RA/TA or pay?

[ak547]

Hello all!

I'm new to this forum and this is my first post here. I'm in a bit of a dilemma so I thought I'd ask you guys because I've been going over the posts on this forum and you all give some great advice!

Basically, I've applied to about 8 schools for my Master's in Aerospace Engineering (Aerodynamics in particular) and I've gotten accepted to 2 of them. I'm still waiting to hear from the rest.

I've received admits from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft, Netherlands) and University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign (unofficial, but still). Both great schools but I have not received funding offers from either of them. The cost of attending TU Delft (incl. living) is about half of that of UIUC, but I'm pretty sure chances of getting an RA/TA in UIUC would be much higher as TU Delft requires their RAs/TAs to speak Dutch, which I do not.

Assuming I get no funding from the remaining offers as well (keeping my expectations low so as to not be disappointed), it really boils down to a US vs. Netherlands debate. Most of the schools I have applied to in the US have around the same cost, so I can safely say that I'll be paying half of what I would in the US, at TU Delft. However, I am also sure that my chances of getting an RA/TA would be much higher in the US, than in the Netherlands.

What do you all think I should do? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Edited January 31, 2017 by ak547

[angesradieux]

Have you been in contact with current students at either school? If not, it's probably worthwhile to see if anyone can connect you with some grad students there so you can talk to them about what RA/TA positions are like and maybe try to get a sense of whether working in either position would cover any significant part of your tuition. I know where I did my undergrad, unless being a TA was part of a funding package, it didn't really pay enough to offset the cost of tuition in any meaningful way. So if your concerns are strictly financial, if the cost of TU Delft is half of UIUC, even if you'd have a TA/RA position, the latter may still be more expensive. But, this may vary quite a bit between universities, and even between different areas of study, so your best bet of getting an idea of how it works would probably be to try to get into contact with current students.

[ak547]

That's a good point. I will try to get in touch with some people at UIUC and see what they have to say!

Thank you

[juilletmercredi]

UIUC is one of the top schools in engineering overall, and specifically for aerospace engineering as well. Also, are you planning on working in the U.S. after graduate school or abroad in Europe/the Netherlands?

UIUC already seems like a better choice because of the reputation and the opportunity for a TA/RAship, although I would check with the department and see what your true chances of that are.

[ak547]

5 hours ago, juilletmercredi said:

UIUC is one of the top schools in engineering overall, and specifically for aerospace engineering as well. Also, are you planning on working in the U.S. after graduate school or abroad in Europe/the Netherlands?

UIUC already seems like a better choice because of the reputation and the opportunity for a TA/RAship, although I would check with the department and see what your true chances of that are.

Yes, UIUC is a better school, no doubt. I would prefer working in the U.S. after graduation, but given the sensitive nature of my field, it's difficult for non-citizens to get work in the Aerospace sector and with the current political climate, I would assume things aren't going to get any easier. Once I have the official letter, I will then try to gauge my chances for an RA/TA because without that, it is frightfully expensive!

Thanks a lot for your help. Appreciate it