How I Decided Where To Go For My PhD in EE | Comparing the Offers

[@fakrbob4099]

You’re so lucky that you got into Stanford! It is my dream school. However, I’m glad you were able to put prestige aside and make the decision that was best for you in the end

[@arjitbali9213]

This video is so very helpful. I wish I had come across it sooner, especially since I had to make very similar decisions. I have finally chosen to attend UIUC for an MS+PhD program in EE and will be working with a fantastic advisor. I have been offered an RA position for the 5 years along with a couple of scholarships and tuition waiver. This really made me feel that the university was very keen on me attending. I am very excited to start this journey come fall 2021. Really appreciate you posting the details for each offer. Thanks!

[@janpancake]

Congratulations! And good luck with such a great opportunity 🙂

[@ivycao5394]

I really like the way you talk. so calm and concise

[@beccanarae]

I feel like this video was recommended to me at the right time. I just got accepted to 4 masters programs and I’m stuck between going to NYU or UIUC (I’m doing my undergrad at UIUC rn). I felt like your decisions between Stanford and UT is something I resonate a lot with. I’ve definitely been having a hard time deciding and this video helped me a lot especially weighing on the pros and cons for each school. Hopefully I’ll be able to narrow it down at the end~

[@janpancake]

Those are both great choices! There’s no wrong choice, which actually makes the decision harder 🙄 Good luck with making your decision! It’s nice to know I wasn’t alone in feeling so torn between two schools 🙂

[@talias12345]

Thank you for your videos! I recently accepted my admissions offer to UT Austin for BME and your advice has been super helpful. It's awesome hearing from a successful female engineer, makes me even more excited to start my PhD at UT!

[@janpancake]

Congratulations on your acceptance! I’m so happy you found my video helpful 🥰 Good luck in grad school!

[@kieral4098]

Currently trying to decide between two PhD programs- this video helped a lot, thanks!!

[@EmphaticTrain]

This video was amazing -- I recently applied to 6 schools. Once I start hearing back, hopefully with some acceptances :) , I'll keep the same thought process you showed here. Thank you.

[@janpancake]

Good luck with the decisions! Thanks so much for watching and leaving such a nice comment 🥰

[@hotbuns1273]

am curious about your results xD

[@EmphaticTrain]

@@hotbuns1273 Virginia Tech EE Masters :)

[@hotbuns1273]

@@EmphaticTrain congratulations!!

[@hannalee8319]

Hearing your thought process for your decision is so helpful! Could you make a video about how you prepared for/got into these top programs as an undergrad?

[@janpancake]

Thanks for the feedback! Yes, I’ve been thinking about a video on that question! A handful of people have asked me related questions, so I’m glad to know there’s a curiosity about it

[@sravankumarankireddy]

Such an amazing and informative video!! Thank you for making this. Currently facing the same dilemma of picking between schools and this video I’d definitely helpful!

[@AtomLabX]

Each person is not the same, but if I was in your spot, I would pick Stanford, with not second guesses, but I'm happy for you, and how you went about it.

[@obinnaugwu9691]

Hi Jan, I could perfectly relate to this video. I just went through my grad school selection process and had to select between two such programs. Your video kind of validated my decision. Thank you.

[@sydneykhemtonglang9542]

I’m in this position right now. From UIUC, UCLA and Duke. You video is really helpful and make me kinda realize what’s the important factors when it come to choosing school. Thank you!

[@johnbrooks7350]

Thank you. This is actually really helpful. I’m currently also debating between staying at my current school or going somewhere else. Financials are definitely a massive component of it. I think one of the issues I’m currently struggling with is the advisor that I really want to work with is new to school and doesn’t have funding yet for PhD students.

[@janpancake]

Oof. That's a big factor. I don't know if I'd be able to commit to a school if I knew the professor I wanted to work with had no money. Good luck with making your decision!

[@amalieshi293]

Thank you so much! It is so useful.

