Slav

Hi I have received funded admissions to the Civil Engineering Master's program at UVa, UIUC, and Virginia Tech. In terms of research interest match between me and the supporting faculty, I would rank them like this: UVa(Best), VT, UIUC (Good match but not great). The faculty member who has chosen to support my admission at UIUC wasn't my top pick at the department so it has become a bit challenging for me to choose UIUC. In terms department reputation usually, UIUC is the most reputable and UVa the least. Given this is a master's program, I might do my Ph.D. studies at another university based on where my research would lead me, so I want to consider the impact of choosing a well-respected program on opening up my options for my Ph.D. Simply put, my question is: How much weight should I give to University vs. the match in research interest with the supporting faculty for choosing the program that I will attend? Sincerely,