NAVIGATING GRADUATE SCHOOLMartha Ortega Mendoza, Seeking a PhD in Education at UC Berkeley

Ivonne Beltran, Medical Student at Loyola University in Chicago

Emelin Hernandez, TheDream.US Alumnus and MS candidate in Engineering, U Texas – Rio Grande

Pratishtha Khana, MS Biomedical Sciences Candidate, at Western University of Health Sciences

Jose Magaña-Salgado, Principal, Masa Group

HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS

● This webinar is being recorded.

● Handout panel: Click to download

● Questions: Ask via two ways:

○ Hand icon to ask a question using your voice. You

will need to unmute yourself when called upon.

○ Question box - type in your questions.

○ During Q&A periods we will call on people who

raised their hands and submitted typed questions

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Introductions

• Choosing a Graduate School

• Role of Advisors

• Funding Graduate School

• Crafting the Statement of Purpose

POLL TIME

GENERAL ADVICE

● There is no “one correct path”

● Imposter syndrome can be magnified in graduate school

● You are not alone in this journey!

● Reach out to Dreamer Groups on campus

CHOOSING A GRADUATE SCHOOL OR DEGREE• Ultimate Career goal

• M.A. vs. Ph.D. vs. Professional

School

• Private vs. Public

• Supportive vs. Non-supportive

• Financial support available

LOCATION MATTERS FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL• No federal policies help

undocumented students

• Educational opportunities vary by state

• Visit uLEAD to learn about immigration-related & educational policies by state

uLEAD. (n.d.). Policy Environment - Select a state to see the policies. Retrieved from https://uleadnet.org/

GRADUATE SCHOOLS

• Students should apply to a wide spectrum of schools

• Ivy League Schools because of financial resources

• Loyola University Chicago (Medical School)

• University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Engineering)

• The University of California (UC)

• The California State University (CSU)

• Western University of Health Sciences

PANELISTS

Tell us how and why you chose your graduate school and what other graduates schools you applied to.

Applying for graduate school takes a lot of energy, emotional stress, and

proactiveness. More critically, it’s all about networking and perseverance!Martin

UndocuGrads: Navigating Graduate School as an Undocumented Student

QUESTIONS

ROLE OF ADVISORS

THE ROLE OF ADVISERS• Advisers influence academic and emotional mentorship,

funding opportunities, letters of recommendation, employment, etc.

• Students without an adviser might take longer to complete their programs

• Weigh the presence of good advisers heavily with other selection criteria

• Contact potential advisers so that they can leverage their influence to admit you with a good funding package

ADVISER-STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS• Faculty productivity depends in part on

the quality of their graduate students, especially in the sciences and social sciences

• In humanities graduate students often work in areas that are not connected to their professor’s research and joint publications are rare and less likely to use research assistants

ATTRIBUTES OF A GOOD ADVISER✔ Career maturity: Look for faculty members who are secured in their field

✔ Tenured faculty

✔ Active in the field: Up-to-date on the latest literature and research methods

✔ Rigor: Has strong foundation on experimental designs, statistics, theory, and etc.

✔ Track record of advising first-generation & low-income students*, and undocumented students

*Peters, pg. 296

BEGIN YOUR RESEARCH!

If undergrad, make a list of potential advisers by junior year

To compile your list:

• Ask professors & TAs for names of the top scholars in your field

• Ask faculty members to introduce you to a potential adviser

• Browse different department websites

• Attend conferences, notice faculty who capture your attention

• Read scholarly journals to find faculty doing cutting edge work in your field

REACH OUT TO POTENTIAL ADVISERS

• Make intentional contact; let them know your interest in a specific program

• Take a class, an independent study course or work in their labs

• Follow them in conferences, reach out in advance, let them know you admire their work and ask questions

• Do not ask professors general admission questions; ask about their latest publications, conference presentations, etc.

• Once relationship is established, ask if they are taking any students for the upcoming application cycle

• Ask faculty members to refer you to their grad students

REFINE YOUR LIST

• Familiarize yourself with the work of the faculty in your list

• This process is vital to help you weave in the work of potential faculty advisers into school applications

• Rule of thumb: select two to three potential advisers per school in case one is not accepting students in a given application cycle, moves campus, etc.

LAST WORD OF ADVICE

• Avoid applying to schools without reaching out to advisers and allies first

• It will be difficult to adjust to your program & establish a professional relationships with faculty

• If using a MA program as a springboard to a Ph.D. program, it is vital to maintain an excellent relationship with your adviser

• Reputation of graduate program becomes more important if not going into academia (Peters, pg. 29).

Peters, R. 1997. Getting what you came for: The smart student’s guide to earning a master’s or Ph.D. New York, NY: MacmillanPublishers.

