Planning Admissions 2022

[Urbenthusiast22]

Any PhD applicant here? Has anyone of you heard from UPenn yet? This is my dream school. Haven't heard anything from UPenn yet ? Gradcafe stat shows they usually conduct interviews these days (as per 2018). Wondering if they are doing the same thing this year. I have dual concentrations in housing + community development as well as urban analytics. 

Age/Gender/Citizenship

25/F/Int'l

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

B.Eng. + B.A. from nation's top university; MUP from Ivy 

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

83 out of 100 for Bachelor's, V154/Q170/AW4.5, TOEFL114

Work Experience:

2+ yr full-time experience in planning, 2+ yr research experience in academic setting; internship experience in my home country centered around real estate development & consulting (private/public/non-profit)

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

One from college thesis advisor, two from master's program (one from master's thesis advisor, both of them are PhD), one from previous supervisor

Schools applied to: NYU Tandon (Civil and Urban Engineering program), USC Price, Cambridge (Land Economy), UNC Chapel Hill, Penn, Rutgers, MIT, Oxford (Public Policy in the School of Governments), Cornell, U Washington. Sorted by deadline. 10 in total. 3 of them are not traditional planning. 

In: NYU Tandon

Out: USC, Cambridge

Wait-list:

Awaiting: UNC Chapel Hill, Penn, Rutgers, MIT, Oxford, Cornell, U Washington

Results:

[Fabricio]

On 2/12/2022 at 5:10 AM, raykiddo97 said:

Age/Gender/Citizenship

25 / M / International

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

B.Sc in City and Regional Planning / Top Public School in the Country / 2019

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

3.80 - No GRE - iBT 105; IELTS 8.0

Work Experience:

- 2+ years as project associate, working for 5+ infrastructure-transportation masterplanning projects; 10+ PPP preliminary & feasibility studies for major infrastructure projects; and 1 national-SDGs review project

- 3 years as research associate, exploring social justice, access to basic infrastructure, and topics in informal urbanism

- 4 years as teaching assistant for Quantitative Reasoning, GIS, Infrastructure Planning Studio, and Planning Process Studio

- Internships in a major transportation company in Japan & national authority agency in Turkey

- 1 year as honorary assessor for international accreditation agency 

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

1 academic advisor-thesis advisor-employer for teaching, research, and project assistanships-dean of the school

1 professor & employer for teaching, research, and project assistanships

1 professor & employer (head of the office)

Schools applied to: UC Berkeley, UPenn, Cornell, MIT

In: UC Berkeley

Out:

Wait-list:

Awaiting: UPenn, Cornell, MIT

Results:

Hey, have you applied to the Masters or PhD program?

[annemc]

On 1/12/2022 at 9:30 AM, annemc said:

Age/Gender/Citizenship

26/F/USA

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in Environmental Policy / WWU / 2018

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

3.34 cumulative

Work Experience:

7 months of college internship at county planning office doing low level gis work, 3 years in city planning at a small local municipality

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

One from current boss (CDD Director), one from an colleague  at another jurisdiction, and one from a former professor

Schools applied to: UVA, UNC, UC Denver, UUtah

In: UUtah

Out:

Wait-list:

Awaiting: UVA, UNC, UC Denver

Results:

In at Utah!

[stop making sense]

On 2/12/2022 at 1:10 AM, raykiddo97 said:

Age/Gender/Citizenship

25 / M / International

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

B.Sc in City and Regional Planning / Top Public School in the Country / 2019

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

3.80 - No GRE - iBT 105; IELTS 8.0

Work Experience:

- 2+ years as project associate, working for 5+ infrastructure-transportation masterplanning projects; 10+ PPP preliminary & feasibility studies for major infrastructure projects; and 1 national-SDGs review project

- 3 years as research associate, exploring social justice, access to basic infrastructure, and topics in informal urbanism

- 4 years as teaching assistant for Quantitative Reasoning, GIS, Infrastructure Planning Studio, and Planning Process Studio

- Internships in a major transportation company in Japan & national authority agency in Turkey

- 1 year as honorary assessor for international accreditation agency 

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

1 academic advisor-thesis advisor-employer for teaching, research, and project assistanships-dean of the school

1 professor & employer for teaching, research, and project assistanships

1 professor & employer (head of the office)

Schools applied to: UC Berkeley, UPenn, Cornell, MIT

In: UC Berkeley

Out:

Wait-list:

Awaiting: UPenn, Cornell, MIT

Results:

Wow congratulations! Still radio silence from Cal for me but I'm not expecting an acceptance haha, would be nice though! 

