MEM 2012 applicants

[cunninlynguist]

Jaworhalo: Welcome! Nicely done on the acceptances; although you're definitely in a complicated position trying to decide which program is the best fit. If you feel the PhD path is more likely than not, I would suggest disregarding any of the programs that didn't offer funding. No need to sink yourself in debt if academia is your pursuit. Based on the programs that gave money, Duke is more quantitative and I don't think there's any notable difference in international focus between Duke and Michigan. Energy isn't my specialty, however, so don't let me dissuade you from anything!

mjlloyd86: Congratulations on reaching a decision! Must be a relief. And we've been trying to get clarity on the 2nd year scholarship issue for a while, so thanks for passing along the official word. (Incidentally, that bolsters my inclination to re-apply -- my scholarship was 5K, so over 2 years it's not an insignificant amount of money that I could land next time around with improved credentials. On that note, I received the official financial aid award notice from Duke today, and it included the scholarship, work-study, and federal loans).

[mjlloyd86]

Thanks cunninlynguist. Needless to say, it is nice to concentrate solely on getting back into the school mode, moving, etc. versus choosing which program to pick. It sounds like your plan to wait may be a good one. Not only to hopefully garner additional funding next time, but to also save up that much more money. I've been working the past four years post-undergraduate to do just that. Also, I've been awaiting the official letter in the mail, so good to know that it's on its way.

[jbr00ks9]

Anyone heard from SPEA or Bren about finances/scholarships?

I heard from SPEA this Tuesday. Their process seems rather slow. I called last week to ask when they would be releasing the financial package information and was informed they had made some decisions and were currently in the process of making more. So, don't fret if you haven't heard. I would actually recommend calling. They were very willing to inform me over the phone about SPEA money and even looked up a letter for me from another department for the Foreign Language and Area Studies award. If something has been decided for you, they should tell you. The only reason I hadn't received the official information yet (as of last week) - even though SPEA knew - was because they were waiting on approval from another department.

[kamnamurt]

Hello to all. First time poster for me and I need some help from you guys.

Undergrad: UC San Diego Fall 2011

Grades/GRE: Average and on the low side

Work Experience: 3 years undergrad as a sustainability student leader, internship in Washington DC US House of Congress as a green intern, and currently working as a sustainable program manager for a green building start up developer

LOR: One from under grad job, one from internship and one from a professor who teaches environmental management from my school's graduate business school, all of them are very strong except the cookie cutter one from my professor

Applied to: SPEA, BREN, Nicholas, Yale, Rice's Professional Masters Program Environmental Analysis, UMICH

Accepted: UMich and Rice

Waitlisted: Yale

Rejected from the rest.

My Goal: Work in Urban Sustainable Green Building Development

My question is does any know ANYTHING about the Rice's program? All I know that it is 10-15 students and I am trying to decide between the two. Both of my accepted schools are not offering any type of financial aid what so ever and it sucks.

2nd question: I see that some of you guys have been accepted into UPenn, I see that the application period dont end till april 9th, Should i even apply? Since maybe a lot of the spots are already filled. Thinking about it, anyone with input of how the program works?

I went to the joint school open house in October 2011 with Duke, Yale, Umich and Bren, they all said they regarded each other as the top schools of environmental mgmt thus they do open house tours together at various cities. I know a lot about how each school operates and what their goals are, here is my short analysis

Duke: I believe is the best school, smartest environmental professionals all come from there, VERY VERY strong career center, where they help you find jobs for the rest of your life, they send out an annual resume booklet of the graduates with everyone's resume attached. ( I also attended their Alumni Reachout Open House where Alumni comes out and speak about their experience and how they all got jobs afterwards)

Yale: Their program is similar to Duke but did not speak about their career center, I am assuming their career center is not as strong.

UCSB: Seem to be much more focused on the science part of Environmental Management, did not like their students working because the program is very intensive. They just started their entrepreneurship program and is an add on to whatever emphasis you choose

UMich: Seem to be the most relaxed out of all the group and talked a lot about how they are very well connected to different areas of environmental management, i.e. water, air, policy, conservation, etc.

If you guys have any more questions please feel free to ask! Good luck to everyone and their decisions, I know how crazy it has been for the past year!

[MCRM]

Hello to all. First time poster for me and I need some help from you guys.

Undergrad: UC San Diego Fall 2011

Grades/GRE: Average and on the low side

Work Experience: 3 years undergrad as a sustainability student leader, internship in Washington DC US House of Congress as a green intern, and currently working as a sustainable program manager for a green building start up developer

LOR: One from under grad job, one from internship and one from a professor who teaches environmental management from my school's graduate business school, all of them are very strong except the cookie cutter one from my professor

Applied to: SPEA, BREN, Nicholas, Yale, Rice's Professional Masters Program Environmental Analysis, UMICH

Accepted: UMich and Rice

Waitlisted: Yale

Rejected from the rest.

