<p>I got acceptance at University of South Carolina and New York University for Master in Computer Science. I'm not sure which one to choose.</p>
<p>I know that New York University is ranked better than University of South Carolina. However, living in NYC is more expensive than Columbia in South Carolina.
Nevertheless, I could bear this higher living cost if you think there a tangible benefits in getting my degree from NYU. Unless, you feel is not than much difference between the two; and hence extra cost is not justifiable.</p>
<p>I really appreciate your advice because I don't know how to decide.</p>
<p>New York city is not for everyone. Some people love it, some hate it. But even if u love it, it is still too expensive and too adult (as in u have to be 21 to enjoy a lot of the more interesting activities) for most students. Unless u are completely nuts about the city, save your dough and enjoy the classic American college experience at S. Carolina.</p>
<p>The real question is whether or not one university is likely to get you the job you want after you graduate. For answers to that question, contact the career center at each university, and the department at each university. It really is OK for you to ask explicitly where their MS graduates have found work recently and what the starting salaries have been. This is even more important in your case as an international student. While you will be able to work here for a certain amount of time due to the OPT on your student visa, in order to find a permanent job in the US you will need to find a potential employer that can get an H1B visa for you. Even for computer scientists, that is not an easy thing at all.</p>
<p>I think that the answer you will get here is the same as you got with your identical post in the other forum. Even if it is not the Graduate School forum, there are a lot of wise people there. This decision is very subjective because what i would perceive as justifiable might not be from someone else’s perspective. You need to figure out how to make this yourself and gathering facts, not opinions is the best way to do this.</p>
<p>Contact the placement offices of both schools and find out what kinds of jobs they have placed their graduates who are on Optional Practical Training (OPT). This will help you determine whether the outcome of a particular program is what you seek. Next, look at the individual programs and determine which has the specific aspects which appeal to you. Finally look at finances and decide whether you can make it at each school. </p>
<p>I noticed that you have been asking questions like this for the past month and that you are likely to be more interested in NYU so I suspect that it is the finances which are leading you to question the decision you have to make. Remember that you do not have to answer right away. I am sure that each school has informed you that you have until April 15 to make your decision. They cannot give your spot away until after that but since they are expecting you to self-fund the degree, they probably won’t even hold you to an April 15 deadline.</p>
<p>Finally, you have two acceptances in the hand. Are there any other schools that you wish to explore? You have the luxury of time to do this and really help you solidify your choice. Perhaps you might find a third alternative that wil work out as well.</p>
<p>If I recall correctly you also made a very similar post here in the Grad School forum. It would be preferable if you would simply promote or bump your original posts rather than make new ones, but since I can’t find the old one, I will leave this. If I find it I will merge them together.</p>
<p>Besides everything that @xraymancs said - there may simply not be any tangible benefits to going to one or the other school in career outcomes or quality of program, or at least not differences that mean anything to you. You keep asking the question hoping to find some, and I’m imagining that you ask often because you haven’t yet found any. If you haven’t, and you need to make a decision soon, you need to just pick the one you want to attend. Go with your gut. It also seems to me that you would rather attend NYU, so just pick it.</p>
<p>Furthermore, while NYC is more expensive to live in than Columbia SC, that doesn’t mean it has to be VERY much more expensive depending on how you are willing to live. For example, were I attending USC as a graduate student I might choose to live by myself in a one-bedroom apartment and buy a car to get around - the one-bedroom might cost me $600/month ($7,200 a year); I buy a car in cash for $4500 and the gas for the car might cost me like $60-120/month, depending on how much I’m driving around ($720-1440 a year). Total ~$13,000, not including food and entertainment. If I were to live in New York, I would instead share an apartment with 2-3 other people (let’s say I pay $900/month in rent for that, or $10,800) and I wouldn’t need gas for a car, although I might spend $112/month on a MetroCard ($1,344 a year). That’s about $12,000. Now the food is going to cost more in NYC, as will the entertainment, but you could simply choose to live more frugally in NYC than you would in Columbia - finding free stuff to do instead of going to Broadway shows and museum galas or whatnot, lol.</p>
<p>Let’s also put out the idea that some things are simply worth more money. I lived in NYC for 6 years, for most of that time on less than $35,000 (before taxes). No, you can’t do everything that you want, but it’s enough to get by and do a lot of things that you DO want, and I had some great experiences and met some great people. So if you want to live in NYC and spend a little more money for 2 years before you go on to do whatever it is you want next, go ahead!</p>
<p>I got acceptance at University of South Carolina and New York University for Master in Computer Science. I’m not sure which one to choose.</p>
<p>I know that New York University is ranked better than University of South Carolina. However, living in NYC is more expensive than Columbia in South Carolina.
Nevertheless, I could bear this higher living cost if you think there is a tangible benefits in getting my degree from NYU. Unless, you feel it’s not that much difference between the two; and hence extra cost is not justifiable.</p>
<p>I really appreciate your advice because I don’t know how to decide.</p>
<p>Well, if it is Spring 2015, just make the decision right away and hope you can get an F-1 Visa in time or get it transferred if you are already in the U.S. I agree with @juillet on this, looking at your other posts, you really prefer NYU so just go ahead. </p>