Applying to Grad School in the US

[James704]

This thread is for discussing about applying to grad school in the US. :)

[James704]

From a different thread.

Rapid wrote:
"Im planning on going to Wharton, if not, New York. Is there any information that I need to know before applying for this university? I live in Canada right now, and there must be a different university system in the US. I already know you have to take the GRE General Test, but are there any similar things that I should know.

I would really appreciate your help!!

I'll make two payments of thanks.

Here is my deposit:
THANKS!!!

You'll get the other one after I get an answer, please! :hi:"

[James704]

Rapid, are you interested in applying to undergrad or grad? I'm assuming grad school. In addition, what kind of program are you interested in applying to?

[Rapid]

Wharton, the Real Estate Development course, but there are prerequisites also

804. (LGST204, LGST804, MGMT846, REAL204) Real Estate Law, Financing, and Development. (C) Poindexter.

This course examines the fundamentals of real estate finance and development from a legal perspective. The course serves as a foundation course for real estate majors and provides an introduction to real estate for other students. It attempts to develop skills in using legal concepts in a real estate transactional setting. The course will be of interest to students contemplating careers in accounting, real estate development, real estate finance, city planning, or banking. The main topics covered may include the following: land acquisition, finance; choice of entity; tax aspects; management (leasing, environmental); disposition of real property (sale of mortgaged property, foreclosures, wraparound mortgages, sale-leasebacks); and recent legal developments.

821. (ARCH768, UDES768) Real Estate Development. (B) Nakahara. Prerequisite(s): REAL/FNCE 721 & REAL/LGST 804.

This course evaluates "ground-up" development as well as re-hab, re-development, and acquisition investments. We examine the similarities and differences of traditional real estate product types including office, R & D, retail, warehouses, single family and multi-family residential, mixed use, and land as well as "specialty" uses like golf courses. Emphasis is on the development process with topics including market analysis, site acquisition, zoning, entitlements, approvals, site planning, building design, construction, financing, leasing, and ongoing management and disposition. Special topics like workouts and running a development company are also discussed. Throughout the course, we focus on risk management.


Those are pretty much the ones, but I dont have a solid knowledge of how this works. Can you guys help me out.

Here is the link: http://www.upenn.edu/registrar/register/real.html

[James704]

Rapid, I'm losing my patience, you have yet to disclose whether you want to attend undergrad or grad in the US. I don't mind helping you, but you need to be more articulate and disclose the proper info if you want people to help you. Seriously, sorry to say, if you don't know how to do these things, you are NOT going to get into Wharton or NYU and you should NOT consider becoming a big $$$ developer. :down:

[jmancuso]

Rapid, I'm losing my patience, you have yet to disclose whether you want to attend undergrad or grad in the US.

I already know you have to take the GRE General Test, but are there any similar things that I should know.

the GRE pertains to graduate school.

[James704]

He's from Canada, how do I know he's not confused about taking the GRE to get into undergrad? Not to mention, you don't take the GRE to get into an MBA program, you take the GMAT (tho, other biz degree programs commonly accept the GRE as a substitute). Given that confusion, can we deduct that he's talking about grad school? No, we can't and shouldn't have to. Reality is, if you're want to attend one of the best biz schools in the world you need to be articulate, orally and in writing. Not to mention, when someone asks you a question numerous times, due to your lack of disclosure, you should have the decency to answer it, especially when it's crucial info to the help you wish to receive. Sorry if these are harsh words, but, this is advice, I'm not being mean.

[James704]

Helpful sites for prospective grad students:

Business - www.mba.com (GMAC's site for biz school wannabes)
Arts & Sciences - www.gre.com
Law - www.lsat.com
Medicine - www.mcat.com

[Rapid]

Sorry, guys. I was away for sometime.

I will learn this sooner or later, because I am still working on my highschool years. I appreciate your help, and all but I am very busy all of the sudden. Thanks

[jmancuso]

He's from Canada, how do I know he's not confused about taking the GRE to get into undergrad? Not to mention, you don't take the GRE to get into an MBA program, you take the GMAT (tho, other biz degree programs commonly accept the GRE as a substitute). Given that confusion, can we deduct that he's talking about grad school? No, we can't and shouldn't have to.

i understand the procedures and testing of graduate school; i have a masters degree myself.

Sorry, guys. I was away for sometime.

I will learn this sooner or later, because I am still working on my highschool years. I appreciate your help, and all but I am very busy all of the sudden. Thanks

if you're still in high school, you don't need to worry about the GRE becuase that only applies to graduate school and you have to get you bachelor's degree first.

EDIT: James is right, you need to clarify what kind of help you need.

[James704]

i understand the procedures and testing of graduate school; i have a masters degree myself.
:applause:

[Rapid]

Hey, its never too early to start. By the way, It is suggested that you have to start early if your going for a career like the one im going for to be sucessful. Anways by clarifying, well I have yet to talk to a counseller, so I'm sorry about the non-clarification.

