Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Forum for the GRE subject test in mathematics.
mathmonkey
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Joined: Tue Jan 05, 2016 7:14 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by mathmonkey » Fri Feb 12, 2016 3:09 pm

I think UCLA is still selecting admits. There's already people declining offers to UCLA and UC Berkeley, so they're going down their lists and selecting new admits. If you haven't been rejected than there is a possibility that your still in the running. I also haven't gotten a rejection from UCLA yet, so fingers crossed :)

phusacon
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Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2016 8:44 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by phusacon » Fri Feb 12, 2016 8:49 pm

I just got waitlisted for NC State. Is there anyone who will decline the offer soon? Thanks. :D . Fingercrossed

AMGMScrub
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Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by AMGMScrub » Sat Feb 13, 2016 5:23 am

airrows wrote:Ahhh I am dying to hear back from NYU, UCSD, and UCSB.
For what it's worth, UCSD sends their decisions really late. It comes at the end of February. Source: A friend who got into UCSD from previous application period.

MathCat
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Joined: Thu Oct 23, 2014 12:17 am

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by MathCat » Sat Feb 13, 2016 2:22 pm

AMGMScrub wrote:
airrows wrote:Ahhh I am dying to hear back from NYU, UCSD, and UCSB.
For what it's worth, UCSD sends their decisions really late. It comes at the end of February. Source: A friend who got into UCSD from previous application period.
UCSD sent some unofficial acceptances in the second week of February last year. But yes, in general their admissions run into late Feb/early March and their visit is very, very late - it was the beginning of April last year.

locco
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Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2016 11:44 am

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by locco » Tue Feb 16, 2016 2:51 am

It seems that Caltech(pure math) sent out all acceptances to the admitted students.

rlightec
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Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2015 10:39 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by rlightec » Tue Feb 16, 2016 2:42 pm

It seems like Minnesota started releasing its admission results. Is Minnesota strong in algebra? I am a junior, so any input will be appreciated.

Exactimum
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Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2016 3:37 am

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by Exactimum » Tue Feb 16, 2016 3:41 pm

Just heard back from Princeton and Cornell. Rejected from applied math at both Dx

Ivanjam
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Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by Ivanjam » Tue Feb 16, 2016 5:10 pm

Exactimum wrote:Just heard back from Princeton and Cornell. Rejected from applied math at both Dx
Sorry to hear, Exactimum. However, your UCLA admit looks great, since it is the #2 ranked program in Applied Math per USNews.

Ivanjam
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Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 2:29 am

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by Ivanjam » Tue Feb 16, 2016 5:13 pm

Someone on GC reported a rejection from Purdue via their website. Can anyone confirm this?

Ivanjam
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Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 2:29 am

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by Ivanjam » Tue Feb 16, 2016 5:21 pm

Does anyone know what formula is used to calculate the GAANN (Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need) Fellowship stipend? Is it the same as financial aid (Cost of Attendance less Expected Family Contribution, as determined by FAFSA)?

lonny_sti
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2015 9:12 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by lonny_sti » Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:07 pm

I received an official offer from the UIC on 14 February ( I applied to pure math PhD). The best valentine gift for one who is in love with math! The offer came with the full package: tuition waiver + teaching assistantship. I am so excited, I didn't even dream to be admitted in such good school! Best of luck to all of you, guys and girls!
Also received an admission offer from the Binghamton University in the beginning of February, in case somebody looks for the information from this university.
Still not a single word from UIUC, UCSD, Washington, Duke, Berkeley and Minnesota. Keep checking their websites every day.

zhangvict
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Aug 26, 2015 6:23 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by zhangvict » Wed Feb 17, 2016 4:46 am

Does anyone know if Berkeley is done with acceptances?

The last one posted was around Feb 9. Previous years had acceptances up to and including mid Feb, but none have been posted this year mid Feb so far.

