UAlbany Nanoscale Engineering vs. UMD-College Park materials engineering?

[cjw2211]

I'm having a hard time with this. I think Albany's program is very unique and will help me focus more on what I'm actually interested in, but I've heard that graduate students pretty much never get to use their amazing facilities. Additionally, I don't know if I would like the Albany area much, and the school doesn't seem as vibrant as Maryland.

Maryland also gave me a stipend that's 5,000 higher, but cost of living in that area is very expensive too. Plus I went to maryland for undergrad and would like a change. Maryland's school is top 25 however. It's hard to compare with Albany because no one ranks nanotechnology programs, except for one time where albany ranked very well. I prefer the overall school at maryland because it excels at so many differnet programs, but I like how unique Albany's program is, and it has strong ties to industry.

Does anyone know any extra information about Albany that they would be willing to share, or have some input about its reputation? Thanks for your time.