Financial Support for Grad School - Please Help!!!

Graduate School
1

<p>Hello, </p>

<p>I am applying to UCLA's electrical engineering graduate program for fall 2010. I have heard that due to the economic crisis, many schools are sorting applicants based on their ability to afford grad school.</p>

<p>I am applying for a fellowship at UCLA; however, this may decrease my chances of being accepted. I have an overall gpa of 3.6 (junior/senior gpa is 3.6) from a california state school.</p>

<p>I am really nervous. any help that can be provided is much appreciated. </p>

<p>Please help. </p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

2

<p>First question is are you a Ph.D. or Masters student? Most Ph.D. get support(sometimes all in a program) and most masters students get no support. My recommendation is to apply for both Masters and Ph.D.</p>

<p>If you are American you can always get federal loans. You can also get private loans. </p>

<p>Many school ask something to the effect of “Will you accept without funding?” You can say yes or no. If you are worried about financial aid concern limiting your chances then say “yes”. What I will recommend is call the program and ask whether or not you can say “yes” to this question and still be considered for financial aid(ie fellowships,TAs and RAs) Also, ask whether or not saying “yes” will decrease your chances of getting aid. The crazy thing about all this is that the schools require a decision to accept or decline by mid april to mid may, but they can fund you whenever they want. I got a really nice offer in my Ph.D. program a few days before school started. </p>

<p>Also, if you don’t have any financial aid, you can double accept without issue.
If you do have financial aid, double accepting can be very tricky. There is an agreement thru a graduate school council that most major universities in the nation have signed basically respecting each universities funding offers. For example, if you accepted an offer after april 15th from one school, but got another offer in the middle of May you’d need to go to the first school you accepted with and get a release of thier financial aid offer. They are likely to give a release, but it can be tricky and you can burn bridges.</p>

<p>Hope this helps.</p>

3

<p>Whether the rumor is true or false, just what do you think you can do about the situation?</p>