<p>So, I got accepted. But now I am not sure if it a good place for doing EE. What do you think?</p>
<p>Well, the real question is, what are you alternatives?</p>
<p>What are your research interests? Princeton has a strong program in devices with Claire Gmachl, Stephen Chou, etc. Also, Princeton gives first year EE grad students a fellowship, which is really nice compared to what other schools have to offer.</p>
<p>My research interest is in devices. I am interested in the work of Professors Chow and Lyon.</p>
<p>Well, I wanted to know how does the EE program compare to say Yale, Brown, Cornell or Michigan (Ann Arbor).</p>
<p>I believe that Michigan and Cornell are stronger for devices. I know that Cornell has a really good nanofabrication facility, which is really nice for devices research. Cornell has historically been very strong in III-V devices, with faculty like Lester Eastman. Michigan has a strong pedigree in MEMS, with professors like Kensall Wise, Khalil Najafi and others but they have lost several stars to other schools. Do you know what you would like to do? Are you interested in optoelectronics, MEMS, III-V devices, or Si scaling? </p>
<p>If I were you, I would visit these schools, talk to students and faculty. Between Michigan, Princeton and Cornell, I think it depends more on who your advisor would be.</p>
<p>StanEE thanks for your input. I am more into MEMS. Now that I got accepted to Princeton, I am thinking may be it is not that competitive...
Yes, I am planning to visit Princeton because at this point I have no idea how the department is, how the professors and facilities are. They also gave me a pretty good fellowship.
In the meantime, I will wait to hear from other schools.</p>
<p>Hey GSme .. If you come up with specific questions about Princeton EE I might have some input. I work there as a post-bac. I am not too familiar with lots of the research because I am a CS person, but I can definitely tell you about the dept atmosphere, facilities, etc.</p>
<p>Hey Aft3rglow, I'm a sophomore CS and math guy, and I'll probably apply to Princeton for CS grad school, probably for algorithms and complexity theory, in a year and a half. Could you tell me a little about the department atmosphere in general? Are CS grad students generally pretty happy? Are there any specific requirements or policies people seem to dislike? Overall, what are your thoughts on going to graduate school for computer science at Princeton?</p>
<p>unless there is a very particular professor you cannot live without, i would advise against going to princeton for graduate school for the simple reason that success in graduate school depends in no small measure on having a life outside of graduate school, and such a thing is unfortunately not available at princeton. there is a very small graduate population housed in crappy dorms and apartments so far from campus that a shuttle is needed, not to mention the fact that you're stuck in a boring, conservative, and incredibly expensive suburban village with a bunch of pharmaceutical executives. princeton is not a good college town like ann arbor or madison where there are actually things to do off campus. new york is an hour and 10 minutes by train, but trust me, that isn't that close, and if you want to come back late at night it'll take you twice as long. </p>
<p>princeton is a great school and they'll offer you a ton of money if you get accepted, but i don't think any of the programs is good enough to justify the sacrifice you have to make living there. whatever your field, you can find a program just as good--if not better--at another school in a nice town (harvard, berkeley, columbia, nyu, mit, chicago, michigan, ucla, stanford with a car, hell even new haven looks downright electrifying compared to princeton!)</p>
<p>well, you obviously know princeton well and you were unhappy there under certain circumstances. but you have to remember that different people look for different things. princeton is a very nice small town, it is fun being there, it is beautiful, students are happy, they seem to enjoy hanging out and having fun out of the office. people are social, they are not the typical geeky cs/ee people who are awkward in social situations. professors are accessible and nice, they really work on getting you working hard and graduating in a reasonable amount of time, compared to schools like MIT and CMU which seem to take quite a while....</p>
<p>i don't mind the train ride to NYC, i think its reasonable. i think its a matter of personality whether you can handle an hour on the train or not. whether you complain about things or you look for the positive. and again, whether you like small towns.</p>
<p>all in all, i see a lot of happy people at princeton who are enjoying themselves.</p>