<p>Hi! I am a senior at CSU East Bay (yes we all still call it Hayward) majoring in chemistry with a minor in math. I just applied to graduate schools in chemistry and I have started to get responses back. I have yet to visit the campuses but I plan to in the near future. I didnt really have a top choice but I do know how the colleges rank by talking to professors and doing searches on Google. Im curious about what people here think about the schools I have gotten into, especially what you think about UCSB and UCSD; if I dont get into Berk, LA, or SF I might have a tough time deciding between those two in particular. As I said I have yet to visit any of the campuses so that might play a role in my decision. If anyone has any experiences at these universities as an undergrad or is a current grad any comments I could get would be appreciated, thanks!</p>
<p>Applied to:
UC Riverside Admitted<br>
UC San Diego Admitted<br>
UC Santa Cruz Admitted<br>
UC Santa Barbara Admitted<br>
UC Los Angeles Waiting
UC Berkeley Waiting
UC SF (C&CB) Waiting
UC Davis Admitted
UC Merced Waiting</p>
<p>Why no UC Davis either? Is UCSB and UCSD ranked particularly higher than UCD in chemistry? I'm from UCSB, so I definitely know that the program is pretty so-so.</p>
<p>Cali is my state because I have no money for traveling. As far as UCI goes, the research the professors were doing there just didn't interest me much. Also i did apply to Davis like my first post stated. I posted so i could find out from the people who may be at one of these schools because besides what I read on their websites and what I hear from professors I don't know much about the programs. I find it hard to believe that UCSB is so-so considering the former VP of Clorox did his graduate study there, and he did recommend that I seriously consider going there.</p>
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Cali is my state because I have no money for traveling.
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It's a little late to be telling you this, but if you're accepted to a school, they pay for your recruitment visit. If you decide to attend, you're paid a stipend that you could use to travel home. Also, why not top-tier private institutions in California? Their professors are as great or better, and because the Governator doesn't control their budgets, the stipends are usually higher.</p>
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I find it hard to believe that UCSB is so-so considering the former VP of Clorox did his graduate study there, and he did recommend that I seriously consider going there.
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No offense to the former VP of Clorox, but are you basing your opinion of a grad program on the fact that one of their graduates is an R&D exec? UCSB may or may not be so-so, but Clorox's hiring practices are a poor gauge of program quality.</p>
<p>Most schools will not completely cover your travel expenses. And yes I know all about the money you get in graduate school from being a GSR and/or a TA along with scholarships. And I base my opinion about UCSB or any other school for that matter by what I have been told about by someone who did their graduate research at that school or who has close ties to the chemistry/biochemistry department. Clorox's hiring practices have nothing to do with my opinion of UCSB.</p>
<p>Wait, are we talking about PhD or MS. Those are two different things in terms of funding/support. </p>
<p>I didn't major in chemistry at UCSB, but I did take a lot of core classes at the undergrad level as a part of an engineering concentration a few years ago. So maybe, it might be different at the grad level. But believe me, so-so is definitely the term I would still characterize it. Great engineering school though. But I don't think you should base where you would be going to graduate school by it's own students. Certainly I would think that UCSB engineering is the greatest/bestest thing ever to happen just because I went there. But it is up to you to do the research to figure out if that's truely reflected of the school.</p>
<p>I agree that this is a little late to be doing your research on these programs, or any programs, for that matter. By the time you apply, you should have an excellent idea of the pros and cons of the programs so that you can make an acceptance decision.</p>