MS in ECE Analog Design

[iceman14]

Hey everyone

So, I have admits from Texas A&M university, University of California at San Diego and awaiting result from UT Austin for MS in Electrical Engineering. My interests are in Analog Design(Converters and Power Management). I am really confused as to what choice should I make.

I have a 25% TA offer from UCSD. So, TAMU and UCSD are going to cost same.

TAMU:

Pros: Great Analog Group, Excellent Faculty, Good relations with industry giants like TI, NXP etc., Located near Austin(hub of electronics)

Cons: Location is a disadvantage, not so reputed, not so selective

 

UCSD:

Pros: Great reputation, part of UC system, Located in San Diego, Very selective

Cons: Not many electronics giant in San Diego(Only Qualcomm), Little research in power management(DC/DC Converters and all)

Please help me out.

Thanks

[blacknighterrant]

13 hours ago, iceman14 said:

Hey everyone

So, I have admits from Texas A&M university, University of California at San Diego and awaiting result from UT Austin for MS in Electrical Engineering. My interests are in Analog Design(Converters and Power Management). I am really confused as to what choice should I make.

I have a 25% TA offer from UCSD. So, TAMU and UCSD are going to cost same.

TAMU:

Pros: Great Analog Group, Excellent Faculty, Good relations with industry giants like TI, NXP etc., Located near Austin(hub of electronics)

Cons: Location is a disadvantage, not so reputed, not so selective

 

UCSD:

Pros: Great reputation, part of UC system, Located in San Diego, Very selective

Cons: Not many electronics giant in San Diego(Only Qualcomm), Little research in power management(DC/DC Converters and all)

Please help me out.

Thanks

People over-emphasize the importance of location for grad schools. It doesn't really matter much that the school is near the companies, you can just move for the summer and come back during the school year, working at one of these companies while being in school is unrealistic and could do more harm than good. You could also do a co-op which would let you work a semester and go to school a semester in cycles and even then it wouldn't really matter that much where you are unless you really need to stay put. Your kidding when you say that TAMU has a worse reputation and isn't as selective as UCSD right? While it is true that UCSD is ranked higher in electrical engineering the ranking difference is minuscule and TAMU's average gre's are only slightly lower than UCSD, they are both very selective (TAMU actually has a higher overall engineering ranking). Living in Texas would suck compared to living in San Diego. In terms of relations with companies, all top ee schools are usually actively recruited from most major companies, so you will have no trouble getting jobs in the same companies regardless of which school you attend, you can't just automatically say TAMU has better relations. Honestly, they are both great schools and you'll be fine regardless of where you go, I would personally go with UCSD.  

[iceman14]

Thanks for the reply. There is one more question. I browsed through the list of companies recruiting for last 2-3 career fairs at both campuses. TAMU has had more Electronics company coming to its career fair than UCSD. Even Qualcomm, which is supposed to be a staple at UCSD career fairs, didn't show up for last 2. Major companies like Texas Instruments and NXP are missing from UCSD. I have no issues regarding the living conditions of Texas and neither do I have a preference for UCSD's beaches. Would you still prefer UCSD? What worked for you in making that preference? 

Edited April 4, 2016 by iceman14

[blacknighterrant]

45 minutes ago, iceman14 said:

Thanks for the reply. There is one more question. I browsed through the list of companies recruiting for last 2-3 career fairs at both campuses. TAMU has had more Electronics company coming to its career fair than UCSD. Even Qualcomm, which is supposed to be a staple at UCSD career fairs, didn't show up for last 2. Major companies like Texas Instruments and NXP are missing from UCSD. I have no issues regarding the living conditions of Texas and neither do I have a preference for UCSD's beaches. Would you still prefer UCSD? What worked for you in making that preference? 

I care more about the weather in terms of location than I do about things like beaches. The weather in Texas is awful, San Diego gets hot too, but it is nicer. Honestly, it is nice if companies go to career fairs, but career fairs aren't all that big a deal, going to either one of the schools would be good enough for them to seriously look at your resume regardless of what company you apply to, after that your gpa and experience will be a far bigger deal. Even if they don't go to UCSD's career fair major companies still recruit at UCSD look here: http://jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/external/external_cap/cap_careers/index.sfe . There are plenty of major engineering companies on that list.