ECE PhD at Purdue, ECE MS at Umich, UCLA, Columbia

[wweerr]

I'm admitted to these programs, and I'm thinking about which one is the best choice.

 

I know Purdue has a great reputation and a long history in ECE, and its program is among the top 10 ECE programs. Also Purdue is very strong in the area that I'm interested in. 

 

However, as an international student, I'm concerned about Purdue's general reputation internationally.  My dad's colleagues, who are working in the academia and  engineering industries, think that although Purdue is known for its engineering programs, its reputation has suffered for its somewhat weak undergrad education since Purdue has been admitting high school students that are not that good. This may make a degree from Purdue looks bad, since everyone think it is very easy to get into Purdue, which is never the case for its PhD program in ECE(very low acceptance rate).

 

The ms program from Umich , UCLA , Columbia(nikola tesla scholar), although in fact easier to get into, will actually look much better than a degree from Purdue generally due to those schools' international reputation. People think those schools are hard to get into and appreciate degrees from those schools more. 

 

I'm in such a dilemma. I would appreciate any feedback from either US or international students. What do you think about these schools? These programs? 

 

Thank you so much!

Edited March 25, 2013 by wweerr

[wweerr]

bump~

[tarrman]

I disagree. Most of the state schools in or near the top 10 (Ga Tech, UIUC, UT Austin, UMich) are also easy to get into undergrad, and the quality of some of the undergrads suffers as a result. I'm not really sure why only Purdue's reputation would suffer in the eyes of your dad's colleagues, but if they think that this is only an issue with Purdue, they must not know much about US universities.

 

To judge a school's graduate program based on the strength of its undergraduate program doesn't make any sense. I'd say only UMich's reputation in ECE is stronger than Purdue's, and for people to think that a Ph.D. from Purdue "looks bad" just shows how little they know about the school.

[wweerr]

I disagree. Most of the state schools in or near the top 10 (Ga Tech, UIUC, UT Austin, UMich) are also easy to get into undergrad, and the quality of some of the undergrads suffers as a result. I'm not really sure why only Purdue's reputation would suffer in the eyes of your dad's colleagues, but if they think that this is only an issue with Purdue, they must not know much about US universities.

 

To judge a school's graduate program based on the strength of its undergraduate program doesn't make any sense. I'd say only UMich's reputation in ECE is stronger than Purdue's, and for people to think that a Ph.D. from Purdue "looks bad" just shows how little they know about the school.

Thank you for the replay!