University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) vs Texas A&M University (TAMU): ECE

[sa123]

Hi All,

I have received following admissions for Fall 2014:
1. University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) for MS/PhD in ECE department. No financial aid.
I mailed the graduate department and got to know that I will be supposed to find fellowships and advisor in my first semester. Further, depending on circumstances, I can always change my admission from PhD to MS and vice versa.

2. Texas A&M University (TAMU) for MS. No financial aid. Can change to PhD depending on financial aid and advisor.

My area of interest is (1) microelectronics and computer architecture and (2) Nano-electronics and fabrication.

I am international student, so fee structure would be 47000$ per year for UCSB and 34000$ per year for TAMU.

Please suggest me which university should I consider for above field of interest considering financial situation, job opportunities and research potential given considerable "extra" amount that I will have to pay for UCSB.

Waiting for your responses... any suggestions and replies would be really helpful. Thank You

Additional Info: I have also been admitted from MichiganTech for PhD in same area without funding.

Edited April 7, 2014 by sa123

[skyentist]

Go to the cheapest one. So TAMU. I believe UCSB is the best academically (IMO), but its not worth 47k a year. In fact, most graduate degrees are worth only -$15k (meaning you should be getting at least $15k from them). Plus living in SB is expensive, like ridiculously expensive. So on top of $47k a year you would have to pay at least an extra $10k for rent alone. 

 

If I were you I would wait and reapply next year to programs with funding. Or at least go with the cheapest one since they are all really good schools.

[goku_supersayan]

Going to TAMU MS is no brainer!! Cheapest Tuition and the Best University academically..... People die for this admit

Thats a very good admit to have. You should be proud of yourself that you getting into TAMU justifies an awesome profile you must be having.

 

If you had a fully funded PhD in UCSB then that would have been a completely different story.

 

Even in the worst case, if you don't get PhD in TAMU, you will get a MS degree in as cheap as 20 Lakh or way less with some funding after sem 1. Living in Texas is dirt cheap as well.

 

Go with TAMU !!

[sa123]

Hi skyentist and goku_supersayan for your responses.

 

Yes, TAMU is certainly a good option, if I think in point of finances. But, if I think in career perspective, even if I invest some more amount for UCSB, will it be beneficial for say job/ research opportunities?

[zaphyr]

If you narrow down your area of interest, you won't be torn between both schools. I were in the same boat when I was applying this fall. I am interested in mixed-signal integrated circuits; therefore, I couldn't find any reason to apply for UCSB as far as I realized most of the faculty there are working on nanoelectronics and photonics. On the other hand, I find TAMU very much focused on my interests, that's why I applied and now am glad that I got into TAMU--I am planning to attend it indeed. So it's better to choose one of your interests and pursue accordingly.   

[sa123]

Thanks zaphyr for your response.

 

Correct, as you said, I am preferring UCSB because of its focus on nanoelectronics. My only concern was paying considerable extra amount for it as against TAMU and if the extra amount is worth it...

 

Thanks all for keeping your opinions. More suggestions and opinions are welcomed

[zaphyr]

Thanks zaphyr for your response.

 

Correct, as you said, I am preferring UCSB because of its focus on nanoelectronics. My only concern was paying considerable extra amount for it as against TAMU and if the extra amount is worth it...

 

Thanks all for keeping your opinions. More suggestions and opinions are welcomed

So it pays off as you are interested in nano stuff as long as you afford to support your studies. Career porospects are also excellent as I heard their photonics and nano groups are among top tier in entire USA. Btw you may also be able to verify this latter fact,

Good Luck