delon Posted March 16, 2011 Posted March 16, 2011 Hello, I got admission in Cornell MEng program (ECE). My undergrad major was wireless communication and I am planning to switch to computer architecture/embedded system. Though I'm US resident, I got my college degree from outside US. So, I don't have any work/internship exp. in US which is the worst side of my resume. I am confused whether to enroll in Cornell or not because it's very costly and I have to take federal loans. It is a two semester (fall 2011 + spring 2012) program. So, I won't get the opportunity to do internship before graduation. Is that a HUGE disadvantage ? As far I know, Cornell MEng is highly valued in the industry and their job placement is great. Cornell also has good Computer architecture research and courses. Moreover the Cornell brand is hard to overlook. I have to take 50K loan (direct + PLUS loan) to fund my graduate study in Cornell. So, I want to do research as much as possible before taking the decision. I also got admission in USC and waiting for - Columbia, NCSU. I would greatly appreciate if I get some advice from experienced seniors in this regard. I have to take the decision before April 15. Thanks in advance.
engin33r Posted March 16, 2011 Posted March 16, 2011 i dont think the 50k is worth it for a MEng with no thesis. Its better to find a school that is funding you in my opinion (and go for master's with thesis or Ph.D.), even if Cornell is an Ivy. I hate Cornell because it seems they are just rejecting everyone applying for Master's and Ph.D. and trying to get the rejects to do MEng so they can profit out of them, with no supported funding. Screw Cornell, and find another school.
delon Posted March 16, 2011 Author Posted March 16, 2011 i dont think the 50k is worth it for a MEng with no thesis. Its better to find a school that is funding you in my opinion (and go for master's with thesis or Ph.D.), even if Cornell is an Ivy. I hate Cornell because it seems they are just rejecting everyone applying for Master's and Ph.D. and trying to get the rejects to do MEng so they can profit out of them, with no supported funding. Screw Cornell, and find another school. Thanks you for sharing your thoughts. I have applied for MS (not Phd- I don't want to go for Phd) to all the graduate schools. So, I can assume that, I won't get funding from other schools. I am waiting for U of W, NCSU, Columbia and got the admission offer from USC without funding. Same case for USC- I have to take loans as they don't offer funding for MS. Cornell provides the opportunity to do thesis and research in MEng. I confirmed that after talking with some MEng students. You got my point! I am also thinking the same thing- "does that MEng worth 50K ?" I am waiting for other admits. Let's see what happen. I am damn confused.
PavelV Posted March 16, 2011 Posted March 16, 2011 Hello, I got admission in Cornell MEng program (ECE). My undergrad major was wireless communication and I am planning to switch to computer architecture/embedded system. Though I'm US resident, I got my college degree from outside US. So, I don't have any work/internship exp. in US which is the worst side of my resume. I am confused whether to enroll in Cornell or not because it's very costly and I have to take federal loans. It is a two semester (fall 2011 + spring 2012) program. So, I won't get the opportunity to do internship before graduation. Is that a HUGE disadvantage ? As far I know, Cornell MEng is highly valued in the industry and their job placement is great. Cornell also has good Computer architecture research and courses. Moreover the Cornell brand is hard to overlook. I have to take 50K loan (direct + PLUS loan) to fund my graduate study in Cornell. So, I want to do research as much as possible before taking the decision. I also got admission in USC and waiting for - Columbia, NCSU. I would greatly appreciate if I get some advice from experienced seniors in this regard. I have to take the decision before April 15. Thanks in advance. I am also accepted to MEng Cornell. Being international though I need to provide financial statement for 60k in May if I want to go which means I am in the same boat as you to take a student loan for at least 50k. That will cover the 41ish thousand for tuition and living expenses + i have few savings. I have to agree with engin33r. I have the same observations. They reject PhD students to offer them MEng and make money. The official motto of the MEng program should be - we are self-funded lol. However, I believe that to be a good investment, and at the end this might be a very good choice. My main concern is the location. I would prefer to stay in Boston, but hey if no one wants me I wil go to Ithaca. I went there last year to the Visit Day for MEng with a friend of mine that got accepted. All the students said they have job offers lined up waiting for them to graduate.
