<p>So I am finishing up my senior year in Mechanical Engineering at SUNY Buffalo and am in the midsts of one of the biggest decisions of my life. I was recently accepted to the MS programs at both Stanford and University of Michigan and am unsure of which to accept. </p>
<p>Some background is I am very focused on working in sustainable energy design and know I would be happy at any school as long as I can fully immerse myself. While interested in research I have always enjoyed working in business and see myself in a smaller energy design company post graduation. That being said I dont see myself continuing to a Phd as of now.</p>
<p>I was originally set on attending Stanford's Atmosphere and Energy 1 1/2 year program as opposed to University of Michigan's 2 year Sustainable Energy System Dual masters program. This was shaken earlier today when Michigan offered me a $30k scholarship.</p>
<p>I made cost models based on tuition, living, other expenses... and found stanford would cost $70k for the entire program and UM would cost $37k with scholarships. While this is minimal in terms of life long opportunities it still plays a factor as a college student supporting himself. </p>
<p>The question is, what are the differences of the opportunities and quality of learning at both schools in engineering? Which program would put me in a better position to work on the leading edge of the energy industry? Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated</p>
<p>I’m a first year grad student in ME. I’m not sure how it works in Environmental, but I have a fair number of friends in ME who’ve shown up without funding and managed to find TAships and RAships (although I myself haven’t yet, but I’m hopeful for next year).</p>
<p>Money is a personal issue and depends on how much you have in loans and how much support you can get from family to pay for grad school (I’m lucky to have graduated college without loans). </p>
<p>That said, I can’t imagine going to grad school anywhere else. Everywhere has there pros and cons (I didn’t apply to Michigan, and ultimately chose Stanford over CMU) but this is a fantastic place to spend 1 - 2 years of your life (or more). I can go into greater detail if you’d like.</p>
<p>I think, the content of the chosen program, the scope for research work, and matching them with your interest, passion and future goals could be the best way to evaluate your options. Recently, a friend’s son completed his graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford. He too had multiple options! The reason he told me, when he opted for Stanford, could be the most important factor:) the Stanford Brand!!</p>
<p>Stanford - no question about it.
As a graduate student you can find ways to pay for school as a TA or RA.
I ended up paying for first quarter only and then worked as a TA for the remaining five quarters of my MS program (Having said that, keep in mind that it was 20 years ago in CS). At least at that time, those who had an undergraduate degree in a related field and wanted to work as TAs were able to secure the positions. It may take you 1 quarter longer to finish the degree, but with all tuition paid and a stipend on top of that, it is not a big deal. And most students take the summer quarter off for internships, so you can earn extra money that way.</p>
<p>note: all my other posts on CC are about my son who is currently a senior</p>
<p>I was also admitted as a M.S. Civil Engineering in A/E program at Stanford for this fall and am also having a difficult time deciding whether it is worth it to potentially pay all that money. I was wondering if you can give an update on what you’ve decided, or what you’re leaning towards?</p>
<p>First of congrats on getting into the program, I made my final decision after lots of debate and happily accepted admission to Stanford over UM last weekend.
I ended up talking with the director of the program and one of the students currently in it and was completely sold. They emphasized that the program was truly interdisciplinary and I could really focus it to my passions. Plus the opportunities at Stanford for energy are unlike anywhere else. </p>
<p>They also stressed that by taking the program slower at 8-10 credits a quarter I would be much more likely to get a TA position my 4th and 5th quarter which would help a lot financially.</p>
<p>As of right now I am preparing to start applying for loans to cover the first year.</p>
<p>Seems like we will be class mates next year then </p>
<p>I was having the same dilemma last year with Stanford’s A/E and Cornell’s EEE program. Cornell had offered me 25k funding, while Stanford initially had nothing. I ended up choosing Stanford but deferring my admission so I could re-apply for Stanford aid this year (I had been late last year), gain some internship experience, and do some other gap year stuff I had been wanting to do for a while. This year I managed to score 20k aid from Stanford, so I guess it was worth it.</p>
<p>I have also been in contact with the director of the program, and he said the same about stretching the program to 5 quarters. However, when I did the math, it seemed like this would come out at the same cost, giving the high cost of living at Palo Alto (the money you “gain” by getting a TA in the 4th and 5th quarter is offset by the extra money you spend living there for 2 more quarters). </p>
<p>What housing options are you looking at? I was thinking about looking for something off-campus because it would be cheaper, but it’s expensive everywhere in Palo Alto and surroundings, so I’m not sure if it’s worth the hassle of finding something else/commuting </p>
<p>Looking forward to meeting you next year then! Really cant wait to finish my senior year and head out there.</p>
<p>About the whole cost thing staying longer will probably be equatable in price but more so I just want the experience of being out there for longer and more opportunities to make connections. </p>
<p>As for housing I spent a while looking around the area and was struggling to find anything under $1k/month which is pretty pricey considering in Buffalo its $300/month for a beautiful place. I ended up submitting for graduate housing on campus in Escondido Village.
It was only $675, close access to campus, as well as it being furnished was a big plus. Finding housing definitely seems pretty tricky though.</p>
<p>Yeah, as expensive as on-campus housing is I think it’s still a lot cheaper than living off-campus. The campus’s size also makes living off-campus a lot more difficult.</p>
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