UCLA MS CS vs. U-Mich MS CS vs. Cornell MEng

[jdanapa]

Hello guys,

First of all, I am new to this forum, so my apologize if I missed this forum's rules of conduct.

I just got accepted to UCLA, U-Mich, Columbia University (All MS CS), and Cornell (M Eng). Yes, I did not get PhD, the Universities I applied for PhD to all rejected me :?

I am certainly interested on researches, particularly on database / data management (when I was pursuing Bachelor of Science in University of Washington, I already started a research related to that field and managed to submit a paper. Unfortunately the said university did not let me stay...). I intend to continue to PhD programs even after finishing MS. The reason I cannot wait for next PhD application is because I am an international student and I will have to go back home if I do not have any academic continuation here.

So now, back to the main topic. Will those MS/MEng programs be able to serve as a path of entry to continuing to PhD programs? Based on the ranking...I always thought Cornell would be the best out of the 4, but I also heard that M Eng is basically a waste of time of I am pursuing PhD program anyway. I am not sure if the same may apply for the other 3. So does anyone have any suggestion on which program is relevant to my future objective? Thank you in advance. (I am also throwing this similar question to some other boards, I hope no one minds)

On a side note...I am also waiting for a good news from GaTech (MS in CS). Anyone has any insight on that too?

[OH YEAH]

If you want to do research, Cornell's MEng is not what you want. I don't know anything about the other two programs.

[timuralp]

A good place to start would be to look at what are the research groups at each school, what work the professors are doing, and if you're interested in it. Ideally, during your MS you want to be involved in research and either apply for PhD at the same school or apply elsewhere, but have at least one publication to show for the MS. I would urge you not to put too much faith into the rankings.