[stop making sense]

Congrats to everyone on their acceptances! So exciting. 

[jade888]

Congrats everyone!!!

Anyone else who applied to USC MUP getting those scholarship newsletter emails? I keep thinking they will be decision notifications ?

 

[planningapplicant]

Congrats to all who've been accepted! Has anyone heard from any Canadian schools yet? I know Ryerson sent out their first round of admits last week (I didn't apply to them, though) which is quite early since most are in March. Any news out of Canada? Anyone here get into Ryerson? ?

[LLL666]

7 hours ago, stop making sense said:

Wow congratulations! Still radio silence from Cal for me but I'm not expecting an acceptance haha, would be nice though! 

Got rej from UCB just an hour ago? But at least don't need to wait anymore.

[stop making sense]

16 minutes ago, LLL666 said:

Got rej from UCB just an hour ago? But at least don't need to wait anymore.

Aww man I'm sorry, it's their loss. Still nothing from Cal for me/status is unchanged, I wonder how they're rolling out decisions. 

[LLL666]

1 hour ago, stop making sense said:

Aww man I'm sorry, it's their loss. Still nothing from Cal for me/status is unchanged, I wonder how they're rolling out decisions. 

Since I'm fresh graduate and International student, no surprise for this result. Just wait for more time, I think you still have hope to be admitted! Good luck!

[woketaco]

10 hours ago, jade888 said:

Congrats everyone!!!

Anyone else who applied to USC MUP getting those scholarship newsletter emails? I keep thinking they will be decision notifications ?

 

SAME. I keep thinking its an application update. My application still shows "Complete". Hasn't progressed whatsoever!

[planningapp22]

For those who applied to UIUC, has anyone heard about financial aid (masters)? They sent decisions in general yesterday.

[LLL666]

12 hours ago, planningapp22 said:

For those who applied to UIUC, has anyone heard about financial aid (masters)? They sent decisions in general yesterday.

I received the admission notice yesterday and the specific amount of financial aid is in the attached letter.

[TheTreePrince]

On 2/15/2022 at 10:35 PM, planningapplicant said:

Congrats to all who've been accepted! Has anyone heard from any Canadian schools yet? I know Ryerson sent out their first round of admits last week (I didn't apply to them, though) which is quite early since most are in March. Any news out of Canada? Anyone here get into Ryerson? ?

I got in at Ryerson! Still waiting for the official funding letter, but yeah it definitely is much earlier. Interested to hear back from my other options as well though...

[planningapplicant]

1 hour ago, TheTreePrince said:

I got in at Ryerson! Still waiting for the official funding letter, but yeah it definitely is much earlier. Interested to hear back from my other options as well though...

Yay! Congrats! Ryerson's program sounds amazing, I was going to apply but didn't realize they had a deadline in December and missed it. What other programs are you waiting for?

Speaking of funding, did you apply for any or is it generally allocated with admission?

[jade888]

Just heard from USC!

[TheTreePrince]

1 hour ago, planningapplicant said:

Yay! Congrats! Ryerson's program sounds amazing, I was going to apply but didn't realize they had a deadline in December and missed it. What other programs are you waiting for?

Speaking of funding, did you apply for any or is it generally allocated with admission?

Thanks so much! Yeah it was my earliest deadline and for funding it was with the admission offer – didn't apply for it.

Still waiting on all my other programs: UofT, McGill, UBC, Dalhousie, and Rutgers... Really hoping to hear back sooner than later!

