CMU vs UMASS Vs Cambridge

Graduate School
1

<p>Hey I just need some help figuring out what I want to do for graduate school.<br>
First a little background on me. I went to PSU for materials sciences where I studied Polymers. I worked for a couple really well known professors and did some research in Italy where I studied electrospinning. </p>

<p>1) Carnegie Mellon Materials Sciences
I was accepted for my Ph.D. with full tuition and stipend. I love Pittsburgh, my family is originally from there. CMU is an excellent school and I liked the program. The problem is that the school works predominently in metals and ceramics. I really want to work on polymers and they have 5-6 faculty which work in soft materials. I contacted several of the faculty to see if they were taking students this coming fall. One of them said he doesn't know about funding and another said the "funding almost always works out". If only 3 faculty are taking students for 3 spots total and 6 people want to work on polymers, I basically have to push to get into a group I want. I have no interest in metals or ceramics at all and will be miserable working on them. PIttsburgh is amazing and it is a great place for both me and my fiance considering he works in chemical engineering and there are many places that do chemistry in Pittsburgh.
loved the area and the school but worried about research</p>

<p>2) UMASS Amherst Polymer Sciences
The program is fully funded with stipend for my Ph.D. This is a top program, like #1 for Polymers. I liked the department and everyone does polymers so there are a ton of professors I can see myself working for. The problem is the UMASS Amherst is in the middle of no where. I loved the department but hated the area. I want an area that has something to do other than get drunk and party. I went to a "top party School"; I don't want that scene again. I really want something else to do on saturday nights. Plus you absolutely need a car because all the shops are out of the way and the bus system kinda sucks. PLus my fiance would need to drive at least one hour to the closest city to do anything with chemicals, if he could even get a job at that company. Boston is 2 hours away, he might be able to get a job there.
So loved the school hated the area</p>

<p>3) Cambridge Physics
I was accepted to work with Dr. Terentjev on Polymers for my 3 year Ph.D. I would not be funded by the school and would need to find my own funding. Cambridge is very expensive and thus I don't think I will be going here unless funding shows up soon. At this point I would need to borrow the money and it's very very very very expensive.</p>

<p>It's getting down to the wire, and maybe I'm just scared to take that jump. Right now I am favoring CMU but am unsure because of the research problem. Though the professors say that funding always works out, I'm a little nervous. </p>

<p>So my choices are the area I love with a great department questionable research, an area I hate with research I like, or the dream school I never thought I'd get into. I wanted to know what you guys and gals think.</p>

2

<p>I was an undergrad in the MSE program at CMU, and I have to say, it’s a really fantastic program. Most of the professors are nice people and always willing to talk and bounce ideas off of each other. I’m not really familiar with anybody there working on polymers (I’m a metals guy, myself), though I have heard kinda mixed things about Islam (one of my friends worked for him when Islam was first starting at CMU and I felt my friend wasn’t treated very well).</p>

<p>Have you tried contacting professors in the ChemE or Chemistry departments at CMU? A lot of times you can be co-advised by someone else in a different department for graduate programs. Also, I don’t think having six choices is all that bad. There’s hardly even that many professors in materials at my school. :slight_smile: If you want to try and get a leg up for working in a particular lab, you can ask if you can start over the summer. It’s usually difficult to start in lab the first semester or two, but summers are great since you don’t have anything else on your plate. If you do a good job over the summer, it’ll definitely put you in a good spot when the professors are deciding on which students to take into their groups.</p>

3

<p>Well, despite Cambridge have all the prestige, starting a PhD without funding is quite problematic, even if you can apply for funding with better chances after your first year. Still, it would cost a lot, as you are overseas student, and the living expenses are slightly -?- higher than in the US. I think the best you can do is to wait a little for any scholarships from Cambridge (ask your department and prospective supervisor about this), but at present situation, Carnegie Mellon is your best bet (especially if you like Pitt), even if you have to change your topic. Trust me, you’re not going to be the first one who would do that :slight_smile: UMASS Amersh is maybe a top program for Polymers, but the school or the department in overall is far from being a top notch. It should cause no surprise that you will need a PhD in hand from a top institution, as that would raise your chances in getting a job.</p>