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Hi, need some advice! I really don't know what to make of my situation right now. Should I be elated or just downright sad? Am I being too sceptical, or just playing it safe? I received an admit from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of California, Berkeley for my PhD (Direct Entry) in Mechanical Engineering. I was given a potential research advisor for both universities and told to contact him regarding my research domain and funding. It was only upon discussing further with the profs did I realise that both the offers were without funding!! I mean, who does a PhD WITHOUT FUNDING!? That too, being an international student from India, there is no way anyone can even consider these offers! Graduate studies in itself, is way too expensive. Now, upon explaining to the department regarding the current condition, they told me to approach other professors who would have a position available. I'm doing that right now, but it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. I have applied to Purdue, UIUC, UTexas Austin and UMichigan as well, but I still haven't received any information yet. If my plan goes all south, I will be stuck making one of these mentioned things- I either choose to pursue my PhD in one of the universities and decide to search for a potential advisor and funding en-route (Very, Very risky). Or, I request the university to convert my admit to an M.S program (unfunded) and think of a PhD later on (Not sure if possible in the first place). Any advice?

Has anybody applied for ESPM phd program in uc Berkeley this year? Did u get interview ? Any results? So anxious for long long waiting .........

Hi, need some advice! I really don't know what to make of my situation right now. Should I be elated or just downright sad? Am I being too sceptical, or just playing it safe? I received an admit from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of California, Berkeley for my PhD (Direct Entry) in Mechanical Engineering. I was given a potential research advisor for both universities and told to contact him regarding my research domain and funding. It was only upon discussing further with the profs did I realise that both the offers were without funding!! I mean, who does a PhD WITHOUT FUNDING!? That too, being an international student from India, there is no way anyone can even consider these offers! Graduate studies in itself, is way too expensive. Now, upon explaining to the department regarding the current condition, they told me to approach other professors who would have a position available. I'm doing that right now, but it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. I have applied to Purdue, UIUC, UTexas Austin and UMichigan as well, but I still haven't received any information yet. If my plan goes all south, I will be stuck making one of these mentioned things- I either choose to pursue my PhD in one of the universities and decide to search for a potential advisor and funding en-route (Very, Very risky). Or, I request the university to convert my admit to an M.S program (unfunded) and think of a PhD later on (Not sure if possible in the first place). Any advice?

Can someone please help in providing me the questions that are asked on the interview and also their answers in key points? It would be a great help!

Hi all, I've 6 years of work experience in sales and marketing consulting, and 7+ years in social space as a volunteer for educational initiatives, including leading the CSR engagements at my firm for over 4 years now. I'm now looking for opportunities to move full-time in this space, so am planning a masters in education as a first step because that's where my heart lies; I've worked in education for the last 7 years on a pro-bono/voluntary basis over and above my full-time job. GRE: VA - 154, QA - 165, AWA - 4 TOEFL: Result awaited GPA: Yet to do a WES evaluation, but I've 80.59% from Delhi University in India. Work Ex: 6 years in Sales and Marketing Consulting Pro-Bono/Voluntary experience: 7+ years in Education , including leading the CSR engagements for over 4 years now. I'm leading the engagements with a learning centre near my office, and have designed 3 programs - Math/Science remedial, Spoken English, and Career Counseling. Masters Programs I'll be applying for fall 2019: IEP/TIE at HGSE (can anyone help me figure out), IED at TC, UCB programs, SSCE at UCLA, Upenn I'm more inclined to US programs because of the job prospects, but would like to hear reviews about UCL, Oxford, and Cambridge (EU vs. US). I aim to leverage my corporate experience experience and work in international education space, either in content building, policy implementation, or school leadership. I know 3 options is a long list but will want the program to help make a better choice. My objective is to improve the overall quality of education and change the way we teach. We have been teaching the same age-old skills and curriculum which is not even relevant in the modern day. It will be great if you can help me choose programs where I can leverage my consulting/corporate skills. Anyone who has made a successful switch from corporate to education, or is planning to do so? I'm more inclined to 1 year programs. Any leads will be appreciated!

hi, i am deciding between uc berkeley and university of chicago for my MSW. i am interested in macro-level social work and organizational leadership, specifically at youth-serving non-profits and gov't agencies. I'm especially interested in positive youth development, management and planning, and issues/intersections of race, ethnicity, poverty and inequality. i like to work hard and study complex issues in my classes. I would like to practice social work in the Bay Area after graduation, but SSA seems like the best academic fit. Do you agree? Any insight is appreciated. Thank you.

Can someone elaborate the specifics of the MS Chemical Engineering course offered in UC Berkeley University? (like duration of the course, objectives etc.)

Any Fall 2018 admits to the MIMS Fall 2018 program at UC, Berkeley?

Hola Amigos, I wanted to get that ball rolling on here, who is applying to the MSW program for 2018? I am applying for Children and Family concentration as well as title IV. I'm working on my statement of purpose, how far along is everyone? BA: Sociology GPA: 3.4 Experience: Currently social services employee for over 2 years providing assistance to individuals and families applying for various government and local benefits, previously worked at non profit for disabled adults providing micro level social work for 1yr 8months.

