PhD at UCSD without funding !

[baravi]

Hi guys,

Was really thrilled to find this site; i immediately registered myself and here i go firing away my first question to the group.I am very glad to see people who are willing to assist and help prospective/fellow graduates with their problems.

I am an international student from India and i got an admit from the mechanical engg. dept at ucsd for PhD, fall 2008. was really excited to hear the news but was disappointed for not having got any aid. i have been writing mails to professors at the dept. for ra/ ta ship but dont find any replies in my mailbox. i had even written to the director of graduate studies of my plight but still no response at all. the school needs that i inform them of my decision by 15th of this month...so am frantically looking for help.

1. should i call the professors?

2. what are the chances of getting funding once i land up at the univ

3. how bad is the idea of walking into a grad school that doesnt fund me as a phd student? ucsd is a great school to pursue my ambitions but the idea of loans and stuff really scares me.

thank you very much

[LaraAnn85]

I would call someone asap. You've already been accepted, the worst they can say is no on the funding. San Diego is really expensive, I'd at least try to get some $$$!

[baravi]

Thank you so much LaraAnn85. I dont know anybody personally at ucsd...and so i would really appreciate information of that kind. i've written to a phd student at the mechanical dept. and am eagerly waiting for a reply.

[LaraAnn85]

No problem. I'm at ucsd but only until August! PM me if you want any specific info about housing/the area/the school/etc

[trammy]

Hey baravi,

I'm in the same boat as you, different dept. Of course, I was offered full funding UW, so my reasoning for going to UCSD is a bit different (born and raised in SD, went to UCSD as an undergrad, and now I don't want to leave my bf, though UW tempted me so greatly).

I would call the admissions committee head of your dept, not the graduate committee head (Kim Barrett, more or less, has no say on things). San Diego IS very expensive, and though graduate housing is an option, it takes about an average of 3 years to get in (I know, it took my bf that long).

You're also welcome to send me a message anytime (I'm doing Mat Sci, so there may be a possibility we'd have some classes together).

[canuck]

bravari,

What advisors have you talked to?

[canuck]

baravi... oops

[baravi]

thanks for the advice trammy and wish you best luck with your funding issue!

i just mailed Dr. Sutanu Sarkar (Chair of Graduate Affairs Committee) for any available funds but he wrote back saying that unfortunately they dont have financial aid (RA or TA) available :shock: Not sure if he is the admissions committee head however (i have to check out on that). Am waiting for a reply from my provisional faculty adviser Prof. Stephen LLewelyn. I'll probably call him up tomorrow.

Meanwhile it would be great to know from any mechanical engg. student at ucsd if there are faculty in the dept looking for research assistants in fluid mechanics or controls. i could approach them for funding.

thank you very much and best wishes !

[trammy]

I wish I knew more about the MAE department at UCSD. The only professor I know of there is Dr. Vlado Lubarda, who happens to be my friend's father.

I just had a quick note regarding TAship. There may be none in your department, but that doesn't mean you can't TA in another department. They'll tell you it's competitive, blah blah blah, but it's not impossible to get.

From talking to people, I'm assuming this is basically how it works:

- You either get promised an RAship or a TAship. For the latter, you'll get a letter of support. When you apply for TAship, you present your letter, and you're pushed to the top of the list, as far as TA selection goes.

- If you don't have a letter (like you and I) you can apply still. You're just at the bottom of the list. You can also TA for other departments.

It's been a few years since I've been at UCSD, but I TAed for 3 of the 4 years I was there (yes, that means I started TAing as a sophomore). That tells me that TAship can't be *terribly* competitive if they let me do it as an undergrad. This, of course, was not under the engineering dept. I plan on applying for a TA position in the physics and chemistry dept, not engineering. Anyway, as my boyfriend (in the physics dept) put it, very rarely do you NOT get funding at all. Being promised no funding is different that not having any funding.

Oh yeah, and I learned this week that you can put your name on the graduate housing list NOW, if you've already sent UCSD your acceptance. This might be worthwhile, as you have a chance of getting housing in a few years. Otherwise, you'll be paying an arm and a leg to live in La Jolla and be in walking distance, or you'll live a bit farther away and drive to school (like me).

[baravi]

Thank you so much Trammy for your time and the insightful information on ta and graduate housing.

I have given my acceptance to UCSD (without funding). I will wait out for the end of the month for funding opportunities..hopefully someone rejects an ucsd funded offer and i could get it :roll:

Moreover, if it really comes to joining ucsd without aid, then as you said i still may have a chance to get a ta / ra once i land up in the univ. And since i am admitted without aid, i can decline the offer later as well if i choose to do so for some reason. One of such reasons could be that i get something from purdue or university of minnesota where i am currently wait-listed.

Its nice to know that you work in materials science. i worked in continuum mechanics for my masters project and thoroughly enjoyed the math ! i went through a few books regarding the project but found d.c.leigh's "non-linear continuum mechanics" really helpful.

[trammy]

To be honest, I know very little about materials science. I actually did my undergrad degree in physics/biophysics. I decided to go back to school, because I want to teach (maybe not university level though, maybe community college). My choice to do materials science is partially due to what I currently do for work, and partially because I thought a PhD in physics would take far too long (and, plus, I'll be honest, I didn't feel like studying for the physics GRE).

I figured, though, with my physics training, I could do a fair amount of stuff in optics (what I do now) and a fair amount of stuff in E&M. And whatever I didn't know, I could learn (can't be much harder than physics, right?)