I've been admitted to CMU, Pitt, NUS, and EPFL, but now I'm going to focus more on CMU and EPFL. I finished my master's degree in materials science here at CMU, but I haven't contact any research advisor at CMU. EPFL admission committee has approved me to look for a suitable advisor with funding. Today an EPFL professor contact me and we had a great conversation. He is doing research in fuel cell field, which I am interested in. In CMU, I have completed most of my course credits which can be easily transferred to my PhD stage, so I can better focus on my research. In EPFL, the PhD program is a four-year one, and Lausanne is a French-speaking area, which means I have to learn some French more or less, but I really got fascinated by this country.
The living expense is also an issue. It seems that the living cost in Switzerland is much higher than that in Pittsburgh. I don't really know if the PhD salary at EPFL could cover my daily expense (maybe have a trip in a year or two).
