Page Comparison

This page is to provide you with an example of the applicant portal, both pre-admission and post-admission, so that when an applicant or student needs help or has questions you will have some context for what information they see.

Applicant Portal: Prior to Admission

Expand
title Applicant Portal: Prior to Admission
This is an example of what the applicant sees in their portal when they have submitted their application but they have not yet been offered admission. Note that their application Reference Number is listed at the top right of the page, and they are able to edit their address at the bottom of the right column. Image Removed These are the sections that an applicant will see on their applicant portal: Payment Due If the applicant has not paid their application fee, the first information they see on the page will be a section titled Payment Due. There is a blue line that says “Submit a Payment for XXX USD.” They can click this to complete their payment. Note that there is a 60-character limit for the address; if their address is more than 60 characters, they may see an error message. Image Removed Application Checklist This section shows the applicant’s transcripts and recommendations. A red X indicates that those documents have not been received yet. Upload Materials This section shows additional materials that the applicant submitted for review, such as a CV/Resume or a Statement of Purpose. If the applicant needs or wants to add any additional documents to their application (such as an updated transcript, or a letter to the department, etc) they can do so by uploading materials in this section. Portfolio If the applicant needs or wants to upload a Portfolio, they may click the Edit Portfolio link here to add content. Application Proof This link allows the applicant to download a copy of their application to keep for their records.

Applicant Portal: After Admission

Expand
title Applicant Portal: After Admission
When the applicant is admitted, they will be able to use the applicant portal to see their offer of admission and their award letters, as well as keep track of their required documents and admission finalization. Image Removed Status Update First, under their welcome message they will see a section titled Status Update which indicates a new decision has been posted to their application. They can click View Update to see their decision. The next page will show them their admission letter. If they have received multiple admission & award letters, they can scroll to the bottom and click on their other letters to display those. At the top right of the page there is also an option for the applicant to download their letter. Forms The next section will list any forms that are required for the applicant to submit following their offer. From here they can complete forms such as the Decision Reply Form, Fellowship Decision Reply Form, SHORE Decision Reply Form, and the Statement of Legal Residence. (View an example of the Decision Reply Form at the bottom of this page.) Your Next Step: Submit Your Pending Admission Documents This section details what documents the student needs to submit to Graduate Admissions in order to finalize their admission. Once the document has been reviewed, it will no longer be displayed here on their applicant portal. Any document still listed here has not been reviewed by Graduate Admissions yet. If Graduate Admissions has received the document but has not begun review yet, a note will be included here that says “Documents received - in queue for processing.” At the end of this section there is also a note stating when the review of documents will begin. Image Removed How to Submit Your Documents The next section is information on the different ways that Graduate Admissions will accept official documents. Please note that we accept transcripts for partial (non-degree) coursework in either the US or abroad. The only time a student will need to submit a WES Course-by-Course evaluation is when they have received a degree from an international institution. Image RemovedImage Removed Deadline to Submit Pending Materials / Deferral Requests Finally, at the bottom of the page the applicant will see information regarding the deadline for their documents to be submitted and the deadline to request a deferral. The last section in the page includes a link that will allow them to download a copy of their application. Image Removed

Decision Reply Form

...

The Decision Reply Form shows the following information:

...

Accept

When the applicant selects the “Accept” button, they will see a checkbox to confirm that decision, as well as information regarding their SSN/ITIN:

...

Defer

When an applicant selects the “Defer” button, they will see this disclaimer regarding our deferral policies:

...

Decline

When an applicant selects the “Decline” button, they will see some optional follow-up questions regarding their reasons for declining:

...

You can also see the Applicant Portal for yourself by logging in to your test application and visiting https://connect.grad.ucsd.edu/apply/status.

Applicant Portal: Applicant in Review (Pre-Admission)

The applicant portal consists of five tabs: Home, Your Checklist Items, Program Information, Financial Support, and FAQ. Click the images below to see an example of what each tab displays to an applicant who has submitted their application.

Home: On this tab, applicants can see their reference ID number and the status of their application. If they have submitted and paid, it states their application is “In Review.” Applicants who have not yet submitted are advised to go back to complete their application, and applicants who have not yet paid will have a link under the “Your Status” bar prompting them to pay their application fee. Applicants are also able to edit their address in Slate at the bottom of this page.

Your Checklist Items: On this tab, applicants will see a checklist that lists all of their LORs and transcripts required for their application. If any items have not yet been received they will show with a red X by their name. They can also use this tab to upload additional materials to their application (although they are warned that any materials added after submission may not get reviewed by the department) and can download a copy of their application for their records.

Program Information: This tab states the program that the applicant has applied to and shares the program’s general email in case they have questions. There is also a small blurb about the department/school. This tab is an area that Admissions hopes to develop further in the future!

Financial Support: This tab contains general information and links to GEPA’s Financial Support websites and UCSD’s Financial Aid Office.

FAQ: This tab has links to our website FAQs as well as a few of the most common questions we receive. We also again share the department email with the applicant for them to reach out with more specific questions.

Applicant Portal: Accepted Admits

The first two tabs of the portal have different information after someone is admitted - see screenshots below:

Home: When the admit letter is sent through Slate, the applicant will see a “Status Update” box on their homepage. They will need to click “View Updates” to read their official admission letter. Once they’ve opened the letter, the blue “Your Status” bar will show them that they are “Admitted - Awaiting Reply” and prompt them to fill out the Decision Reply Form (linked in the blue Forms box lower down). After they submit their decision, the status bar will update again to reflect that decision - see screenshot above for example of someone who chose to Accept.

Your Checklist Items: After admission, this tab contains the information about what documents the incoming student is required to send to GEPA for finalization. In the above screenshots, there is an example with instructions regarding transcripts and another with instructions regarding WES Evaluations. As you can see from the screenshots, the instructions are quite detailed! At the bottom of the last screenshot, you will see that international students also have instructions on how to begin their visa paperwork with ISEO. Our hope is that if you receive questions from your incoming students, you can direct them to read the portal carefully to find the answers they need.