University of California, San Diego: Alumina POV

The classes were tough.

The first couple of terms maths classes were easy because they were a repeat of what I studied in 11th and 12th grade, but later they got very difficult very fast.

I applied to the following-
UCSD - admitted
UIUC - admitted
University of Bristol - admitted
Edinburgh University - admitted
UCLA - rejected
UC Berkeley - rejected
LSE - rejected

I believe that i was rejected from these largely because of my grades. My predicted grades in particular were less than I would have hoped for and I believe this held me back.

My main choice was between UCSD and University of Edinburgh because of the programmes I got into - I chose UCSD largely because of the location.

The admission process involved filling the common app for UK schools an the UC application for the UCs. These needed at least 2 essays, 2 letters of recommendations, and SAT scores. I don't remember the minimum requirements but I got a 2140 in the SAT.

I applied to the fall 2015 in take and the application process took about 3 months - not counting my study time for the SAT. I studied for about a year for the SAT and then based on my score I decided which schools I could apply to. It took me 3 months to finalise my essays after starting, and I heard from the school in another 3 months. The school reached out in mid March to inform me of the acceptance.
 

While I studied applied mathematics, a lot of my classes were very theoretical which I did not enjoy.

The classrooms were big, with about 100 students per class, at least 30ish of which were Indian.

Monday Wednesday Friday typically had 3 classes of 50 minutes every day. Tuesday and Thursday generally had 2 classes of 80 minutes every day. Generally these were anytime between 9am and 6.30pm
 

UCSD has a massive library which students mostly spend their final exam week in.

Its got 7 floors - the basement and first floor are for "loud studying" and as you go higher a floor you have to be quieter.

I was part of the cricket club at UCSD and I really enjoyed my time there.

We had annual regionals in LA, regularly drove to play against UC Irvine, and even started to host home games.

The bollywood dancing clubs were also very big.
 

Maybe 10% of the students secure TA, RA, DA positions, but there are other opportunities.

I worked as a maths tutor in the library and earned 15 USD an hour for this. As a part time employee, I could work for a max of 20 hours a week.

Other, popular on campus jobs include jobs as baristas, bussers, dining hall employees. They generally paid 10-12 USD per hour.

Most Indians worked as tutors or Teaching Assistants. A lot also worked in dining halls.

Generally 1st year students aren't allowed to work, but after the first year these opportunities come up.

There is a portal through which students can find and apply to these jobs once eligible for them. For TA jobs it is best to talk to the professors directly.
 

Most American citizens got jobs within 6 months of graduation.

About 80% of Indian students got jobs within 6 months of completing their course. Usually students find jobs via linkedin, some of them via on campus career fairs.

Most of the Indians who got employed did it through securing a summer internship between their 3rd and 4th years, usually in consulting, which converted

I stayed on campus for all 4 years. In the first year we did not have access to on campus apartments and had to live in a shared room.

My room had 2 other people and this was difficult for me. I did not get along with them and had to change rooms after the first quarter.

In my second - fourth year I stayed on campus. Campus is very big and I stayed in different parts, all of which were close and far from different classes and dining halls. I recommend getting a bicycle to commute.
 

The following exams are pre-requisits for admission -
1. TOEFL
2. SAT or IELTS

The documents needed include 2 essays, 2 LORs, a CV, and school transcripts. The application was due during my board exams so predicted grades were needed from the school, and later I had to share my 12th grade board exam transcripts. There was no interview in the process
 

Since the University of California, San Diego is a public school, I do not think that scholarships were eligible for non American citizens - definitely not merit - based scholarships.

I did have friends who were American citizens who got full scholarships. This was mostly on a need based criteria.

I have no additional scholarship information.