vschow said:
How did you get into UCSD for post bac program? I thought UCs were very strict about that. I'm a UCD Alum and I tried to get back into Davis and they were not helpful at all. They were more concerned with freshman getting their classes and didn't want an old fart like me taking up space. Any help you can offer would be great!!
I'm actually a UCD alum too. I asked them about doing a postbacc, too, and just like you said, they were way more concerned with the undergrads. So, I explored my options. My boyfriend was in San Diego, so the first school I looked at after UCD was UCSD. It took a lot of reading through their catalog online, but I found a paragraph about a Non-Degree Graduate Program in the Bio Department. I went and talked to someone in the office there, and he was extremely nice. The deadline to apply was already way past and they were about to make decisions on who to let in, but he bent over backwards to make it work for me.
The deal on the program is you're officially a graduate student. You pay grad student fees (tuition), get grad student parking (thank god), and all the other stuff grad students get (ie healthcare, social events, etc). However, it's just for a year (although it can be extended to 2) and at the end of it you don't receive a degree. You're free to take whatever classes you want while you're there. As for financial aid, you're not eligible for grants or scholarships, but you can get subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans, which helps a lot. You do need to take the GRE, get letters of rec, transcripts, write a personal statement, fill out an application, and all that stuff. You're competing against the normal MA and PhD students for your spot so it's not like you're automatically in, but it's worth a shot. When I applied I think the stat was something around 3 out of 12 got in.
I'm not sure if other UCs have this program, but if you're interested in UCSD's send me a PM and I'll give you the contact info for the guy I spoke with. The deadline was sometime in January, but I didn't apply until mid-July so you should be fine since it's only mid-May.