graduate school (phd ) - Page 2

I am not in grad school, but i do research these things quite often. MOST PhD programs, especially in applied areas (or where subject tests are offered) are either required, or highly recommended. More so at the leading institutions they are required. GRE regular is required no matter what unless you are getting an MA or a joint that is a continuation from your school or your bachelor studies.

I have yet to see a PhD program that does not require ATLEAST the regular GRE. Some PhD's dont have subject tests, so those you mostly need the regular. However bio, chem, physics...i would imagine the subject test is needed along with the regular gre.

hello everyone, let me share my experience with you. i obtained my bachelor's degree from cal state long beach in civil engineering in 2009, and i'm currently pursuing my master's degree in civil engineering at ucla, i should graduate in june 2010. i took the general gre, and i was not offered any kind of assitance, all the money came from my pocket and from a scholarship i got (2000.00) a small scholarship compared to what a legal resident can get but anything helps, also my tax returns helped. eventhough i would be interested in pursuing a ph.d. it is simply unpractircal by the time i finish my master's i will be completely broke school is expensive.

You should talk to various departments and ask if they can fund you somehow. Though being an adjunct or teaching a class IS a requirement in many places....those requirements MAY also be waived if you work full time in lab. Ask if UCLA or whereever you are planning to do the PhD if they would allow that and provide you with some type of institutional funding.

I go to a school in the California State University school system. A professor recommended me for a research position. I came on here and read that some people were able to have their school transfer money directly to their tuition expenses, and with that in mind I said I would do it. I've been doing it for a month and a half now, but when it came down to pick up the paycheck I had to go through some system online that asked about my immigration background.

I called the department that takes care of preparing the checks, and after explaining my situation to her for 15 minutes she said something like "that means you're here illegally, we can't give you the money." She said she would email the adviser that is running the research project because "he's always making sure his students are getting paid." He happens to be the dean of one of the engineering departments.

A few days later I went to talk to him and he sounded just as confused as the lady on the phone. After telling him my immigration background he asked me how much I was paying for tuition and I figured he equated me paying instate tuition to my immigration status and I left his office.

It's been two weeks and I haven't gone back up to talk to him. I just don't want him to be like "oh you can't be doing this anymore you're out of the research team."

Anyone have any experience or advise on how to deal with this?

You gosh dang illegals! STOP trying to take away spots from good ol' pure-blood American children!

Stop pursuing all this fancy pants liberal elite stuff like education!

"DEY TOOK OUR JOBS!"

Seriously, guys, stop depriving the more deserving AMERICAN kids. Stop working hard. Stop getting smarter. Stop bettering yourselves.

God forsake y'all go on to be productive members of American society! God forsake y'all help contribute to the welfare system so that the same racists that hate you can someday retire.

This is all that darn Obaaaameeeer's fault. What does he know anyways, he's not even born in the U.S. of Amuuurica! Him and his fancy pants Harvard Law Degree, and his fancy pants Presidency.

what about the money to pay for the actual research that you'll be doing? i talked to one of my friends in grad school and she said it's really hard to do any kind of research without grants from the govt.

These topics usually make me really sad....

I was trying to go for a PhD in Physics, and every school I got accepted to could do nothing for me as far as living expenses. Some schools flat out told me that they no longer can offer my a spot once I told them of my status. Some schools offered tuition assistance but moving away to go for a PhD in any science, working in a lab/teaching for free as a requirement, and then working on the side to support yourself is truly impossible. There just aren't enough hours in the day and a PhD program is exhausting enough, and it's not even like med school where you can expect to make some serious money after you finish.

I personally decided to stay at home, was unable to matriculate at a state university close to home and had to pay a pretty high tuition out of pocket to take the necessary courses, and the help the university offered was pretty much negligible. So now I am at candidacy level but I cannot take the oral exam and at least leave with my masters because I am not matriculated, and even thinking about it makes my head hurt. God, whoever invented American bureaucracy should be burnt at the stake.

On a lighter note, I truly wish you the best of luck.

I'll share some stuff too. I got my M.S. in Urban Planning in Cal State. The process was very stressful because of the normal stuff that comes up and the problems that rose, since I am undocumented.
Ok GRE... the test was difficult in my opinion so please make sure you study. I personally did average, but partly because I did not sleep the night before, worked a 9hour job starting at 5am and had no drive to study. UCLA rejected me for the M.S. and UCI for a phd. I was accepted into cal poly pomona. I talked to several professors in UCI regarding my status and getting money to pay for my tuition, but they were very confused or did not have an answer so I didn't even finish the application. I doubt I would have gotten accepted anyways.
Going back to Cal Poly, everyone there behaved nicely although I mainly only dealt with the department's coordinator and the school's admissions office. AB540 did the trick and only had to make a couple of calls to clarify everything. Throughout the program I only had one problem where they would not give me my ID because they wanted a CA ID even after I explained everything. A person from EOP sent some emails, and made the person aware that I had to be given my ID. Other than that no other problems.
In terms of financing my school, I had to work 40 hours a week and go to school full time. Every now and then I would get some help with relatives or parents when I was running low. My aunt would feed me whenever I did not have money. It was very difficult gathering the money. I had no time to research scholarships and the school offered no type of help either.
How difficult was the program? Well, it was hard, but certainly not impossible. Looking back it opened many things in my head and changed me a lot on how I view life. It was a great learning experience. If you have the change and drive go for it. The only problem I have is that I obviously cannot obtain a job. It kind of sucks because the hard work has not paid off. Yeah I have a job, but my expectations are high and I feel a little useless. Right my explanation for not having a job is the economy, but soon I will not be able to use the excuse. Questions?

When you say "id" do you mean they were giving you a hard time issuing you a school id?! Or does it have to do with GRE? Just thinking about all the official exams that require me to show some id makes me want to just avoid things.

i'm doing a masters, failed my first test today methinks....