<p>i am kind of scared of enrolling in an expensive school for UG because if i do, my parents aren't going to give me a penny for PG...so i will have to acquire enough grants/schols to fund my PG of which i am a bit skeptical about....although a lot of people have told me that it is possible, provided i maintain a good GPA...</p>
<p>Honestly, I think you can maintain a 3.0. People who go into the 5 year grad program are those that want to do it. Most people are not kept out because of their GPA's. </p>
<p>Look at it this way: If you can't keep a 3.0 at CMU, then you probably wouldn't get a 3.0 at GA tech either (the courseload is just as hard if not harder at GA tech, but without the helpful and attentive faculty). You can read studentsreview.com to confirm this. </p>
<p>If you can't get a 3.0 at GAtech, you wouldn't be going to a great grad school anyways. At CMU, a 3.0 will guarantee you a 5 year grad program at one of the BEST schools for CS/ECE.</p>
<p>Also many companies have a program where they pay for your grad if you work for them afterwards for a few years.</p>
<p>@AcceptedAlready honestly, I don't have any fear of maintaining a good GPA. I just want to be sure that I am financially independent after I graduate.
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Also many companies have a program where they pay for your grad if you work for them afterwards for a few years.
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Its good to learn this! How long on average is the "tied-up" duration? 3-5 years? Are grants/scholarships in this region hard to come by for PG? What are their elidgibility criteria?</p>
<p>I may appear a bit too foresighted as I am already considering so many factors for my PG! :) But I hope you understand that going to CMU will be a BIG decision for me!</p>
<p>Integrated Master Program in ECE = 4 years undergrad + 1 year grad</p>
<p>"Its good to learn this! How long on average is the "tied-up" duration? 3-5 years? Are grants/scholarships in this region hard to come by for PG? What are their elidgibility criteria?</p>
<p>I may appear a bit too foresighted as I am already considering so many factors for my PG! But I hope you understand that going to CMU will be a BIG decision for me!"</p>
<p>The duration is usually just a few years, 3 or so? Someone can correct me on this but it definitely differs per company. The more prestigious companies (the ones that recruit at CMU for ECE/CS like Microsoft/Google/IBM/Amazon/etc) will keep your leash short AND pay you a great salary (60-90k) while paying for your grad.</p>
<p>If you get a top tech company (VERY possible at CMU) you basically have a win-win situation because you WANT to work at that company after Graduate school anyways. This means you can get your grad paid and still have your dream job at Microsoft/etc. </p>
<p>Almost every prestigious company that recruits at CMU has this option and most will spring you the cash if you are going to a top ECE/CS program like at CMU/Stanford/MIT.</p>
<p>dude you are so convincing!!....i am going to make my parents read all this!! :):)</p>
<p>Glad I could help :)</p>
<p>It is very easy to be fearful about one's future. That is why I like to post facts and real info like avg salaries/company prestige/etc. rather than pure opinion. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Dexter, goto studentsreview for sure. check out the comments for Gatech ( especially dorms and food an stuff). I personally think its better for us to graduate from CIT than Gatech cuz job opportunities are getting harder to come by, with globalization and all. Also if you plan on returning to India, then people will have heard of Carnegie, but not Gatech.</p>
<p>are there any scholarships an international can look for from 2nd year onwards?....by the college ofcourse....</p>
<p>Acceptedalready feels that the average salary from Tepper and some other schools will justify the high tution at CMU.</p>
<p>Response; Maybe. Yes, if somone gets 60K a year plus bonuses as a result of attending CMU, it might be worth it. Tepper is arguably worth it, although I believe that attending Wharton would be a better choice for these top jobs.</p>
<p>Computer science and some top engineering jobs can pay $50K-60K to start. However, even at $60K, you will pay about 23K in federal, state and social security taxes and pay another 20K-30K in living expenses. </p>
<p>If my math is right, this leaves between $7K and 17K to pay off debt, assuming you have zero savings on your salary.</p>
<p>Thus, you don't have a huge amount left to pay off a $200K debt PLUS interest. In fact, I can't see people getting this all paid off till 8-12 years at the earliest! This also assumes that you don't incur additional debt for graduate school. If you are planning to go to grad school and pay tuition there, which is not always the case with fellowships, CMU undergrad debt can be a killer!</p>