Hola Amigos, I wanted to get that ball rolling on here, who is applying to the MSW program for 2018? I am applying for Children and Family concentration as well as title IV. I'm working on my statement of purpose, how far along is everyone? BA: Sociology GPA: 3.4 Experience: Currently social services employee for over 2 years providing assistance to individuals and families applying for various government and local benefits, previously worked at non profit for disabled adults providing micro level social work for 1yr 8months.

Hi All, I did a Masters in Berkeley in Statistics, fell in love with it, and am now applying for a PhD in Statistics. Would anyone be willing to read over my statement of purpose? What follows is my first draft, and I'm really not sure how to feel about it, so any comments are appreciated. Notes / Questions are in italic font. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Since I can remember people told me that the only people that amount to something are “practical” people: engineers and the likes. I did not, and still do not, want to accept that premise. Because I am about as clumsy as a Panda bear. And because my passion lies in Statistics. As the first of my family to go to College I felt bad for the financial burden I put on us, so I gave in to the pressure. I studied Industrial Engineering and had my life cut out for me: Finish my Bachelors, start working in a Consultancy. Luckily things changed last year. The Fulbright Commission enabled me to spend a year finding and pursuing my passions, free from financial worries and far away from pressure from my family. Do you feel like I should delete these 2 paragraphs or put them in a personal history statement? Any other comments here? Because I worked for three semesters at the Statistics Department in city ABC during my Undergraduate I knew I liked the subject, and after my Masters I now know I am passionate about it. The project work at Berkeley has shown me the joy, and frankly also a sense of pride, in coming up with ideas no one had before. It has also shown me the frustration that every researcher has to suffer at some point, and the fact that I not only finished the project, but finished it successfully strengthened my resolve to do a Ph.D. Should I be more specific about the project work? We are trying to get it published, but I'm not sure if we will in time. So include specifics? Throughout my Undergraduate career I found myself studying the same things again and again. Worse even, I still forgot much of what I studied. [DC1] The Causal Inference reading group with Prof. XYZ during my masters showed me how to best retain and cope with a huge amount of new knowledge. There I also learnt how to approach new subject matter independently. While there have been academically more rewarding classes, the reading Group has given me a taste of what a Ph.D. would be like, and shown me that I would enjoy doing one. The aim here is to tell them that during my masters I already got a taste of a PhD and decided that I'd like to do it. Because the masters is a "Professional Degree" the commission commitee might ask itself what changed that I wanna do a PhD now, so I'm trying to adress that point here. Do you think I should adress it more explicitly? The reading group and the causal inference class I took in Berkeley showed me the relevance of applied statistics for their respective fields and taught me how important proper statistical education is for most researchers. I thoroughly enjoyed both courses and would love to work in this area. Professor XYZ and ABC have been inspiring teachers and conduct research in areas that I would love to immerse myself in. A unique thing about statistics is that it gives us methods to draw conclusions about data. Especially if we are able to draw causal conclusions those conclusions can change lives. Here I wanna talk about causal inference, that I liked and would love to do more about it. Do you think that's not explicit enough? I am wary about committing myself prematurely to a specific topic of research, but am very excited about Causal Inference and would love to make my own small contribution to the advancement of the field. What makes Causal Inference special is that advancements have immediate and real impact on a wealth of studies and their results The cross-section and cooperation between Statistics, Biostatistics and Public Health in DOTDOTDOT (don't worry, it's not a generic statment) make it an ideal environment for me to develop my interests and foster fruitful discussions. There's also a last sentence, that's too personal for me to post. I can PM it to anyone interested. Also, feel free to correct any spelling mistakes, I'm not from the states so a couple of them might have gotten in there. Thanks, Dario

Hi Everyone, After long time decision, I finally decide to go to UCB stat rather than Duke stat. However, this last Friday, I got the AD from NYU DS, which is also my dream program. I am a statistics major and only took 3 cs courses in data structure, python programming and VB. I am not really sure weather my cs background is enough for ds program. I am now an actuarial analyst outside US, and I hope I can work toward modeling in US(especially prefer to work in actuarial firm) after graduate from graduate school. It sounds that NYU locates in better location for me. However, I have heard most financial companies in East side don't sponsor H1B. Also, I my opinion, to work as an data analyst, it is more important to focus on explaining the models and reports. CS skills are only tools and statistics methods are much important. I am not really sure weather I illustrate the concept of data science correct. In fact, I am confuse why most data science/ analytics programs have nearly 100% placement, which have better placement and average income than statistics programs. Can anyone provide me some advice? Thank you! Any advice and opinions for data science are appreciated!

Hey all. I need some help deciding. I've been admitted into UC Berkeley and SFSU's Joint PhD program in Special Education as well as the Harvard Graduate School of Education for an Ed.M in Specialized Studies. Both are amazing programs but two very different commitments. I believe my end goal is a Ph.D., and the Berkeley/SFSU program is a wonderful one for my research interests and needs. However, I wasn't eligible to many PhD programs this time around since I didn't have a masters, and am wondering if it's worth taking a year to do the Harvard program so that I would be eligible for more PhDs next time around... what do you think? A bird in the hand? My research interests are really specific and UCB/SFSU is really open and supportive to what I want to do... it seems like the right decision, but I'm having trouble imagining turning down a masters from Harvard and imagining all of the "what if" scenarios that could happen if I go that route... Help? Thank you!!