KatrinaElizabeth
Posts: 47
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 3:29 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by KatrinaElizabeth » Wed Feb 17, 2016 5:10 am

zhangvict wrote:Does anyone know if Berkeley is done with acceptances?

The last one posted was around Feb 9. Previous years had acceptances up to and including mid Feb, but none have been posted this year mid Feb so far.
I really hope not. It's my top choice! Here's hoping!

dith
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Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2015 3:17 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by dith » Wed Feb 17, 2016 2:06 pm

KatrinaElizabeth wrote:
zhangvict wrote:Does anyone know if Berkeley is done with acceptances?

The last one posted was around Feb 9. Previous years had acceptances up to and including mid Feb, but none have been posted this year mid Feb so far.
I really hope not. It's my top choice! Here's hoping!
I don't know if they are done yet, but for reference their admitted students days are March 13-14 - I would guess they would be done slightly before that date.

KatrinaElizabeth
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Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 3:29 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by KatrinaElizabeth » Wed Feb 17, 2016 2:15 pm

dith wrote:
KatrinaElizabeth wrote:
zhangvict wrote:Does anyone know if Berkeley is done with acceptances?

The last one posted was around Feb 9. Previous years had acceptances up to and including mid Feb, but none have been posted this year mid Feb so far.
I really hope not. It's my top choice! Here's hoping!
I don't know if they are done yet, but for reference their admitted students days are March 13-14 - I would guess they would be done slightly before that date.
Thanks, good to know! (I believe I sent you a message a little while ago, dith. Congrats on your acceptances!)

Also, does anyone know about Stanford? On Gradcafe, there's only been two acceptances reported this year, and they were both early/ unofficial. Does that mean Stanford hasn't sent out their acceptances yet, or people just haven't reported it?

anwins
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Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by anwins » Wed Feb 17, 2016 2:22 pm

Stanford has sent out offers about one month ago, and its open house day is one week before Berkeley's.

KatrinaElizabeth
Posts: 47
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 3:29 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by KatrinaElizabeth » Wed Feb 17, 2016 2:25 pm

anwins wrote:Stanford has sent out offers about one month ago, and its open house day is one week before Berkeley's.
How large is their incoming class size each year? Is it just coincidence that only two posted acceptances?

anwins
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Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2015 9:53 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by anwins » Wed Feb 17, 2016 2:41 pm

KatrinaElizabeth wrote:
anwins wrote:Stanford has sent out offers about one month ago, and its open house day is one week before Berkeley's.
How large is their incoming class size each year? Is it just coincidence that only two posted acceptances?
About 15-20, less than half the size of Berkeley's (everything like number of faculty members is about half the size of Berkeley's)

lonny_sti
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Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2015 9:12 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by lonny_sti » Wed Feb 17, 2016 3:10 pm

I've just called to the Berkeley math department. They are still working with applications, so we need to wait...

zhangvict
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Joined: Wed Aug 26, 2015 6:23 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by zhangvict » Wed Feb 17, 2016 3:28 pm

Thank you so much for calling them. Fingers crossed everyone!

lonny_sti
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2015 9:12 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by lonny_sti » Wed Feb 17, 2016 4:22 pm

zhangvict wrote:Thank you so much for calling them. Fingers crossed everyone!
You're welcome! Yeah, let's cross...

Is there anyone who also received an offer from UIC for Math PhD?

Falco006
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2014 5:01 am

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by Falco006 » Wed Feb 17, 2016 4:23 pm

I just got waitlisted to Stanford.

lonny_sti
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2015 9:12 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by lonny_sti » Wed Feb 17, 2016 4:28 pm

Falco006, you still have a chance!

zhangvict
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Aug 26, 2015 6:23 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by zhangvict » Wed Feb 17, 2016 6:27 pm

lonny_sti wrote: Is there anyone who also received an offer from UIC for Math PhD?
Congratulations on your admit lonny_sti. For anyone out there that might find it useful, I just received an offer from UIC's math PhD (Today, Feb 17) and declined it so that they may quickly offer it to someone else. Good luck to all hopefuls.

