Hi, I am currently an undergraduate Microbiology student with a minor in Chemistry and Mathematics at UW La Crosse and my current top pick for Grad school is UC Davis. My academic advisor graduated from there and she was telling me about one of her former students ended up going there to study zoonoses (which is exactly what I want to do). I know that California schools have much higher preference for their own residents, and the chances of being accepted as an out of state resident are much lower, so I was wondering if it would be beneficial to to take a gap year after my undergraduate studies to gain residency in the area before I apply? Davis has been my top pick for a while and I am very set on doing what needs to be done to be accepted. I have a possible undergraduate research program set up for next year which should help my chances, and I plan on taking mostly upper level science and math classes for my next two/three years while getting my bachelor’s.
Any additional tips would be much appreciated! Thank you!
California is very strict on in-state residency and if you come for educational purposes, you still pay OOS.
http://www.budget.ucdavis.edu/studentfees/current/documents/2014-2015/2014-15%20Grad%20Nonres.pdf
Depending on which program you get into, you may (stress MAY) be able to get a graduate external fellowship in your department, because graduate funding is more accessible to OOS through those fellowships. But it is very competitive.
If not, you need to consider that our state is notoriously expensive, especially in rents, how will you find a job to cover your rent? There is a lot of competition when math and chem graduates are looking for jobs in the same area.
Are you interested in masters programs or the PhD? PhD science students often get funding as RAs or TAs. Some of these jobs are available for some masters students, but at some places only the PhD students get funding. Graduate assistantships often come with a out of state tuition waiver. You should develop a plan to investigate funding options at various types of schools.