Environmental Management and Policy 2021

[YeuxInfinis]

7 hours ago, tiaki said:

Tive que perder as sessões matinais do SEAS hoje, então obrigado por compartilhar !!

O financiamento tem sido um grande estresse para mim, já que recebi apenas alguns milhares por ano em estudos de trabalho da SEAS e nada de Bren. Provavelmente acabará sendo o maior fator na decisão de onde vou.

Estou em um grupo de WhatsApp para alunos admitidos de Nicholas (se você é um Nicholas admite e deseja participar, o link está no grupo FB!) E todos nós estamos estressados com o financiamento, pois eles estão divulgando essa informação nas últimas 2 semanas. Eu finalmente ouvi de volta alguns dias atrás e era quase 20k em financiamento por mérito renovável, sem necessidade.

Edit: em fevereiro, conversei com a equipe do NSOE sobre o financiamento com base na necessidade e fui informado de que um grande número de candidatos se inscreveram para receber ajuda com base na necessidade, então esse é outro motivo pelo qual as pessoas estão recebendo menos do que em anos anteriores.

Hello everyone! I hope you're all healthy.

I'm from Brazil and applied for SEAS / UMich (Environmental Justice), NSOE / Duke (MEM), UPenn (M. City Planning), Cornell (M. Regional Planning)

I had a big problem with my TOEFL, it was canceled 6 times. The universities understood and I have until the end of April to send.

I was accepted early at UPenn, but unfortunately without any financial aid on my admission letter. I asked the admissions sector for information about it and they asked me to sign up for a webinar in early April. I'm very interested in the concentration of Land Use and Environmental Planning, but without financial aid it is difficult. It is the most expensive program I have applied. I'm incredibly proud to be accepted into the Ivy League.

I'm still waiting for news from Cornell and UMich. I'm seeing people commenting that they have been accepted, and I have not received any acceptance or registration emails, my anxiety is in the stratosphere.

Last week SEAS said that the results (all) would come out in up to two weeks.

Nicholas School will only disclose whether or not I was accepted in May, after my TOELF grade arrives?

[kickmewhenurdone]

Is anyone declining their offer to SIPA MPA-ESP? Would love to know if you can refer me in your email  Thanks and congratulations! 

[Neha29]

11 hours ago, yeeeeeeee said:

There isn't any group chat for Bren admits right? the duke one is so helpful I wish there was one for UCSB!

I agree!!! I wish there was a group chat for Bren too!!! Why don’t we make one 

[anxiouslyinlimbo]

Does anyone have thoughts on if the name of the master's degree is something to consider more significantly? Like Bren's program is for a MESM degree while Columbia would be a MS. Seems like MS is typically more well known... 

Not sure if that makes sense but a lot of time when people look at your headline it'll say "name, MPA" "Name, MS" ...not sure how MESM looks

[qwertympp]

For all those that applied at Duke, can I ask why you chose the Nicholas school over their Sanford school? I've been accepted to both with very similar offers and I'm having trouble deciding between the two. I know I don't want to do a dual degree program (I don't think it will be cost effective or worth the extra year). Any advice out there?

[evav]

On 3/19/2021 at 11:19 PM, Neha29 said:

I agree!!! I wish there was a group chat for Bren too!!! Why don’t we make one 

I am open to that!!!! trying to make a decision over here and have had a lot of chats with current and formers students. Happy to share that knowledge... 

[Neha29]

10 minutes ago, evav said:

I am open to that!!!! trying to make a decision over here and have had a lot of chats with current and formers students. Happy to share that knowledge... 

that’s great! Did you talk to current Bren alumni? What did they say about the college ?

[qrrcl]

On 3/14/2021 at 2:33 PM, herewegoah said:

Just declined my offer to YSE MEM program in favor of an Environmentally focused MPA degree with better funding elsewhere.  As someone who was admitted off a waitlist for undergrad, I feel everyone's pain and hope this offers some hope!  Best of luck to everyone this fall - everything will work out!

Which MPA program are you leaning towards?

[qrrcl]

On 3/19/2021 at 9:12 AM, nvenv said:

Live updates from SEAS virtual visit day....

-1500 applications, class size around 250

-About half of the questions asked in the Zoom chat were about lack of funding...seems like everyones in the same boat. They didn't answer any funding/finaid questions, referring us to a workshop later in the day. 

Maybe it's normal, but I get the feeling a lot of this class (like this year's graduate applicants) is struggling to figure out funding and less willing to take out tens of thousands of dollars in debt. Maybe the pandemic? Or just this generation? I don't know but it's making me sad that grad school isn't more accessible. Especially in a field where most of us want to literally save this world.

