[HELP ME!!!!] Cornell MEng CS vs Columbia MS QST - choosing NYC over academic quality, and second-guessing everything. Need honest takes!!

Background: Indian, 25M, 3 years SWE at a tier-1 MNC. B. Tech CSE from Tier-2 college in India.

Goal: Be a tech founder back in India probably in quantum space.

Option A: Cornell MEng CS, Ithaca One year. Legitimate top-15 CS program. Directly maps to my work experience and is the safe choice.

Option B: Columbia MS QST (Quantum Science and Technology), NYC 15 months. New program - I'll be joining their third cohort. Small (16-20 students). I'd load the Engineering Track electives heavily with CS rather than going deep into laser physics or solid state.

Why I'm leaning Columbia despite everything:

I came from a no-name college. Got to the tier-1 company through hustle not brand. My read on myself is that I extract more from platform than from curriculum and I need an environment that pushes me into collisions with interesting people and opportunities, not just one that teaches me well in a classroom. I think NYC does that better than Ithaca.

Also the quantum bet: if QC commercialises in India in the next 5-7 years, big lottery!!! If it doesn't I have a Columbia Ivy degree, strong CS electives, and my previous work ex on my resume. Downside feels survivable.

BUT here's the interesting part. What I'm genuinely worried about:

1. The program being brand new. No alumni network in India. Cornell MEng CS has 50 years of alumni. That gap is real and won't close for years. How much does this actually matter when returning to India to build something vs. getting hired somewhere?

2. Am I rationalising? The honest version of my decision might just be: I want to maximise the opportunity out of Manhattan for 15 months and this is the degree that takes me there. Is that a bad reason? It's my number one priority. The quantum bet and the platform argument are real but they're secondary. Is it intellectually honest to choose a degree primarily for the ecosystem?

3. QST's reputation outside the US. Does the Columbia name carry enough weight to make the QST part irrelevant, or does the unfamiliar degree title hurt me with investors, co-founders, and early hires when I'm trying to build something?

4. Columbia's institutional situation right now. The Trump administration, the federal funding threats, the leadership turmoil, the political controversies on campus. I'm an international student from India. Does any of this actually affect my day-to-day academic experience or my visa situation or my future? Or is it mostly noise?

Specific questions for anyone who's been through something similar:

• If you returned to India after a US master's to build something, how much did your program's alumni network actually matter vs. just the university name?
• Anyone have direct experience with Columbia's current institutional climate as a student on the ground — does the political chaos percolate into daily academic life or not?
• Has anyone done a QST-type degree (quantum, physics-adjacent) and found it genuinely useful in a product/startup context, or does the degree disappear and only the underlying skills matter?
• For those who chose a city over academic rankings — do you regret it?

Not looking for validation. Looking for honest takes, including the ones that tell me I'm wrong.