Environmental Management and Policy 2021

[yeeeeeeee]

3 minutes ago, anxiouslyinlimbo said:

Hey! Have most applicants already heard from Bren MESM? Wondering if silence = rejection...Also I had applied on January 5th..have others who applied on the last possible day like me heard anything?

I applied on the 4th I think and still haven't heard anything... for reference Im accepted at Duke & waitlisted for YSE, waiting on Bren & columbia, but just applied to columbia few days ago

[yeeeeeeee]

btw, anyone heard back yet from Columbia's master of environmental management admissions? the application deadline is may 15 which is so crazy late but I think their admission is rolling idk

[anxiouslyinlimbo]

7 minutes ago, yeeeeeeee said:

I applied on the 4th I think and still haven't heard anything... for reference Im accepted at Duke & waitlisted for YSE, waiting on Bren & columbia, but just applied to columbia few days ago

Thanks for sharing! Congrats on Duke!!

[qrrcl]

On 3/4/2021 at 1:19 PM, mimi209 said:

Just received a notification from Bren to check the portal. I got the provisional admit too, yay! but no mention of funding. Was really hoping for it. I got in at SEAS (w some funding) and Duke. Was bummed about not making it to Yale. I am making a career change, so I have plenty exp but not necessarily in the relevant field, so maybe that hurt.

I got funding after the notification to check the portal! I believe the Bren School will send out admission letters themselves after we know we were accepted. Those admission letters can come with the notification of funding.

[qrrcl]

Now that admissions have been rolling out, I am curious to know where everyone is leaning towards and why?

[ICDI]

24 minutes ago, anxiouslyinlimbo said:

Hey! Have most applicants already heard from Bren MESM? Wondering if silence = rejection...Also I had applied on January 5th..have others who applied on the last possible day like me heard anything?

I haven't heard from Bren either, and sent in my application on Jan 1. Hoping it's not a rejection but who knows

[Yuzu123]

I haven't heard from Bren either, it's the last school I'm waiting for, submitted my application on Jan 5th. I have 2 admissions from Duke and Columbia (sustainability management), leaning toward Duke. It seems like they have the strongest Energy program based on what I read and heard. 

Edited March 8, 2021 by Yuzu123

[gb123456]

I just received an email from UCSB that I am waitlisted and  I will not have a definitive response until after April 15th.

 Wondering if anyone else was accepted or put on the waitlist? 

[yackets]

9 minutes ago, gb123456 said:

I just received an email from UCSB that I am waitlisted and  I will not have a definitive response until after April 15th.

 Wondering if anyone else was accepted or put on the waitlist? 

For the PhD or MESM?

Edited March 8, 2021 by yackets

[gb123456]

4 minutes ago, yackets said:

For the PhD or MESM?

MESM

[envirostudent21]

I got into Columbia for the MPA-ESP program (but with $0 funding, ouch!) but I wasn't surprised since I'm about to be a fresh undergrad.

I didn't apply to any other programs in the US, but I did apply to the MPhil in Enviro Policy at Cambridge (waitlisted), the MSc. in NSEG at Oxford (waiting to hear back), and the MPP at Oxford (waiting to hear back). I'm much more policy-oriented so the Duke Nicholas & Yale MEM programs didn't appeal to me as much. Trying to make a hard decision about accepting Columbia or not... deadline is March 31. If anyone has input, I would appreciate it so much. 

For context: I'm graduating in May 2021 and would literally have to start my MPA-ESP program two DAYS after my graduation if I went for it. They don't accept deferrals... I also applied for the Boeren Fellowship because I'm interested in trying to learn a second language and pivot to working on environmental issues in Asia, so fingers crossed I would be accepted for that and it would be an acceptable reason for Columbia to accept my deferral, because I don't know how I'm supposed to go from the brain-dead undergrad state of mind I'm in to the grind of grad school in a mere 48 hours.

Edited March 8, 2021 by envirostudent21

[ICDI]

54 minutes ago, gb123456 said:

I just received an email from UCSB that I am waitlisted and  I will not have a definitive response until after April 15th.

 Wondering if anyone else was accepted or put on the waitlist? 

I just received the exact same email. Happy to not be rejected of course but obviously now it's just more waiting. I have to give Columbia MA Climate + Society a deposit by March 31 so the waitlist deadline kind of sucks lol.

Does anyone know what the waitlist experience is like for Bren? Is it typical for people to get off it?

Edited March 9, 2021 by ICDI

[tiaki]

Also haven't heard back from Bren for MESM, my application was submitted on Jan 5th! I also know a few other people not on here who haven't heard back.

[pampam]

Got an acceptance from Bren a couple of hours ago! Didn’t expect they’d be releasing decisions past 5 pm PST, so it took me by surprise. 