Hi, I am going to be a fourth year undergraduate student at UCSD and I want to apply to teacher credential/masters programs this upcoming cycle (so I can get right into it after graduation). I was a Human Biology major for the first three years, since I used to be pre-med, but discovered through the med school application process I did NOT want to be a doctor. I remembered I always liked the idea of teaching. My mom is an elementary school teacher, so I have at least some idea of what the lifestyle is like. My (ultimate) goal is Stanford, but I also want to apply to UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC, and UCI. My goal is to teach Math at the Secondary level. Here are some more facts and stats about myself: Major: Mathematics/Applied Science GPA (overall): 3.55 GPA (math): 3.81 (does my math GPA get taken into consideration?) GRE (practice tests): 159V 165Q Experience: I volunteered every summer at an LAUSD elementary school to help immigrant elementary students learn English under the supervision of a teacher (but not through the school, I just knew the teacher) (This volunteering experience was done for fun throughout undergrad, but only during summers since I go to UCSD.) Also, after realizing I wanted to be a high school math teacher, I immediately started volunteering in SD for a program that takes middle and high school students from highly disadvantaged backgrounds and tutors and guides them in their path to be a first generation college student. (Planned) Letters of Rec: I know it is rushed to ask for a letter before December 1, but that's when the first of the applications are due. I plan on asking the teacher at the elementary school, the volunteer coordinator at the SD volunteering org, and a physics professor I've gotten to know a little better last year. (I have had two lunches with this professor, but does it matter that he is a physics professor and not math? I do not know any of my math professors, and getting to know them before December through OH is rushed, since school starts mid/late September for UCSD.) Here are some stats for the schools I want from a kind user here on gradcafe Anyhow, I was hoping to get some insight from people who got into these programs, mostly Stanford tbh, its my dream school. Plus, I love that their program is accelerated into 1 year for the credential and masters. Maybe one tidbit of info that my physics professor can add is that in order to avoid paying for online HW, I finished the quarter's worth of physics HW in the two weeks of the online HW trial period (my answers to the HW were 100% correct). This can possibly speak to my ability in accelerated programs? LOL. I should also mention that the physics class was a lower division class. I am sorry for the disorganized way I presented this info, I am just pouring all my thoughts as they come to me. Also, what else can I do to bolster my application? Any advice? Please help!! Thank you!

I just go to UC Berkeley (ME - MS/PhD). I am happy. However I didn't get any funding. Will I get anything$ from school or should I apply next year again. How hard is to get funding from UC Berkeley? "Congratulations! We are delighted to inform you that the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley has selected you for admission to the graduate program. We sincerely hope you decide to come to Berkeley. You should receive official confirmation from the Dean of the Graduate Division shortly. ...This offer of admission does not include a guaranteed commitment for financial support. We had an exceptionally strong applicant pool this year and are unable to offer guaranteed financial support to all of our admitted students. We anticipate that there will be a limited number of open Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) and Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) positions available for our incoming unsupported students. We strongly urge you to contact faculty members with whom you share common interests to explore the possibility of a research position (GSR)."

Hey, I right now have admits for University of Maryland, College Park for ENTS program and from University of Colorado, Boulder for ITP program. I'm confused between the two. I have some really good reviews about both these schools and am not able to decide between the two. Can someone please help me out with this decision? Thanks a lot!!

I've recently been admitted to UCSD for a PhD in an engineering major, Fall 2016. International, but US citizen. No mention of financial support in the congrats e-mail. When asked, they said funding decisions are made at the end of March. Rumors are, schools in CA are sparing in funding? Anyone have any information on what chances I have of actually getting funded? Definitely can't afford school & life in La Jolla on my own.

This is my profile: GRE - 310 (V-149, Q-161), TOEFL - 100, CGPA - 8.31, 3 LORs from Assistant Professors from my college, West Virginia and Stanford, 4 research publications all in the field of interest, one of them in the best conference for HCI - UIST. I am applying for MS in CS with specialization in HCI and Machine Learning. What are my chances to get into UCSD, UCB, UIUC, UCI, UMCP and Gatech?

I'm doubtful between the following paths: To study Master of Management in Operations Research (MMOR) at UBC and then decide whether or not to continue on to a PhD in Finance at UBC. or To study IEOR (PhD) at Berkeley with a Finance concentration or maybe just finish the IEOR PhD with a normal OR concentration and then apply to MFE at Berkeley for Finance. I know Berkeley is more prestigious than UBC, but I feel like I need a couple years of good social life before being mixed in with tough research responsibilities. My social life in UBC is almost guaranteed because of all the friends I have in Vancouver, but I'm not so sure about Berkeley. I'm looking forward to any advice, even if it may seem irrelevent. Thank you all in advance