UMich vs CMU vs cornell

[anoushka]

hey all..
I am going for a Masters program in mechanical engineering.I have to chose from the following universities
UMich Ann arbor,CMU ,cornell,purdue
I am a bit confused rit now though I have heard that the dept ranking of UMich is much better than the others..
What do you suggest...

[Amaan]

Hello Anoushka,

Please share details about your profile.

[MDK]

Yes, UMichigan ranks higher:
Mechanical - Engineering - Best Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report

[desimba]

Just to throw my 2 cents in given that I got my MBA from Purdue, stay in Pittsburgh (where CMU is) and am joining a PhD program this fall at Michigan in Economics. Per se I do not have much knowledge about their Mechanical engineering. programs and all of the schools that you have mentioned have very solid reputations as good research universities esp. more so as engineering schools. What I can say is primarily about the locations of these universities if it matters to you:
Purdue & Michigan are both located in mid-west university towns. These are small towns and in my opinion, have enough opportunities for recreation without some of the negatives of larger cities such as high crime or high rental costs. A big plus in my eyes.
Cornell is located in Ithaca which is also a very small town but is located close to New York- I would say not all that different from Purdue/ Michigan. In all of these cases, the university itself is the largest employer in the community and dominates the town.
CMU is located in Pittsburgh which is not a university town. In some ways there are more cultural opportunities with more theatres, movie halls, etc. I don't think it should matter that much given you are coming here for a educational program but maybe it does to you?
The last thing about Michigan-being located in Ann Arbor, 20 miles from Detroit is a good thing because Detroit to this day continues to be the motor capital of the world with a greater concentration of mechanical engineers esp. automotive engineers than anywhere in the world to the best of my knowledge. That is a big advantage because you may have more opportunities to be involved in applied industrial research and hope to get an employment once you are done at any of these auto majors.