[@MAnwar96]

This is really helpful! I used to feel anxious about the criteria for choosing the 'right' school, looking at the offered graduate courses, the faculty profiles, etc., but this video really helped re-orient my focus. Thanks a lot.

[@alejandro.rodarte]

Thank you so much for your video. I got admitted into UT ECE to pursue a PhD in the bioECE track. Even though I am an international student, this was a really helpful video into making a final decision.

[@Californiansurfer]

Janice. Thank you for sharing your experience. Doubt creates regret , but you really took,the time to see your future. My time is over but I love electronics and psychology and AI. .

[@janpancake]

And thank you for watching! I also love those three :)

[@jiatalksfragrance]

I do Asian American Studies, and I'm currently comparing PhDs in American Studies/History at Brown, Harvard, Northwestern, and Princeton. I have approx. 5 years funding and 40k/year stipend from each and prospective advisors at each... My mentor from undergrad passed away a few months before I got in, and I feel so lost about which to choose. I felt like I had no real benchmarks to compare these 4 programs. I will take your advice about finding out more about the future availability of advisors and seeking insights from current students. :) Thanks for making this video!

[@janpancake]

Sorry to hear about your mentor 😢

[@uljad1]

Thank you for your work! I love your channel!

[@pinnareet]

Stanford now offers first year fellowship, have visit days, and ditched the traditional quals. They probably learned from UT xD

[@alexlazic1802]

Just found the channel and wanted to say I like the videos! Also, greetings from Australia :)

[@janpancake]

Thank you so much for watching 🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@ianclark6730]

This was really good! Very helpful

[@jorgealbertorun]

Hmmm, I thought PhD. stem fields (especially engineering), always offered financial aid to students.

[@neelg7736]

It’s essentially a soft rejection to accept you without funding…

[@kinyapop]

Wow, a bit shocked that Stanford was not able to offer funding to students. They are the deepest pocket I've ever known.

[@janpancake]

They know people want to go there 😏So unless you have a fellowship, you probably have to be okay with being unfunded until after you pass the quals.

[@bidhantgurung9077]

Your video is a kind of video that I would love to watch before I apply to my graduate studies. Perfect. Could you also share your SOP because I tend to understand better with the help of examples. Cheers!

[@thiagovilla970]

Please keep making more videos!

[@shinjaokinawa5122]

一生懸命勉強し、賢く勉強する Isshōkenmei benkyō shi, kashikoku benkyō suru

[@vineethnarayan-r7m]

Coming to UT for Fall'24!

[@saishabdas3096]

Hi, I have been watching your videos for a long time and really want to thank you for making these really amazing informative videos. I am wondering if you could tell me what are the things that we should expect/not expect in our Graduate studies compared to what we have done/studied in our undergrad. Or in other words, how does the graduate school differ from UG? I am an upcoming graduate student in Electrical Engineering, so any information related to this topic would be really beneficial to my journey ahead. Looking forward to your valued reply or perhaps a video on this topic. Thanks

[@AIAnimationandMusic]

Good job getting into Stanford

[@erikanoms]

Thank you for this video! I’m currently so torn between two masters programs in UX design, Pratt Institute IXD and NYU IDM. NYU offered me a scholarship so NYU is a little cheaper but the tuition is about the same. While Pratt offers an ideal program that directly prepares students for a career in UX, NYU IDM is very broad -it lets students explore anything that integrates technology, design, and media, from AR/VR, game design, to UX design and Media Law. NYU offers only one course that is directly related to UX design and there are some other classes that use UX principles. However, NYU has been my dream school since high school and I’m really big on prestige (because of my family and culture...). I know that Pratt’s program would better prepare me for a career in UX but I just cannot pass on the NYU brand:( what would you do if you were in my position? Sorry for a loooong message!!