mathymathy
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Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by mathymathy » Thu Feb 18, 2016 2:49 pm

Does anyon know whether NYU Courant has sent out the offers yet for applied math?

mmo5130
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Joined: Sat Sep 19, 2015 7:42 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by mmo5130 » Thu Feb 18, 2016 3:18 pm

mathymathy wrote:Does anyon know whether NYU Courant has sent out the offers yet for applied math?
Some folks received offers earlier this month and were invited to see the school next week. I'm sure they'll have another round of admits afterwards.

mathymathy
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Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by mathymathy » Thu Feb 18, 2016 3:35 pm

mmo5130 wrote:
mathymathy wrote:Does anyon know whether NYU Courant has sent out the offers yet for applied math?
Some folks received offers earlier this month and were invited to see the school next week. I'm sure they'll have another round of admits afterwards.
I see. Thanks for letting me know :D . You mind telling me when you submitted your application?

mmo5130
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Sep 19, 2015 7:42 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by mmo5130 » Thu Feb 18, 2016 8:00 pm

mathymathy wrote:
mmo5130 wrote:
mathymathy wrote:Does anyon know whether NYU Courant has sent out the offers yet for applied math?
Some folks received offers earlier this month and were invited to see the school next week. I'm sure they'll have another round of admits afterwards.
I see. Thanks for letting me know :D . You mind telling me when you submitted your application?
I submitted mine Dec. 12th. I actually don't plan to attend, as crazy as that sounds, so you might hear something. :)

mathmonkey
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Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by mathmonkey » Fri Feb 19, 2016 12:23 pm

UCLA just sent out a bunch of rejections. Seems to be mostly international students though.

rpought
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 1:13 am

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by rpought » Fri Feb 19, 2016 2:51 pm

I emailed Duke to ask about applications. All admits were sent out. They accepted 32 out of 252. No more offers will be made.

I made the first cut though, so that's something? Haha.

lonny_sti
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2015 9:12 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by lonny_sti » Fri Feb 19, 2016 3:00 pm

rpought wrote:I emailed Duke to ask about applications. All admits were sent out. They accepted 32 out of 252. No more offers will be made.
rpought, thanks for emailing them.
So, there is no more hope, I guess.
Just in case, I've just checked their application status system, there is still no info about the rejection/acceptance/wait list on my page...

Exactimum
Posts: 25
Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2016 3:37 am

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by Exactimum » Sat Feb 20, 2016 12:31 am

rpought wrote:I emailed Duke to ask about applications. All admits were sent out. They accepted 32 out of 252. No more offers will be made.
Do you know if the same goes for applied maths applicants?

rpought
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 1:13 am

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by rpought » Sat Feb 20, 2016 1:07 am

Exactimum wrote:
rpought wrote:I emailed Duke to ask about applications. All admits were sent out. They accepted 32 out of 252. No more offers will be made.
Do you know if the same goes for applied maths applicants?
No idea lol.

lonny_sti
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2015 9:12 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by lonny_sti » Sat Feb 20, 2016 2:13 am

On gradcafe two people reported acceptance to the UIUC pure math PhD program. Any rejections? Is UIUC still working with applications?

ted_li
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Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by ted_li » Sat Feb 20, 2016 2:13 pm

lonny_sti wrote:On gradcafe two people reported acceptance to the UIUC pure math PhD program. Any rejections? Is UIUC still working with applications?
I was told by a professor there that they are still reading applications and making offers. I tried to stay calm, but it is really driving me crazy.