Okay, sorry for the complaining/ranting...haha. Anyone else have thoughts?

Yeah I attended the funding webinar and they split us up into break out rooms to discuss specific case studies... the breakout room I was in really only discussed out financially stressed we all were... it makes me feel better that I’m not alone but also sad because I wish this wasn’t as costly as it is

[tiaki]

17 hours ago, qrrcl said:

Yeah I attended the funding webinar and they split us up into break out rooms to discuss specific case studies... the breakout room I was in really only discussed out financially stressed we all were... it makes me feel better that I’m not alone but also sad because I wish this wasn’t as costly as it is

Same exact thing in my breakout room! We were like well, here's the spreadsheet activity but actually let's talk about our stress. (We discussed making a group chat to talk about decisions outside of that but got cut off, if by some small miracle you were part of my group, hi!)

SEAS admit day made my decision much harder, as they talked SO much about how many students are able to get GSI positions or assistantships that offset tuition, so I'm not really sure what the end cost may actually be? SEAS seems like an amazing fit because I highly value and would be happiest in a more academic, intellectual, interdisciplinary environment and it certainly checks those boxes. I'm almost definitely going to Nicholas at this point as they gave me funding that covers about 2/5 tuition, but I haven't gotten the same vibes.

If anyone is more familiar with the environment of Nicholas, please share any input you have! I've mostly just heard about how professional it is, which is super important but I also want to feel intellectually challenged, haha.

[nvenv]

Haha my breakout room also only talked about how stressed we were! 

But from what I can tell the GSI/GSRA positions come with full tuition wavers and a stipend, so that's definitely our best bet. However I don't know if you can even apply if you aren't a student yet. Has anyone asked or tried?

@tiakiFrom what you said, it seems like you think you'd be happier at Michigan. I think you should really think if saving 2/5 of tuition costs is worth it. Especially if Michigan has more or better GSI oppurtunities...?

[pjkenn]

I attended the University of Michigan SEAS funding webinar.  It appears these GSI/GSRA positions are not available until after you enroll?  Has anyone had any success in obtaining them prior to enrollment?  From what I gather, the GSI/GSRA positions may not be available until second semester or until Year 2.  This makes SEAS somewhat expensive....

Have other offers at Canadian institutions with full funding, but SEAS and its interdisciplinary nature is attractive.  However, I cannot afford to pay out of state tuition for potentially one year before even being able to secure these GSI/GSRA positions.  Have you all decided on SEAS or going elsewhere?

[pjkenn]

What did you all think of SEAS Admitted Students Day overall?  I thought it was "OK' at best; some of the presentations were good, but for the most part they did not address the funding issue very well.  Is anyone leaning toward SEAS in spite of the funding issue?  Glad I am not the only one in terms of the funding issue.

[qrrcl]

11 hours ago, pjkenn said:

What did you all think of SEAS Admitted Students Day overall?  I thought it was "OK' at best; some of the presentations were good, but for the most part they did not address the funding issue very well.  Is anyone leaning toward SEAS in spite of the funding issue?  Glad I am not the only one in terms of the funding issue.

I also thought it was okay... I wasn’t swayed to take out lots of loans for this program though the program itself is very impressive. I didn't get the impression that GSI/GSRA positions were wildly available. It looks like everyone needs some sort of funding from SEAS so those positions, if open, would go quickly. Also, they already posted the GSI/GSRA positions for the fall if I remember correctly.

Edited March 23, 2021 by qrrcl

[pjkenn]

1 hour ago, qrrcl said:

I also thought it was okay... I wasn’t swayed to take out lots of loans for this program though the program itself is very impressive. I didn't get the impression that GSI/GSRA positions were wildly available. It looks like everyone needs some sort of funding from SEAS so those positions, if open, would go quickly. Also, they already posted the GSI/GSRA positions for the fall if I remember correctly.

Okay, so for the Fall we are likely out of luck if these positions are filled.  That means best case scenario is one gets a GSI/GSRA in the second semester, which still leaves a lot to cover for the first semester in tuition alone especially if not being deemed in-state for tuition purposes.

 

[ICDI]

Did anyone attend Columbia's MA Climate and Society admitted students day? I love the program and feel its a really good fit for me in my academic and professional journey right now, but am hesitant mostly because of funding (I would have to take out loans). There are readily available GRA positions that pay about 2k a semester, which certainly helps and is great experience, but doesn't make a huge dent in the overall cost. 

Really struggling to choose between that program and others in which I've been admitted where the total admit cost would be cut in half. 

