MEM 2012 applicants

[Shumin]

Hi, everyone!

It's the first time I've been here and please have my congrats and sorry for your Accs and Rejs.

I'm a International Undergraduate hoping to get enrolled in 2012 fall. I've applied for Duke MEM and U-Michigan SNRE, receiving both yes/AD . And I recently got an MPP AD from Brown U. I was planning to apply for a PhD in Environmental Econ or Finance two years later; this may sound like a joke to u , and I know these programs are all professional, but I am willing to give it a try. A PhD will better guarantee me a job back in my country. Any suggestions, thoughts, love?

[cunninlynguist]

I've just declined my offers from Indiana and Duke. I'm waiting on NSF paperwork to go through so I can switch the funding to Yale. Assuming it goes through (and I don't see a reason for it not to), I will accept my offer at Yale.

So, with that, I want to offer a bit of advice for those intending to go to Duke, especially someone who didn't receive any/enough funding: make a request for more. A friend of mine at Duke asked for more and she got a few thousand. One of the admissions officers actually told me to do so. They make offers to X number of students at admission. In the end, only some of them will accept and come to Duke, leaving money in the pot. It's not unreasonable to ask for more, but do try to make a compelling case about why you need more consideration.

Best of luck to everyone!

Very interesting. I think I'll give that a shot before I officially delay until next year -- a few grand increase would warrant a second look. Who exactly is the best person to contact? Peters, Lovelace, Scarfo?

Congrats on your final decision -- best of luck at Yale!

[MCRM]

Thank you so much for the info jbr00ks9!!! Good luck to all of you going to Yale!

I confirmed my enrollment at Duke as well! Does someone know if the tuition deposit must arrive there before May 1st?

I hope I can get some extra fin aid... I emailed Mr Scarfo, but he hasn't been very good replying my emails (0/3) so I might try to write to someone else, but not sure to whom. I got 12k so not sure if they will give me more....

[jbr00ks9]

I believe Scarfo is the person to contact, but you may also try to talk to Suzanne Smith.

@cunninlynguist - I'm not sure how much you received, but it it makes you feel any better, my friend at Duke said many of the students take out 75% of the cost in loans. Also, there may be more financial opportunities for the second year, especially if you pursue research.

@Shumin - definitely pursue research in the masters program you go into. You can still do research in the MEM, but consider switching to the MS (or MES? or whatever it is called at Duke). You may find they are quite similar, with the main exception being you would do research instead of an internship. I know the case at Yale is that the MESc is even more flexible. The only required courses are for the research component. Thus, I'll take some professional development courses for the MESc that I would have taken for the MEM (e.g. Environmental Studies Practicum, a course on sustainable development projects applied to Haiti, the environmental conferences course). Long story short - you may be able to get the same coursework out of either one, but also gain the necessary research experience by switching to the science degree.

[jhuffine]

For those accepted to Bren (whether you will be attending or not) -

Have you received any word on funding? I shot an e-mail to admissions requesting an update and they responded with a rather canned template saying that they have completed the allotment of fellowship awards and all recipients have been notified. My acceptance letter breaks down the cost of attendance but does not address funding/fellowships in any way. It doesn't appear that anyone in this thread at least has mentioned receiving funding for Bren, either.

Then again, the SIR won't be available until tomorrow so maybe it will be included on my Application Status Page? Deadline for the SIR is 4/15... seems like a rather short amount of time to give someone to make their decision.

Thanks for listening!

[biggytre]

@jhuffine:

Hey, at least Bren responded to your e-mail. They mentioned in my acceptance letter that they would e-mail out merit-based awards by April 2nd. I e-mailed them on April 3rd after not hearing anything from them and they still haven't gotten back to me. I'm in-state, so I wasn't expecting to get much aid anyway (since California is broke). I'm leaning towards FES so I haven't really been stressing about it, but I'm a little disappointed with Bren's lack of keeping me in the loop/responding to my e-mails.

[WanderingUrchin]

Sorry all for the delay in responding to your follow-up questions. Been super busy at work and trying to make my decision. Hopefully these aren't too late.

@jhuffline: Bren's admitted students day was 3/16. I received an offer from Bren on 4/3. The rumor going around Duke's admitted students day was that Bren financial offers would be made at the beginning of last week, and it held true for me. Not sure whether they will be making other offers, but considering their decision date is 4/15, somehow I doubt it. Maybe if people who received funding end up declining.

I received the difference between in and out of state for the first year & nothing for second year. I think they commonly offer more $ to out-of-state US citizens for the first year than the second, as you can get California residency in one year.

@kamnamurt, @akl_cat, @mgrubs, etc: Hopefully I wasn't too misleading with my post re the concentrations at Duke. Those were just my impressions. Every current student that I talked to did have a concentration, although with electives, you could definitely take classes outside of your concentration.

@MCRM, I don't believe there are restrictions on what concentrations can get the sustainable systems certificate, but it may take more planning for some concentrations than others. You'd probably have to ask someone from EE or EEP.