[lumptoast]

Just received admission to USC with a 25% tuition waiver. Does anyone know if it's possible to negotiate for a better scholarship? Paying 75% of 51k a year is way too much for a planning masters.

[planningapplicant]

2 hours ago, TheTreePrince said:

Thanks so much! Yeah it was my earliest deadline and for funding it was with the admission offer – didn't apply for it.

Still waiting on all my other programs: UofT, McGill, UBC, Dalhousie, and Rutgers... Really hoping to hear back sooner than later!

Oh nice! Good to know funding is offered automatically because I had no time to apply for scholarships and really need to start doing that if I get any admits. Btw I did the UBC SCARP interview last year so if you need any insight on the process please feel free to reach out any time!

[Quincy_Taft_Coolidge]

Hello All!

Just got accepted to Cal Poly SLO's MCRP program! So excited and relived to know I have some place to go in the Fall instead of none.

Has anyone heard from the University of Arizona? I got a email from the admissions team saying they would deliver decisions sometime this week and I am a wreck just waiting for that email. 

Accepted: Cal Poly

Rejected: University of Utah

Waiting for Decision: University of Arizona, USC, UCLA, Portland State, UT Austin

Edited February 17, 2022 by Quincy_Taft_Coolidge

[Quincy_Taft_Coolidge]

Age/Gender/Citizenship

24/M/USA

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BS in Finance; Biology minor / Top 10 Christian University / 2021

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

3.618 cumulative

Work Experience:

Finance internship at nonprofit that works with Asian American immigrants to obtain citizenship, English courses, housing, and social services.

ASB Vice President.

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Academic Advisor, Dean of my department, student government supervisor/public policy advisor

Schools applied to: Cal Poly SLO, University of Arizona, University of Utah, USC, UCLA, Portland State, UT Austin

In: Cal Poly SLO

Out: University of Utah

Wait-list:

Awaiting: University of Arizona, USC, UCLA, Portland State, UT Austin

Final Result:

[urban_geographer_planner]

@lumptoastI got the same offer from USC - 25% tuition scholarship (which eliminates it from a financial perspective for me, too). I know that you can successfully negotiate your finaid package at some places, but I'm interested to hear if anyone has insight about USC specifically.

Edited February 18, 2022 by urban_geographer_planner

[planningapp22]

Has anyone reached out to UIC? During their info session they said results would be out after 2-4 weeks and we are now hovering 5 ?

[Quincy_Taft_Coolidge]

19 hours ago, urban_geographer_planner said:

I got the same offer from USC - 25% tuition scholarship (which eliminates it from a financial perspective for me, too). I know that you can successfully negotiate your finaid package at some places, but I'm interested to hear if anyone has insight about USC specifically.

How did you get notified of your acceptance? I'm still waiting to hear back.

[stop making sense]

On 12/14/2021 at 2:30 PM, stop making sense said:

Also I thought I'd get the ball rolling with sharing stats/schools/etc. I copied the format from last years thread.

Age/Gender/Citizenship

21/F/US

Undergraduate degree/School/Year graduated 

BA in Urban Policy / top 40 LAC / Expected May 2022

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

3.70 cumulative / 3.93 major / 3.96 upper division, no GRE

Work Experience:

1 year as a research assistant in a multi-university urban planning study; 1 year as a student researcher doing original research on military urbanism for senior thesis; 2 research internships with community organizations; 2 internships with local government agencies; 2 years doing paid work on local campaigns; and 4 years of experience as a housing justice organizer (founded an activist collective with a pretty sizable following). Hoping these experiences will be impactful on my application since I'm applying straight out of undergrad.

Letter of recommendations: (from whom)

Research advisor, academic advisor (and chair of department's research institute), and another former professor. All three are in the urban planning/design space and should be pretty strong since I'm fairly close to all of them. 

Schools applied to: UCLA, Columbia, Harvard, The New School  

In:

Out: Berkeley (02/18)

Wait-list:

Awaiting: UCLA, Columbia, Harvard, The New School  

Results:

Out at Berkeley. Bummed but not surprised lol