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The rigor of Cornell's M.Eng. design project depends completely on the adviser, and I think a lot of MS theses in CS and EE tend to be more of a "design project" than research anyway, with the nontrivial difference that you have to actually defend your work to a committee. Ithaca is a great place to spend time (especially summer), but I imagine you will have a much easier time setting up and going on interviews from Philly than you will from Ithaca. If your like me and don't even think about that stuff until AFTER the M.Eng., then it doesn't matter. But if you were really motivated and wanted to go on a bunch of different interviews, Ithaca is a bitch to get out of. 1+ hr drive to the airport. Minimum 3 hour drive to major east coast cities.

I did end up getting a visit to Pitt, but it was payed by a specific prof (plus I could drive there so I was cheap). It was definitely an interesting campus/city. Not sure what their deadline, but I'm hoping it's April 15th like all the rest. I won't be making any decisions by the 1st since I still have to visit UMn. Since you mention UMn and skiing, does that mean there is skiing there, or that there is not and you are looking forward to the prospect in Utah? Utah definitely offers a nice stipend, especially for the minuscule cost of living there. It really does seem like an interesting place (especially compared to certain dying midwestern cities) if you can put up with the conservative atmosphere.

Thanks for the info. I would actually have a car (unless it gets stolen), but have heard it is a pain to park at Case or the clinic so I was counting on buses. Fortunately, the work I would have to do at the Clinic has to be on a set schedule, so I won't just be lingering around late into the night. Wish you guys had better news, but thanks again for the insight. Maybe some ghetto living experience will do me good.

Nope. Not holding my breath at this point.

Does anybody know about transportation between the Cleveland Clinic and CWRU? Somebody told me it was not a great place to have to walk at night, but are there other options for getting between the two? Is this area especially unsafe, or is it just like any city? I'm looking at places in other midwestern cities like Chicago or Pittsburgh, but Cleveland was the only place where anybody really brought up safety.

I did go, and they did pay. It was a very interesting place. Geographically, I think it is the most unique school I've been to... all nestled up against the mountains in this big giant basin. Amazing scenery. If you are a skier or into the outdoors, I don't think there is any city in the country that has better access to that. 8 or so major ski resorts within 30 min or 1 hr from campus. They also have a really great bioengineering program. Highly regarded, expanding very rapidly... Lots of money flowing into it... right next to the med school so lots of opportunities for collaborations with clinicians/clinical researchers. Long history of spin-off companies. My only problem with it is that the Mormon factor does kind of keep the college life behind closed doors. Plenty of partying it seems like, but minimal bars and such within easy walking distance from campus. Not sure if that matters. Ok that was probably more than you needed. I would say there are a lot of things to really enjoy about the place, and it's worth checking out for yourself if you think you have some good research matches there, and don't mind replacing the typical city/college scene with a more active/outdoor lifestyle.

These other guys seriously need to just get off their asses and reject me. At this point it's just obnoxious. Case BME was apparently really weird/disorganized regarding the interview weekend, and somewhat weird/disorganized about the whole admissions process. I'm actually on a make-up visit there right now because they invited me all of 1 week before it the interview weekend. I had to take care of all my own itinerary and interview scheduling, which I thought was a bad sign. Plus Cleveland seems to more or less suck, and it's unfortunate that the school is so small (a larger school could create a more tolerable student bubble in an otherwise run-down city ... ala Pitt). To top that, I'm actually stuck here at least an extra day because there is a huge snowstorm and the flights are canceled. All of that said, I may have found the ideal lab after basically assuming I was going to have to settle for something else. Plus it's the highest ranked program I got into and it's not looking promising on these remaining no-replies. Some soul-searching ahead I guess. The one thing I will say to people still waiting to hear back from schools is that it's never too late to contact specific professors. I emailed assloads of them right around the time i got my apps in, and every time I go on one of these visits they tell me that a) I was one of the only people who emailed and it made a huge difference when they were trying to make decisions. This may not apply to established, big-name profs. A lot of mine were relatively new. Anyway, sounds like everybody has some good choices. I'm just about ready for this all to be over.