GeorgeKats
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Feb 21, 2016 3:29 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by GeorgeKats » Sun Feb 21, 2016 3:31 pm

So far on Grad Cafe I've only seen one admit to the University of Toronto math PhD program. Anybody know if they are still working on applications?

jsmith
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Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by jsmith » Mon Feb 22, 2016 3:27 pm

Any international students that heard back from U of Washington, Seattle? (Pure Math)

KatrinaElizabeth
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Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by KatrinaElizabeth » Mon Feb 22, 2016 7:30 pm

So it seems Stanford just sent out their rejections, and UC Davis sent out financial package offers.

My UC Davis support package requires I teach the first year and only amounts to $19,279.50 for the academic year, but I still have to pay about $777.00 in uncovered tuition, so it totals about $18,500 for the academic year (doesn't mention summers at all). Have more of you received similar offers or very different offers? Anyone know about summers? Rutgers offered me almost double this amount with no teaching duties for two years. I'm wondering if $18,500 is even enough to live on in Davis. Plus, the letter says they don't actually pay graduate students/ TAs until Nov 1st. Do they expect we all have several months of living expenses to just pay out of pocket up front? This seems so unusual to me. Sad day.
:-/

mathmonkey
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Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by mathmonkey » Mon Feb 22, 2016 7:51 pm

I also just received an email from UC Davis. They offered me approximately $34000 for the school year and $6000 for the summer. This includes teaching and fellowships.

KatrinaElizabeth
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Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by KatrinaElizabeth » Mon Feb 22, 2016 7:55 pm

mathmonkey wrote:I also just received an email from UC Davis. They offered me approximately $34000 for the school year and $6000 for the summer. This includes teaching and fellowships.
Congrats, I'm so jealous! UC Davis was a very serious contender for me (top two that I've heard back from), and now it seems financially impossible for me to accept. Do you know the name of your fellowship? I got one from UCSC, but was really hoping for one from Davis.

mathmonkey
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Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by mathmonkey » Mon Feb 22, 2016 8:05 pm

There's a few fellowships and there's an additional non-resident supplemental tuition fellowship. I'm not sure if I'm calculating the financial support correctly, maybe?


EDIT: Okay so I think I miscalculated. I shouldn't have included the tuition fellowship. So its more like $19000 and $6000 for summers.

KatrinaElizabeth
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Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 3:29 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by KatrinaElizabeth » Mon Feb 22, 2016 8:13 pm

mathmonkey wrote:There's a few fellowships and there's an additional non-resident supplemental tuition fellowship. I'm not sure if I'm calculating the financial support correctly, maybe?
Ya, I got the nonresident tuition supplement as well, but I don't believe we get to keep that. It still sounds like you got quite a bit more, plus mine didn't mention anything about the summer. I'm hoping to get in touch with a few UC Davis grad students to try and figure out what the cost of living is like.

Edit: I just saw your edit. Maybe we are closer than I initially thought, but now I wonder why mine didn't mention summers. The extra $6000 would help so much. Maybe that's just part of the fellowship for you.

AMGMScrub
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Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by AMGMScrub » Mon Feb 22, 2016 8:20 pm

You can look on Craigslist to get a feel what the rent is like at Davis. I'd imagine UC Davis wouldn't give you a stipend that is less than what the cost of living is over there.

mathmonkey
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Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by mathmonkey » Mon Feb 22, 2016 8:20 pm

Yeah they said something along the lines of summer fellowship.

MathCat
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Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by MathCat » Mon Feb 22, 2016 10:36 pm

Don't include nonresident tuition as income. All that means is that the department is paying your out-of-state tuition fees (for the first year for Americans, and for 5 years for internationals usually). Also, I suggest asking about summer funding opportunities if it is not mentioned in your offer. I believe it is typical for departments to have many TA and RA positions in the summers, they simply cannot *guarantee* them. You should also ask current students what they do for summer funding if/when you visit.

