<p>Hello, I have been accepted for Biomedical Engineering at JHU, Case Western and UC Irvine. Could you anyone please interfere me in taking decision where to go? I am an international student, and have no opportunity to visit the campuses.</p>
<p>Admission: MS at JHU, PhD at Case/UCI. Funding from all are quite reasonable to accept. JHU’s BME is a a dream to me like many other students. But I want to do PhD anyway. So, should I start PhD now, or MS first then PhD later? If PhD, then Case or UCI?</p>
<p>I have less ideas about what is considered better in USA. It will be helpful if you please can tell me the prospect of JHU MS over Case/UCI PhD (and conversely) regarding future career both in academia and industry in US.</p>
<p>That’s a difficult question to answer. I’m assuming that JHU has a higher-ranked program than the other two. If so, having a Master’s from there might look good when applying to PhD programs later on. Could you apply to the JHU PhD program after getting your master’s and take your credits with you? If so, then that might be the best option.</p>
<p>If you don’t mind the fact that you might have to start over again at another school after getting your Master’s, I would still go for JHU. Otherwise, if you want to finish school more quickly, you should consider the other schools. Just my two cents.</p>
<p>I’ve seen several PhDs who had a master’s first and then it took only about 2-3 years to finished their PhDs. Whether you worked on a master or a PhD, by the time you finished the PhD the time it took should be about the same if you know how to choose your research topic carefully. If I were you, I would go to JHU as a M.S.</p>
<p>How much more do you like JHU than the other two? JHU is an excellent program for engineering, but dont be sold on name alone. If you want a PhD, you should also ask yourself whether you want to go into academia or do research in industry. I am far from an expert on this, but that distinction may affect how important school reputation is. </p>
<p>If you have been accepted to all three, and you have some time left before making your decision I’d say get into as much communication with faculty and former students as possible. Maybe visit each school.</p>
<p>If you had gotten just a masters at all three then you would probably choose JHU unless the particular program emphasis, and options at the others better suited your interests and plans.</p>
<p>PhD to me though seems different. In this case much more so than for a masters you want to be at a place where the research they do allows you to do what most interests you. Where can be involved in a project you will be passionate about? You may assume that Hopkins would obviously have that, but its not always true. While Hopkins is probably bigger than the other two, they have different faculty doing different things, and even if they are doing similar things they arent exactly the same. </p>
<p>I would soul search to figure out what research you want to do. Do you have access to these schools online resources? Are you currently at an institution from which you can access published papers? If Hopkins has more options in that area then go there. But you will have zero debt most likely if you go to either of the others, and you wont have to apply to PhD programs later on. Ask yourself can I get to where I want to be at these other places? Also give yourself a feel test like a 17 year old kid would by visiting the campuses. While campus life isnt near as important when you are older, you will be living there for 5-7 years. Do you want to meet someone there? Will you make good friends? Will it suit your hobbies and interests well? Are you interested in exploring anything that you havent yet done that this place has to offer?</p>
<p>I dont know much about those programs though, so hopefully someone who is connected to them can give you some more info on that.</p>
<p>cheers</p>
<p>My bad, I missed that you dont think you can make it to these places. I would still go online and learn about the area’s they are in, what you can do there etc. </p>
<p>Really use the internet to get as much info on each place if you cant go there. Some departments are hard to get ahold of but you have been accepted so it should be different for you.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for your suggestions. Finally, I am going to start MS at JHU declining PhD offers. My decision was however affected by many factors including your comments here. Wish all the best in life.</p>