I don't know nearly enough about EE to say anything about the reputation factor or make that judgement call. I know that it is much harder to get into Cornell's MS program (essentially the PhD program) than their MEng program. All the MEngs I knew (only a couple were ECE) got jobs they were happy with coming out of the program. If you are going to have to pay for either degree yourself, then it would definitely nice to only have half the debt, and you'll still pull down a "Masters" level salary after graduation. Few people in academia (the only real experience I personally have) seem to really know the difference between the degrees, even though it is significant. As for location... you can check out some of the Ithaca threads. Mileage really varies. If you require sunlight and warmth, beware. Fun place, though.

The Cornell M.Eng. is basically 24 credits of coursework and 6 credits of a "design project" (read: thesis lite). It is very doable (in fact more or less required) in two semesters, though some people spend the summer finishing their project. See Re: M.Eng. vs M.S. for more on the M.Eng.

When did you apply? I don't think the deadline was until mid jan right?

If you are in the position to think about all of this so early, then I am going to just say: yes, publication is essential for entry into a top 10 engineering program. Even if it possible to pull it off other ways, you should treat it like it is a necessity because it will be hugely advantageous. Fortunately, Profs love undergrad researchers, especially free ones, and they love publishing, so show up in office hours (way more effective than emailing -- they truly are receptive to this) and ask if there are opportunities in their lab. If you get to talking about it, make it clear that you are interested in graduate school so you want some independent experience and the opportunity for a publication (as opposed to tech work). You will definitely find somebody. Even the well-known profs often have pet projects they'd like somebody to work on at minimal expense to them. I emailed a prof at MIT at the beginning of the application process this year, and he outright told me that GRE meant nothing, and that what he looks for in an applicant are: how many publications?, how many patents?, how many companies have you started? That was enough to keep me from applying there. This was a particularly well known prof, so I wouldn't expect every prof there to be quite so demanding, but it just gives you an idea as to the kinds of qualifications that show you can be a top notch scientist and really get things done.

first rejection: Stanford. Was the school I least expected to get into, and I'm definitely just glad to have an answer. (Less glad about the $105) Oh well. I imagine this marks the beginning of the rejection phase. BRING IT ON, BITCHES.

same.

Hm... there's definitely no such link on the main page of the app after I log in. Oh well.

[Edit] Put simply, they aren't the same thing, though plenty of employers don't know the difference and assume they are. An M.Eng. can help you get a job, boost your GPA, and allow you to explore a major other than your undergrad. Because they aren't focused on PhD track students, there tends to be a lot of emphasis on getting students into industry positions. The administrators in my M.Eng. program worked tirelessly to find jobs for students, digging through their contacts, sending out plenty of job posting emails, sometimes catering assignments to give us specific job search-related skills. Basically everybody that wanted a job had one within a month after graduating, except a few stubborn jackasses (mainly me) who refused to settle for anything less than our dream research jobs. The M.Eng. is kind of in limbo between undergrad and grad education, so you can really embrace graduate-level coursework and research if you take the initiative (read: worth the money), or you can use it as an extension of undergrad style assignments and projects (read: not as useful). If you're ultimately looking to get a PhD, you can use the M.Eng. to enhance your application and prove your mettle, but it's nowhere near as seemless a transition as M.S.->PhD. A few students in my M.Eng. program (myself included), are now either in on or applying to PhD programs. However, we had to go through the entire application process again, and none of us will be getting our PhDs from the same institution as the M.Eng. I absolutely have a vastly stronger PhD app than I would have without the M.Eng., but that is because I applied myself intensely, and I am still a year behind where I would be. The other issue is that, since some employers don't know the difference between the degrees, sometimes (and I stress sometimes) an M.Eng. from [Prestigious School] can get you a closer look than an M.S. from [Less Prestigious School]. I've experienced this first-hand. Bottom line: M.S. is more prestigious, harder to get accepted into, probably better preparation overall, has the potential for funding, and is a much more direct track to a PhD M.Eng. is more what you make of it. If you aren't going to take it seriously, you are probably wasting your money. All other things being equal (i.e., not considering a university's prestige), I would treat it more as a backup.