UCSD large and impersonal?

DoctorP
Thu, 05 Apr 2018 23:44:51 +0000

I’m going to be honest, Dean Pisano manages a lot of people and money and he’s not going to have time to reply to every incoming freshman’s question. If that’s your metric for impersonality, then you’re going to be disappointed. If you’re coming to Triton Day, you’re more likely to be able to run into him and ask your questions.

What are those questions? Maybe we can help you out with them. If you’re worried that UCSD doesn’t feel personal, I can alleviate that. Yes, you don’t have direct interaction with the dean, nor should you. He can’t teach you anything. Unless you’re a Jacobs Scholar or Chancellor’s Associate, you’ll probably never be in the same room as top-level administrators (think of the Chancellor as the CEO of a 30,000 employee company, he’s got a lot on his plate). Engineering professors are generally really keen to talk about their careers and give advice, though. I’ve sat down at office hours and talked with different professors about my graduate plans. One invited her students to come talk to Bristol Myers Squibb representatives who were hiring. Another had a post-final beer garden. It varies from prof to prof, and some will emphasize interactions with the TAs (Bernhard Palsson is notorious for this), but my experience has generally been really positive. Does that help?