Georgia Tech or UPenn or stay at Rutgers for Mechnanical Engineering Grad School

I am currently a senior at Rutgers University and I am getting my bachelors this May. I got accepted in the 4+1 program so I can get my Masters in an extra year. I also got accepted into Gerogia Tech and Univeristy of Pennsylvania for mechanical engineering so I am unsure which of the three I should pick. My career goals are to work in industry so I am still applying to jobs to see what I can get but especially with the current circumstances, i do not now how easy it will be to get a job.

UPenn has the Ivy league name which I think might help getting into more selective consulting companies but otherwise I do not think I would get a better job than if I go to Georgia Tech which is well known for its engineering programs. However, I feel that it is well known mainly because of research. While I am interested in research, I am thinking about not getting a thesis so I can graduate earlier. In this case I am not sure it makes sense to pay for Georgia Tech.

Rutgers is appealing because it’s gauranteed one more year, it’s MUCH CHEAPER, and it’s very convenient, but since I have gone to Rutgers 4 years I do not know if it makes sense since I already made my connections and network. So, I’m wonderinfg if it makes sense to spend an extra $25k or $50k on the networking and recruitment oppurtunities from UPenn and Georgia Tech. Thanks!

My son had to make this decision between staying at Cal Poly for a funded +1 MS or going to Stanford. Stanford was course based without funding, would have cost $50k more PLUS a lost year of earnings. The consensus was stay at CP. He did and got a great job.

How much longer would you be at Penn to GT, that might eat into your future earnings, if you stay ay RU you done in a year, you get a job and you much quicker and start making money.

If I do non-thesis, it could be around three semesters

The thesis route will be more valuable than a course based MS. Think about it like a super senior project.