Berkeley MS MechE

[MTJC]

Hi,

I'm having a pretty tough decision deciding where to go next year. I only applied to MS programs and I've been fortunate enough to get accepted by Berkeley. The big issue is that there is no funding guaranteed though I've been told it is possible to secure funding after accepting their offer. Does anyone have any numbers or any ideas about how easy it is to secure funding in the form on an RA/TAship for the first year?

I'm having trouble deciding whether I want to go to Berkeley or stay at my school (ranked mid-40s MechE), which is not ranked as highly, for a funded MS. What makes this decision more difficult is that Berkeley has some research areas that I would be very interested in whereas my current school does not have professors whose research interests align as well with mine. Were I to stay at my school, I might actually contemplating switching to a different subfield of engineering. Any ideas or suggestions?

Edited April 10, 2011 by MTJC

[//AMG]

I am in the same situation like you, but was admitted for Structural (Civil) Engineering MS.

After you accept the offer from Berkeley and get officially registered you'll be able to apply for TA and RA positions. However, I've heard that those are limited and you are more likely to get hired if you are planning on going for PhD. If I were you, I'd still go to Berkeley. Sooner or later you're gonna make the money to pay the loans off but the degree is something that you'll keep for the rest of your life. Switching fields is sometimes beneficial but in your case I wouldn't do it.

[HassE]

just remember, a MS degree from Berkeley will cost nearly 80-100k after its all said and done with. If someone is providing you funding, most likely that will include a stipend. So the net total different would be well over 100k JUST FOR A MASTERS.

you need to make the decision about how long it will take to pay off that 100k loan. Even if a Berkeley degree will give you 10k extra a year for your salary, it would still take well over 10 years before you even start having a chance to making money on the degree. After 10 years of experience a degree from Berkeley will not be the main focus, it's going to be 10 years of experience.

A top-40ish school is still something to be proud about and will still be respected.

If you ever have dreams to go back and get a PhD THEN you could always get it from Berkeley or any other top-10 school.

On the flip side though, you can say you went to a Top-5 school. Is that worth 100k+ in loans though?