<p>Hello! I'm planning to go to Grad school for engineering after my Undergrad. I want to go to UC- Berkeley, MIT, CalTech, UT-Austin, Northwestern (maybe) or Stanford. I heard that grad school is really expensive. So is it smart to go to a state school for undergrad so I can save money for a Top Tier Grad school? </p>
<p>Maybe even Cornell or Georgia Tech</p>
<p>Depending upon the area of study, many postgraduate students at highly reputed institutions receive a LOT of financial assistance. To illustrate, almost all PhD students at Duke have “full rides” (or very close to it), whereas MBA and JD students frequently receive considerable support, but not 100 percent financing. </p>
<p>But it still may make sense to go to a state school because quite a few publics are good in engineering. Not all publics are the same just as not all privates are the same.</p>
<p>What is you home state?</p>
<p>@gearmom NJ</p>
<p>A lot of engineers do that. Go to a reasonable school for undergrad and move up for grad. Rutgers is well respected if that is where you are looking. The best case scenario could be to get your undergrad and work for an employer that will pay for your grad work.</p>
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<p>PhD programs are typically funded (i.e. full ride, in exchange for being a teaching assistant or research assistant). It is generally not a good idea to attend a PhD program that is unfunded.</p>
<p>Terminal master’s degree programs usually are not funded (if they are, probably with leftover teaching assistant and research assistant positions after the PhD students have taken them), though many students have their master’s degree costs paid for by their employers.</p>
<p>Professional school degree programs like MD, JD, MBA, etc. are typically expensive.</p>
<p>Rutgers is a perfectly respectable school for engineering.</p>
<p>Go to your public for undergraduate and then an elite university for graduate school. This is a really good idea and you can save a lot of money. Just make sure your GPA in college is high. </p>
<p>Son graduates with a BS in engineering from our NY State Suny school. Currently enrolled in Georgia Tech Masters engineering, distance learning program. They stream the same classes as students on campus (video of the lecture) and he is able to work full time and take a class a semester. His employer reimburses 75% of tuition with a plan at the end (graduation) to pay the remaining 25%. USNWR has rankings to masters and distance learning engineering programs. PhD is a different story. </p>