[@janpancake]

Wow, congratulations on both offers! After reading how you describe both programs and your opinions on both, I feel like if I was in your position I'd pick NYU. Not only are they offering you a scholarship, but it's your dream school! And I think letting students learn a variety of topics would actually be very attractive to me. Unless you're dead set on UX, I think it'd be such a great opportunity to explore a bunch of topics in that space to give yourself the chance to be sure in the path you're taking. I don't know about you, but I question almost everything, and I rarely feel certain in my decisions, so I'd love to be at NYU where my path isn't narrowed right away. I've definitely heard Pratt is also an amazing program, but I feel like there are so many more pros in the NYU column here. I hope I'm not overlooking anything that's drawing you to Pratt, but I think you should go with your gut :) Good luck at whichever school you choose! I also honestly don't think you can make a bad decision.

[@erikanoms]

@@janpancake wow thank you so much for your reply!! Reading your message, I was able to clear my head and realized that I wanted to go to NYU all along but NYU scared me more that Pratt did and thus I was so confused. Choosing a path that scares me would be a good thing and exploring other areas would be very beneficial. Thank you so so much for your message it made me confident in trusting my gut feeling. You helped me more than you could ever imagine -Thank you❤️

[@janpancake]

@@erikanoms So happy I could help! Good luck with your degree, and congratulations again on the huge accomplishment of getting accepted :)

[@jamesbaluarte3]

I think that the personal and professional connections that you can make at Stanford should have been a factor in your decision-making..

[@rayachotybharathkumar268]

I'm now in a similar situation. I know CU Boulder has an Excellent power electronics program. But Boulder is nowhere near to UT when it comes to rankings. Also Boulder offered me a professional Masters while it's traditional Masters at UT. Not to mention, UT is way cheaper for an international student compared to Boulder.

[@Jarrod_C]

the 50% number at Stanford is probably because the standards are high hence the prestige....just a thought

[@anandshek06]

Hi Jan, Thank you for the information! Now I realize there are so many other things I need to also think about :). Do you have any suggestions on which schools/cities might be more affordable - based on the stipend offered ? I have a spouse/child who would join me - so knowing this would help a lot. I've been reading that it's going to be really tight managing expenses with family - but I really want to do my PhD - even though it's a bit late :). Am yet to apply , still shortlisting my list of Univs - Oregon-State, Georgia-Tech, Columbia etc - among them.

[@plushtapestry2998]

Awesome video! My dream is to study ECE in UT Austin, but I’ve heard it’s extremely hard to get accepted, do you have any tips on how to increase my chances of getting accepted?

[@nurkleblurker2482]

What did your application look like? Experience, grades, etc? It would be dream to go to Stanford or UT. I'm applying this December

[@ykr786]

Thank you for your honest experience. Can you tell what's more important... Working with a great advisor or working in something you like but the professor is bad ?

[@janpancake]

If the professor truly is bad, I don’t think the 5-7 years of suffering is worth the degree, honestly 😅 But if he/she is tolerable, and is actually helping you progress towards graduation, and the research is interesting, then I think I’d try to make it work. Doing the research you actually want to do in graduate school is also rare, so if you can find that, I think you owe it to yourself to try to work with a less-than-great advisor. What do you think?

[@ykr786]

@@janpancake Thank you for telling it with brutal truth and not sugar coating it. I definitely think you should make a video about it. Many of my friends encountered bad professors (almost all my friends) but they like the subject. But it feels like the professors surgically extract the love of that subject from student's body. Of course people can change the subject. But at the end you have a concentration you don't like. I like doing analog design and there is so few professors that teaches this course and stuck with a bad professor

[@janpancake]

Oh gosh sorry to hear about the bad experiences 😔 I also know many people who have had awful experiences with an advisor. Unfortunately they’ve just had to deal with it, and they do graduate eventually, but the journey is extremely painful. Thanks for the video suggestion. I’ll definitely think about how I can discuss this topic in a way that might actually be helpful 🙂

[@kalanadesilva9425]

