Rutgers MS vs. Cornell MEng Degree?

Graduate School
1

<p>I have a BS in Mechanical Engineering and my ultimate goal is to get a PhD. Unfortunately, the only schools I was accepted to for Fall 2013 is the Rutgers MS and Cornell MEng programs. The way I see it, I have the following options: go to Rutgers, go to Cornell, or wait and apply to PhD programs again for spring/fall 2014. Generally speaking a MS degree will hold more wait when applying to a PhD program than a MEng degree since the MS degree has a thesis. But Cornell's MEng program offers a research based curriculum for Micro and Nanoscale Engineering, which is what I am most interested in right now and does not seem to be offered at Rutgers. Also, gaining connections with the faculty at Cornell and having a ivy league masters degree in my application seems like it would be good as well. However, I do not know if the possible gains from going to Cornell for a MEng degree are worth the cost (~$50k for a year)? What do you guys think would be the best move to make in this situation? Thank in advance.</p>

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<p>I decided to move this thread to the Engineering Majors section:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/1492480-rutgers-ms-vs-cornell-meng-degree-mechanical-engineering.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/1492480-rutgers-ms-vs-cornell-meng-degree-mechanical-engineering.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Mods can you please close this one? Thanks.</p>

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<p>I figured I’d throw my $0.02 in. I’m in RU undergrad ECE, but I’ve been around the block. I’d say that on average, you get your money’s worth at RU, but you have to push a bit (and get a bit lucky) to really strike gold. Some professors are only okay at teaching/research while others are exceptional. If you can get in with the professors that count, it’ll pay off in spades. I imagine that at Cornell, you’d have an easier time getting in with a good professor.</p>

<p>In terms of reputation… Rutgers has a better reputation on the west coast than the east coast for some reason, while Cornell has an international reputation. If you’re planning on going for a PhD after the master’s, I don’t know if it’ll matter much.</p>