UCLA-Yale-UTD

[katherine]

Hi!

I have got a PhD admission in UCLA and UTD & a MS admission in Yale.

Do I take up PhD admission in UCLA or MS in Yale.

None of them have offered funding.

Any suggestions?

[fuzzylogician]

We'd need some more info before we can form an opinion.

You need to do some leg work and figure out how much each degree is going to cost you, how much debt you are willing and able to take on, and how much you expect to earn after graduation (=how long it'll take you to repay your loans). Make sure it's worth it; in some cases it might be a better idea to reapply next year for a funded program.

Aside from that, it'd be helpful for us to know:

What is your degree in? How high are both schools ranked? How well do your research interests fit with the department's? How many professors work in your area of specialty at each school? What are your post-graduation career goals and how close does each option bring you to achieving them? Do you get along with your prospective advisor and fellow students? What's the average time to degree completion? What's both schools' post-graduation (academia/industry) placement record? Do you have a location/weather preference?

[schiezophrenic]

As fuzzylogician said, it really depends on the field in which you are applying. Yale is good for law and business but not so good for engineering. So first you

need to tell us your intended major and field. In case you are trying for engineering, then the choice should be easy, UCLA is better any day.

Also, another very important point is that it will be very difficult to fund an entire phD on your own funds. Its stupid to do that and will cost a bomb. Usually you

dont get funding in most MS programs but phD is mostly funded everywhere.

[katherine]

Thank You very much for the response. I am interested in Computer Science. UCLA ranks 13 for Computer Science where as Yale's rank comes to around 25. I am looking for an inter-disciplinary PhD involving different topics like Artificial Intelligence, Networks etc... I hear that cost of living is too high in LA. It is a major cause of worry for me. How do you choose your Professor? Is it possible to choose one Professor and then move on to another? I do not prefer extreme weather conditions. California has a better climate, I suppose. Please correct me if I am wrong.