strider89

Thanks! The feedback I'm getting from my seniors is almost the same as yours that UIUC would be the better option of the two. As far as your suggestion regarding deference of admission is concerned, I have applied to the MS program at UIUC, so if I had directly applied for a PhD I might have requested for it to be deferred. But yet again, thanks for your reply.

Hello Everyone, I'm an International Applicant for the MS Bioinformatics at UIUC and currently working as a junior faculty at my Alma mater. My employer would fund my MS at UIUC on the condition that I secure the PhD funding immediately after MS and then work at my institute for 3 years. My seniors are also enrolled at UIUC with the sponsorship from my institute, but they're of the view that PhD funding is quite scarce at the moment. I also got accepted for euSYSBIO MS in Systems Biology program at Erasmus Mundus with a scholarship nomination at KTH Royal Institute of Technology for the first year and my preference for the second year is Aalto University, Finland. If I accept the Erasmus Mundus scholarship, would my chances for pursuing PhD increase in universities with ranking higher than UIUC? Which of the two choices should I opt for since my ultimate goal is PhD? I find UIUC to be the most appealing option as in two years the funding situation might improve. However, I think an Erasmus Mundus Nomination is an honor itself. Either of the options, do not guarantee me a spot in PhD but I'm ambivalent towards both the choices. Help!