Hi, I am in a PhD path at Washington State University. My PhD is in Power Systems but I am really interested in Power Electronics and MEMS. My question is which field of study is better and which field of study will help me to get a job in the aerospace industry ? Thanks you

[@kaylab4619]

Haha I know I’m getting a little ahead of myself but I feel like your struggle to pick a school is also something I’m going through. I got accepted into Georgia Tech and Stevens institute of Technology for EE undergrad . I have more financial help at Stevens but I idolized going to Georgia Tech for so long. I feel so conflicted because Georgia Tech had been my dream school for a while and I had never even considered Stevens’s(high tuition. applied as a safety.) Although I did receive a prestigious scholarship from Georgia Tech for OOS students I would still have to take out private loans. Any advice?

[@janpancake]

This is tough because I don’t think where you go for undergrad matters a whole lot. I cannot advise you to take out loans and assure you that it’ll be worth it, but I don’t think you should make your choice based purely on finances. If I was in your situation, I’d probably pick Georgia Tech, if it was my dream school. You got in; it’s a great school; and you deserve to opportunity to pursue the degree you want there. I don’t think you can make a bad decision, so I’d go with my gut! Good luck making your decision!

[@Fyawtfc]

Image processing did u do work with bovik? Man when I took his class I was not doing well hahaha

[@Arapaho82520]

Hello, I've been interested in nanotechnology. I've looked around at videos regarding such and was curious what your perspective is? I know Electrical Engineering is pretty close to how nanotech is applied. I am interested in space suit technology specifically. Any feedback is appreciated. Great video btw!

[@janpancake]

I think I agree with Mohammad! I only know one person who went in the nano direction, and he’s a mechanical engineer. Sorry I can’t give more guidance here!

[@Arapaho82520]

@@janpancake kind of what I was thinking but I personally don’t know any EE so I thought I’d ask about that. Thanks for the feedback as well as Mohammad, since it’s so new there’s not many programs out there and I’m also trying to find the more affordable options.

[@izzyp150]

Can you do a video about choosing an undergraduate school?

[@leoisikdogan]

Just curious, who was the professor that you really wanted to work with at Stanford? Was it Marc Levoy? Gordon Wetzstein?

[@janpancake]

It was Bernd Girod, actually. Brian Wandell was another who replied to my emails.

[@denshaSai]

Wow giving up Stanford for ut, also ut also gets really cold. I think everyone at Stanford don't get guaranteed funding ? But the uncertainty is one big problem. Well I only got in the one in your top 3 on your list so not much choice for me there. Do you still think PhD at ut vs ms at Stanford is still worthwhile?

[@janpancake]

I don’t regret my decision, but I can’t say I’d make the same decision knowing now what I want to do. Since I’m not doing research anymore, it sometimes feels like I could’ve gotten here without going for the PhD, but I also know that all the years I spent exploring topics in CV and ML in grad school are why I was even able to interview for any of the full-time positions I found interesting post grad school.

[@ichigokurosaki1119]

You are so nice! You clearly explained your thoughts and processes on the selection of your schools. I will be applying for MS+PhD for the next fall. It'd be great if you could share your undergrad profile: academics, research, how you nailed the scholarships, etc. Keep making such videos.

[@janpancake]

Thanks for the comment! I do plan on making videos sharing whatever I can about my engineering background :)

[@hikaruchen2476]

Just wondering, why you didn’t apply to MIT.

[@jaywagner3934]

Is all this info. also relevant for International students ?

[@janpancake]

Mostly, I think! Though I don't think international students are expected to attend visit days if they're invited. I also think international students might need to think about their priorities a bit differently. Leaving grad school without completing your degree might make it harder to stay in the US to work.

[@vickytippu8118]

Hey, can I have your SOP? Need your help creating my SOP would you help?

[@Jarrod_C]

you got into stanford but not Berkeley or rice????? how is that?

[@HoangNguyen-jd2mr]

This is not undegrad. It is all about interest fit or research fit.

[@deedonnerramone4757]

Hope your debt is not too outrageous.