I have been accepted to Stanford and UT Austin for a MS Mechanical Engineering and need help sorting out my decision.
Stanford is not offering any funding, so I would be looking at $80k-100k of debt. I have been offered a TA/GRA at UT Austin, so cost of going there would be minimal.
My goal is to go into industry, and location is not a major concern (I've visited both cities, and don't really have a preference in that regard).
I'd like to get your feedback as to whether Stanford is worth it (I'd be paying for the name, really), or if it's the smarter long-term decision to avoid debt and go to UT Austin. I would especially like to hear from current or former students at either school, particularly if you have information regarding career prospects.
Thanks for your input!
And I'm sure a few will ask, so my stats are below.
University: 2nd-tier northeast university
GPA: 3.83 (overall), 3.94 (M.E.)
GRE: 164V / 164Q / 5.0W
Misc: NASA internship, ASME projects, school robotics projects
