MSc: ETHZ or PSI?

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jerrychen
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MSc: ETHZ or PSI?

Post by jerrychen » Wed Feb 27, 2019 9:40 pm

I just received the admission emails from both ETH Zurich M.Sc. Physics and Perimeter Scholars International, simultaneously... I had been worried about no offer this year for quite a while, but now I begin to feel hard to choose from them... Which one should I pick do you think? I am not asking for anybody else to make a decision for me but I want to know how do you view the two programs...

BTW, how about the scholarship of ETHZ MSc? I did apply for ESOP, but there is no reply till now... All the time ETH Zurich just kept in silence and suddenly gave the offer to me when I was about to be desperate to consider applying for an internship in my country...

jabennett2194
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Re: MSc: ETHZ or PSI?

Post by jabennett2194 » Wed Feb 27, 2019 11:35 pm

For your interests (based on the profile you posted in the profile thread), it seems ETH is the logical choice :)

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Nishikata
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Re: MSc: ETHZ or PSI?

Post by Nishikata » Thu Feb 28, 2019 1:36 am

prestige-wise ETHZ is higher in my opinion.
Is funding a major factor in your decision?
PSI is fully-funded, while ETHZ can be pretty expensive without the scholarship.

Consider also the next step, which is the Ph.D. It is likely that one'll continue for doctoral studies at the same place as his/her Masters, due to the advantage of smooth continuation from Master's thesis project.
ETHZ PhD > PSI PhD.

kronotsky
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Re: MSc: ETHZ or PSI?

Post by kronotsky » Thu Feb 28, 2019 2:03 am

Also, if there's more to your life than physics (maybe not but just sayin), there are many more reasons to want to live in Zurich than Waterloo. I mean, Waterloo is nice. However, it is not in Switzerland. All this modulo local attitudes about foreigners and costs of living, of course...

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jerrychen
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Re: MSc: ETHZ or PSI?

Post by jerrychen » Thu Feb 28, 2019 5:13 am

Funding will be a significant factor in my decision because my parents get abysmal salaries and I don't want to use their money...

That is exactly the point that brings a big headache. Even though I like ETHZ very much, it's still tough for me to decide to pursue M.Sc there without confirmation about scholarships. What's more, several days ago I consulted a friend who has been enrolled in the master program at ETHZ for one year, and he told me that his living expense in the past year was around 150k RMB(Chinese yuan) which is slightly higher than the total amount of the most top scholarship there, ESOP.

Besides, I explored Quora and found that there were overwhelming acknowledgment and praise for PSI. Some people even claimed that it was a 'once-in-a-lifetime' program, so it becomes more and more attractive to me.

Now I am wondering another possibility: could I start with PSI and meanwhile immediately contact some Professors at ETHZ so that I can directly pursue a PhD there after my graduation from PSI? How do you view this plan? I think it still looks like a little pressed for time...

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Nishikata
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Re: MSc: ETHZ or PSI?

Post by Nishikata » Thu Feb 28, 2019 8:29 am

When it comes to estimating the money I would need for non-funded programs, I only consider the fixed costs: tuition fees, on-campus dormitory rent fees. The variable parts such as food or entertainment can always be tuned to your budget. Hence bench-marking your condition to your friend's is probably only gonna stress you out.

I'll probably be in this situation very soon (only 2 schools left in my list that guarantee funding, and I might not get in), so I calculated my savings during the past three years in my job. I'll have to use 60-70% of it to finance a Master's in the UK, while possibly only 30-40% in Japan/Germany. Then my doubts would only be how much I want my degree, which I find that I indeed want the degree. This simplified flow of thought helps settle my decision: do I have the money? --> do I want to trade it with something that I want?.

See that I do not include "but it is a lot of money" in the flow, because I already know that it is a lot, I just took it out of the decision making process.

I do not think that the ETHZ prof will be very happy to wait till you graduate from PSI, neither PSI would be happy to hear about your plan.
When do you have to form a financial contract with ETHZ? Do you have the time to search for internal and external funding options?

Ask their graduate office for internal funding schemes, also look for external agency funding, or government scholarships.
Last but not least, consider taking a student loan from the school. Not from shady loan sharks that will give you trouble.

Being indebted to the school, at least won't place a burden on your parents, and you can pay the debt after you graduate.

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jerrychen
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Re: MSc: ETHZ or PSI?

Post by jerrychen » Thu Feb 28, 2019 11:08 pm

Nishikata wrote:When it comes to estimating the money I would need for non-funded programs, I only consider the fixed costs: tuition fees, on-campus dormitory rent fees. The variable parts such as food or entertainment can always be tuned to your budget. Hence bench-marking your condition to your friend's is probably only gonna stress you out.