Sounds like other people are in a similar boat with SEAS . . . its so tough 

[SustainabilityKM]

14 hours ago, pjkenn said:

I attended the University of Michigan SEAS funding webinar.  It appears these GSI/GSRA positions are not available until after you enroll?  Has anyone had any success in obtaining them prior to enrollment?  From what I gather, the GSI/GSRA positions may not be available until second semester or until Year 2.  This makes SEAS somewhat expensive....

Have other offers at Canadian institutions with full funding, but SEAS and its interdisciplinary nature is attractive.  However, I cannot afford to pay out of state tuition for potentially one year before even being able to secure these GSI/GSRA positions.  Have you all decided on SEAS or going elsewhere?

I am a fellow Canadian! What schools are you considering?

[nvenv]

I really wasn’t impressed with the SEAS virtual visit day. Maybe just because I was too stressed about funding to want to get too excited about it. But I felt they’re were a lot of other things they didn’t address too. But I’m really torn and I don’t have other options that I am really considering at the moment. So essentially my options are grad school or no grad school for this year. But I don’t want to go through the application process again either...

 

I actually ended up emailing a professor about one of the open GSI positions to see if I could even apply and she didn’t even know. I wish they would have talked more about GSRA positions as well. 

[qrrcl]

2 hours ago, ICDI said:

Did anyone attend Columbia's MA Climate and Society admitted students day? I love the program and feel its a really good fit for me in my academic and professional journey right now, but am hesitant mostly because of funding (I would have to take out loans). There are readily available GRA positions that pay about 2k a semester, which certainly helps and is great experience, but doesn't make a huge dent in the overall cost. 

Really struggling to choose between that program and others in which I've been admitted where the total admit cost would be cut in half. 

Sounds like other people are in a similar boat with SEAS . . . its so tough 

I think at other schools GSRA positions pay 2K monthly, no? Columbia really does offer great programs and fantastic network opportunities but whew that tuition is really high. I was in the same boat and ultimately declined my offer at Columbia since I just couldn't imagine taking out 100,000 dollars in loans especially for a one year program. It's really tough but regardless Columbia houses incredible programs.

[qrrcl]

1 hour ago, nvenv said:

I really wasn’t impressed with the SEAS virtual visit day. Maybe just because I was too stressed about funding to want to get too excited about it. But I felt they’re were a lot of other things they didn’t address too. But I’m really torn and I don’t have other options that I am really considering at the moment. So essentially my options are grad school or no grad school for this year. But I don’t want to go through the application process again either...

 

I actually ended up emailing a professor about one of the open GSI positions to see if I could even apply and she didn’t even know. I wish they would have talked more about GSRA positions as well. 

I remember talking with admissions at SEAS before applying and they told me they would accept deferrals so that's an option too? But sad even the professor didn't know about the GSI positions. I hope you get a response you like soon enough!

[tiaki]

20 hours ago, nvenv said:

Haha my breakout room also only talked about how stressed we were! 

But from what I can tell the GSI/GSRA positions come with full tuition wavers and a stipend, so that's definitely our best bet. However I don't know if you can even apply if you aren't a student yet. Has anyone asked or tried?

@tiakiFrom what you said, it seems like you think you'd be happier at Michigan. I think you should really think if saving 2/5 of tuition costs is worth it. Especially if Michigan has more or better GSI oppurtunities...?

Unfortunately the alumni panel was a little more open about funding difficulties- from what I remember, they mostly either had scholarships or were able to secure GSI positions, but were clear that they had classmates who graduated with a TON of debt.

The major thing I remember and noted down from the funding session was how few GSI positions there are each semester, they said it differs from sem to sem but this fall it’s less than 30 for the entirety of SEAS.

I guess that’s the crux of my issue- SEAS seems great but attending would essentially be a gamble that I would have some of my tuition offset, whereas at Nicholas I’m basically already guaranteed nearly an entire semester covered each year.

For anyone else comparing SEAS and NSOE, I talked to an SEAS faculty member familiar with all of the major MEM type programs. His input was along the lines of:

Bren is really California-centric and many of their graduates go into consulting in CA, but there isn’t a huge amount of overlap with other professional schools at UCSB.

SEAS & NSOE are the most similar in terms of ease of taking courses at other professional schools (policy, business, etc), as well as the quality of their policy programs, but SEAS is more inherently interdisciplinary from the start since the concentrations are more loosely defined. SEAS is a bit more academic, with pathways to student research and PhD prep, while NSOE really focuses on the professional training.

