UCSD GPS – 2016

[Stars88]

I got my fellowship email! It says I received "One year California non-resident tuition and fees and one year California resident tuition and fees." I think that means I still have to pay professional degree supplemental tuition, room and board, books and transport though

[mapiau]

I was lucky enough to receive a very generous funding package from UCSD, and am going to have a very tough time deciding between UCSD and SAIS. 

How much is the SAIS name and alumni network worth? I think the courses offered by GPS and SAIS are comparable in my field, but the SAIS name is surely marginally worth something. Is anyone else facing a similar choice? Any opinions would be much appreciated!

[Meghna296]

8 minutes ago, mapiau said:

I was lucky enough to receive a very generous funding package from UCSD, and am going to have a very tough time deciding between UCSD and SAIS. 

How much is the SAIS name and alumni network worth? I think the courses offered by GPS and SAIS are comparable in my field, but the SAIS name is surely marginally worth something. Is anyone else facing a similar choice? Any opinions would be much appreciated!

Congrats!

 

I got SAIS too but with no funding! I doubt I will take up SAIS with so much debt even though the program is amazing! . I am so far leaning towards GPS out of all my acceptances. 

 

[mapiau]

7 hours ago, Stars88 said:

I got my fellowship email! It says I received "One year California non-resident tuition and fees and one year California resident tuition and fees." I think that means I still have to pay professional degree supplemental tuition, room and board, books and transport though

I just emailed their admissions office about this, and they said that the fellowship covers tuition and all fees, including the professional degree supplemental tuition. Obviously your specific fellowship may differ, but it may cover the professional degree tuition too, being a full ride.

Edited March 18, 2016 by mapiau
Removed acronym for clarity.

[cynlest]

Congrats @Meghna296! So happy for you.

Anyone else received the famous funding emails? 

[beefmaster]

I emailed admissions and they said not all financial aid decisions are out...so there is hope yet!

[PhilzatBerkely]

Hi, all. Still waiting on the funding info as well. Can't decide between Fletcher and GPS... Reputation and network from Fletcher will put me into 80K+ debt. GPS will be around 10k-20k, if that...

I'm leaning towards GPS because of the following reasons:
1. Strong quantitative skills will be acquired (some schools, I feel, can let you bs your way out of it, but not GPS). GPS will make sure you understand numbers, data, etc;
2. Language training (whatever you region of concentration is you have to speak that language). Other schools are happy as long as you speak additional language besides English. 
3. Money/debt. 

What are you guys thinking about reputation vs money issue? Personally, it is hard to give a dream going to top-tier school because of money. I went to a great undergrad school, and it's always nice to hear when people recognize and respect the name of the university (don't mean to sound pretentious or anything). GPS is just not that well-known yet: people in the field know about it, but general public not so much. 

I won't be attending Open House event, but let me know if you do. Would love to hear your thoughts and comments.

 

[Stars88]

I had ruled GPS out because of its location on the West Coast, but it's back in consideration on my list again because I want to have international business and Asia opportunities available to me after graduate school, and California might have some good options. Anyone else know how the job market in california is for international business?

[botbot22]

Congrats to all of you who got in! I just wrapped up my second quarter at GPS. It's a great program that is also very challenging, and has allowed me to deepen my knowledge of areas I'm familiar with while at the same time bringing me up to speed on things I never thought I would be doing (quant, as you've all already kind of figured out).

For those of you who are nominated but still waiting for admission, I would say don't sweat it - it's just part of the bureaucratic process and I thus far haven't heard of anyone getting nominated then not actually accepted.

Since you guys seem to be talking about funding, the bare bones is that your first year you pay out of state tuition, unless you're from California. The program helps you jump through the hoops so that you're pretty much guaranteed to have in state tuition by your second year here. The next rung of funding is that they'll offer you in state tuition your first year as a sort of discount. I did not receive a fellowship offer but from what I understand most fellowships will pay for tuition - not sure about living expenses.

If you are even considering accepting I recommend you get on the housing list ASAP - housing is heavily subsidized for graduate students but the wait list can get pretty long. Since we're in the middle of acceptance season, every day seriously counts in getting a good spot on the waitlist. I ended up not getting housing until 3 months into the program.

I'm glad to answer any questions if you guys have them. I'm an American from California, but don't mind asking international colleagues about international specific questions.

[mapiau]

Thanks for the suggestion about hopping on the housing list. It wouldn't be the end of the world if I lived off-campus (and I think living off campus is generally pretty good for your mental health, in fact), but the on-campus housing is hundreds of dollars cheaper than comparable apartments off campus. The waiting list looks brutal, though. If the wait times are anything like what they list it doesn't look like I could get on-campus housing until the second year.

Edited March 20, 2016 by mapiau
Whoops—wrong link

[mapiau]

Is anyone planning on doing the Summer Prep? I wasn't required to, but since I graduated from undergrad four years ago and haven't really done math (besides studying for the GRE) since it seems like a good idea. I'm really nervous about still remembering how to study, and I'd much rather get over that hump in the Math Camp rather than the actual graded courses. 

