A Taiwanese friend of mine was accepted by both UT-Dallas and DePaul University. She’s not sure yet if she wants to pursue an MBA or an M.S. Her family wants her to go to Texas because it will be cheaper and they think it will be easier for her to pass the courses. They also feel it will be a more recognizable degree to future employers when she returns to Taiwan as many Taiwanese people live in Texas. My friend, however, wants to go to Chicago because she’s never lived in a big city before and she thinks it will be easier for her to get a good internship there. Of course, she doesn’t want to put any unnecessary financial burden on her family unless she thinks she really will be able to succeed at DePaul and find a better job afterwards.
I’ve already given her my advice, but it was mostly along the lines of “follow your heart.” I don’t know anything about either of those cities, and not much more about the schools than what I found from their own websites and the free online version of U.S. News. Does anybody have any first-, or second-hand, knowledge of them?
Which school is the most challenging academically?
Which school has the best reputation in the business world and will be respected internationally?
Which school will provide better internship and job prospects?
Dallas is ass.
I live here. I am here right now. It is yuck.
However, the Taiwanese community here is a) pretty large, b) pretty close knit, and c) full of people who carry much influence both locally and in Taiwan.
So maybe Dallas is a good choice.
Shouldn’t she make up her mind about what she wants to study before worrying about where to do it?[/quote]
Yeah, I told her that too. She wants to do an M.S., but she’s afraid people will only give her an internship if she’s doing an M.B.A., so she’s still trying to decide. I don’t really know the difference between the two myself. Is one easier than the other?
There are so many MBA’s these days, I can’t believe anyone would care whether it was an MBA vs. an MS in management or whatever. But if we’re talking about a masters in something like engineering or foreign affairs, that is different–and potentially impressive. (It is also possible, and highly praiseworthy, to do a joint MBA and MS.)
Wikipedia is the source of all wisdom these days, so in case you haven’t seen these:
Does she prefer brutally hot summers or brutally cold winters…
I know nothing about Chicago or DePaul, but I do know about Dallas. UTD is better than many think academically, and is close to the Chinese population in Dallas. As mentioned Dallas is very affordable but is probably as boring as a 5 million person metro area can be. The city, especially Plano/Richardson (where UTD is) is also very spread out so a car is pretty much mandatory. As someone mentioned there is a surprisingly large Taiwanese population, many who have made inroads at some of the big employers (for example Texas Instruments, who have a massive plant just a couple miles from UTD). The local economy has also generally done well for quite a while now. There would definitely be a big cultural adjustment, even moreso than most other places in the country. Having said that though it’s not a bad option, and I know plenty of Taiwanese who have done well there.
If it were me, I’d go with DePaul–it just seems like a better school. But that’s only an impression, not an informed opinion.[/quote]
I had also wiki-ed them, but they don’t say much more than what the schools say about themselves. I was hoping someone could give me more information from either a business standpoint or as a local from either of those two areas.
My prime concern for my friend is transportation. How will she get around in TX? Is the bus system okay, or do the Taiwanese people all commute together? Should she get an international driver’s license before she goes?
Her prime concern is, which one offers better internship opportunities? Which city will give her a better understanding of the business world?
My friend decided to go to DePaul. She talked to students at both schools and she said even the ones at UT-Dallas told her to go to DePaul. They said the job market has weakend considerably for foreign workers since 2004. Also, she’s afraid the size of the Taiwanese population at UT-Dallas might make it a little too easy for her to get by without really improving her English. Her parents are still afraid she’s not smart enough to make it at DePaul, but her friends are letting her know we believe in her.
She’s deathly afraid of the cold, but I’m glad she’s going with her dream. I know this will be a turning point in her life!
Thanks again for all your advice. The parts about being bored and having to drive really gave her the motivation she needed to stand up to her family.
Let her know that “the cold” is not such a terrible thing. Oh, I don’t mean it won’t be cold, just that human beings are clever creatures who are capable of thriving in it.
There is a downside that people might not think of, and that is the high incidence of depression in areas with long winters.
Oh that about needing a car in Dallas is quite true but more and more not true.
If you want to have any life at all, a car is needed. But the local mass transit is better and better. But quite costly.
One thing I about Dallas is that it is very quiet. I like that. But some people don’t. Make sure to tell me if she does choose Dallas so I can help her get set up. I’ll be back in Taiwan soon (thank god I’m so bored) but I have enough friends here to help her out.
They said the job market has weakend considerably for foreign workers since 2004. Also, she’s afraid the size of the Taiwanese population at UT-Dallas might make it a little too easy for her to get by without really improving her English. Her parents are still afraid she’s not smart enough to make it at DePaul, but her friends are letting her know we believe in her.
Thanks again for all your advice. 