ME Cornell M.eng VS UCLA Master

[kevin80568056]

I got several admissions for ME 2014 Fall and i narrowed them down to these two

 

1.Cornell M.eng

 

Pros:

Its ME graduate program ranked a little higher than UCLA.

I only need to study for a year cuz it is M.eng program

 

Cons:

Poor weather

I might need to find intern or job on the first quarter because I only have one year to study and that's a lot of pressure.      

 

2.UCLA ME Master

Pros:

Big city, great weather.

2 year of study.

 

Cons:

the rank of ME department is not as good as Cornell

the tuition may be higher.

 

Can someone give me some advice here.

The deadline is approaching.

Thanks for your time~

[kcyc]

I thought u would have 1 year after graduation to look for employment, with employment card?

Cornell is in Ithaca and 3.5 hours from NYC, may be harder to look for job. UCLA is right in LA.

Although many recruiters come to either campus to recruit

 

2 year at UCLA is more expensive than Cornell 47k

[Sol Invictus]

I graduated from Cornell with a Masters degree in 2012. I'm not from an engineering background, but what I know is that almost all of my friends at Cornell M.Eng got excellent placements (CS, ME, Systems and Civil) and as such Cornell Engineering is a top ranked school. It is expensive and the program is tedious, but its worth it. If industry's your cup of tea, it doesn't get any better. You can always graduate in 3 semesters, hence spread the workload over three semesters as compared to one academic year. Hope this helps!

[MSnoPhd]

Are you doing a thesis? If not, UCLA's masters in ME is very doable in a year(3 quarters) if you're diligent, and four quarters should be a good amount of time to finish 9 courses without it being too stressful.

[kcyc]

I graduated from Cornell with a Masters degree in 2012. I'm not from an engineering background, but what I know is that almost all of my friends at Cornell M.Eng got excellent placements (CS, ME, Systems and Civil) and as such Cornell Engineering is a top ranked school. It is expensive and the program is tedious, but its worth it. If industry's your cup of tea, it doesn't get any better. You can always graduate in 3 semesters, hence spread the workload over three semesters as compared to one academic year. Hope this helps!

 

@Sol Invictus

Do you have placement info/link to CS MENG graduates?

You can do  3 semesters for Cornell, but you still have to pay full semester tuition 23.5k for the third semester, even if you just take 1 class/ 1 credit unit.

 

alternatively, you can defer your Cornell admission to spring, if you can, and have  1 summer to do internship.

Edited April 13, 2014 by kcyc

[Sol Invictus]

This is what I was able to find on Cornell's website, I hope it's of help to you : 

http://www.engineering.cornell.edu/resources/career_services/students/statistics/postgrad_reports.cfm

Yes, in that case, you would have to pay the fee for the 3rd semester. Alternatively (I'm not sure if this exists in College of Engineering, but it does at CALS - from where I'm) ... you can take research credits in your second semester and continue that research in the third semester, free of charge because you would not be taking any credits in the third semester. You would not be allowed to take courses of course, but this will give you more time to have a 1) summer internship, 2) work on a more comprehensive research project and 3) find employment if you already haven't. I started at Cornell on August 24th 2011, and Sept 18th 2011 was the Career Fair - some of my M.Eng friends got placed then only - not even a month of starting classes! Obviously, majority of the people found jobs/better jobs later, but this also happens. I think it's a very competitive program and the industry has a high requirement for Cornell Engineering graduates.  

[supriya84]

I have been accepted into the M.Eng Comp Sc program at Cornell. Turned down MS CS offer from Columbia after much deliberation. I did a lot of research and somehow in the end was convinced that Cornell is the right choice for someone who wants to join/go back to the IT industry after their Masters. I have heard excellent reviews about the program and placements.