CUNY vs. UC Santa Barbara

[erlawa]

Trying to decide if I should push harder (by which I mean communicate honestly to the department that it is my top choice) in an attempt to get full funding at CUNY Grad Center or to get off the wait list at UC Santa Barbara. Some factors to consider:

-I went to college in NYC and have lived here for the two years since, so I am familiar with the city and really appreciate its intellectual/artistic bent. I have never been to Santa Barbara.  It looks beautiful and I miss warmer weather, but I am worried I would miss the busy cultural scene of NYC.

-I believe I may want to end up on the West coast eventually, and have been told that where you do your PhD shapes job opportunities.

-My sub-field is gender.

Can anyone tell me more about (UC) Santa Barbara and/or offer input on this decision?

 

[jipario]

UCSB is the place to go for gender if these are your two choices. Unfortunately, getting off the waitlist there will be next to impossible. There's nothing you can really say to the department to increase your odds. It'll just be a matter of whether or not x people decline their offers. A while back I was waitlisted there and expressed that it was my top choice to both the DGS and my POI (not for gender, but nonetheless). The response they gave me was pretty much, "meh." I ended up taking some time off then reapplying then going elsewhere.