06aculot

Hey guys, So I need a little bit of help, since this is not the position I was expecting to be in so early in March. As it turns out, I got into my top two schools (Cornell & Northwestern). There are pretty significant differences between both options however. On one hand, I got accepted into the PHD environmental engineering program at Northwestern with full funding. I was able to attend their open house not long ago, and loved the place. The faculty and people are really nice, and overall was a very pleasant experience. And just when I had my decision made...I got accepted into Cornell's MASTERS environmental engineering program (I applied as a masters to both, but was offered funding to NU if I changed my application to masters/PhD, which I did). Now, it is important to mention that I intend to get a PhD no matter what. As in many other posts, the idea of attending an ivy league school is very tempting to say the least. I have yet to receive all of the acceptance information, but I am assuming based on their MS system that I will be receiving little to no aid. My question, then, is for anyone that has had any direct or indirect experience with these programs. If I intend to obtain a PhD 100%, which offer sounds more enticing? In fact, any information on the programs at all would be awesome. I am having a very hard decision choosing between these programs, particularly because the offers are so different. Also, for the sake of more diverse answers, lets assume that funding is not the #1 priority, but just an added bonus if available. NU: -PhD (5 years) -Full funding -Chicago seems like a great city to live in -Very small department (small faculty/student ratio) -Considerable reputation Cornell: -Masters degree (2 years) -No funding as of right now (could potentially change in the near future) -Ithaca? Have yet to attend the open house so I am not very familiarized with the area -Also a small department with a great faculty/student ratio -And, obviously, the reason why this is even a viable question - Ivy League status (is it worth it?) Thank you to all those who want to contribute to the discussion! While this situation is extremely stressful, I feel blessed and wish everyone else the best of luck getting in to their top choices!

I'm flying out to visit a few schools in 2 weeks as well. This would be a great place to conjure up some nice questions to have in store. I feel like for engineering fields, what type of research experience will you be subjected to first year. Also, I often like to ask if research often involves traveling to other areas, etc. More input on this would be awesome.

By admit day do you mean open house? Because I know open houses fly you in so that you can tour the university, meet other students and profs, and get to know the programs more. I didn't know there was an actual admit day? Or is that at a much later date?

Thanks a lot guys. All of your responses were very helpful. It definitely makes me less nervous and more excited about the trip.

Hey guys, I recently got admitted into my top school with full funding. Naturally, I am extremely excited. I had previously interviewed with my potential adviser, and he knew this university was my top choice (he knows I am accepting the offer). After receiving the offer, I was invited to an Open-House weekend where "all of our best prospective students are invited" for joint activities, meeting other potential peers, professors, etc. Now, I am very familiar with interview weekends where you attend before being accepted. However, has anyone attended an event of this type before? And if so, despite the fact that I was already admitted, should I be prepared for an interview-like environment (including a dress suit, etc), or should I be viewing this event as a "touring" opportunity? It certainly feels like a more laid back event, but I am worried it might still be an interview-like scenario. Cheers!

This one's easy for me. - I wish I had clicked the damn "I wish to waive my rights to see this recommendation letter" before submitting all my applications (I wasn't aware it was detrimental not to do so...retarded...I know).

Yeah. It really doesn't seem like that big of a deal but it seems the adm officers think it is haha. Oh well, I'm gonna try and relax, as your all saying. What's done is done. Just hope for some luck to come my way

I did not waive my rights to see the rec letters, only because I had no idea it made a difference. I've been reading around, but some say it actually does matter (the majority). Is it really that bad? It'd be interesting to hear from people who have been involved in the admissions process. Now I'm just freaking out haha. I know my rec letter writers very well, and I have no doubt in my mind they wrote great letters. It seems normal that out of pure curiosity some would choose not to waive it. None of them ever said anything about it either. Aparently thats not the name of the game though...ouch.

Thanks for the responses everyone! Seems like I will be waiting until...probably mid February and see where I stand. If I need more time I'll definitely send them an e-mail and ask for a time extension (if possible). Hopefully I will get some other positive responses before that though In the meantime, thanks again and good luck to everyone!

Thanks for the quick response fellas. I was actually not aware of that resolution, which I find really interesting. Now, I unfortunately did not receive financial aid (pretty sure it's because the program is really small and it's a public university). However, the March 1st deadline still poses a pretty big roadblock for obvious reasons. Given my situation (no financial aid), do you guys think it would still be a good idea to e-mail them and request either a deadline extension, or at least an explanation for the early deadline? Particularly because March 1st is insanely early...

Hey guys, I recently applied for a masters degree in environmental engineering at various schools (Purdue U, Northwestern U, Columbia U, UVa, Penn State U- U park, RPI, Cornell). I officially completed all of my applications on December 1st (confirmed after e-mailing all programs), since I wanted to make sure everything was in and ready before the Christmas Break. Anyway, on December 11th I was surprised to receive an acceptance letter from Penn State U. Being a well known, respected engineering school, I was pretty happy to get a positive response from my first decision notification. However, I then read the following..."A written response, accepting or rejecting this offer of admission, is requested by March 1, 2010." Now, I might be wrong, but this is a VERY early date to be asking for a written commitment. I am expecting to receive a few responses during mid-late march and early April (mainly Columbia and Northwestern), while the other universities should be notifying me mid-February (that's my guess). With this in mind, I was hoping to get some feedback from others that might be facing/have been faced with this experience? I am worried that most of my acceptance/rejection letters will arrive right before the deadline, or likely afterward, making it very hard to choose the best program in such a small time frame (assuming I get in anywhere else of course). Just something that is irritating me.. Thoughts?