Does anyone actually care where I go to school (engineering)?

BrownParent
Sun, 22 Mar 2015 09:51:58 +0000

Cornell grads have a lot of options people don’t get at a lot of schools so I don’t think you should be too concerned about other students having a wide variety of choices there. Certainly as many or more students go into grad studies as Buffalo students. You can even check that out, and check out where actual students are getting accepted.

I know from my dd going to a CS PhD program that being at Brown was helpful in several ways. First and foremost , because of the abundance of research activity involving undergraduates, she was able to get the very critical research experiences that are needed for your application and to inform your SOP. Along with that activity are the types of Letters of Recommendation needed which address your research activity and your potential for graduate work. Grad programs in CS weigh top departments a bit more when they look at gpa. I would not be surprised if ME does the same.

Cornell is certainly a top dept and I should think you will have a better chance there to take your resume the farthest and to get into the best PhD programs. And really it seems that only PhD’s from the top uni’s have the best chances for tenure track positions. But that doesn’t mean that Buffalo isn’t a reasonable choice and that if you are a stellar student there and take advantage of all the opportunities you can get for research that you won’t be a le to do well for yourself. Especially if Cornell isn’t even feasible to get through one year financially, it may not be possible for you any longer. And as for programs being ‘known’, you can be assured that universities and grad committees ‘know’ a lot more than the man on the street. It would be quite absurd if an admissions department didn’t know SUNY Buffalo and everyone would be fired if that was found out. I don’t understand how it is a awesome fit for your academic goals if you want a PhD because having easier classes doesn’t really do you any favors. But maybe it is what you need right now.