If you are seriously interested in a department but cannot accept for financial reasons, you should politely contact them and ask if there is anything they can do. If you have a higher offer, you may be able to leverage this if you are delicate about it. Do NOT sound presumptuous or like they owe you anything, and if you say you cannot accept without increased funding, be prepared to decline if they deny your request. There is a difference between wanting more money and actually needing more money to get by. IMO, you should only consider funding as far as whether it is enough for you to live comfortably on, whatever your definition of that is. Anything extra should not be the deciding factor over personal and research fit. Do not forget to account for cost of living in various places!

(Re: UC Davis in particular: the UC system doesn't have that much money. The typical TA amount offered by UCSD is approximately $18,000 (+possibility of summer funding, not guaranteed), not counting a fellowship they offer to most/all first year students (1 year only). And that's to live in La Jolla.)

KatrinaElizabeth
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Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by KatrinaElizabeth » Mon Feb 22, 2016 10:48 pm

MathCat wrote:Don't include nonresident tuition as income. All that means is that the department is paying your out-of-state tuition fees (for the first year for Americans, and for 5 years for internationals usually). Also, I suggest asking about summer funding opportunities if it is not mentioned in your offer. I believe it is typical for departments to have many TA and RA positions in the summers, they simply cannot *guarantee* them. You should also ask current students what they do for summer funding if/when you visit.

If you are seriously interested in a department but cannot accept for financial reasons, you should politely contact them and ask if there is anything they can do. If you have a higher offer, you may be able to leverage this if you are delicate about it. Do NOT sound presumptuous or like they owe you anything, and if you say you cannot accept without increased funding, be prepared to decline if they deny your request. There is a difference between wanting more money and actually needing more money to get by. IMO, you should only consider funding as far as whether it is enough for you to live comfortably on, whatever your definition of that is. Anything extra should not be the deciding factor over personal and research fit. Do not forget to account for cost of living in various places!

(Re: UC Davis in particular: the UC system doesn't have that much money. The typical TA amount offered by UCSD is approximately $18,000 (+possibility of summer funding, not guaranteed), not counting a fellowship they offer to most/all first year students (1 year only). And that's to live in La Jolla.)
Thank you! I wish there was a 'like' button. I've since realized the actual amount is not that low compared to what other schools offer, but my main/ much bigger concern is the fact that the first paycheck wouldn't come until November. Is this normal for other UC schools or any other schools? It would be extremely tight/ possibly impossible for me to come up with the money to move to California, pay the school $900+ for tuition and fees, and then pay for 3-4 months of rent, food, gas, and supplies without /any/ support at all.

rpought
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Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by rpought » Mon Feb 22, 2016 11:43 pm

I went to Davis as an undergrad. Rent was cheap there IF you knew what to look for. I lived in three places. First was $450/month. Second was $310/month. Third was $370/month. All were found through Craigslist.

Let me know if you have any questions about the town of Davis. It's a nice place.

MathCat
Posts: 187
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Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by MathCat » Mon Feb 22, 2016 11:54 pm

KatrinaElizabeth wrote:
MathCat wrote:Don't include nonresident tuition as income. All that means is that the department is paying your out-of-state tuition fees (for the first year for Americans, and for 5 years for internationals usually). Also, I suggest asking about summer funding opportunities if it is not mentioned in your offer. I believe it is typical for departments to have many TA and RA positions in the summers, they simply cannot *guarantee* them. You should also ask current students what they do for summer funding if/when you visit.

If you are seriously interested in a department but cannot accept for financial reasons, you should politely contact them and ask if there is anything they can do. If you have a higher offer, you may be able to leverage this if you are delicate about it. Do NOT sound presumptuous or like they owe you anything, and if you say you cannot accept without increased funding, be prepared to decline if they deny your request. There is a difference between wanting more money and actually needing more money to get by. IMO, you should only consider funding as far as whether it is enough for you to live comfortably on, whatever your definition of that is. Anything extra should not be the deciding factor over personal and research fit. Do not forget to account for cost of living in various places!

