EE grad school decision

Graduate School
1

<p>Hello, </p>

<p>I have gotten admitted to the Ga Tech, Stanford, and USC Phd programs in Electrical Engineering. I have full scholarships at USC and Ga Tech, but have not heard back from Stanford yet about funding. My problem is that both Ga Tech and USC have acceptance deadlines of April 15th, and Stanford won't let me know whether they will give me any funding until after the 15th. </p>

<p>My question is: Is it worth paying my own way to go to Stanford, and try to get funding after a semester? I have heard it is very difficult to get funding at Stanford. Does anyone know if Stanford funds most of their Phd students? I would appreciate any advice. </p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>It's very difficult to find funding for Stanford EE until you pass the PhD Qualifying Exam that's given every January. Unlike almost every other PhD program, the Qual is designed to be a weeder and the passing rank is set near the median. Stanford only gives fellowships to about the top 10% of incoming students, so if you haven't heard at this point, you most likely won't be receiving any.</p>