In terms of regional career advantages, Michigan is obviously super well positioned in the midwest and Duke in the south and southeast. I’m not sure which has more reach internationally or in places like the northeast (where I’m from) but both have strong alumni networks (though Michigan’s is 5x bigger lol). There’s obv also a massive difference in the presence of a robust EJ curriculum at SEAS while NSOE still lacks one.

[Boolakanaka]

22 hours ago, tiaki said:

Unfortunately the alumni panel was a little more open about funding difficulties- from what I remember, they mostly either had scholarships or were able to secure GSI positions, but were clear that they had classmates who graduated with a TON of debt.

The major thing I remember and noted down from the funding session was how few GSI positions there are each semester, they said it differs from sem to sem but this fall it’s less than 30 for the entirety of SEAS.

I guess that’s the crux of my issue- SEAS seems great but attending would essentially be a gamble that I would have some of my tuition offset, whereas at Nicholas I’m basically already guaranteed nearly an entire semester covered each year.

For anyone else comparing SEAS and NSOE, I talked to an SEAS faculty member familiar with all of the major MEM type programs. His input was along the lines of:

Bren is really California-centric and many of their graduates go into consulting in CA, but there isn’t a huge amount of overlap with other professional schools at UCSB.

SEAS & NSOE are the most similar in terms of ease of taking courses at other professional schools (policy, business, etc), as well as the quality of their policy programs, but SEAS is more inherently interdisciplinary from the start since the concentrations are more loosely defined. SEAS is a bit more academic, with pathways to student research and PhD prep, while NSOE really focuses on the professional training.

In terms of regional career advantages, Michigan is obviously super well positioned in the midwest and Duke in the south and southeast. I’m not sure which has more reach internationally or in places like the northeast (where I’m from) but both have strong alumni networks (though Michigan’s is 5x bigger lol). There’s obv also a massive difference in the presence of a robust EJ curriculum at SEAS while NSOE still lacks one.

Two words—Dorceta Taylor.

[mimi209]

Just accepted my offer from SEAS and declined ones from Nicholas and Bren. Good luck everyone! 

[pjkenn]

On 3/23/2021 at 1:25 PM, SustainabilityKM said:

I am a fellow Canadian! What schools are you considering?

Hi, I am not Canadian, but I did apply to Canadian schools.  I am an American who was admitted with funding to the University of Toronto, Waterloo, and Dalhousie.  All have offered me funding while UMICH SEAS has not and am considering them at the moment.  Not sure it is a good idea to take out a substantial amount in loans when I have funded offers from those schools.  I have decided to decline UMICH SEAS given the substantial cost as an out of state student although the fact it is very interdisciplinary is attractive.  Maybe others have had better luck in getting funding from UMICH SEAS at the outset, but it appears from this thread, funding is pretty scarce there until one enrolls and even then it appears to be a gamble.

[pjkenn]

On 3/23/2021 at 4:43 PM, tiaki said:

Unfortunately the alumni panel was a little more open about funding difficulties- from what I remember, they mostly either had scholarships or were able to secure GSI positions, but were clear that they had classmates who graduated with a TON of debt.

The major thing I remember and noted down from the funding session was how few GSI positions there are each semester, they said it differs from sem to sem but this fall it’s less than 30 for the entirety of SEAS.

I guess that’s the crux of my issue- SEAS seems great but attending would essentially be a gamble that I would have some of my tuition offset, whereas at Nicholas I’m basically already guaranteed nearly an entire semester covered each year.

For anyone else comparing SEAS and NSOE, I talked to an SEAS faculty member familiar with all of the major MEM type programs. His input was along the lines of:

Bren is really California-centric and many of their graduates go into consulting in CA, but there isn’t a huge amount of overlap with other professional schools at UCSB.

SEAS & NSOE are the most similar in terms of ease of taking courses at other professional schools (policy, business, etc), as well as the quality of their policy programs, but SEAS is more inherently interdisciplinary from the start since the concentrations are more loosely defined. SEAS is a bit more academic, with pathways to student research and PhD prep, while NSOE really focuses on the professional training.

In terms of regional career advantages, Michigan is obviously super well positioned in the midwest and Duke in the south and southeast. I’m not sure which has more reach internationally or in places like the northeast (where I’m from) but both have strong alumni networks (though Michigan’s is 5x bigger lol). There’s obv also a massive difference in the presence of a robust EJ curriculum at SEAS while NSOE still lacks one.

I agree SEAS would be ideal if they offer some degree of guaranteed funding at the outset, but as it stands, it is a risky gamble to take on debt in the hopes that one of those GSI/GSRA positions becomes available after enrolling.