My Goal: Work in Urban Sustainable Green Building Development

My question is does any know ANYTHING about the Rice's program? All I know that it is 10-15 students and I am trying to decide between the two. Both of my accepted schools are not offering any type of financial aid what so ever and it sucks.

2nd question: I see that some of you guys have been accepted into UPenn, I see that the application period dont end till april 9th, Should i even apply? Since maybe a lot of the spots are already filled. Thinking about it, anyone with input of how the program works?

I went to the joint school open house in October 2011 with Duke, Yale, Umich and Bren, they all said they regarded each other as the top schools of environmental mgmt thus they do open house tours together at various cities. I know a lot about how each school operates and what their goals are, here is my short analysis

Duke: I believe is the best school, smartest environmental professionals all come from there, VERY VERY strong career center, where they help you find jobs for the rest of your life, they send out an annual resume booklet of the graduates with everyone's resume attached. ( I also attended their Alumni Reachout Open House where Alumni comes out and speak about their experience and how they all got jobs afterwards)

Yale: Their program is similar to Duke but did not speak about their career center, I am assuming their career center is not as strong.

UCSB: Seem to be much more focused on the science part of Environmental Management, did not like their students working because the program is very intensive. They just started their entrepreneurship program and is an add on to whatever emphasis you choose

UMich: Seem to be the most relaxed out of all the group and talked a lot about how they are very well connected to different areas of environmental management, i.e. water, air, policy, conservation, etc.

If you guys have any more questions please feel free to ask! Good luck to everyone and their decisions, I know how crazy it has been for the past year!

Welcome and thank you so much for all the info.

I'm going to Duke this fall most likely, unless Yale takes me out of the wait list with a bigger fin aid package that the one Dume offer me.

My focus in sustainabiliy in industrial and energy

Systems with a big component on the business side, so I'm planing to mix classes from EE and EPP. Do you know anything about the sustainability focus on Duke, did they say anything about this or about mixing two specialization areas?

Thank you and good luck in your choice. In UMich after the first term you could probably apply to GSI and these awards/assistantships have a full tuition waiver.

Edited March 30, 2012 by MCRM

[curlie-sue]

Hey all, after being at the admitted students weekend at Duke all weekend, I've decided to decline offers at bren and U-M. narrowing in! All in all, Duke is impressive (and expensive!) and seems to offer students good return on their investment if they make the most of their time here. Let me know if you have specific Qs!

Edited March 31, 2012 by curlie-sue

[MCRM]

Hey all, after being at the admitted students weekend at Duke all weekend, I've decided to decline offers at bren and U-M. narrowing in! All in all, Duke is impressive (and expensive!) and seems to offer students good return on their investment if they make the most of their time here. Let me know if you have specific Qs!

Did you hear anything about funding for the second year? Is it easier to find other ways of financial aid once you are there?

And by expensive, you mean living expenses? Because tuition at least is cheaper than UMich

Thanks!

[biggytre]

@MCRM: I talked to Joe Scarfo (Associate Director of Academic & Enrollment Services) at Duke and he said that whatever financial aid you get in 1st year is the same amount you'll get in 2nd year.

[akl_cat]

Thanks curlie-sue and biggytre for the information. Did you guys have the chance to gauge the approximate p.a. cost of attending the Nic School (all up) from the current students? Also would love any info you might have on "double specialising". Many thanks!

[chailatte44]

Bren update:

I just called Bren's office and it sounds like it will be "a few weeks until they make the decision", my best guess is that I'm on a waitlist. She said that my application is obviously competitive as they've sent out acceptances and rejections. I mentioned that I needed to make a decision at other schools by the 15th, to try to get the woman to narrow down the date when I would hear. Her response is that they're working really hard to meet that deadline. The way Bren has handled admissions so vaguely and elusive is only making me want to go to Duke more. Best of luck to everyone with your application decisions!

[MCRM]

Thanks to all for the info about Duke! Did anyone go to Yale's open house?

And to those who went to Duke, same question as above about cost of living expenses, if you can please share what you learned about this from current students. Thanks!

[vanillasoylatte]

After visiting Duke this weekend I have decided that I will definitely be attending Duke's Nicholas School next year.

Looking forward to seeing some of you all in Durham next year.

[MCRM]

I'm also going to Duke (unless Yale surprises me). To those who are also going to

Durham, when do you plan to start looking for houses? I'm wondering how hard would it be if I wait until mid July, when all my visa papers are ready.