[prokem]

3 hours ago, envirostudent21 said:

I got into Columbia for the MPA-ESP program (but with $0 funding, ouch!) but I wasn't surprised since I'm about to be a fresh undergrad.

I didn't apply to any other programs in the US, but I did apply to the MPhil in Enviro Policy at Cambridge (waitlisted), the MSc. in NSEG at Oxford (waiting to hear back), and the MPP at Oxford (waiting to hear back). I'm much more policy-oriented so the Duke Nicholas & Yale MEM programs didn't appeal to me as much. Trying to make a hard decision about accepting Columbia or not... deadline is March 31. If anyone has input, I would appreciate it so much. 

For context: I'm graduating in May 2021 and would literally have to start my MPA-ESP program two DAYS after my graduation if I went for it. They don't accept deferrals... I also applied for the Boeren Fellowship because I'm interested in trying to learn a second language and pivot to working on environmental issues in Asia, so fingers crossed I would be accepted for that and it would be an acceptable reason for Columbia to accept my deferral, because I don't know how I'm supposed to go from the brain-dead undergrad state of mind I'm in to the grind of grad school in a mere 48 hours.

Nic and YSE are both great for policy! 

[0505SACT98]

6 hours ago, envirostudent21 said:

I got into Columbia for the MPA-ESP program (but with $0 funding, ouch!) but I wasn't surprised since I'm about to be a fresh undergrad.

I didn't apply to any other programs in the US, but I did apply to the MPhil in Enviro Policy at Cambridge (waitlisted), the MSc. in NSEG at Oxford (waiting to hear back), and the MPP at Oxford (waiting to hear back). I'm much more policy-oriented so the Duke Nicholas & Yale MEM programs didn't appeal to me as much. Trying to make a hard decision about accepting Columbia or not... deadline is March 31. If anyone has input, I would appreciate it so much. 

For context: I'm graduating in May 2021 and would literally have to start my MPA-ESP program two DAYS after my graduation if I went for it. They don't accept deferrals... I also applied for the Boeren Fellowship because I'm interested in trying to learn a second language and pivot to working on environmental issues in Asia, so fingers crossed I would be accepted for that and it would be an acceptable reason for Columbia to accept my deferral, because I don't know how I'm supposed to go from the brain-dead undergrad state of mind I'm in to the grind of grad school in a mere 48 hours.

Had a friend who went to the MPA-ESP program straight out of undergrad (orientation was about a week after graduation). While the experience might vary, I think it is to your advantage for the most part. If you've taken science courses in undergrad, the first semester will be relatively easy since you'll already have the hang of sitting through lectures and writing lab reports etc. But if you think you might be too worn out by the end of graduation, best to reconsider.

But, from what I've heard, It's a lot more doable than one might imagine. 

[coffeebean13]

Finally heard back from Bren yesterday night and got waitlisted there, too. 

Note for those reading this thread in preparation for their application in a future year --- it seems like the schools are paying close attention to experience in the field (both undergrad and professional work experience). In my case, I am an older applicant with limited direct experience in environmental stuff. I do have 6+ years of management experience and high-level roles, but they are all in higher education administration. My app centered on making a case for transferring my skills into the environmental (I've been involved in some green initiatives on campus), but it wasn't enough. Good luck! 

[environcheeky]

20 hours ago, yeeeeeeee said:

btw, anyone heard back yet from Columbia's master of environmental management admissions? the application deadline is may 15 which is so crazy late but I think their admission is rolling idk

Yea it's rolling! I think I saw some people say they were admitted already. But I know the admissions office notifies you when they starting reviewing your application, and then it's an additional 4-6 weeks until you hear back.

[environcheeky]

1 hour ago, coffeebean13 said:

Finally heard back from Bren yesterday night and got waitlisted there, too. 

Note for those reading this thread in preparation for their application in a future year --- it seems like the schools are paying close attention to experience in the field (both undergrad and professional work experience). In my case, I am an older applicant with limited direct experience in environmental stuff. I do have 6+ years of management experience and high-level roles, but they are all in higher education administration. My app centered on making a case for transferring my skills into the environmental (I've been involved in some green initiatives on campus), but it wasn't enough. Good luck! 

Thanks for sharing! I'm so surprised to hear that especially since you got into Duke?? Do you have a preference?

[anxiouslyinlimbo]

Also is there a list of programs people apply to? If someone has a link or can share what they've applied to that would be great! I'm looking to set myself better beyond one app... Any programs that are still rolling besides SEAS and Columbia?

[coffeebean13]

36 minutes ago, environcheeky said:

Thanks for sharing! I'm so surprised to hear that especially since you got into Duke?? Do you have a preference?