<p>As I noted above, those who specialize in music, drama, design, or humanities, will probably not start out at 50K.Thus, CMU tuition becomes very problematic if they don't get a fair amount of grant or scholarship aid.</p>
<p>I should note that what I am saying applies to any really expensive undergraduate school.</p>
<p>If Tepper's salary does not justify CMU's tuition, then Princeton and Cornell are not worth it either. I guess only Wharton is worth it? What about the kids doing CS for 72k medians or ECE? </p>
<p>If you cannot EVEN PAY 200K then you are correct. YOU SHOULD NOT go to CMU OR Ivies or any school with high tuition. </p>
<p>Scholarships and financial aid extend to 5 years so you can very reasonably complete a 5 year masters in that time. Also, 5 years is better than 4 years at another college AND THEN paying 2 years for grad. Which is worse?</p>
<p>Finally, you did not mention humanities, I think that is where we misunderstood each other. Yes even I have stated English/History majors are better off elsewhere. </p>
<p>BUT MUSIC AND DRAMA? CMU IS SECOND to Julliard in those fields. Visit the music board or the post-grad departments and ask where those kids are now. I guess Tisch and Julliard are wastes of money too?</p>
<p>Finally, I agree. What you say DEFINITELY applies to any Ivy and any expensive school. But if your EFC isn't horrible and you can somewhat afford it, take the investment on the 4 most important years of your life (maybe 5).</p>
<p>Acceptedalready notes,"BUT MUSIC AND DRAMA? CMU IS SECOND to Julliard in those fields. Visit the music board or the post-grad departments and ask where those kids are now. I guess Tisch and Julliard are wastes of money too?"</p>
<p>Response: First, you are assuming that CMU has the same reputation and produces the same quality as that of Juliard,which I am not sure is true, although I do believe that CMU is as good as TISCH for drama.</p>
<p>Second, based on pure economic return for music programs, these expensive schools may not be worth it, especially if there are strongly viable alternatives such as good instate music program. Also some competitive schools are, in my opinion, very comparable to CMU in music but a lot cheaper such as Cincinnati Conservatory of Music,which is part of the University of Cincnnati. Since their tuition for out of state folks is $18,000 after the minimum scholarship that everyone gets, they are almost half the price of CMU too! It could even be argued that Cincinnati has a very comparable program to that if CMU in design too.</p>
<p>Drama is a bit different. I don't know of too many reasonably priced camparable schools to that of CMU. It would appear that schools with top notch drama departments have very expensive tuitions such as Yale, NYU, etc.</p>
<p>As for art, there are a LOT of cheaper alternatives that are every bit as good such as MICA, RISD, Pratt, SAIC, etc. However, if a kid wants more than just art, such as minor in business or computer science, then CMU might be a good choice.</p>
<p>any input on my last question?</p>
<p>Fine let's compare CFA to Tisch. Is that a waste of money too? People are honored to be accepted into CFA and Tisch so why should we judge their investments? Obviously being on Broadway or getting "fame" is important to some people. </p>
<p>Art? Yes, I agree that if you are majoring in something like English/History/maybe even Art you would be better off ELSEWHERE. However, our Art school is not to be insulted. </p>
<p>Personally, I think all dance majors are idiots for even majoring in dance. What money can you make from that? But I have realized that if people want to pay the money and risk it all for a shot at the big times then they should have that choice.</p>
<p>We are basically agreeing on NOT going to CMU for things that are not "marketable". You can't deny the avg salaries are much more worthy than even those at Cornell/Princeton/Brown/etc. in Engineering/CS/Business/Econ/Arch/Sciences. </p>
<p>I also agree that if you are design major or something and double major in CS or something it is ALSO worth it. </p>
<p>I think we've basically reached an agreement point so any future arguments should focus on new information :)</p>
<p>As for dexter: I would check with the office about that. I know there are things like stipends and work study but "scholarships" are very iffy. There are also "competitions" that you enter that are LIKE scholarships where if you win the prizes are usually money. Example: Tepper's latest Venture challenge with 5k as first place, 3k, and 1k.</p>