UCLA Funding?

[CoffeeMonster0]

Hey ya'll,

I was admitted to UCLA for political science, but I have not yet been guaranteed funding.  In my acceptance email I was told I was on a waitlist for funding, and I would be contacted if it became available.

Is anyone/has anyone else been in a similar situation, or know anything about UCLA's funding?  Or any advice on doing a PhD without guaranteed funding?

 

[sandmoon]

Is your tuition waived? If not, then definitely don't do it.

Do you have offers from other schools with funding? If so, perhaps you should seriously consider those as well or mention that to UCLA.

[CoffeeMonster0]

2 hours ago, sandmoon said:

Is your tuition waived? If not, then definitely don't do it.

Do you have offers from other schools with funding? If so, perhaps you should seriously consider those as well or mention that to UCLA.

No tuition waver, though I was told that TA-ships are usually pretty easy to come by.  It just makes me nervous to not have the guarantee.  I don't have any other offers currently, though I'm still waiting to hear back from a few other programs.  

[Bobby Kennedy]

I'm in a somewhat similar situation, although it's just for the first year and concerning a living stipend. UCLA didn't say I was on the waitlist for funding in my letter, but rather said I was guaranteed a funding package that didn't include a first year living stipend. I was guaranteed tuition and fees for first year. Additionally, I was given a guarantee of a TAship 2nd to 5th year for tuition, fees, and a living stipend. Compared to other departments I've been in touch with, I think UCLA usually has larger cohorts, especially in recent years. This may explain these funding decisions. I'm holding out hope that they have more funding, but are being strategic about how to allocate it. I've reached out to them, but haven't heard back yet. 

 

[Bobby Kennedy]

By the way, I want to clarify that although we're in slightly different situations, I hope they find you full funding as well. I too was looking for UCLA poli sci admits that didn't receive full funding offers. I'm not sure it matters for funding, but what's your subfield?

[saudiwin]

You don't want to attend a program that can't fund you. It's difficult enough without whatever support they can provide.

[CoffeeMonster0]

On 2/22/2019 at 4:49 PM, Bobby Kennedy said:

By the way, I want to clarify that although we're in slightly different situations, I hope they find you full funding as well. I too was looking for UCLA poli sci admits that didn't receive full funding offers. I'm not sure it matters for funding, but what's your subfield?

American Politics.  And yeah I've heard from past applicants that UCLA's funding is kind of shaky because they tend to have larger cohorts.  Hopefully when they hear back from other candidates that decline their admission we will get better funding packages.