Choosing Materials Science

[wisc_guy]

I have been accepted to Materials Sceince PhD at UIUC, Minnesota, Carnegie Mellon. I have scheduled a visit to UIUC and Minnesota. Everything may come down to the professors I talk during the visit. But assuming in those two places I meet somebody suitable, then choice must be from the city. weather and supportive environment. Any body can help me deciding based on this factor? I am also waiting from Cal Tech, Texas (Cehm Eng) and NWU.

[christina_bme]

I did a summer internship with a professor in CEMS at Minnesota. The department is pretty big and diverse (I was in a lab doing molecular simulation work and we were across the hall from people in the biomedical area, to give you an idea), so I think you'll have no problem finding a faculty member who fits your interests. I don't know about how supportive the environment is, since I was only an undergrad intern there for 10 weeks, but the grad students I encountered all seemed to be fairly happy. Faculty and staff were OK - polite, but not as friendly as in other places I've been. That's very subjective, though, so don't take my word for it. Minneapolis/St. Paul is a great place to live, but keep in mind I was there during the summer when the weather was pleasant and mild.

I don't know much about either of the other two schools, but I know UIUC is in a rural area, so if you really need to be in a big city it's probably not for you. You may have better luck posting this query in the City Guide forum. You should be able to find information about Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and Champaign-Urbana over there.

[crossedfingers]

I vote for UIUC and Minnesota if you are looking for a laid back college environment with a hustling city near by. To add to the post above, I think MN is a fairly decent place to live. It gets cold, but if u believe in survival of the fittest, you get to LOVE it.

I like the college atmosphere of UIUC better. I had a friend who went there for his undergrad and visited him often. Urbana is a rural area, but that is until you get to the campus area. The town has a large number of things to do ( especially if you are into theatre), good restaurants, lots of ethic places to eat and the campus is lovely. I was there mostly during summer months, and lived across the nanotech building. One distinct thing I remember about UIUC was that no matter what time of the day/night: it was always bustling with life.