Rutgers MS vs. Cornell MEng Degree?

Fernage
Sun, 14 Apr 2013 23:14:32 +0000

I have a BS in Mechanical Engineering and my ultimate goal is to get a PhD. Unfortunately, the only schools I was accepted to for Fall 2013 is the Rutgers MS and Cornell MEng programs. The way I see it, I have the following options: go to Rutgers, go to Cornell, or wait and apply to PhD programs again for spring/fall 2014. Generally speaking a MS degree will hold more wait when applying to a PhD program than a MEng degree since the MS degree has a thesis. But Cornell’s MEng program offers a research based curriculum for Micro and Nanoscale Engineering, which is what I am most interested in right now and does not seem to be offered at Rutgers. Also, gaining connections with the faculty at Cornell and having a ivy league masters degree in my application seems like it would be good as well. However, I do not know if the possible gains from going to Cornell for a MEng degree are worth the cost (~$50k for a year)? What do you guys think would be the best move to make in this situation? Thank in advance.