Rutgers, UIUC, Georgia Tech, UC Berkeley

[kghosh]

Hi All. I am Kiran Ghosh an architect and researcher from India. I have applied for my graduate degree in planning across US for fall 2020.

I have been accepted into UC Berkeley (Dream College) but have not received any funding. The college is too expensive for me but I am applying to external scholarships to see possibilities of affording it. I have also gotten into UIUC (which is more affordable) and have received limited funding. I have been accepted into a dual degree (Master in City and Regional Planning with MS in GIS Technology) at Georgia tech (which makes it as expensive as Berkeley but I needed a STEM designated course). I am yet to hear from Georgia Tech regarding funding. Finally, Rutgers has provided considerable funding (100% Tuition).

While all these colleges are great, as per my understanding UC Berkeley and Rutgers outranks the other two with respect to planning colleges. I cant afford Berkeley at the moment so lets put a pin on that. I have my apprehensions about Rutgers even though i love the program as much as the others. Rutgers does not seem to have an overall college ranking as good as Georgia Tech and UIUC. They do have a great set of faculty, a diverse community and good reputation. Are Rutgers alumni at any particular disadvantage as compared to their peers at Georgia Tech or UIUC? How does Rutgers compare with UC Berkeley? 

Given my financial background, I am also looking for RA/TA positions at UIUC and Georgia Tech apart from a hefty loan (60-80K) to finance my studies there. Would that be a bad investment to make in light of the offer at Rutgers?

I have also been suggested by some that I should consider attending with financials for the first three semesters arranged. Figure out the fourth semester eventually. Is this idea as ludicrous as it seems?

I know COVID-19 has made everything uncertain but I am trying to keep a positive outlook and proceed as planned for now. 

Edited March 20, 2020 by kghosh

[Ar Sam]

Personally, I'd say go for Rutgers! 100% funding is absolutely amazing.

This is the way I look at it: if you're taking a massive loan (over 50% of your entire expenditure), it's not a great deal. Especially if you got full funding at Rutgers. Its very highly ranked, although the other schools are somewhat design oriented (which it seems you prefer?). 

I'm an architect from India too and I had applied for Urban Planning and Urban Design degrees. Personally I wanted a degree in which I'd be able to do both (like at Berkeley or Penn, where you can take the UD concentration). I didn't receive a lot of funding from Penn (top choice). The other programs I got funding from were the Urban Design programs but I really feel I'd excel more at planning and have opportunities to go into planning based jobs from the MCP degree over the MUD degree. Of course, the STEM designation matters a lot to me too.

I don't think you should go in debt when you have 100% funding from a top university. So I'd say: RUTGERS!