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Thanks! Yeah, I've been thinking about factors that are also important to me aside from monies. I've been comparing the programs and course offerings for each of my choices. I'm also trying to think whether the research I will be doing at UCM will actually put an influence and can help me put a foot forward towards the field I eventually want to work in my career (the uncertainty kills me). USC can very likely get me some job right away but probably not in the field I want to work in; it'll probably take time to get where I want to be. And yeah, financial is a very big thing and hard to take aside... but after considering financials aside and considering the other important factors, I have to take financial back in to see if my decision is well worth the investment... I wished there wasn't a price tag on education. Thanks again though!

Thanks! You made a couple good points I didn't think about.

I read a few threads about prestige, reputation and name versus cost, but it mainly pertained to art, humanities and social science field. I want to know how different this subject is in the engineering field. I got my my BS in Mechanical Engineering at UC Merced, and I am applying for my master's. I heard back from a few schools already and pretty much soon I have to make a decision. The different master's programs I applied to are at equally of interest. Here's the situation: I am deciding between UC Merced (MS in Mech Engr) and USC (MS in Product Development Engr). Yes, I know UC Merced is not very well-known, really new school with not very much reputation, lowest ranked of the UCs, etc. etc. etc.... and on the other hand, USC, high reputation, well known in the nation/world, highly ranked, etc. But here's the deal... UC Merced is offering me a paid TA-ship and summer research position for the next school year. On top of that, tuition and fees are paid. If I keep my grades up, I can continue being funded as a Graduate Student Researcher or TA the following school year (which I think is very likely). Basically, I'm getting a full ride + a little more. The professor that chose me to assist in his research is someone I'm super excited and interested in working with, and also his field of research is something I am really looking forward to get into as a career, too. And there's USC... I'm not getting anything. No TA-ship or research position. They don't offer TA positions to MS students. I don't qualify for any of their scholarships/fellowships/grants. It's going to cost me 50-60k per year (housing and having a life included). (If some are wondering why I'm pursuing a master's instead of a PhD: I'm going for my master's because I felt I haven't learned enough in my undergrad to pursue a career I want to get into. I also want to do something more practical in a career than academia, and I don't think I can handle any more schooling than a master's. In addition, there's family obligations/issues I have to address to.) Any thoughts? How much does name really matter?

I read a few threads about prestige and reputation versus cost, but it mainly pertained to art, humanities and social science field. I want to know how different this subject is in the engineering field. I got my my BS in Mechanical Engineering at UC Merced, and I applied for MS in Mechanical Engineering. I heard back from a few schools already and pretty much soon I have to make a decision. Here's the situation: I got into UC Merced and USC. Yes, I know UC Merced is not very well-known, really new school with not very much reputation, lowest of the UCs, etc. etc. etc.... and same with USC, high reputation, well known in the nation/world, top ranked, etc. But here's the deal... UC Merced is offering me a paid TA-ship and summer research position for the 2013-2014 school year. On top of that, tuition and fees are paid. If I keep my grades up, I can continue being funded as a Graduate Student Research or TA the following school year (which I think is very likely). Basically, I'm getting a full ride + a little more. The professor that I will be doing research with is someone I'm super interested in working with, and also his field of research is something I am really looking forward to get into as a career, too. And there's USC... I'm not getting anything. No TA-ship, research position, etc. They don't offer TA positions to MS students. I don't qualify for any of their scholarships/fellowships/grants. It's going to cost me 50-60k per year (housing and having a life included). I'm going for my master's because I want to do something more practical in a career than academia. Plus, I don't think I can handle any more schooling than a master's, and there's family obligations/issues I have to address to. Any feedback? D;