delon Posted March 16, 2011 Author Posted March 16, 2011 I am also accepted to MEng Cornell. Being international though I need to provide financial statement for 60k in May if I want to go which means I am in the same boat as you to take a student loan for at least 50k. That will cover the 41ish thousand for tuition and living expenses + i have few savings. I have to agree with engin33r. I have the same observations. They reject PhD students to offer them MEng and make money. The official motto of the MEng program should be - we are self-funded lol. However, I believe that to be a good investment, and at the end this might be a very good choice. My main concern is the location. I would prefer to stay in Boston, but hey if no one wants me I wil go to Ithaca. I went there last year to the Visit Day for MEng with a friend of mine that got accepted. All the students said they have job offers lined up waiting for them to graduate. I also think that it will be a good investment. The problem is, I don't have any internship experience and if I enroll to Cornell, I won't get the opportunity to do a internship before graduation. Is that a huge disadvantage ? I talked with some Cornell MEng students and they told me that, with job/internship experience it is possible to get offer before the end of first semester! It seems that, recruiters do value Cornell a LOT! I am confused about my situation. Do you have any internship or job experience ?
mango13 Posted March 17, 2011 Posted March 17, 2011 I'm also considering the MEng program. But, I was accepted with a partial fellowship and a stipend that would make the cost a little more doable. And with current life situations, a one year program is pretty enticing. Do you think the MEng degree is well respected enough to find a good job afterwords? Or to continue with a PhD? I have a funded MS offer from another lesser ranked school and I want to make sure it is the right decision to go slightly in debt for a degree from Cornell, when I could go to another school for free. Any suggestions?
delon Posted March 17, 2011 Author Posted March 17, 2011 I'm also considering the MEng program. But, I was accepted with a partial fellowship and a stipend that would make the cost a little more doable. And with current life situations, a one year program is pretty enticing. Do you think the MEng degree is well respected enough to find a good job afterwords? Or to continue with a PhD? I have a funded MS offer from another lesser ranked school and I want to make sure it is the right decision to go slightly in debt for a degree from Cornell, when I could go to another school for free. Any suggestions? Congrats! Does they offer fellowship to MEng students ? I Didn't know that. I contacted with some students from Cornell and they seemed to be very pleased with this MEng program! According to them Cornell worth that amount of cost. You will be slightly in debt but in my case it's huge !!
PavelV Posted March 17, 2011 Posted March 17, 2011 I also think that it will be a good investment. The problem is, I don't have any internship experience and if I enroll to Cornell, I won't get the opportunity to do a internship before graduation. Is that a huge disadvantage ? I talked with some Cornell MEng students and they told me that, with job/internship experience it is possible to get offer before the end of first semester! It seems that, recruiters do value Cornell a LOT! I am confused about my situation. Do you have any internship or job experience ? I have 2 years of research and teaching experience from my Undergrad in here - I can't really have an actual experience in a big company because of my Student Visa. Most of the times companies look for US Citizenship even if its for a few months. But i believe that MEng Cornell by itself is a big enough name for the recruiters.
PavelV Posted March 17, 2011 Posted March 17, 2011 I'm also considering the MEng program. But, I was accepted with a partial fellowship and a stipend that would make the cost a little more doable. And with current life situations, a one year program is pretty enticing. Do you think the MEng degree is well respected enough to find a good job afterwords? Or to continue with a PhD? I have a funded MS offer from another lesser ranked school and I want to make sure it is the right decision to go slightly in debt for a degree from Cornell, when I could go to another school for free. Any suggestions? If I am in your shoes I would probably go to the school which is for free. I am in this position where if Northeastern doesn't accept me for PhD let say but offers me MS with an option for PhD later on and the opportunity to do research, I will pick that before Cornell. I will do that mainly because of the location. I am settled in Boston now. I have lived here for the past 4 years. The decision totally depends on what your priorities are.
siddh3010 Posted March 16, 2013 Posted March 16, 2013 Hi I got admit from MEng from Cornell for Chemical Engineering.... I also got admits from Rutgers, University of Florida and Suny Buffalo for MS program in Chemical Engineering...I am an international student and my main concern is getting good job... I am not planning to do PhD... As I understand University-wise Cornell is way better but program-wise (MS) and considering tuition fees taking admission from other universities is better I am really confused which university to take... Please help me out I have to give decision in next 1 month...
rexxue Posted March 17, 2013 Posted March 17, 2013 Hi I got admit from MEng from Cornell for Chemical Engineering.... I also got admits from Rutgers, University of Florida and Suny Buffalo for MS program in Chemical Engineering...I am an international student and my main concern is getting good job... I am not planning to do PhD... As I understand University-wise Cornell is way better but program-wise (MS) and considering tuition fees taking admission from other universities is better I am really confused which university to take... Please help me out I have to give decision in next 1 month... Hey, all, Same situation here, applied for PhD but get rejected and transfered to Meng program in Mechanical Eng. I am an international student. Talked to friends in Meng program in ME, I was told that I wouldn't regret choosing Cornell. But I am losing my preference for Cornell because I want to go PhD, one year without thesis is so crazy. and if I want to get a good job, one year program is too short for any intern. I do think that Cornell brand is not bad but it seems no worth investing to it from any aspect... Any other thoughts?
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