bremsen12

Congrats to those who got it. VG from all three but I didn't get it. Maybe next year

Congrats! (HE/SHE WON IT LAST YEAR DON'T FREAK OUT) Now I have two pages to constantly refresh.

NSF with dat troll hammer. Oh well. We waited for months..we can wait for another few hours/days.

You should email them and ask (assuming you've been admitted already.) Some schools require you to make contact with professors for RA (this should happen during visit day.)

At this point, I am leading towards UT-Austin more mainly because of more interesting research. Northwestern has stepped up their game--besides the fellowship and relocation cost, they are offering me a pretty large one-time bonus for clicking "Accept." This makes the decision slightly more difficult. The research is interesting in both institutions but it seems that Austin has many tech companies. How strongly does this fact effect me as a graduate student? For example, UIUC is in the middle of nowhere but many students come here for ECE and find jobs all over the country. Thanks in advance.

I think this decision should made by thinking about how "ready" you are to dive into the research. Since you mentioned that you have to change fields, I would think you need to prepare by taking courses, learning about the field, etc. I would suggest taking the fellowship + TA. It's okay that you do not have an advisor assigned, you will eventually once you get to the campus. Generally, its easier for a professor to take you into their group if you are already funded by other means. This way, they can test you out before giving you an RA (less risky) and you can configure out if they are the right fit for you. Take the offer from University A if you don't feel confident in just jumping into research that you don't know much about, and if you want to be a little more relaxed the first year or so. Take the offer from University B if you feel confident to jump into research and if you really dislike teaching.

Thanks for the responses guys! I did apply to UIUC and I got accepted. However, I really want a change in environment as I have been doing research at UIUC for quite some time.. Also, they are giving me a TA where as other schools are giving me fellowships and guaranteed funding for up to 4 years.

Thanks for the replies! I never imagined UT-Austin was more prestigious than Northwestern (perhaps for engineering?) Keep the answers coming guys Thanks in advance.

Hi all, Like the title says, I am pretty torn between these two schools. I visited both this month and the time spent there was too short to actually get a feel for the environment. Both are giving me a fellowship for the first year. Both have a professor interested me and they are doing research I really like. I have lived in Chicago most of my life and currently at UIUC as an undergrad, so I could totally get used to some warm weather. However, I've never been too far from my family. Which would you choose if your were in my situation? I would like to work in industry after the PhD. Thanks in advance for your answers.

I am a little hesitant about contacting them because I don't want to seem impatient to them and possibly bother somebody at my prospective school. I mainly feel this way because it is still February and I guess they have time until march to give funding information. The thing I was mainly wondering by making the post is whether visiting affects my funding, because I am too busy with the semester to just leave for 3 days. TLDR not visiting implies no/worse funding?

Dear readers, I have been accepted to 5 programs so far for a PhD in EE, however only one of those programs has given me information regarding funding (a fellowship.) All these schools have visiting days coming up, however I do not want to visit schools that won't fund me adequately. Is anyone else in a similar situation? Do the visits determine funding? Was my acceptance marginal and they decided not to fund me? I think it's strange that the official acceptance letters mention nothing of funding. Any insight is appreciated. Thank you.