Hi everyone
I'm new here but have snooped around the site quite a bit.
I graduated with my EE bachelor's in May from a not-so-prestigious school but have research experience at MIT and have been keeping busy all my summers. The outcome of my PhD applications was admission into a partially funded M.S. program...at a top 10 EE school whose research would be a dream to be a part of. I am very hesitant to take out a $20k+ loan to fund this since it would add to my $10k+ loans I owe from undergrad. One of the primary reasons I am still considering taking out loans is my fear of being too far out of touch with academia if I decide to turn down the school, work first and reapply to this school and other schools as well. Here are the plans of action I was stuck between:
1. Turn down the school, work and apply for the 2015-2016 cycle (since, by the time the 2014-2015 cycle deadline comes around this December, I do not foresee myself gaining any experience that would make me more competitive and earn me more admissions than last year).
2. Accept the offer, take out loans and go to the school.
Somehow their offer is still on the table..so I need to make a decision real soon. They have extended this great privilege to me and I want to return the favor.
Any advice will help. I've seen a lot of wisdom here in this forum and it made me realize some people (most definitely including me) can be blinded from the rational decisions since they are too caught up in the details of trying to find the optimal path.
Thank in advance!
-sane