Edited April 2, 2012 by MCRM

[WanderingUrchin]

Hi everyone, I've been a silent observer of your forum for awhile. Just wanted to reply to a couple of questions RE Duke, as I was also at their admitted students day (as well as Bren's).

MCRM and akl_cat, I didn't get the impression that doing a double concentration was common, and maybe not even feasible. I was also interested in both EE and EEP (although I wrote down EE on my application). It sounds like EE is a very quantitative concentration, probably more so than the Energy & Climate track at Bren (I can't speak to Yale or UMich, as I didn't apply there). I noticed that at Duke, a very common question for admitted students was "What's your concentration?" as though everyone would have already decided, and it seemed harder (but definitely possible) than at Bren to change later. I think the reason is at Bren, everyone takes the same classes for most of the first 2 quarters, so everyone gets the same broad environmental base. Then you start taking the classes in your area (and other electives). Whereas at Duke, you dive right into your focus area immediately, and there are only 2 classes plus Masters Project that are required for all students. The EE concentration has been growing rapidly and is one of the newest, but is also one of the largest - about 40 students among current first-years. Quite a few students changed to EE over the course of the year, and they finally had to cut it off because they can't meet demand. But they are adding 1 or more faculty members, hopefully in time for the fall.

I can see pros and cons to both approaches. Bren's method likely builds more class cohesiveness and stresses the interdisciplinary and interconnected nature of environmental problems, but may not quite allow you to get the depth in a particular field that Duke does.

MCRM, Duke has a certificate in Sustainable Systems that you may be interested in combining with the EE concentration. Might be a better fit (and easier to manage) than double-concentrating with EEP.

[MCRM]

Thank you so much for all this info and welcome to the forum! It is the first time I hear about this certificate, I'll definetely look more in to it. Do you know if you can do it in any especialization? EE or EEP?

Again, thanks for sharing this great info!

[kamnamurt]

I think Duke may let you switch up the required classes or perhaps create your own concentration?

[akl_cat]

Thanks a lot WanderingUrchin. Seems like it is expected that on Day 1 that you come in with a clear idea of what you want to do. That's not so much of an issue as I am definitely interested in EE. My problem is that I also find certain aspects of the Global Environmental Change concentration interesting, and would love to be able to get the best out of both worlds. As a result I may not finish the set requirement of either EE or GEC. So in a way, I will be mixing EE and GEC and creating my own "concentration" (as kamnamurt pointed out). Is anyone able to comment a bit more on the possibility of doing this? Much appreciated!

Edited April 4, 2012 by akl_cat

[MGrubs]

I talked to Sue Smith from admissions yesterday, and she said it is perfectly fine to take courses and mix up the concentrations. I am in the ESC right now, but thinking about switching to EE, or combining them and she said that's not a problem at all. I'm not sure if you still have to take all the requirements for one, or if you can merge them though. There is at least some flexibility in taking some of each. I have a track meet at Duke and will be there the next three days, so I will post any additional information that I receive when I visit. I will probably confirm my enrollment after my visit if it goes well. I am still waiting on UCSB, but they said it still could be a few weeks, and I am just sick and tired of waiting.

[jhuffine]

Hi everyone, I've been a silent observer of your forum for awhile. Just wanted to reply to a couple of questions RE Duke, as I was also at their admitted students day (as well as Bren's).

There was an admitted students day for Bren already?! Were many people there? I was under the impression that the majority of applicants still don't have a decision. Maybe I was wrong. Makes me feel THAT much better about my chances...

[MGrubs]

Just got the acceptance from UCSB through an email from Bren, no word on funding yet

[jhuffine]

I also just got my acceptance to UCSB Bren. Very excited! Now re-crossing my fingers for funding.

[akl_cat]

Thanks a lot MGrubs! And congrats MGrubs and jhuffine on your acceptance to Bren

[LHL]

I've declined my spots at U-M, Duke, and U Oregon.

@Curlie-Sue: My top choice was Duke, and based on all the research I've done on the program and people I've spoken to/met, it seems like an amazing place to be. I'm actually kind of bummed about not heading down there myself, but as Cunninlynguist stated, my decision ultimately weighed very heavily on the financial aid offers.

All the best and congrats to you all on your acceptances to Bren!

Edited April 6, 2012 by LHL

[jbr00ks9]

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!

Edited April 9, 2012 by jbr00ks9

[MGrubs]

I just confirmed my enrollment at Duke on the website, I wish I had seen that post a few minutes earlier! I received 15k though, so i doubt they would increase that. I haven't paid my deposit, but do you think its too late to ask?

Edited April 9, 2012 by MGrubs