Graduate School

I asked this before but I decide to start a new thread instead with a little more info!
Has anyone applied for grad school in california??? I wanted to apply to get my masters or phd in Psychology, but I'm wondering how to go about it. I mean how do you put experience on your resume, how do you work while you are in the program, and how do you pay for it all??? Do you tell them about the situation before you even apply?
I don't have any visa or anything. The only I have is my matricula and Mex passport that I just got. My dad is waiting for his U.S. citizen brother's application to go through which looks like it will be by next summer.

Any help would be very appreciated!!!

You can be admitted to the programs, but the issue is on paying for it. Most PhD students do research/teaching assistantships that cover most of the cost of the program but it seems you need to be legal (since you need to be on the payroll and US law requires everyone on the payroll to be legal) for that and probably to receive the stipend as well.

From email correspondence:

UC Davis: " In order to be employed as a TA or Graduate Student Researchers, you must be eligible to be employed under US Citizen and Immigration Services rules. The essential document is the I-9 form (see http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-9.pdf for the form and instructions). Unfortunately, undocumented students are also not eligible for fellowships or other financial support offered by the university. Your only source of support, other than the current elimination of nonresident tuition under AB 540, is outside agency scholarships or fellowships (e.g., private foundations making awards directly to the student). "

UCLA: "UCLA's TAship's eligibility does not require students to have legal status. Therefore, no forms [I-9] need to be submitted to be a TA"

Stanford: "Admitted international students are assigned a F-1 visa for the duration of their involvement in the Ph.D. program and this allows for students to work as T.A’s. "

UCLA's reply seems the most confusing because of their brevity and inconsistency with the other schools ([email protected])

Like any US citizen, you can apply to a graduate program. The only issue is the money. If you have done well in your studies, many private schools will pay the bill for your PhD, that is, they will give you a fellowship that does not depend on your legal status. Government schools on the other hand, cannot help you much as far as money goes. I'm at a Calstate right now, and I am paying $1800 a quarter for graduate studies.

In Physical sciences, the situation is horrible for undocumented. First, the acceptance to a really good program is ridiculously hard because of the competition. So, obviously you are already at a disadvantage. Some schools will tell you straight up that if you do not have work authorization in the US they will not admit you.

Second, when you get in, you might get a tuition stipend but they will expect you to work for your living stipend as a TA or RA. There is no way around it, being a PhD. student is closer to having a job than going to school anyway. There are like 2 fellowships given every year, but they are virtually impossible to get since everyone expects you to already have the standard stipend. You either have to study or work in the lab all the time so there is no way to work outside part-time either.

I have added a list of PhD fields in order of difficulty of entry at the bottom. I know it is nearly impossible to get a full ride for Med school. However, most of the physical sciences will pay for your entire PhD program if you are pimp. As a matter of fact, there is a lot of money floating around for mathematics, physics, and engineering (I've come across a lot of scholarships for Latino engineers); this is specifically true in private schools. Shit, I wish that were true for economics. Now if you are only looking to get a Masters, be ready to pay for the program out of your own pocket as most grad programs reserve their money for PhD students. As far as having to work in labs and so forth, we should be so lucky to have such opportunity to gain experience and prospective LOR by well known researchers. PhD programs are difficult to complete, you literally become a slave for 5 to 6 years (not the 4 that people say). In addition, it takes a shit load more to get into a PhD program than into a masters. So make sure you know what you want to do before you try to swim with the big fish...

PhD Fields in Order of Difficulty of Entry




1.Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics

2.Economics

3.Electrical Engineering, Biology, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering

4.English, Philosophy

5.Mechanical Engineering

6.Psychology

7.Earth Sciences, Material Science, Political Science, History

8.Civil Engineering

9.Industrial Engineering

10.Anthropology / Archaeology, Art History

11.Theology, Sociology

12.Communication

I'm sure criminal justice must be the easiest to get into. lol

Well first thank you all for your responses!
I plan on attending a cal sate, I would love to do a UC but I don't have the grades for it hehe. But I actually fell in love (yes it's LOVE) with certain school program. The degree is a masters program. The financial part I'm kinda worried but not too much only because my parents have offered help. And I work so I'm saving money too. I also found out through here that I can apply for a loan (is that still true?) and my boyfriend who is a U.S. citizen has offered to help by being a co-signer. I'm also looking for scholarships.

I guess my issue is how do I do the part where you do the work. I mean is there a way to just volunteer for it, get maybe just school credit for it? When I was an undergrad I got into a program where you taught the class they didn't know about my situation. But the program instead of paying students, gave you 4 credits for the class. Another question I have is should I just tell the program straight up that I don't posses any legal documentation before I even apply? Should I call them and say,"hey I'm thinking about applying will the program work around the situation??" I guess I'm confused because I hear that students are going to grad school that are in our situation, and I wonder how they do it if they are undocumented....

No, your program won't even need to know anything... The school, however, will require that you turn in the AB-540 form so that they can charge you instate tuition. Now as far as working for credits, your school or program might offer something of the sort. However, you might be up to your neck with school work so be careful. Remember that you also have to do a thesis. Some programs will let you get away with writing a thesis that is acceptable, but why not write an honors thesis. Shit, get it published if you can...This will help you out in the future when you are applying for a job. Do research if possible.

Hey Blue. I am from CA and I completed a Masters in Linguistics from CSU Long Beach last year. As others have said, you don't have to tell the program ANYTHING in order to be admitted. You fill out the AB540 form the same way you did it for your BA degree.
In regards to the money, all CSU's have a "payment-plan" program. You pay $33 to sign up, and it allows you to pay the semester tuition in three payments over the semester instead of paying it all at once it the beginning. You apply for it at the Cashier's office or wherever you have to pay tuition. This really helped me out when I was going through the program. You say you are working (which is GREAT!) and you have the support of your family, so you should be able to do it (forget about shopping and buying a new car or anything like that, but you can do it!).
My concern is this. Some programs (BA or MA or credentials) require that you do some things outside of the classroom, and it is here that you may run into some problems. For my BA for example, I had to take a class that required me, as part of my grade, to complete a "California Teching Credential" application. For this application, I had to get fingerprinted, which of course I couldn't and wouldn't do, since the fingerprinting was for a background check in which a SS is required and which of course I didn't have. I postponed it as much as I could, and in order not to affect my grade, I told my professor the truth. It was the only time EVER i had told anyone in school about my situation and I was scared and also embarrased. But you know, he was the nicest man and more that anything he was astounded about the fact that I was in that situation and that despite not having a driver's license, no financial aid, nothing, that I was there and had actually written a paper that he showed the rest of the class as a sample of what an "A" paper looked like. With professors, this will most likely be the case. Professors, like most of the American public, are unaware that these students are sitting in their classes and hence, when you go through any education program that requires you for some reason to do something that you can't do because you don't have a SS#, then the professor will not know why you haven't done the assignment. Use you own judgement to see if you want to tell them and negotiate with them to see if another assignment can be completed in its place.
I got a little off topic Blue, but do your research and find out what the classes in MA in Psychology really require. Go to the school you want to go to and buy a school Handbook that has detailed class descriptions. I'm sure the school has a Psychology Club, so see if you can attend a meeting. Bottome line is, research and start working on the application for now. Then, worry about problems as they come. You can do it Blue!