Chances for Admission: Prospective MSUP/MCP Student, Please Help Me!

[jmm00]

Hi All!

I am a recent graduate (c/o 2016) interested in pursuing a Masters and/or PhD in Urban Planning in Fall 2018 (Interested in merging Public Health and Analytics - Using City/Regional data to create healthier spaces)
Undergrad Major: Global Health and Environment, 3.39 GPA (3.76 major GPA)
GRE: Haven't taken it yet, but I'm a decent test taker and will probably score in the upper 70s or mid/lower 80 percentile)
Programs: Columbia GSAPP's MSUP (Urban Analytics), UC Berkeley,

I have spent the past few months interning at public health organizations (domestic & internationally)

Here are my questions:
(1) Do I have a chance at getting into Columbia and/or Berkeley? Are there other graduate programs that focus on data?

(2) Considering more competitive applicants with higher marks, is it possible to receive a scholarship or RA-ship funding for a graduate program with my grades? How can I become more competitive?

I don't know anyone in real life who is in UP, which is why I'm here. Anything is better than nothing, so please please impart some knowledge! Thank you!

**Also please do the poll above to help me be more competitive,

Edited January 16, 2017 by jmm00
Poll

[nshf]

I'm not an expert as I am applying this round and have not yet received anything from my schools. I don't know anything about Columbia but I doubt that you would be competitive at Berkeley. Admitted students to the MCP program at Berkeley have an average GPA of 3.7 (junior and senior coursework), and average GRE's of 161V and 159Q. The acceptance rate a little bit over 25%, which is lower than every other school I applied to. I think they are probably one of the hardest programs to get into because the program is ranked within the Top 3 and it is in a very desirable location. I applied with a higher GPA from a good planning undergrad program, planning internship experience, on target GRE scores, and a recommendation letter from a Phd alum of the program and I am not expecting to get accepted, much less given funding.  

[jmm00]

Thanks @nshf for responding! I suppose that's a little disappointing to hear, but best of luck with your admissions!

[akshali2000]

Do you have offers for all four options in your poll? If yes, I would go for option 3. Full-time in anything is better than dabbling around with research.

[rebtrue]

Hey there! I wouldn't take anything with little to no pay unless it was EXACTLY what you want to be doing.

Just my two cents