Confused where to go: Cornell (MEng) Northwestern (MS)

Graduate School
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Hi, I’m an international student planning on getting my Master’s in Embedded Systems (Electrical and Computer Engineering) When I was applying I didn’t think I’d get into Cornell so I didn’t put much thought into MEng vs MS (Cornell ECE doesn’t offer an MS) but now that I’ve been accepted I’m seriously considering going but I have some major concerns. Before voicing my concerns, a little bit about me: I did my undergrad from a private institute in India. I did a 6 month internship in my undergrad I don’t know if that counts as experience. I took a year break after that. No internships or projects to show for the break year, just did a bit of programming at home (again, nothing to show for it)

Concerns 1. I was introduced to Embedded System only pre final year of undergrad so I feel like one year of graduate study won’t be enough to get me a job. (I’ve been working on improving my coding but I’m still not great at it and Embedded is a lot of coding.) 2. It’s a one year course so there isn’t even scope for internship (I’ll have to pay the tuition again if I want to extend my stay to 1.5 years) 3. As of now I don’t want to get a PhD but if I do someday then is it impossible (or super hard) 4. Will my year break look bad on my CV? Some people (my age) scared me about how employers see that as a big minus and paired with just one year of grad school. Am I screwed? 5. I also got into UMass Amherst, ASU and Northeastern and hopefully will get into NCSU. Should I consider going to any of these over Cornell and Northwestern? (All MS) 6. Does going to an Ivy League school really live up to Rory’s college experience? :stuck_out_tongue: I went to a ■■■■■■ college here, and so campus and college life are huge factors for me.

Cost and weather aren’t really a problem. Everything’s expensive :stuck_out_tongue: I’m only worried about whether or not I’ll get a job after.

TL;DR MEng at Cornell or MS at Northwestern. Don’t want to get a PhD any time soon.

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The MEng has no research portion to the program while it is possible that the MS does (you need to check the expectations for each of the programs and where there is a non-thesis MS or not). If you are interested in getting a good job, then the more experience you can get through either an internship or through research, the better. Research will help you if you choose to continue for a PhD eventually more than an internship will but if you have work experience and decide to return for a PhD, that is perfectly acceptable too…

If your interest is embedded systems, you need to look at the curricula available at all the schools you have been admitted to and determine which gives you the experience that you say you need to become competitive. The other thing you should look at is what the placement rate for each of the programs will be. Don’t get hung up on “Ivy League” or not but look at the outcomes (as many on this forum state, “Ivy League” is merely an athletic conference).

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Seems like maybe multiple similar threads should be merged…

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@monydad: Sorry about creating multiple threads. I only signed up the day I posted these questions. Really appreciate your answer!