I’ve been admitted to Jacobs and am worried that UCSD will be a very impersonal experience. I’ve emailed the school twice with questions and have gotten no response. I also got an email from Dean Pisano welcoming me to Jacobs (supposedly a “personal welcome” but I’m guessing it’s a bulk email) and responded with a question (same one unanswered by the others ) and no response either. I’m guessing that UCSD is not the most personal experience given they have over 6,000 engineering undergrads?
What email addresses are you emailing?
admissionsreply@ucsd.edu, sdesousa@ucsd.edu and asktheking@ucsd.edu (this is supposedly Dean Pisano’s email which seems a bit pompous)
I’m going to be honest, Dean Pisano manages a lot of people and money and he’s not going to have time to reply to every incoming freshman’s question. If that’s your metric for impersonality, then you’re going to be disappointed. If you’re coming to Triton Day, you’re more likely to be able to run into him and ask your questions.
What are those questions? Maybe we can help you out with them. If you’re worried that UCSD doesn’t feel personal, I can alleviate that. Yes, you don’t have direct interaction with the dean, nor should you. He can’t teach you anything. Unless you’re a Jacobs Scholar or Chancellor’s Associate, you’ll probably never be in the same room as top-level administrators (think of the Chancellor as the CEO of a 30,000 employee company, he’s got a lot on his plate). Engineering professors are generally really keen to talk about their careers and give advice, though. I’ve sat down at office hours and talked with different professors about my graduate plans. One invited her students to come talk to Bristol Myers Squibb representatives who were hiring. Another had a post-final beer garden. It varies from prof to prof, and some will emphasize interactions with the TAs (Bernhard Palsson is notorious for this), but my experience has generally been really positive. Does that help?
Sure that’s helpful. However, If someone sends me an email addressed to me directly and says it’s a “personal welcome” I do expect a response. Otherwise, just send it as a memo or something and don’t pretend it’s a personal message - that’s disingenuous. The administrator who supposedly advises undergraduate Mech E students I sent the questions to didn’t respond either nor the general admission mailbox. I’m feeling like a bit of a number here and as an OOS student this school is costing a lot.
The question I was asking that no one responded to was whether I could attend a few engineering classes while visiting. It costs a lot of money to travel from the East Coast (like a $1,000 per person) and so far the Triton Day offerings seem pretty thin - just a few general info sessions and tours - to justify spending so much money.
No one is going to stop you from sitting in on a lecture hall as long as long as it is a big one
asktheking@ucsd.edu is not actually Dean Pisano’s email, but the email for our mascot haha.
Admissions offices are currently busy, but I suspect it will be easier to get a response via call. Emails get lost all the time, especially around this season.
You can sit in on the engineering classes, by the way. Any topic you’re interested in? I’ll find you some times and rooms. However there are no classes on Triton day, which IIRC is a Saturday?
MWF - 2:00-2:50 - MAE 101B - Advanced Fluid Mechanics - Keiko Nomura
That should overlap with your visit, and give you a feel for what upper division Mech E lectures feel like. If you want something a little more approachable, http://admissions.ucsd.edu/visit/attend-a-class/ has classes that allow anyone to sit in. Not a fan of MAE 3 or 8, though.
As far as getting in touch with advisers, most of their work is done in person or through the Virtual Advising Center, I don’t know if they answer emails.
@DoctorP u forgot to include the room (๑ơ ₃ ơ)
@ucsdcompsci @LakeClouds SOLIS 107 (I’m the worst)
@DoctorP Thanks for the recommendations! Fluid Mechanics would be good. I’m more interested in the engineering classes 0 I’ll be able to place out of many of the prelims.
@ucsdcompsci It’s odd they sent me an email with a bogus reply address. Maybe the mascot will get in touch
Just cuz the dean of admissions, during the time where he is still having to go through loads of transfer apps, doesn’t mean he is an “impersonal” guy