<p>Hi there,</p>
<p>Being a French student I'm applying to the UNCC for their Master of Science in Engineering Management. I'm also applying to the Duke University for the same program (MEMP). (One year Graduate Program)</p>
<p>I've just got the idea of looking for a good forum to share on my project and get some feedbacks. I'm interested in having the opinions of the locals since it's very difficult to have a clear idea without living in the country. I've checked on internet but it's definitely less informative, and I'm not the kind of person who rely on rankings to determine his choice.</p>
<p>Well, why UNCC and Duke ? Primarily for their location, there are both in North Carolina where I have family. I want to use this year in America to meet them sometimes and since I have the opportunity to avoid being completely alone in a new country, I wanted to take advantage of it. Then of course, I have made this choice because of theirs programs, I am looking for an accredited and Generalist MSc in Engineering Management, I have been convinced by the programs exposed on their website.</p>
<p>Then, I would like to ask you a few questions :
-It's not the right section of the Forum but could you briefly compare the two programs ? Considering their reputations ? Considering their programs ?
-Then, what do you think about the Engineering Management MSc of UNCC ? Are there many international students involved in it? Are the courses challenging ? I like challenge very much, and I would like to receive a strong teaching.
-I have just read in this forum that UNCC has the reputation of being a commuter University.... is it real ? If yes, is it a safe place and what kind of students are studying there ? (I mean, gangsters, hippies, industrious students... lol) I know that it's never black or white and that students forms a mosaic, I'm comfortable with that and I even like talking to different kind of peoples, but the only thing is that I wouldn't like to go to the Ghetto of North Carolina. It's difficult to express it by writing, I'm not being arrogant at all when I say that, but it is just that I want to avoid to go to a school having this kind of bad reputation... it's a great financial investment.
-I don't know well the tricks of the American educational system : Is the MSc in Engineering Management of UNCC accredited like a "real MSc" or is it recognized like a professional certificate ?
-How many students per classes are they for this program ?</p>
<p>If I have to be honest, UNCC somehow won my heart, I feel a real family spirit and I feel that the programs are human sized. In the same time the campus looks great, the website regarding the housing is well documented and the documentation is generally very good and well organized. They are also very reactive to reply to emails. By the way I also appreciate the newsletters that there send to prospective applicants since there are very informative and in addition they make you feel like you are getting into the family. I can imagine that it looks like nothing for you but it's a lot when you are an international student, and especially for someone who allows more importance to the school spirit, its real academical and professional opportunities and its campus life than to rankings saying "A gets 90, B gets 92". </p>
<p>On the other hand, I have read that Duke has a great reputation and the program's curriculum looks great and appealing. The only drawback I find is that their communications, and the documentation about the on-campus living is less convivial than for UNCC. It looks like their pay less attention to personalized student tracking. Although the academical considerations have pre-eminence and for that I really enjoyed this program.</p>
<p>I'm not admitted yet, I'll apply for the fall 2014 but I believe that my chances are real for both programs so I would be very grateful if you could answer my questions and give me your personal view on the question.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot</p>
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