UIUC vs UCSC

[Phoenix!]

Hello,

 

Supposedly you had to accept an offer either from UIUC or UCSC, with pretty much the same funding, what would you choose and why?

Thank you

 

[compiler_guy]

Where are the better Prof.?

[Phoenix!]

Actually both have great Prof. to work with, but in UIUC I can only assume who would be my advisor (despite the fact that it is not clear yet, I believe that would be the one I was interested in the first place) while in UCSC have contacted Professors and have a broader knowledge of their research.

To be truthful, I am leaning towards the Prof. from UIUC... 

[josefchung]

Congrats on acceptance from both schools! Obviously, your fit with the professor and the research group is by far the most important. But all things being equal, UIUC is a top-10 school (5th in some lists), while UCSC may not even be top-50. 

 

That said, UCSC has two things going for it: location [oceanside and near Silicon Valley] and high Ph.D. graduation rates with a median completion of less than 5 years. So I can definitely see pros/cons of both schools.

[dat_nerd]

Congrats on the acceptances! I think it really depends on the strength of the faculty in your particular research sub-field. What's your focus?

[Phoenix!]

Thank you all! My research areas are Machine Learning and NLP.

Congratulations on your acceptances too! May I ask what is your focus and whether you have decided which one will you attend?

[Phoenix!]

Does anyone know if UIUC students get internships in CA? Everyone I know keeps mentioning that CA internship positions are usually filled with Grad students from CA Univ....

[pogil]

I don't think this is true. My friend got an internship in palo alto and study in UIUC. I guess if you study in Stanford or Berkeley which are closer to the silicon valley it is more easy, but not with Santa Cruz.   (~1.5+ hours of driving in each direction in traffic), so In both cases you will need to move closer to work for the summer and there is no difference.

 

Moreover, UIUC is Top10 university and I think you'll have sagnifically better chance to get good internship than with ucsc which is not even top50.

 

In addition, UIUC is more cheap for living than California and known in the NLP field much more than UCSC.

So I had the same funding and interest, I would have definitely choose UIUC. 

[fukuyama]

Students can definitely get internships anywhere at UIUC. It is one of the top-ranked schools and several of the professors there are the absolute best in their area. I am presently at UIC which is a much lower ranked school although I have visited UIUC for different events (I am re-doing my admissions this year for personal matters that aren't relevant); I came to UIC to work with a specific faculty, and I am really happy with that decision (I had 4 admissions last cycle, a few at much better ranked universities). This summer I've arranged an internship at a top research firm in Palo Alto, and had internship offers at ORNL, and MIT. A lot of things will come down to networking and building relationships, if you are at either school. 

 

So, a lot of it will come down to match, and personal factors. If I had someone in mind, I would choose UCSC. I've forwarded this from my colleague at UMN which summarizes some factors that many students don't consider: http://www.theclimatecode.com/2013/02/a-phd-is-like-haute-couture-its.html .    

[Phoenix!]

Thank you so much for the replies!

It is really weird that most of my classmates told me what I've mentioned earlier ( although none of them is currently pursuing a PhD at U.S.  which makes it even weirder...) But you prove my Professors' opinion!

 

Thank you, I really appreciate it!