[jmancuso]

:applause:

thank you! thank you! you're too kind...

http://www.skyscraperpage.com/forum/images/smilies/thankyouthankyou.gif

[James704]

thank you! thank you! you're too kind...

http://www.skyscraperpage.com/forum/images/smilies/thankyouthankyou.gif
I don't know how special you are, tho, 'cause this economy has A LOT of people, including myself, heading to grad school. :okay:

[jmancuso]

yep, a lot of people head to grad school during a crappy economy.

[James704]

What did you study?

[jmancuso]

studies of the future (http://wwwadmin.cl.uh.edu/futureweb/program.html). you?

[James704]

studies of the future (http://wwwadmin.cl.uh.edu/futureweb/program.html). you?
Interesting, we have a lot in common. Some questions. How does that program fair against U of Hawaii, whom I know is a leader in that growing field? About how many Future Studies programs exist? Which are the good ones? Can you really predict the future past 25 years?

As for me, in 3 years, I'm going to attend law school to become an environ lawyer. I'll most likely attend U of Maryland b/c it has a strong environ program and its in DC-B'more. Before then, I'm going to finish my second major in Econ to complement my first major in Geog/Planning. That means I'll have an undergrad study in Semi-Future Studies! As you can tell from my user title, I'm interested in sustainability. So, as a lawyer, I plan to advocate sustainability through litigation and public policy. Eventually, I want to earn an LLM, I'm hoping at Georgetown, in International Law, because environmental justice is inherently international in scope, and work on sustainability issues at the international level.

[jmancuso]

Interesting, we have a lot in common. Some questions. How does that program fair against U of Hawaii, whom I know is a leader in that growing field? About how many Future Studies programs exist? Which are the good ones?

awesome...you have heard about the manoa program! not many people have. i have corresponded with director of the hawai'i futures program (jim dator) acouple of times and the futures community is fairly close-knit becuase it is rather small. my program in houston is the only one in the united states that actually offers a degree in futures studies while the MA and PhD at manoa are in political science with a concentration in alternative futures. two of our former professors here are graduates of the manoa program and one of my friends who graduated from my program a year or so ago is also going to hawai'i to get his PhD.

the manoa futures program is larger than ours and offers a doctoral program but the one here is pretty prominent as well and both are equally reknowned around the world. there are several other futures programs; most notably in australia (swinburne), taiwan (tamkang) and hungary (budapest). ireland and south africa also have decent programs as well.

Can you really predict the future past 25 years?

no, but we use a lot of methods to come up with the best possible scenario as to what might happen by then.

As for me, in 3 years, I'm going to attend law school to become an environ lawyer. I'll most likely attend U of Maryland b/c it has a strong environ program and its in DC-B'more. Before then, I'm going to finish my second major in Econ to complement my first major in Geog/Planning. That means I'll have an undergrad study in Semi-Future Studies! As you can tell from my user title, I'm interested in sustainability. So, as a lawyer, I plan to advocate sustainability through litigation and public policy. Eventually, I want to earn an LLM, I'm hoping at Georgetown, in International Law, because environmental justice is inherently international in scope, and work on sustainability issues at the international level.

ahh...sustainability. a buzz word in futures studies realm and it's a good thing to be famaliar with as it will become increasingly important. i suggest joining organizations such as world futures society (http://www.wfs.org/) or world futures studies federation (http://www.wfsf.org/). having a legal background will most definitly be a plus. the LLM also sounds like a good choice; international law. good luck!

even though, i swore i won't go back to school, i have a sneaky felling i'll end up getting a PhD in sociology someday.

[James704]

awesome...you have heard about the manoa program! not many people have.
Yeah, I was researching grad programs on the net, a while back, and stumbled over the Manoa program's website. I must say, I find the field very interesting. I question it's validity, tho, since the top uni's aren't backing it. I do know there are several uni's that've offered courses in Futures Studies, such as Florida State, but don't even offer a minor. Do you have any insight into why the only US programs are at Manoa and Houston?

no, but we use a lot of methods to come up with the best possible scenario as to what might happen by then.
Couldn't you do that with a grad degree in Stats or Math?

ahh...sustainability. a buzz word in futures studies realm and it's a good thing to be famaliar with as it will become increasingly important. i suggest joining organizations such as world futures society (http://www.wfs.org/) or world futures studies federation (http://www.wfsf.org/). having a legal background will most definitly be a plus. the LLM also sounds like a good choice; international law. good luck!
Thanks, I'll look into those orgs. Yeah, I want the legal background b/c you can do a lot with it -- law (of course), journalism, business, politics, academics, research, you name it. I'm definitely getting a JD, the LLM is just part of my plan, it's not really a goal b/c I don't have a JD yet.

even though, i swore i won't go back to school, i have a sneaky felling i'll end up getting a PhD in sociology someday.
I feel you, school sucks, but why stop at a Master's? Just think, three more years or so of school and people will be calling you Dr. Mancuso! :bow:

[jmancuso]

Yeah, I was researching grad programs on the net, a while back, and stumbled over the Manoa program's website. I must say, I find the field very interesting. I question it's validity, tho, since the top uni's aren't backing it. I do know there are several uni's that've offered courses in Futures Studies, such as Florida State, but don't even offer a minor. Do you have any insight into why the only US programs are at Manoa and Houston?

