Paul Allen Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Hi, I'm throwing this question out there to anyone who might have helpful info. I've been looking on this forum for a while and I can't seem to find anything that addresses it. I'm curious about the funding package that UC San Diego offers. I found a few threads that had links to surveys that listed that for sociology they offer RA'ships for 21k but did not list years for funding. Then I found another thread in sociology that compared funding and mentioned that UCSD only gives 50-75% tuition remission (can that be possible?). Another thread addressing the UC funding concerns mentioned that in the past UCSD had cut their students from 5 years funding to 4 years after a contract was signed. What I'd like to know is, does anyone go to UC San Diego or have firsthand knowledge to shed light on what type of financial packages they usually offer? I'm only stressing because so far they're the only school that's accepted me and if they don't give me full funding I may be screwed right now (if that 50% remission thing is correct). They said they'll be sending funding info down the road but the wait is killing me since I won't be able to go to school if I'm not fully funded, so essentially it's as though I've received zero acceptances since I don't know whether or not i'll be able to go or not. Any help is appreciated, but I swear I've looked through every possible related thread in Sociology so no need to post old threads. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nantlalli Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Hi Paul, I am exactly in your same position and it's nerve-racking since already, on their funding section they 'warn' us that they are not able to give all of their students financial support. Prospects are, well....so-so. I was also accepted and have just emailed the graduate coordinator for information regarding financial support. I will post more information as I receive it. Greetings! N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeypup Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I went to undergrad there, my financé was a grad student there, and I have a few friends who almost did the soc program there. In the communication department, my financé's contract was not honored and he was forced to find a job in another department his 5th year (although he was guaranteed 5 years of funding). I do not know if soc has or will do the same. For fall 2009, a friend was accepted but they were only offering 75% tuition remission with no guarantees of RA or TAships. But, some admitted folks were offered full funding. I would say wait for your funding package. The good thing about ucsd is that they need lots of TAs for writing programs, which grad students in the social sciences and humanities frequently do. So that is something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fields&charts Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I'm in this situation with Davis and LA. waiting on this information is driving me nuts. I have a definite offer elsewhere, but I would absolutely love to go to Davis or LA if they offer tuition remission and the TA/RA offer is sufficient to eke out a meager hermit-like existence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Allen Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 Ah, this frightens me seriously. I still have never been able to find the page on the UCSD grad website that says they don't provide full funding, please someone send a link. As far as the financial package, I guess there's nothing I can do but wait, since I haven't been accepted anywhere else. It just feels like a fake acceptance since I can't imagine anyone that could go without remission and a stipend. There's no way I could or would take out the debt so it would put me back at square one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burchak Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I am in the same situation with UC Davis and UC Riverside. When I was initially accepted to UC Davis, I was told that I'd be notified about funding later in Feb. but I still haven't heard anything. The same goes for UC Riverside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nantlalli Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 http://sociology.ucsd.edu/graduate/AdmissionsInfo.shtml Scroll down to the funding section. This was also the only uni. that accepted me and if they don't provide any aid, I'm screwed and cannot accept. I won't take out loans either, I have too much debt already from my undergrad. I am thinking about pursuing a doctoral degree in Germany....and I am questioning if I do write a dissertation here, will I have a harder time transitioning to the American labor market in the future? But that's a question for another thread I suppose, if anyone's encountered a discussion about European vs. American Ph.D.'s and labor market prospects, do let me know ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Allen Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 Ah, I finally found that part about them not funding on the website. "FUNDING We do our best to offer competitive funding or support to students we admit, with the most competitive funding in the form of fellowships, awards, or employment, going to applicants who are best matched to our program. Unfortunately, we are unable to match a support package to every single admission offered. Without a guarantee, we strongly encourage applicants to consider additional resources and supplemental forms of Financial Aid." Man, that is not encouraging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y_ellow Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I currently attend UCLA, and was accepted to UCI and SD in recent years. I am willing to answer any questions about the state of funding at these schools through PM (I have sent OP a message already). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.arcane Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 To those accepted to UCSD--- did you get the impression they offer funding for the visitation day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nantlalli Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I did not get that impression. I was told by the coordinator that we would be informed sometime this week or early next week about funding via email. This week is almost over so there's more waiting ahead of us. I'm not in the US right now, unfortunately I will not be able to make it to the orientation so I hope they notify us beforehand. Will anyone of you admitted make it to the orientation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nantlalli Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Clarification: I am referring to general funding, not travel funding to attend the open-house event/s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Allen Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 I too am out of the country and won't be able to make it to the weekend when they decide to have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Allen Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 I too am out of the country and won't be able to make it to the weekend when they decide to have it. and i just got the admit weekend email, March 31, yikes, i hope we don't have to wait that long to hear about funding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.arcane Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I'm fairly local-ish (Los Angeles), so pending some other decisions, I'll likely attend. If i do, I'm happy to report back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamart24 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 (edited) I was accepted as well. I am wondering how many students were actually offered admission and how many actually applied this year. I know that there are a bunch of different factors that determine who gets funding. And on the Web site it did say that fellowships were at a minimum. Oh, and I will be able to attend the open house since I live in San Diego. I can provide information as well. Edited February 28, 2011 by jamart24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamart24 Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Did anyone hear back from UCSD today? I believe they sent out the e-mail to the admits regarding funding but I don't think they included TA/Readership offers yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.arcane Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I got an email....essentially, they would help with pursuing TA and readerships but nothing was guaranteed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nantlalli Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I got an email....essentially, they would help with pursuing TA and readerships but nothing was guaranteed. Same here, I got an email saying that most grad. students there lived off these TA/Readerships, but they did not guarantee anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Allen Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 Same here, I got an email saying that most grad. students there lived off these TA/Readerships, but they did not guarantee anything. yup, got an offer, 2 years funding, then you're on your own. The offer was actually quite confusing, I'll need to read through it again, but you could tell from the offset that it was bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamart24 Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 yup, got an offer, 2 years funding, then you're on your own. The offer was actually quite confusing, I'll need to read through it again, but you could tell from the offset that it was bad. So is anyone planning to decline? The grad coordinator said that people decline and funds get re-allocated. I am crossing my fingers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.arcane Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 yup, got an offer, 2 years funding, then you're on your own. The offer was actually quite confusing, I'll need to read through it again, but you could tell from the offset that it was bad. Paul --- you got two years guaranteed funding? Is this correct? Can you say- is this a fellowship, TA, readership, etc.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Allen Posted March 4, 2011 Author Share Posted March 4, 2011 Paul --- you got two years guaranteed funding? Is this correct? Can you say- is this a fellowship, TA, readership, etc.? I did, I got two years funding. I'm not sure, but I was told by a guy who was considering going there last year that this is the best offer they give and the other offer is no funding (half get it, half don't usually, so this person said). First year is a fellowship, the second year is a readership I believe. After that they say you're on your own to get a teaching assistant or readership from Sociology and it's not guaranteed, and you may and probably will have to look outside of the department for readerships or assistantships. They say while it's not guaranteed, most students have had success finding readerships or TA positions in other social science or humanities based grad programs there. There's also about a $550 fee every year after the first two. To me this does not seem like a viable method to keep your grad program running. That's just me, I know they're facing budget issues and they don't have a ton of money to offer, and this may work for them if they convince the student to go through with it without the guarantee. I would just imagine that they're losing talent because of the precarious situation they're offering. To me it would make more sense to shrink the number of admits and guarantee them funding, but I don't have all the information in front of me. To the person who posted about reallocation, yes, the letter states to let them know if you're going or not so they can reallocate. I plan on letting them know at the end of March if I'm sure I'm going to attend or go to another program. Best of luck for those still waiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yaotai Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 i also got the my scholarship package from UCSD two days ago. I am an international student, coz I have the government scholarship for three years, the department of Soc gives me the latter two years funding, which include the tution & fees, with 18000 stipend. it also mentions that beyond our awarded support years, the department will provide with various opportunities for academic employment as a TA or Reader, not guaranteed, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamart24 Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 i also got the my scholarship package from UCSD two days ago. I am an international student, coz I have the government scholarship for three years, the department of Soc gives me the latter two years funding, which include the tution & fees, with 18000 stipend. it also mentions that beyond our awarded support years, the department will provide with various opportunities for academic employment as a TA or Reader, not guaranteed, though. What government scholarship are you referring to? That's great that you got almost full funding! Are you planning to attend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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