[WanderingUrchin]

And now a question of my own: Did anyone consider applying to environmental engineering programs? Or is anyone coming out of undergrad with an engineering or math degree? If so I'm curious as to what you think of the quantitative courses that Nicholas (specifically EE) offers in comparison to an MS in Environmental Engineering (specifically this track within Johns Hopkins' Dept. of Geography & Environmental Engineering). Thanks. Crunch time!!!

[Shumin]

I believe Scarfo is the person to contact, but you may also try to talk to Suzanne Smith.

@cunninlynguist - I'm not sure how much you received, but it it makes you feel any better, my friend at Duke said many of the students take out 75% of the cost in loans. Also, there may be more financial opportunities for the second year, especially if you pursue research.

@Shumin - definitely pursue research in the masters program you go into. You can still do research in the MEM, but consider switching to the MS (or MES? or whatever it is called at Duke). You may find they are quite similar, with the main exception being you would do research instead of an internship. I know the case at Yale is that the MESc is even more flexible. The only required courses are for the research component. Thus, I'll take some professional development courses for the MESc that I would have taken for the MEM (e.g. Environmental Studies Practicum, a course on sustainable development projects applied to Haiti, the environmental conferences course). Long story short - you may be able to get the same coursework out of either one, but also gain the necessary research experience by switching to the science degree.

@jbr00ks9 thx for ur advice, so should I say MPP at Brown is too 'professional'? Or I could have a bigger chance to do some research-ralated work/courses at MEM?

[jbr00ks9]

@jbr00ks9 thx for ur advice, so should I say MPP at Brown is too 'professional'? Or I could have a bigger chance to do some research-ralated work/courses at MEM?

I honestly don't know anything about Brown's MPP program. I suggested you aim to do research because you mentioned interest in a PhD. You don't necessarily have to do a research degree and probably don't even have to do a master's thesis (as opposed to a "project") to get into a PhD program.. but it will make you much more competitive. I know you can do research at Duke, even if in the MEM, especially if you have an assistantship. However, the science degree is more research-intensive since you do a thesis and not a project.

And now a question of my own: Did anyone consider applying to environmental engineering programs? Or is anyone coming out of undergrad with an engineering or math degree?

I applied to a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering and Science at UNC. My UG degrees were BA in Environmental Studies and International Studies. A note on the MS at UNC - I think it's great for someone coming out of a liberal arts degree because it's a step before a full-out engineering degree. UNC also have Master of Environmental Engineering.. etc. Anyway, it depends on what you're interested in. The EVRN engineering degrees at UNC are actually within the public health school because they focus on water pollution and access and air pollution.

My recommendation is to look for the research your interested in first and then the degree. This may not work out for everyone, but if you know you are interested in one particular area of research (so, for me, water availability), look for it.

[puddin]

Decided on Mich SNRE. Anyone else going to Mich? Seems like most folks that have been posting have chosen Duke or Yale.

[MCRM]

To the people wait listed at Yale. Has anyone hear from them? If so, could you post it here! Thanks!

[curlie-sue]

@MCRM: Just heard that they don't have any spots, haven't taken anyone off the list.

[MCRM]

@MCRM: Just heard that they don't have any spots, haven't taken anyone off the list.

Oh wow, so no spots are going to be offer?

Oh Well, I'll see you at Duke:)

[Varulv]

did not someone post here that he was going to reject the spot at Yale? There must be at least a few who decide not to go...

[puddin]

did not someone post here that he was going to reject the spot at Yale? There must be at least a few who decide not to go...

That's undoubtedly true, but they also surely offer more spots than they they expect to fill. They don't anticipate a 100% acceptance rate for offers of admission.

[Varulv]

well that is, what I thought, the reason for the waitlist in the first place. But I am probably wrong, since I don't know a thing about admissions in the US. Here in Europe, its slightly different, I suppose.

[MCRM]

They normally accept around 220 students to fill a class of 140. If 140 or more accepted admission, I think people from the wait list wont be taken in to account. Who knows what happen this year....

Edited April 19, 2012 by MCRM

[chailatte44]

Has anyone heard from the waitlist at UCSB? They said they would make final announcements through May 15th.

[akl_cat]

Aha after all that wait for U Mich's dual degree programme, I finally got an offer for their Masters in "Environmental Engineering". Not sure if I made a mistake in my application or Ruckham simply thought "Environmental Management" + " Chemical Engineering" = "Environmental Engineering". Umm......

[artemis]

Anyone heard from the waitlist at yale? Fingers still crossed!!! Congrats to all those who got in!

[MCRM]

Anyone heard from the waitlist at yale? Fingers still crossed!!! Congrats to all those who got in!

I heard that they gave a deadline extension to some people to accept admission, so they wont make any desicions until beginnings of May at the earliest. Also, I think they are gonna contact everyone on the wait list when they start

making desicions

[asif]

I heard that they gave a deadline extension to some people to accept admission, so they wont make any desicions until beginnings of May at the earliest. Also, I think they are gonna contact everyone on the wait list when they start

making desicions

Last date to accept offer is 30 April. Why these people got extension?

[MCRM]

Last date to accept offer is 30 April. Why these people got extension?

I have no idea! Also I thought the official deadline was April 15th. Wasn't it?

[asif]

The decision response period as given in document accompanying waitlist letter is up to 30 April. Most probably the decision for waitlisted people should be out next week.