Stanford EE MS vs Michigan EE MS

[mike12724]

Hey all! So, I've been accepted to both Stanford and Michigan for EE, specializing in robotics for the Michigan program. I haven't received financial aid from either. So, I have several considerations.

1. It seems like Michigan has a higher-ranked robotics program, but Stanford has that "wow" factor of being Stanford. Do employers in general care more about the school or the ranking?
   1. Also, I'm fairly certain I want to do robotics after I graduate, but I'm definitely not 100% certain. Would Stanford offer a more robust education?
2. Stanford's is a 2-year program, whereas Michigan is 1 year. So, potentially pay more to go to Stanford, but I think I can get a TA position easier than in Mich. Is this true?
3. My girlfriend applied for Mich as well, and she'll know by April 1st whether she's in. We're serious, and have been doing long-ish distance (150 miles) for 2 years, and don't want to change to super-long distance. Assuming she gets in, should I choose Mich as well? If she doesn't, I'm leaning towards Stanford, unless you guys can convince me Michigan is better

Thank you so much for your advice and help!

 

[RobGood]

Why don't you apply for the robotics program at Umich if you would like to go for robotics after graduation?

By the way, I am pretty sure that Stanford has a higher rank in EE, but not sure about the ranking in terms of robotics.

[mike12724]

That's a fair answer, but I feel like you didn't really answer any of my questions and only looked at the first half of my first one...

[DiscoTech]

16 hours ago, mike12724 said:

Stanford's is a 2-year program, whereas Michigan is 1 year. So, potentially pay more to go to Stanford, but I think I can get a TA position easier than in Mich. Is this true?

 

I would call the schools/talk to students at both programs before making any assumptions about availability of TA positions. A starting point might be looking at things like this.

Personally, if I was getting just a Masters, I would go to school near where the jobs are.