I was surprised at first, too. Duke was also the first one I got back, so I had high hopes for the others. But a some reflections: duke had the essays+resume+the 15 random things, and I think the 15 random things really allowed me to share the context in which I was approaching this program and tie it all together. YSE had a longer essay (but the other areas to write were shorter - 300 essay + short answers). Getting the same message across (as strongly) as in Duke was more difficult given that I wanted to provide context, but did not have the space to do it effectively. If i had more direct environmental experience, I expect the essays would have been stronger because I wouldn't need to spend so much time framing the essays. 

I also wonder how many students were allowed to defer in some of these programs, and how many they had apply to this specific tracts. It may have been competitive (above and beyond the usual). 

At this point, it looks like Duke may be my only real option. So I'll likely go with that. 

(still haven't heard from SEAS though)... 

[tiaki]

I agree about Duke’s application letting us really express who we are! The 15 Things was by far the most useful piece of any of my applications. I had a really complicated undergrad experience that was difficult to cover in a single essay. The SOPs were so short that I largely focused them on my academic success + environmental background + why the schools were a good fit. I also had internship work experiences that weren’t directly relevant to environmental work but were prestigious and showed my work ethic (and one of my LORs was from one!), so I mentioned those as well in the 15 Things.

As for deferrals, idk how other schools handled it but I talked to a YSE admissions person in fall and they didn’t mostly allow COVID-related deferrals last year. If someone wanted to defer, they had to fully reapply this cycle- my guess is their applications did get slight priority (which is fair imo).

To the question about where people applied, I applied to Duke Nicholas MEM, UMich SEAS MS, UCSB Bren MESM, and YSE MEM. All for policy specializations or environmental justice and policy. Those are the main four environmental management (/related to that) programs in the USA and they compare themselves to primarily the other three. There are other programs that are largely newer and still growing, but I focused on those four.

Edit: oh, and if you want to do more research on how different programs compare, honestly, my best resource when researching programs was past Gradcafe threads. There’s been one for most application cycles in the past 3ish years. My undergrad advisors and mentors were totally unaware of MEM programs and I don’t know anyone irl who has gone to one or applied, so I attended a ton of info sessions and obsessively searched Gradcafe as well as Reddit for input from students and people in the environmental field.

Edited March 9, 2021 by tiaki

[mimi209]

23 hours ago, qrrcl said:

I got funding after the notification to check the portal! I believe the Bren School will send out admission letters themselves after we know we were accepted. Those admission letters can come with the notification of funding.

Thanks for the detail! I got the second letter too and no mention of funding. I checked their admitted students page and they mentioned giving scholarships to 30% of the class, I think it's lower than their average year. Anyhow, time to make decisions soon

 

1 hour ago, coffeebean13 said:

I was surprised at first, too. Duke was also the first one I got back, so I had high hopes for the others. But a some reflections: duke had the essays+resume+the 15 random things, and I think the 15 random things really allowed me to share the context in which I was approaching this program and tie it all together. YSE had a longer essay (but the other areas to write were shorter - 300 essay + short answers). Getting the same message across (as strongly) as in Duke was more difficult given that I wanted to provide context, but did not have the space to do it effectively. If i had more direct environmental experience, I expect the essays would have been stronger because I wouldn't need to spend so much time framing the essays. 

I also wonder how many students were allowed to defer in some of these programs, and how many they had apply to this specific tracts. It may have been competitive (above and beyond the usual). 

At this point, it looks like Duke may be my only real option. So I'll likely go with that. 

(still haven't heard from SEAS though)... 

Definitely agree with this. I applied to the same major four programs as Tiaki mentioned and I got an admit from all three except Yale. I am also switching fields with about 6 years of exp in finance, and though I had strong LORs and research exp, I believe a lack of direct environmental experience hurt the second essay in Yale (300 words) and my overall story. Even though SEAS three essays and Duke 15 things were a pain to write, I think it really helped me paint a clear picture of my past experience and future goals. 

[coffeebean13]

35 minutes ago, mimi209 said:

Thanks for the detail! I got the second letter too and no mention of funding. I checked their admitted students page and they mentioned giving scholarships to 30% of the class, I think it's lower than their average year. Anyhow, time to make decisions soon

 

Definitely agree with this. I applied to the same major four programs as Tiaki mentioned and I got an admit from all three except Yale. I am also switching fields with about 6 years of exp in finance, and though I had strong LORs and research exp, I believe a lack of direct environmental experience hurt the second essay in Yale (300 words) and my overall story. Even though SEAS three essays and Duke 15 things were a pain to write, I think it really helped me paint a clear picture of my past experience and future goals. 

Congrats on the acceptances! Where are you leaning?? 

 

[mimi209]

53 minutes ago, coffeebean13 said:

Congrats on the acceptances! Where are you leaning?? 

 

Thanks! Leaning towards SEAS (policy track) but still waiting on Ford MPP results to come out before making any decisions.