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octocat

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Everything posted by octocat

  1. Thank you very much for your advice! The program is actually at Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island, so at least I'd be living in the city, and I have the option of commuting from my parents' home because I'm from the city. As you suggest, I'm definitely considering what my longterm plans are above all. I'm used to living on a very small income my whole life, so my plan is that if I do the program at Cornell and ultimately have around $40K in loans, I would definitely live like I'm making $35-40K until my loans are paid off. And as a software engineer in New York City hopefully that wouldn't take more than a few years. I do plan on talking to a couple of my professors from similar departments as well as graduates from the two programs before I make my final decision!
  2. I like computer science much more than data analysis, so that is the main reason. I’d prefer to work as a software engineer than as a data scientist. And I currently work over 30 hours a week and am in school full time, so I’m not too worried about working for an apartment. I went to the accepted students weekend today at Cornell and was advised to reach out to the program director about negotiating my funding.
  3. No, I would be taking out $27k (I have about $11k from undergrad), but it would all go toward tuition. I've applied for an Americorps position that would provide me with housing as well as a bit of money back toward my undergrad loans, or if that doesn't pan out I plan on just working and paying for an apartment as I go along.
  4. Thank you, this is great advice! I will definitely do that this week.
  5. Oh I totally meant to add this above - do people ever negotiate? A friend of mine said he negotiated with NYU when he got into Tisch. Would it be worth it to give Cornell a call and explain that I have another offer?
  6. So, the title pretty much sums it up. I got into the M.Eng. in Computer Science program at Cornell and was offered a scholarship for exactly half of the tuition cost. All in all, I'd graduate in a year with $38,000 in loans, including from my undergrad. Tonight I got into the M.S. in Data Analytics program at Fordham, and they're offering over $63,000 in a scholarship that covers full tuition, health insurance, and a $23,000 stipend. When I was originally applying to graduate programs, I intended on going into Data Science, but now that I got into the Comp Sci program, I'm heavily leaning toward going into software engineering (I've always wanted to, but thought I would've had to have majored in Computer Science as an undergrad). On the one hand I feel like Cornell is the obvious choice, but on the other hand I feel like the financial aid package at Fordham is the obvious choice. Any input? Thank you.
  7. I'm new here, so I apologize if I ask too many questions! Basically, I'm currently a senior at NYU and in May I'll be graduating with a B.A. in Math and Psychology. Going into my senior year, I had been planning on applying to several Ph.D. programs in Data Science and Statistics and my career goal was to be a data scientist. However, upon meeting with the professor whose lab I do research in, he stated that it would be very difficult for me to get into any Ph.D. program with only a year of undergraduate research experience. So, I applied to 6 Masters programs and the Ph.D. in Data Science program at NYU (this has been my top choice since sophomore year so no way I wasn't going to give it a shot!). Fast forward to now, I made it up to the interview for the Ph.D. program, but yesterday I got an email saying I was offered admission into the Master's program in the Center for Data Science, and that I am not eligible for any scholarships. I have also been admitted to the Master's of Engineering in Computer Science program at Cornell Tech, as well as a couple of other M.S. programs at NYU, and I'm waiting to hear back from the three other programs. Here's where my questions come up. As I think about it more and more, the program at Cornell Tech becomes more appealing. For one thing, I think it's a more versatile degree. They have data science courses I could take, and with the degree itself I'd be a candidate for software engineer positions. As such, after completing the degree I'd likely be able to go down either route, albeit the data science route would be a bit tougher with this degree than with the M.S. in Data Science. However, I've also found jobs in software engineering to be more appealing lately. I think around my junior year of college I started to realize a software engineer career seemed like a good fit for my interests, but by that point I thought it was too late in the game to switch routes unless I got another Bachelor's in Comp Sci - who knew! Also, I've been completely lost at where to look for scholarships. I applied to one that Cornell Tech sent out the application to, but I haven't received any merit scholarships from the programs I've been admitted to. That being said, even without scholarships, the Cornell Tech degree would be approximately $8,000 less right off the bat. Additionally, it's a one year program, as opposed to the one at NYU which is a two year program. Is it presumptuous of me to think it'd be reasonable to take out $40-50k in loans, with the expectation that with the Computer Science engineering degree I'll likely be able to make decent money as a software engineer in NYC not long after graduating next spring? If it helps, I'll be graduating from undergrad with about $10,500 in loans, and if I do get a well-paying job after grad school my plan is to live as if I'm making $40k a year until my loans are paid off. I'm the first in my family to go to college, let alone grad school, so any advice is greatly appreciated! I've heard that some companies will pay for you to get a M.Eng., but honestly at this point I'd rather get the degree first since I don't think I'm qualified for many tech jobs currently. As a recap, my two main questions are: 1. Is it a smart decision to do a Master of Engineering in C.S. at Cornell Tech when I'm open to becoming either a software engineer or data scientist? 2. Is it reasonable to assume I'll be able to get a decent job with a M.Eng. degree in C.S. and that I'd be able to pay of ~$60k in loans in a reasonable amount of time? Thank you!
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