QUESTIONS

FUNDING GRADUATE SCHOOL

TYPES OF AID FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL

•Fellowships (internal & external)

•Departmental Funding

•Scholarships

•Fundraising on Your Own

•Private Loans

•Some State Aid

FELLOWSHIPS• Competitive and merit-based monetary awards

• Internal Fellowships vs. External Fellowships

Internal Fellowships: • Awarded by home institutions whether that is by a department, graduate

division

• Some internal fellowships require students to serve either as a Teacher Assistant (TA) or Research Assistant in exchange of the financial award

INTERNAL FELLOWSHIPS CONTINUED

How to maintain your fellowship award:

• Maintain good academic standing

• Some fellowships will unable students from

seeking full-time employment

What is tuition remission?If a student receives a fellowship, it may cover partial or full tuition in exchange employment

EXTERNAL FELLOWSHIPS

Offered by private foundations, government agencies, and

corporations. Examples:

• National Science Foundation

• Ford Foundation*

• The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans*

• Spencer Dissertation Fellowship*

• Immigrants Rising Fellowships *

• Pre-Health Dreamers’ Fellowship List*

• Rhodes Scholar*

*fellowships available to DACA recipients

NEGOTIATING YOUR FINANCIAL AID PACKET

• Do not be afraid to negotiate your financial aid package. Use your negotiation skills!

• For Masters Degrees

• Fees help create revenues for departments

• Write a letter to department explaining situation• Information not disclosed in the application • Changes in financial circumstances • Information regarding other school offers

AFTER YOU START YOUR PROGRAM

➢Predoctoral fellowships are intended for individuals who have enrolled or plan to enroll in an eligible Ph.D. program

➢Dissertation fellowships provide financial support to doctoral students who are in the stages of conducting research and writing their dissertation

➢Postdoctoral fellowships provide financial support to a professional who is conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies

FUNDRAISING ON YOUR OWN

• Communicate a strong & compelling story highlighting your unique financial situation

• Send emails or personal letters to family & friends

• Post on social media

• GoFundMe - add “rewards”

• Hold fundraising events

FUNDING AND RESOURCES FOR LAW SCHOOL

• Institutional scholarships - partial or full tuition

• Highly dependent on LSAT score

• No separate application process (usually)

• Lower ranked schools offer more money

• Apply to multiple institutions (fee waiver available)

• Stipends for public interest internships

Expands opportunities for

minority and low-income

students to attend law school

https://cleoinc.org/

FUNDING AND RESOURCES FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL

• Schools vary in how they may help fund the students

• Institutional scholarships

• External scholarship

• Private lenders that have partnered with the school

• Loyola University Chicago

• Private loans through a bank

https://www.phdreamers.org/

https://www.mimentor.org/

OTHER WAYS TO RAISE FUNDS

• Taking time off to work and save funds

• Scholarships• Immigrants Rising List of Graduate Scholarships• My Undocumented Life• MBA Scholarships• Scholarships for GRE fees and School Applications

• Private loans only as a last resource• High interest rates & different requirements• Limited lenders to Dreamers (Wells Fargo and

Discover). Citizen cosigner is mandatory.

Scholarships

Scholarships

QUESTIONS FROM AUDIENCE

CRAFTING THE STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND THE PERSONAL STATEMENT

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE (SOP)

❖Generally, a SOP also referred to as a letter of intent focuses on academic or professional credentials

❖Build a case as to why you are ready to undertake graduate school

❖Write many drafts and ask for help from peers, TAs, and faculty

KEY ELEMENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE SOP

❖Introduction➢ Provide a hook that demonstrates passion for the field➢ Transition into your background in the field

❖Past research/work experience and how it influences current research interests➢ Specific classes taken ➢ Professors who you have worked for and are widely recognized in their field➢ Publications & research presentations➢ Demonstrate that you can work independently

KEY ELEMENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE SOP

❖For highly academic programs, emphasize research experience

❖For practicum based programs, emphasize work experience in the field

❖Research agenda

➢Theorists: relevant scholars, canonical, and/or current discourses in your field that have influenced your research agenda

➢Any relevant teaching/ work/ volunteer experience, specially for Ph.D. programs

PERSONAL STATEMENTS

● Few programs ask for a personal statement, most programs ask for a SOP with the exception of medical school.

● How did your background and life experiences (cultural, ethnic, geographical, financial, educational, religious background) impacted your decision to pursue graduate school in the field at this particular institution?

● Are you a single parent and first-generation student?

● A generic personal statement can also be used to apply to certain fellowships

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

https://www.phdreamers.org/

https://mydocumentedlife.org/category/applying-to-grad-school/

Also for GMAT and MCAT

https://immigrantsrising.org/ https://www.mimentor.org/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/

UndocuGradsNationalNetwork/

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Martha Ortega-Mendoza: mmortega31@berkeley.edu

Emelin Hernandez: emelinhernandez86@yahoo.com

Pratishtha Khana: pratishthakhanna09@gmail.com

Jose Magaña-Salgado: jose@masadc.com

Ivonne Beltran: ibeltranlara@luc.edu