Decision help PLs urgent!

[trashbag]

i have 2 decide between purdue and virginia tech for my Fall 2009 MS industrial engineering program....

as of now im really confused because funding at virg tech is practically zero, and i have very little information about purdue...pls guys help me out if any of u have info abt MS industrial program at purdue, lemme know so that i can decide.....

thanks...

[trashbag]

o ya i forgot 2 mention im an international student from India....in case thats relevant...

[fuzzylogician]

I'm sorry, I don't know about industrial engineering, but I can give you this general advice: Try to find out about factors that could influence your decision and that you can know about now. For example, is location a consideration for you? Have you looked at the cost of living at Purdue vs. VTech? If you aren't funded at either place, that could be important. Job placement might also play a role, does one place do significantly better than the other in that respect? What's the average starting salary graduates from each institution have earned in recent years? Does one better match your interests/train you in fields that are more sought after in the Indian market (assuming you want to return home after you finish your degree)? If you want to go into academia, has one been more successful than the other placing its students in good PhD programs? Do as much virtual legwork as you can right now, so that there will be as few unknown factors as possible left in your decision later. Hopefully you'll hear back about funding before you have to decide (when is that, btw) and you'll be able to make an informed decision in a short amount of time.

[trashbag]

hey man thanks a lot ....there were certain factors there which i didnt consider earlier....il find out what i can ...umm i need 2 decide say within a coupla weeks, so i can get my visa process under way....

btw any suggestions on wher i can get comparative info on both th univs?...websites, forums etc etc??...

[fuzzylogician]

Start with the department websites and look for the information there. Other suggestions are to contact the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) at both schools and ask for any info you couldn't find online, and contact current grad students to ask about their impression of the program and any advice they can give you. Have you read the posts about your universities here on thegradcafe? there will probably be a thread for each in the city guide and meet&greet forums. You should be able to find people there who have recently looked for the same (general, maybe not program-specific) info that you are looking for, who might be willing to help. Hopefully someone will read you post here and will be able to give you some more advice, but in the meanwhile you should stay proactive. Good luck!

oh, and just to clarify, I'm not a dude.

[nandelle]

You say your funding at VATech is virtually nothing...do you know about funding at Purdue?

Unless there's a large gap in the program strength, I'd recommend going with a funded offer over an unfunded one. If they are both unfunded (or likely to be), why did you apply to each of those programs? What attracted you to them?

Could you talk to people who work for companies you'd like to work for, and ask which school they would prefer to see on a resume and why?

If the program strength is similar, then you should think about where you'd rather live - cost of living, location of the school, all that good stuff.

Best of luck with your decision!

[golonghorns]

purdue is pretty respected from what i've heard....if you got funding...i would go there..

[trashbag]

naah no funding as yet..im hopin i have better luck once i start th program....thts wat i need info on/...funding n ta oppurtunities 4 MS IE students...