Claremont Graduate University

[WALLerts]

Anyone out there applied/been accepted to CGU? I applied for the Positive Org Psych PhD program and got an acceptance e-mail earlier this week. I was just wondering what other people's experiences have been with them so far, as well as if they're thinking of attending. Their financial assistance really isn't that great, and living in California would be crazy expensive. Any input would be awesome!

[lhommependu]

i don't really know anything about CGU but they keep sending me emails asking me to apply (like 4 in the last month). something about that sorta weirds me out. as i recall, they seem to be more of a professional school than a research school (which explains the subpar funding) so if you wanna stay in academia it may not be the best path.

[WALLerts]

Thanks for the input! I applied there on a whim in December because they're sort of the "pioneer" school in Positive Psychology. After I applied, I've been getting some weird vibes from them the more I look around. I dug around a bit in old forums on here, and some people said the same thing you were saying. They would have to ask people to apply in order to fill up all their spots. I think their tremendous lack of financial assistance results in very few people wanting to attend their school. I think I'm gonna take a hard pass on this one and sacrifice the $70 application fee

[I/O The Derry-O]

Thanks for the input! I applied there on a whim in December because they're sort of the "pioneer" school in Positive Psychology. After I applied, I've been getting some weird vibes from them the more I look around. I dug around a bit in old forums on here, and some people said the same thing you were saying. They would have to ask people to apply in order to fill up all their spots. I think their tremendous lack of financial assistance results in very few people wanting to attend their school. I think I'm gonna take a hard pass on this one and sacrifice the $70 application fee

 

Went to check out their campus a few years ago. Got a weird vibe as well. The campus consisted of only 1 or 2 buildings set in the middle of a predominantly residential area. At the time, a great deal of the faculty were graduates of their program too. Kind of made me wonder why mostly their graduates taught classes there...

[RubyBright]

Yeah... any school that feels the need to spam my inbox sends out warning signals. 

[Amerz]

I got accepted there, and have been getting weird vibes too. They offered me 75% tuition remission only, only garuanted for the first year.. No living stipend or anything. When I chatted to my POI, I asked about all the other types of funding that might be possible - RA, TA, external jobs etc. He said most students take out loans, and a limited few have teaching positions at nearby community colleges - but basically you're on your own. He said if he got an outside grant he would "definitely consider" putting me on it, but then it would depend ont he department, etc. The other option is to become a TA at CGU - but this is only something you can do after your first year there - because you can only TA for graduate courses, so you have to have taken the class, etc.

 

Oh, and on the call he said I am the first of about 4 students "ever" to be offered as much at 75% - usually it is 25-50%. I was thinking, great, that still doesn't mean anything if I'm going to be in debt up to my eyeballs when I graduate. And it's only for the first year! What happens next year! Yeah, no thanks

 

Really, really disappointed - really like my POI and his work. Unfortunately, everywhere else offers better funding.

[funcused]

I got accepted there, and have been getting weird vibes too. They offered me 75% tuition remission only, only garuanted for the first year.. No living stipend or anything. When I chatted to my POI, I asked about all the other types of funding that might be possible - RA, TA, external jobs etc. He said most students take out loans, and a limited few have teaching positions at nearby community colleges - but basically you're on your own. He said if he got an outside grant he would "definitely consider" putting me on it, but then it would depend ont he department, etc. The other option is to become a TA at CGU - but this is only something you can do after your first year there - because you can only TA for graduate courses, so you have to have taken the class, etc.

 

Oh, and on the call he said I am the first of about 4 students "ever" to be offered as much at 75% - usually it is 25-50%. I was thinking, great, that still doesn't mean anything if I'm going to be in debt up to my eyeballs when I graduate. And it's only for the first year! What happens next year! Yeah, no thanks

 

Really, really disappointed - really like my POI and his work. Unfortunately, everywhere else offers better funding.

I got the 75% too, are you sure its only for the first year? I spoke to a student and she said it would continue for the first 3 years when you take all your classes. The other two years were $3.2k per year to be a continuing student. Do you think its worth taking if it ends up being my only offer? (I'd be moving across the country with little social support...)

[Amerz]

I got the 75% too, are you sure its only for the first year? I spoke to a student and she said it would continue for the first 3 years when you take all your classes. The other two years were $3.2k per year to be a continuing student. Do you think its worth taking if it ends up being my only offer? (I'd be moving across the country with little social support...)

no, I dont know if it's just for the first year - I just noticed that the letter said it was for 2013-14 and didnt mention future support. You should call your POI and ask, they're usually happy to answer those questions. And Claremont has great research going on, so by all means accept if you're happy with the package.