<p>i'm going to grad school for ECE PhD. i'm down to 4 schools: nc state, georgia tech, UF, and UC-Irvine. i'm familiar with nc state (because i live in NC) and GT (because they flew me down for a visit). however i can't visit UF or Irvine so it's really hard to make a decision. i'd appreciate any info for these schools about:
1) location, the surrounding area
2) the campus
3) student life, grad in particular
4) the ECE program and professors
5) difficulty getting there from the airport
6) anything else!</p>
<p>thanks.</p>
<p>I just had a visit with the ME department at UCI
- The surrounding area is beautiful, close proximity to the beach
- The campus is visually pleasing, large, they are building a brand new engineering building
- The students I talked to while there really enjoyed it, you should ask for a contact in the department so you can learn about your department. They were all happy and on track to graduate in pretty reasonable time.
- ??
- There is an airport close by, you would have to take a taxi or shuttle, shouldn’t be a problem (I drove)
- Don’t know what else would be beneficial</p>
<p>I’m a UF alum and was in ECE. I took many graduate level classes before I graduated, so I feel reasonably confident I can answer your questions.</p>
<p>1) Gainesville is a city that happens to be almost entirely suburban. There’s not much to do in the city if you like city-type things (plenty of bars though).
2) Most people like the campus, but it is quite large - so large in fact that the campus has hundreds of acres of woods interspersed between the facilities.
3) Most grad students don’t seem to be crushed by the workload. It seems like you can work as much as you want. I know some that go out drinking every night and others that spend 12 hours a day in the lab. Being able to relax isn’t an option at every school.
4) The ECE prof’s are really nice people. I did research with a couple. The ECE program is quite large and so you have a lot of options. I will say this though that if you came from a higher up program that you might be a bit bored in the classes because many of them will review a lot of undergrad material trying to get everyone on the same page.
5) I’m not sure buses go to the airport, though transport is not a problem trying to get anywhere else. I personally flew out of Jacksonville most times. It’s rather expensive to do this, however.</p>
<p>I live in SoCal, so I can speak to the quality of life question for UC Irvine. Its a nice campus/area, and a nice lifestyle. Near the beach, but close enough to LA that you can get the city benefits.</p>
<p>The only question to consider with UC Irvine is your funding. The State of California is really quite a mess with budgets and will likely remain that way for a few years. Unless you have other funding, make sure your funding is guaranteed for more than the first year. The cost of living in Irvine will be higher than NC, GT, or UF and you don’t want to get stuck in a state budget crisis in the middle of your studies.</p>
<p>Also, a car is really a necessity in Irvine/Southern California. Not sure about the other schools. Just something to consider.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>