Hi guys! I am in my last year of undergraduate studies and I am really unsure about my selection for graduate school. I have gotten accepted to Cornell, Columbia and Imperial College London for a master’s of science in Biomedical Engineering. However I really cannot decide which school to go to as all of them are very great schools. Just by looking at ranking alone ICL>Cornell>Columbia but I want to work in the USA in the future. Possibly in New York or California. I am not sure if ranking is very important when being hired. Can anyone please give me insight about there experience or possible suggestions please? I am very stressed and my deadline is approaching… Please help me
What type of job would you be looking for and where do you have citizenship/permanent residency status?
In general, amongst these unis, rankings essentially wouldn’t matter. Region and your legal status matter a ton more.
I have Canadian Citizenship. Also I would love to work in a company or hospital to design medical devices.
MY completely uninformed guesses:
- if you want to work in the US, a US university is probably more likely to get recruited by US companies
- The M. Eng. program at Cornell looks to be different than the MS program at Columbia. You may prefer one program of studies to the other. I did an M.Eng. at Cornell a billion years ago, some of the value then depended on the value of the design project one chose. Do you have one in mind?
- The Columbia program seems more established to me, at quick glance.
I would want to know what they do for you as far as job recruiting, in each case. And what kind of guidance you will be getting in general. I have heard that this (guidance) is not Columbia’s strong point.
I wonder how many faculty at the ithaca campus are even involved with design of medical devices, or have deep experience with compamies that do that. There are some that are probably involved in design of veterinary devices though. They probably have developed some programs with the med school in NYC but how will that all work? Unless you spend part of the time at the Roosevelt island campus…
I think going to school in Europe would bring a much much different perspective than any school in the US would and that would be valuable skillset when you graduate. Maybe not as much in middle America but on the cost that would help you.
Ask the departments where their Canadian graduates have found work. It really, truly, is OK to do that. You also can ask that question of the people at the International Students Office.
As crazy as it may sound i would pick a US school and Imperial and then decide as the summer comes close. There is an expectation that US student visas might not be issued if coronavirus sticks around.
OP: I think that your status as a Canadian citizen might be an under appreciated factor.
Are you sure that you will be permitted to work in the US after earning your master’s degree ?
Will study in England at Imperial College have any work visa benefits for you in the commonwealth group of countries ?
Thank you for your comment. Both Cornell and Columbia do have recruits that come in and give seminars as I heard from the Webinar. Moreover, Columbia also offers internship programs and have a seminar course that I must take. Cornell on other hand does have an industry-oriented curriculum, which I believe will be beneficial.
Thank you for your comment. I will ask about that
Thank you for your comment. I believe so too but I am not sure if a UK degree will make me competitive in the job market in the USA
Many years ago staying in the US after getting a visa here was quite a challenge for Canadians and for other international students. I do not think that things have gotten any better. I recently heard of a couple of engineers moving from California to Canada when their temporary US work visas expired.
What will the master’s degree cost you in the US or in the UK? It seems that you might save buckets of money going to Toronto, Waterloo, UBC, or somewhere else in Canada instead.
At a minimum I would ask the departments at the US schools whether their Canadian graduates have been able to find work and get visas in the US.