<p>If you have the Money to pay out of state tuition in California for a Masters degree, I’d say apply to these California schools. You may even have an advantage for admission because so many of the applicants will need some type of funding. I would say you have virtually no chance of a funding offer in these top California schools going for a Masters degree. It is an all together different debate about whether paying for a Masters in Engineering is worth it…as opposed to getting a funded Masters or PhD. I paid for part of my Masters degree…got funded after a year, worked, and am now in a funded PhD program. I thought the investment for my Masters was one of the wisest moves and worthwhile investments of my life.</p>
<p>As for admission and funding in grad school in Engineering. Admission is down and funding is down and can often be very late…funding offers a few days before classes begin. Students who would have gotten 4 year fellowships a few years ago are lucky to get a 1 year offer a few days before classes begin. Occasionally even American PhD students are going without funding…this would have been unheard of a few years ago.</p>
<p>…and it won’t get any better for this year’s admission cycle. These top Universities are struggling with a backlog of unfunded Ph.D. students and presently funded PhD students who won’t leave.</p>