UCSB is my first yes, but I'm an international student and there's no way I can pay for tuitions. I was expecting some kind of package, instead, I'm told :
At this point our budget situation is unclear, so I'm not sure what amount of funding (if any) we will be able to offer to you should you decide to attend. We may not know how much funding we can offer to you until after the April 15th deadline. I can tell you that in past years we have been able to find some amount of funding for every student in good academic standing in our program, usually one or more teaching assistantship in each year of graduate study.
I really don't want to start making loans. I might be able to save money for one quarter but that's it. Without a stipend, I wouldn't even be able to pay for my rent.
Anyone in the same situation? Any advice?
I'm still waiting to hear from UCR, UCLA and U of Florida. I'll go wherever I get funding...