A tough call

Graduate School
1

<p>Hey everyone,
I am new to this forum, so please bear with me if this topic has been discussed before.</p>

<p>I am a graduate from India and have applied for a graduate program at several universities in the US. I have been lucky so far to have been accepted for the masters program at 2 universities:
1. University of Pennsylvania (US News Ranking #22)
2. University of Southern California (US News Ranking #11)
for the Masters Program in Electrical Engineering (EE) in both the universities.</p>

<p>I am having a hard time trying to decide between the 2 universities, as both of these universities offer pretty strong programs in Electrical Engg. </p>

<p>There is only so much research that can be done from a remote area, so I am looking for some help from the people with some more experience in such matters on this forum.</p>

<p>Any help in making this choice will be greatly appreciated. </p>

<h2>Thanks in advance</h2>

<p>Rahul</p>

2

<p>It would be really helpful if there are any alumni on this forum from UPENN or USC who can help me in this regard.</p>

<p>Any help would be great!</p>

<h2>Cheers,</h2>

<p>Rahul</p>

3

<p>Rahul I suggest you try posting in the UPenn and USC forums which are more likely to be populated by people who go to those schools. I personally can’t help you too much. I’ve visited both campuses and they’re beautiful in their own ways. UPenn is in the heart of philly which can be good or bad depending on your preferences. USC is also in a downtown area but USC is basically walled off from its neighbors whereas UPenn has a much more seamless transition into the city surrounding it. I’m not sure what you’re criteria are etc. If you have none than do look and see if USC’s program is significantly better than Upenn. You’re correct in that they are both highly ranked but in graduate school the difference between ~10 and ~20 can be significant…</p>

<p>hope that helps!</p>

4

<p>@superwizard,
Thanks for the reply. It sure helps. </p>

<p>My criteria are pretty generic, actually-

  1. The research that takes place in both these universities in the field of VLSI and mocroelectronics
  2. The cost of living
  3. Opportunities after college- I am not particularly inclined towards an MBA- I am more of a research-guy.
  4. Ranking</p>

<p>I was advised to go for USC as the research in the field is quite extensive as compared to UPENN. But I just wanted a second opinion. </p>

<p>I will, as you suggest, post ont he university specific threads.</p>

<p>Thanks for your time!</p>

<h2>Cheers,</h2>

<p>Rahul</p>