sundy

Hi folks, I'm having a hard time deciding between two offers. Was hoping I could get some perspectives. I got admitted into two mechanical engineering programs. The first one is at University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). The second one is at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL). The thing is I eventually want to end up in the US and have no interest in living in Switzerland. In fact, I lived in Europe before and was miserable all the time. That being said, the topic at EPFL is a huge plus and the school itself is more prestigious. So I'm torn between two good options. UIC gets me to my final destination and allows me to network and hit the ground running upon graduation (not to mention building a social net and getting accustomed to things in general) but topic is meh. EPFL feels like a layover and could make me unhappy outside of work but with the benefits of a great topic and a better school name (alongside with other things like finances and proximity to family). I know that you need to be really passionate about your subject. I also know that school name matters as I intend to chase TT positions (unless lured by industry). But do they warrant going to a country I don't have any ties to, the local language of which I don't speak, and where I likely won't be able to fit in? Are there things that I might not be taking into account or am not aware of that might tip the scale in favor of one or the other option?