.

Congratulations for the interview invites! 

Just wanted to confirm if you had an interview for Wisconsin Madison too? Or was it just Berkeley?Also, for Berkeley, are you applying for the Human Geography track or physical geography?

 

Sorry for asking too many questions, I'm just trying to gauge if there's any hope or if I should brace for bad news.. 

Edited February 1, 2021 by joona

[j0k3r]

Just now, joona said:

Congratulations on the interview invites! 

Just wanted to confirm if you had an interview for Wisconsin Madison too? Or was it just Berkeley? 

Just Berkeley for an interview - no clue how to gauge how it went. It was less than 20 mins.

Re: Wisc Madison. I don't think they typically interview. None of the grad students that I talked to mentioned having done one. Before applying, though, I contacted a few profs via email and spoke with them over Zoom to chat about ideas and confirm fit.

[joona]

5 minutes ago, j0k3r said:

Just Berkeley for an interview - no clue how to gauge how it went. It was less than 20 mins.

Re: Wisc Madison. I don't think they typically interview. None of the grad students that I talked to mentioned having done one. Before applying, though, I contacted a few profs via email and spoke with them over Zoom to chat about ideas and confirm fit.

Aah, I see. Well, I hope you hear positive news from Berkeley ASAP. Getting an interview invite in itself is amazing! 

Have you applied for the human geography track or physical? 

 

Re: WMadison, yeah from what I know they don't typically interview the candidates which is why I asked. We should hear back soon I guess.

It seems they released results between 4-6feb last year which is a few days away. Plus, I saw a post on the results page about an informal interview and that the committee is confirming the acceptances..

Edited February 1, 2021 by joona

[findsyouwell]

3 hours ago, j0k3r said:

Just Berkeley for an interview - no clue how to gauge how it went. It was less than 20 mins.

Re: Wisc Madison. I don't think they typically interview. None of the grad students that I talked to mentioned having done one. Before applying, though, I contacted a few profs via email and spoke with them over Zoom to chat about ideas and confirm fit.

Likewise interested if human or physical geog... do you think they interview everyone? 

[j0k3r]

2 hours ago, findsyouwell said:

Likewise interested if human or physical geog... do you think they interview everyone? 

Human geog.

I would assume interviews concluded at this point.

[Teanomilk]

I've applied to a few programs so far, including UIUC, CUNY, Penn State, Clark and GSU, but I've not had any replies yet.  I'm not that optimistic in all honesty, particularly with the unusual circumstances surrounding the application process this year, but maybe something will work out.  Good luck to everyone else though! 

[mgeog77]

I stumbled upon this forum but was not expecting to hear from programs until March. 

I applied to

CUNY

UCLA

UBC

Clark 

Just curious if others have insights into whether these programs historically interview. I spoke with Profs at all schools in the fall but never asked about interviews or when to expect to hear. 

Good luck to everyone!

 

[mes]

I'm also really curious to hear if anyone knows whether CUNY typically interviews. I don't see any interviews on the results page. but looking there, seems like in recent years at least some admissions & rejections have come in early February!

Edited February 3, 2021 by mes

[cangrad11]

After speaking to some students and faculty at CUNY, I'm pretty they don't plan on interviewing and it's not part of their typical admissions process. Not sure about the other programs, however. Due to COVID I'm wondering if the admissions process is going to take longer than normal?

5 hours ago, mes said:

I'm also really curious to hear if anyone knows whether CUNY typically interviews. I don't see any interviews on the results page. but looking there, seems like in recent years at least some admissions & rejections have come in early February!

 

Edited February 4, 2021 by cangrad11

[rbl82]

Also haven't heard from any. I'm applying to the following PhD programs: 

• UToronto
• UBC 
• McMaster

[SG1993]

Hope we will hear some decisions this week! 

Edited February 8, 2021 by Peach Princess

[SG1993]

On 2/7/2021 at 1:52 AM, rbl82 said:

 

Also haven't heard from any. I'm applying to the following PhD programs: 

• UToronto
• UBC 
• McMaster

Are you an international applicant? Is it true that most of the Canadian universities have limited slots for internarional students? Most of the posts I saw in gradcafe is that they only accept 1 per program. Like 1 visa slot per program.

[rbl82]

4 hours ago, Peach Princess said:

Are you an international applicant? Is it true that most of the Canadian universities have limited slots for internarional students? Most of the posts I saw in gradcafe is that they only accept 1 per program. Like 1 visa slot per program.

Yes, int'l applicant. I have heard about it, but I am not sure if it is the same cutoff for all areas (for example, in CS this doesn't apply at all).

[joona]

Hey guys! I got into CU Boulder with 4 year funding with tuition waiver. I've been offered around 22k a year with free dental health care. I have to pay a nominal amount towards fees and 10% of my student health insurance(350$), the rest will be covered the university. 

 

Just wanted to ask if this is a decent offer? I'm an international student and I don't know much about funding packages.. Any help will be appreciated! 

Also, would love to hear more about Boulder or the University+Department too!

Edited February 8, 2021 by joona

[rbl82]

5 hours ago, joona said:

Hey guys! I got into CU Boulder with 4 year funding with tuition waiver. I've been offered around 22k a year with free dental health care. I have to pay a nominal amount towards fees and 10% of my student health insurance(350$), the rest will be covered the university. 

 

Just wanted to ask if this is a decent offer? I'm an international student and I don't know much about funding packages.. Any help will be appreciated! 

Also, would love to hear more about Boulder or the University+Department too!

Boulder is a very nice/beautiful city. If you want to do atmospheric sciences studies it is one of the best places to be (all universities have a strong department, and you have the proximity to be on NCAR too).

[j0k3r]

11 hours ago, joona said:

Hey guys! I got into CU Boulder with 4 year funding with tuition waiver. I've been offered around 22k a year with free dental health care. I have to pay a nominal amount towards fees and 10% of my student health insurance(350$), the rest will be covered the university. 

 

Just wanted to ask if this is a decent offer? I'm an international student and I don't know much about funding packages.. Any help will be appreciated! 

Also, would love to hear more about Boulder or the University+Department too!

Seeing as you're an international student, I would ask about whether they cover non-resident tuition throughout the degree, and I would ask about grad housing (not sure how exp cost of living is in Boulder). I'm also int'l and I decided I wouldn't consider a program that doesn't cover me entirely for 4/5 years (fellowships + guaranteed employment + tuition + non-resident tuition).