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The Reputation of the University of Minnesota at Twin Cities


khaled

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Hello everyone. 

 

I got admitted into the University of Minnesota's Electrical Engineering Masters program, and I believe it is a great fit for me. I like what my advisor is doing and I'm overall excited about the program. My concern is about the reputation of the university. I know it has a good reputation, but also I'd like to know how its reputation compared to schools like Caltech and Berkeley. 

 

 

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I got admitted into a UMN Program too (Comp Lit though). Well, surely UMN is not Caltech or Berkeley, nevertheless it is always in the top 50 (especially in Engineer-related fields) and since 2001 it is in Greenes' list of Public Ivy just like Berkeley. Whereas IMHO Caltech is a unique case (being private and so small and elitist), Berkeley is more comparable with UMN. I think UMN is an excellent state university, obviously less competitive and bigger than Berkeley, with a complete different human and social environment. What concerns me it is more its financial status (ie the possibility to support graduate students with scholarship instead of only TA), but I think it is also a matter of departments. Surely Engineer has not the same problems of Comp Lit ahahahaha.

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Of course it depends on the specific department/program, but generally in top 15-20 of graduate programs overall.  In same league as U Michigan, U Wisconsin, etc.

 

Plus the Twin Cities, IMHO, is one of the best metro areas in the U.S. on many levels...

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Plus the Twin Cities, IMHO, is one of the best metro areas in the U.S. on many levels...

 

Mmm interesting. Why you say so? I mean, I really want to know it (I am Italian, so I am not so familiar with "minor" American cities like Minneapolis).

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I got my bachelor's from the University of Minnesota. I came as an international transfer student and graduated last Spring with a bachelor's in Biology.

 

The university is very reputable and has experts in many different fields. One of my PI's as an undergraduate is an EE faculty and is an amazing guy. He gave me a bunch of opportunities to pursue Biomedical Engineering-EE translational stuff which really exposed me to research and helped me decide that pursuing a career in science is my goal. The EE department is very reputable and the College of Science and Engineering (CSE) is ranked highly on many of its programs. Also, the college has a lot of money, so IMHO, I do not think financial support throughout graduate school will be a problem. A friend of mine, and also neighbor, is a current EE PhD student and is having a great experience.

 

Caltech and Berkeley are both great and very reputable institutions. The UMN, however, does not fall back very far behind. 

 

Also, the university is huge and there are many opportunities for collaboration with different departments, etc. (in case your interest is in the interface of EE and another science, say BME).

 

The Twin Cities, is a great metro area. I came from a tropical country and the cold winters sort of scared me at first but you get used to it after a while. The summers, fall and spring are beautiful though. The people are very friendly and the graduate student community is very active and engaging. The UMN campus is big and beautiful and there are a gazillion things to do on campus and the surrounding metro area. Stuff are relatively cheap (compared to LA, NYC, or the Bay area).

 

If you think you and your advisor and his/her lab, are a great fit, I think you should go for it!

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If you like the fit at the U of M the best OP, definitely go for the U of M. It's a well-regarded school, and in general it's much better to attend a well-respected school where you have a great fit rather than an elite school where you might not fit very well. I have no doubt that people are coming out of the U's program and getting good jobs. 

 

Also, being from the Twin Cities, I can second everyone else's comments about Minneapolis/St. Paul being a great metro area. If you don't mind cold that is.

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Mmm interesting. Why you say so? I mean, I really want to know it (I am Italian, so I am not so familiar with "minor" American cities like Minneapolis).

 

Here are a couple of thoughts:

 

Twin Cities metro was recently named the #1 city for bike-friendliness.  You'll have to deal with the winter, but it is an awesome place to get around on your bike.  http://www.bicycling.com/news/featured-stories/bicyclings-top-50

 

Also recently named the healthiest city in the U.S. - http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2011/09/13/americas-top-10-healthiest-cities/

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I got admitted into a UMN Program too (Comp Lit though). Well, surely UMN is not Caltech or Berkeley, nevertheless it is always in the top 50 (especially in Engineer-related fields) and since 2001 it is in Greenes' list of Public Ivy just like Berkeley. Whereas IMHO Caltech is a unique case (being private and so small and elitist), Berkeley is more comparable with UMN. I think UMN is an excellent state university, obviously less competitive and bigger than Berkeley, with a complete different human and social environment. What concerns me it is more its financial status (ie the possibility to support graduate students with scholarship instead of only TA), but I think it is also a matter of departments. Surely Engineer has not the same problems of Comp Lit ahahahaha.

 

Thank you for the useful information. It really helps :) 

 

Of course it depends on the specific department/program, but generally in top 15-20 of graduate programs overall.  In same league as U Michigan, U Wisconsin, etc.

 

Plus the Twin Cities, IMHO, is one of the best metro areas in the U.S. on many levels...

 

Thanks. I didn't know that it's in the same league as UMich and U Wisc.

 

I got my bachelor's from the University of Minnesota. I came as an international transfer student and graduated last Spring with a bachelor's in Biology.

 

The university is very reputable and has experts in many different fields. One of my PI's as an undergraduate is an EE faculty and is an amazing guy. He gave me a bunch of opportunities to pursue Biomedical Engineering-EE translational stuff which really exposed me to research and helped me decide that pursuing a career in science is my goal. The EE department is very reputable and the College of Science and Engineering (CSE) is ranked highly on many of its programs. Also, the college has a lot of money, so IMHO, I do not think financial support throughout graduate school will be a problem. A friend of mine, and also neighbor, is a current EE PhD student and is having a great experience.

 

Caltech and Berkeley are both great and very reputable institutions. The UMN, however, does not fall back very far behind. 

 

Also, the university is huge and there are many opportunities for collaboration with different departments, etc. (in case your interest is in the interface of EE and another science, say BME).

 

The Twin Cities, is a great metro area. I came from a tropical country and the cold winters sort of scared me at first but you get used to it after a while. The summers, fall and spring are beautiful though. The people are very friendly and the graduate student community is very active and engaging. The UMN campus is big and beautiful and there are a gazillion things to do on campus and the surrounding metro area. Stuff are relatively cheap (compared to LA, NYC, or the Bay area).

 

If you think you and your advisor and his/her lab, are a great fit, I think you should go for it!

 

Thank you. I'm waiting for other schools to decide, and admission makes me relax and I guess if I go for it I will not regret it.

 

If you like the fit at the U of M the best OP, definitely go for the U of M. It's a well-regarded school, and in general it's much better to attend a well-respected school where you have a great fit rather than an elite school where you might not fit very well. I have no doubt that people are coming out of the U's program and getting good jobs. 

 

Also, being from the Twin Cities, I can second everyone else's comments about Minneapolis/St. Paul being a great metro area. If you don't mind cold that is.

 

Thank you for the insightful reply.

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Does anyone have anything to add specifically about the Sociology and/or (human)Geography department? Thanks! 

 

This may be the wrong thread for this, but what is human geography? Sounds kind of cool! :)

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This may be the wrong thread for this, but what is human geography? Sounds kind of cool! :)

 

It is a major sub field of Geography but unlike physical geography focuses on the interface between human settlements, power structures, culture, communities and the environment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_geography 

And yes, it is quite cool :) 

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