UNC-Chapel CS PhD, No Funding, Should I go?

[tcelhy]

I am interested in graphics, and unc is a good place to go.

But I am not sure if I can get a TA/RA to support myself

[angusBF]

Hey there,

I was also accepted to UNC Comp Sci, but with full funding. Though that is not why I am responding to your post. I hope what I say below may help you out a bit in your decision making.

When I was applying there, I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with the UNC Comp Sci graduate coordinator discussing financial aid among other issues. What I learned from her responses is that financial aid at UNC is assigned in a separate process from admissions, i.e. someone is first admitted then assigned financial aid in a completely separate process. She also told me that even if you are admitted first without financial aid, you may be allocated aid in a second round of decisions after April 15th once applicants who have been admitted *with* aid decline to come. Basically the aid that they give up by not coming would be redistributed to you. Furthermore, I am fairly certain that quite a few applicants will decline to come after meeting them at the visiting weekend. None of them were firmly set on coming to UNC, well one that I can think of, and many were deciding between other respectable offers among which were CMU and Urbana. This being said, what I recommend you do is call the graduate coordinator at UNC Comp Sci, her name is Janet Jones and her direct phone line is (919) 962-1900. She is incredibly helpful with her explanations, but can be hard to get a hold of so be persistent. Tell her that you are very interested in coming but are concerned about the financial aid situation and ask her to discuss your chances of getting it. I am certain she will tell you everything you need to know.

Hope this helps and good luck.

[angusBF]

Hey again,

Did you end up accepting the offer from UNC? I sure hope so because I know for a fact one of the people from their visit day, who was fully funded, accepted somewhere else. So I am fairly certain you would get his funding. They have about 15 people on the wait-list, but since you are officially accepted already, I believe that you would have priority for funding.

Once again, good luck.

[tcelhy]

<br />Hey again,<br /><br />Did you end up accepting the offer from UNC?  I sure hope so because I know for a fact one of the people from their visit day, who was fully funded, accepted somewhere else.  So I am fairly certain you would get his funding.  They have about 15 people on the wait-list, but since you are officially accepted already, I believe that you would have priority for funding.<br /><br />Once again, good luck.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

augusBF, thank you very much for your reply, you offered me a lot of useful information.

My place has a 13hrs time difference with chapel hill, so I never got a good time to call janet jones. But I send email to her and she promised to hold this dmission until 4.30, I will have more time to make decision. And I also know someone declined their offers from UNC, so I am expecting some luck.

Have you accepted this offer?

[angusBF]

Hey again,

Glad I could help. I now know of two people, fully funded, who accepted offers elsewhere. So I am certain that you'll get funding notification shortly. Most likely by the end of next week.

No, I haven't accepted this offer yet. Janet will hold my offer open till April 30th. I am waiting on a wait-list decision somewhere else. So I may free up another funding offer soon-ish.

Let me know whenever you get your $$ and good luck!

[tcelhy]

<br />Hey again,<br /><br />Glad I could help.  I now know of two people, fully funded, who accepted offers elsewhere.  So I am  certain that you'll get funding notification shortly.  Most likely by the end of next week.  <br /><br />No, I haven't accepted this offer yet.  Janet will hold my offer open till April 30th.  I am waiting on a wait-list decision somewhere else.  So I may free up another funding offer soon-ish.  <br /><br />Let me know whenever you get your $$ and good luck!<br />

<br /><br /><br />

Someone who is already in UNC told me that last year, all the students get funded even they are not promised at first, so I think i am going to accept the offer.

Could you tell me where else do you prefer?

Anyway, good luck to you!

[angusBF]

Hey again,

I am wait-listed at MIT CS at the moment and I am really hoping to be accepted there by April 30th. Most people on this forum say that nobody ever declines offers from MIT, which is completely untrue. Faculty at MIT say that approximately half of all the offers they make are declined since the people who are accepted at MIT are likewise accepted at all the other top schools (Stanford, UCB, and CMU). So it's only a matter of how many reject *this* year. So we'll see.....perhaps with a little bit of luck a dream will come true :-). Otherwise, I'll see you at UNC this fall. I will be going for a Masters there for 2 yrs.

[explorer-c]

Hey again,

I am wait-listed at MIT CS at the moment and I am really hoping to be accepted there by April 30th. Most people on this forum say that nobody ever declines offers from MIT, which is completely untrue. Faculty at MIT say that approximately half of all the offers they make are declined since the people who are accepted at MIT are likewise accepted at all the other top schools (Stanford, UCB, and CMU). So it's only a matter of how many reject *this* year. So we'll see.....perhaps with a little bit of luck a dream will come true :-). Otherwise, I'll see you at UNC this fall. I will be going for a Masters there for 2 yrs.

I didn't know UNC offers fully funded masters. Financially, do they give you the same deal like the PhD students?

[angusBF]

Yes they do. I got the same exact funding offer as everyone else. In fact they don't even care if you are applying for a Masters or a PhD in the application process. They told me that straight out over the phone when I was applying. They accept people based on merit and you set your degree objective once you get there. You can pursue a MS or PhD or both, whatever it's up to you basically.

[tcelhy]

<br />Hey again,<br /><br />I am wait-listed at MIT CS at the moment and I am really hoping to be accepted there by April 30th. Most people on this forum say that nobody ever declines offers from MIT, which is completely untrue. Faculty at MIT say that approximately half of all the offers they make are declined since the people who are accepted at MIT are likewise accepted at all the other top schools (Stanford, UCB, and CMU). So it's only a matter of how many reject *this* year. So we'll see.....perhaps with a little bit of luck a dream will come true :-). Otherwise, I'll see you at UNC this fall. I will be going for a Masters there for 2 yrs. <br /><br /><br /><br />

<br /><br /><br />

MIT is really really great, that definitely worth waiting.

Edited April 18, 2010 by tcelhy

[angusBF]

Hey, did you get your funding from UNC? Did you accept the offer?