(Re: UC Davis in particular: the UC system doesn't have that much money. The typical TA amount offered by UCSD is approximately $18,000 (+possibility of summer funding, not guaranteed), not counting a fellowship they offer to most/all first year students (1 year only). And that's to live in La Jolla.)
Thank you! I wish there was a 'like' button. I've since realized the actual amount is not that low compared to what other schools offer, but my main/ much bigger concern is the fact that the first paycheck wouldn't come until November. Is this normal for other UC schools or any other schools? It would be extremely tight/ possibly impossible for me to come up with the money to move to California, pay the school $900+ for tuition and fees, and then pay for 3-4 months of rent, food, gas, and supplies without /any/ support at all.
I don't know if all UCs wait until Nov. 1 to begin TA payments, but it's likely because you don't start TAing until October, so you get paid for October on Nov. 1. Ask whoever is in charge of finances - most universities have short term loans they can give to graduate students.

KatrinaElizabeth
Posts: 47
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 3:29 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by KatrinaElizabeth » Tue Feb 23, 2016 12:04 am

rpought wrote:I went to Davis as an undergrad. Rent was cheap there IF you knew what to look for. I lived in three places. First was $450/month. Second was $310/month. Third was $370/month. All were found through Craigslist.

Let me know if you have any questions about the town of Davis. It's a nice place.
Cool! That's actually very encouraging! I will be in touch!

Plus, I spent a summer studying math at Purdue, so let me know if you have any questions about the area!

KatrinaElizabeth
Posts: 47
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 3:29 pm

Re: Fall 2016 Application Sweat Thread

Post by KatrinaElizabeth » Tue Feb 23, 2016 12:07 am

MathCat wrote:
KatrinaElizabeth wrote:
MathCat wrote:Don't include nonresident tuition as income. All that means is that the department is paying your out-of-state tuition fees (for the first year for Americans, and for 5 years for internationals usually). Also, I suggest asking about summer funding opportunities if it is not mentioned in your offer. I believe it is typical for departments to have many TA and RA positions in the summers, they simply cannot *guarantee* them. You should also ask current students what they do for summer funding if/when you visit.

If you are seriously interested in a department but cannot accept for financial reasons, you should politely contact them and ask if there is anything they can do. If you have a higher offer, you may be able to leverage this if you are delicate about it. Do NOT sound presumptuous or like they owe you anything, and if you say you cannot accept without increased funding, be prepared to decline if they deny your request. There is a difference between wanting more money and actually needing more money to get by. IMO, you should only consider funding as far as whether it is enough for you to live comfortably on, whatever your definition of that is. Anything extra should not be the deciding factor over personal and research fit. Do not forget to account for cost of living in various places!

(Re: UC Davis in particular: the UC system doesn't have that much money. The typical TA amount offered by UCSD is approximately $18,000 (+possibility of summer funding, not guaranteed), not counting a fellowship they offer to most/all first year students (1 year only). And that's to live in La Jolla.)
Thank you! I wish there was a 'like' button. I've since realized the actual amount is not that low compared to what other schools offer, but my main/ much bigger concern is the fact that the first paycheck wouldn't come until November. Is this normal for other UC schools or any other schools? It would be extremely tight/ possibly impossible for me to come up with the money to move to California, pay the school $900+ for tuition and fees, and then pay for 3-4 months of rent, food, gas, and supplies without /any/ support at all.
I don't know if all UCs wait until Nov. 1 to begin TA payments, but it's likely because you don't start TAing until October, so you get paid for October on Nov. 1. Ask whoever is in charge of finances - most universities have short term loans they can give to graduate students.
Thanks! I will keep looking into options and weighing things as I hear back from more schools and gather more info. I won't email the actual department or financial resource people until I figure out what I can about the whole situation. I realize extra money may serve as a small incentive in some cases, but I'm just hoping it will never serve as a definitive obstacle in preventing me from attending a school I was accepted into. But this is helpful--a short term loan might just do the trick! :-)



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