I was an econ major in undergrad, but even so I think that the Econ and Math Camp session would be a good idea and worth the investment, given my own opinion of how much econ I remember!

[Stars88]

17 hours ago, botbot22 said:

Congrats to all of you who got in! I just wrapped up my second quarter at GPS. It's a great program that is also very challenging, and has allowed me to deepen my knowledge of areas I'm familiar with while at the same time bringing me up to speed on things I never thought I would be doing (quant, as you've all already kind of figured out).

For those of you who are nominated but still waiting for admission, I would say don't sweat it - it's just part of the bureaucratic process and I thus far haven't heard of anyone getting nominated then not actually accepted.

Since you guys seem to be talking about funding, the bare bones is that your first year you pay out of state tuition, unless you're from California. The program helps you jump through the hoops so that you're pretty much guaranteed to have in state tuition by your second year here. The next rung of funding is that they'll offer you in state tuition your first year as a sort of discount. I did not receive a fellowship offer but from what I understand most fellowships will pay for tuition - not sure about living expenses.

If you are even considering accepting I recommend you get on the housing list ASAP - housing is heavily subsidized for graduate students but the wait list can get pretty long. Since we're in the middle of acceptance season, every day seriously counts in getting a good spot on the waitlist. I ended up not getting housing until 3 months into the program.

I'm glad to answer any questions if you guys have them. I'm an American from California, but don't mind asking international colleagues about international specific questions.

It's great to hear you're enjoying the program! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the following questions as I make my decision:

1. Do employers recruit on campus? What kinds of organizations? Could you give us a list? 

2. Are employers outside of California familiar with GPS?

3. Are there a lot of job opportunities in California for international business + Asia? That's the field I would hope to land a job in after graduating. 

4. How strong is the International Management track and where do those alumni  tend to find jobs?

Thanks in advance

 

 

[colombiano-geek]

Did anybody who applied by the Jan 15 (non-early) deadline receive their official admission letter? 

[cynlest]

Did anyone receive more funding news these days?  

[Solio]

On 3/18/2016 at 11:27 AM, mj said:

anyone else having problems with grad cafe?  for some reason it keeps putting this quote box in here and won't let me type in the rest of the space.  

Edited March 22, 2016 by Solio

[PhilzatBerkely]

Got an email from financial aid people - no funding...  

[beefmaster]

Same here, no funding. Will not be attending. 

Very surprised, since this is a new program I thought they would invest heavily in their first cohort. 

[colombiano-geek]

Anybody get accepted but were asked to attend their summer prep program? 

[PhilzatBerkely]

2 hours ago, colombiano-geek said:

Anybody get accepted but were asked to attend their summer prep program? 

Wasn't asked to attend prep program, but I've heard good things about it. 

[PhilzatBerkely]

16 hours ago, beefmaster said:

Same here, no funding. Will not be attending. 

Very surprised, since this is a new program I thought they would invest heavily in their first cohort. 

Totally agree with you. I was surprised and upset. I was considering going there, but now I will most likely go to somewhere else. Kinda expected more from them in terms of money. What other schools are considering?

[beefmaster]

7 hours ago, PhilzatBerkely said:

Totally agree with you. I was surprised and upset. I was considering going there, but now I will most likely go to somewhere else. Kinda expected more from them in terms of money. What other schools are considering?

I am going to hear to either USC Price, Fletcher, or Georgetown. Will get myself to the admit days then decide. Yourself?

[cynlest]

Hi @PhilzatBerkely and @beefmaster did you get the email that explained the no funding situation? 

[PhilzatBerkely]

@beefmaster and cynlest

Because of my work schedule I won't make open house dates, but I already checked out UCSD. I liked the campus, staff and all. It still has IR/PS (previous name of the program) around the campus which I thought they would get rid off by now. In sum, I got good vibes, but the no funding thing really frustrated me. And to answer your question, cynlest, it was very generic - tons of qualified people applied, no money for everyone - we don't have money for you. But please feel free to borrow...

I'm gonna try visit Fletcher before making my decision, but so far I've heard very good things about the school and all. 


 

[aXIOlogical]

I was accepted to the MPP program March 2nd and received my full-ride e-mail on the 17th. I've visited a couple of times and everyone really sold the school to me. Yes, you can have a degree from a well-known school with an attractive alumni network, but the potential at GPS is amazing--look at the professors!!! It was a UCSD alumna who really ignited my interest in the field; while the school may be small, alumni are certainly well-placed and extremely passionate about what they do. Additionally, UCSD has a better ranked International Relations Program than MIT and several Ivy League schools. Just sayin'...

Honestly, I've compromised location all throughout my undergrad, so I'm super happy about living in San Diego too. Gonna be there for Admitted Students Day on Monday. Anyone else? 

[cynlest]

Congrats @aXIOlogical so happy for you. I think GPS offers a really interesting programs. I am nervous waiting for the funding decision from them, hopefully will have this by end of March as I will need to respond to other offers by April 15.