that's becuase MBA, psychology, computer science and accounting programs have large classes and make more $$$ for the schools. everyone and their mother are getting an MBA and they are saturating the market and are over paid and employers are starting to go back to wanting liberal arts oriented degrees (which FS is). people who go for psychology usually stop and the bachelors or masters level and to have a successful career in that field, you gotta have a PhD. I know accountants who are aching for a career change and we all know what happned to computer science and IT guys a few years ago...

houston and hawaii are the only schools that offer degrees in futures but there about another dozen schools in the us that do offer futures courses. i can't explain why more universities arn't offering FS programs and perhaps they think an MBA, a degree in economicsor planning is a better alternative. i disagree but in the end it comes down to $$$. people go for an MBA becuase they can make big bucks or at least that's the assumption so enrollment is high. if you wanna be a millionaire, FS isn't for you.

Couldn't you do that with a grad degree in Stats or Math?

no, stats or math do not take into account sociological aspects to change. FS uses both technical methods as well as sociological.

[James704]

I'm glad MBA's are saturating the market, tho, that way they don't feel so damn special. You don't really know jack shit with an MBA, except how to money grub. I'd rather see CEO's with a liberal arts background or law degrees running corps. I honestly believe such CEOs are less prone to scandals.

perhaps they think an MBA, a degree in economicsor planning is a better alternative. i disagree but in the end it comes down to $$$.
Well, those degrees are much more flexible than one in FS. You'd think tech schools (i.e. MIT, CalTech, GA Tech, etc) would be pioneering FS, tho, since it's heavy in quant. Then again, like you said, it comes down economics/funding. Also, corps don't even know if they'll be around in 50 years so they're definitely not going to donate/invest money. Governments, on the otherhand, are more likely to make contributions since they are more concerned with sustainability.

About monetary success, IMO, it depends on the person -- having a Harvard MBA doesn't mean you're gonna be successful. Although, a lot of corps do tend buy into that mantra when hiring. I say the best entrepreneurs have liberals arts backgrounds. These are the people that don't need MBAs. Classic examples are Bill Gates and Michael Dell.

[James704]

no, stats or math do not take into account sociological aspects to change. FS uses both technical methods as well as sociological.
I think you could. I know where you're coming, tho, FS Masters are better trained to deal with the sociological, and environmental, aspects.

[NCtarheel]

I know this isn't really related, but the thread pertains to grad school so here goes.

I am a black male interested in applying to grad school for a phD in either micro/immunology or some interdisciplinary program that combines many biomedical sciences. I am worried about getting in to the schools i'm interested in applying to (Penn, UNC, Duke, Emory, USC (so cal), maybe U Chicago and UAB (Ala Birmingham)). I have extensive research experience...many presentations and a publication to be submitted soon (hopefully). I have great references. I'm taking the GRE ina few weeks, but I'm not worried at all (i scored 1350 and above on all the practice GRE's in my kaplan prep course). My only worry is my GPA (3.0). My first two years grades were decent...and i've improved dramatically over the last year.

My question is...does anybody have any advice about whether or not I have a shot at the grad schools I"m interested in....they are all high caliber programs.

[jmancuso]

I know this isn't really related, but the thread pertains to grad school so here goes.

I am a black male interested in applying to grad school for a phD in either micro/immunology or some interdisciplinary program that combines many biomedical sciences. I am worried about getting in to the schools i'm interested in applying to (Penn, UNC, Duke, Emory, USC (so cal), maybe U Chicago and UAB (Ala Birmingham)). I have extensive research experience...many presentations and a publication to be submitted soon (hopefully). I have great references. I'm taking the GRE ina few weeks, but I'm not worried at all (i scored 1350 and above on all the practice GRE's in my kaplan prep course). My only worry is my GPA (3.0). My first two years grades were decent...and i've improved dramatically over the last year.

My question is...does anybody have any advice about whether or not I have a shot at the grad schools I"m interested in....they are all high caliber programs.

if you did better (at least a 3.2) the last two years of your undergrad (most grad schools look at last 60 hours anyway), have some experience and you think you will do fine on the GRE, i think you will be in good shape. and since you mentioned you are black, you're chances of acceptance are just that much better (affirmative action) which may offset you GPA if it turned out not to be high enough. plus you also mentioned having a publication, also a bonus.

good luck!

[James704]

Yeah, what Mancuso said. What's your alma mater? The quality and selectivity of it will be play a huge role. For example, and this is a guestimation, a 3.0 at Duke would be viewed equally as a 3.5 at NC Central. Oh yeah, and, make sure you have good letters of recommendation!

[NCtarheel]

i'm a senior at UNC-chapel hill. Biology major/chemistry minor.

[James704]

^Just checking, it's fairly intuitive from your name. I'm not too familiar with applying to science fields but I don't see why you can't get into a top 60 program (US News). It might not be top 20 but at least it's a ranked program. You might have a particulary hard time getting into UNC, though. Highly selective grad programs tend to be especially so towards university alums. Schools like to have diversity, they probably limit the number of them they admit. If I were you I'd kindly email a coordinator of those respective programs, if you haven't already. Usually, they'll give you some quick advice.