I'll probably be in this situation very soon (only 2 schools left in my list that guarantee funding, and I might not get in), so I calculated my savings during the past three years in my job. I'll have to use 60-70% of it to finance a Master's in the UK, while possibly only 30-40% in Japan/Germany. Then my doubts would only be how much I want my degree, which I find that I indeed want the degree. This simplified flow of thought helps settle my decision: do I have the money? --> do I want to trade it with something that I want?.

See that I do not include "but it is a lot of money" in the flow, because I already know that it is a lot, I just took it out of the decision making process.

I do not think that the ETHZ prof will be very happy to wait till you graduate from PSI, neither PSI would be happy to hear about your plan.
When do you have to form a financial contract with ETHZ? Do you have the time to search for internal and external funding options?

Ask their graduate office for internal funding schemes, also look for external agency funding, or government scholarships.
Last but not least, consider taking a student loan from the school. Not from shady loan sharks that will give you trouble.

Being indebted to the school, at least won't place a burden on your parents, and you can pay the debt after you graduate.
Thank you so much for your reply to share your personal experience and career plan. Apparently, you have taken careful consideration concerning school selection and final decision. I am sure you will also make the best choice and get what you want!

I learned a lot from your suggestions and will continue analyzing both of them and comparing their pros and cons~

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jerrychen
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Re: MSc: ETHZ or PSI?

Post by jerrychen » Fri Mar 01, 2019 1:05 am

jabennett2194 wrote:For your interests (based on the profile you posted in the profile thread), it seems ETH is the logical choice :)
Oh, thank you very much, and could you please share more about your opinion? Sorry but I don't really get the point of 'logic based on my profile and my interest' since I did not put in detail my research plan on that profile.

However, I know not much about both of them, especially for ETH Zurich, about which I barely know anything but the well-known high reputation and some necessary information on its websites. I am curious about the style of study and research, the atmosphere of laboratories or theory groups and most importantly, the potential risks and threats. I have thoroughly searched on Quora and other reliable sites, but all I see is overwhelming thumbs up and recommending for both of them. Though I understand that both are good places for prospective physics theorists, it is also natural that the first-hand experiences and highly personal evaluation will contribute more to the decision-making of a freshman than ordinary praise and routine compliment (just like a good recommendation letter for us).


Actually, indeed I dug out something interesting about PSI.
https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-get-into ... al-Physics
The answer by an anonymous on May 16, 2016, shared some bad PSI experiences. It seems that this student looked forward to a well-organized course system and lots of enthusiastic professors, which were not found after his/her enrollment in the PSI program.

Also, yesterday I just asked the program manager some questions related to the curriculum and other arrangements of PSI. She told me that there would be three courses at one time and each would last for around three weeks and that every day the morning would be for lectures and the afternoon for tutorials. That's a fascinating curriculum but I do not believe it will bring such horrible chaos as that Quora answer claimed. And some of my friends read that answer and told me that they felt it seemed at PI people were indifferent to students. Well, I do not have real contact with anyone from PI but one of my undergrad supervisors, so I cannot judge whether it is believable or not.

By the way, I am still looking for more practical personal experiences and suggestions about ETHZ. The admission letter says that "We regret to inform you that due to time constraints we will not be able to answer any enquiries before you have received our official letter", and I am totally speechless.

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Nishikata
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Re: MSc: ETHZ or PSI?

Post by Nishikata » Fri Mar 01, 2019 1:44 am

About the bad review on Quora, PSI posts their lectures at their website, so you might want to watch them and see for yourself if their style is appealing to you.

https://www.perimeterinstitute.ca/train ... i-lectures

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jerrychen
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Re: MSc: ETHZ or PSI?

Post by jerrychen » Fri Mar 01, 2019 2:05 am

Nishikata wrote:About the bad review on Quora, PSI posts their lectures at their website, so you might want to watch them and see for yourself if their style is appealing to you.

https://www.perimeterinstitute.ca/train ... i-lectures
Thank you~ I'll check it~ That's very helpful~

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jerrychen
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Re: MSc: ETHZ or PSI?

Post by jerrychen » Fri Mar 01, 2019 2:11 am

kronotsky wrote:Also, if there's more to your life than physics (maybe not but just sayin), there are many more reasons to want to live in Zurich than Waterloo. I mean, Waterloo is nice. However, it is not in Switzerland. All this modulo local attitudes about foreigners and costs of living, of course...
Emmm, I think I don't really care about the living level... Actually, I have been in Melbourne for a while, doing my research internship at a quite desolate place and I even like my life there so much that cannot accept returning to so-called big cities in China. Of course, during that time my undergrad roommate went to ETHZ for his internship and from his feedback, I believe it is also a livable and fabulous city... Still, thank you for your viewpoint~ life details should have been an important factor too.



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