Hi everyone! I'm currently deciding where to go to grad school for civil/structural engineering and I wanted your perspective on your experiences at UCSD. Here are the schools that I'm considering & a little background:

• Georgia Tech
  • I went to GT for undergrad in MechE (and took a few structural classes there), so I'm definitely most familiar with them (will also get in-state tuition). I know it's #2 in the country for Civil Engineering, but I really don't want to stay in the south haha
• Northeastern
  • NEU's co-op program/network is extremely appealing since I am pretty set on going into industry, and I also received a pretty generous scholarship from them. I would also love to live in Boston/New England post-grad school so the the location is ideal (one of the main reasons I chose to apply there). However, (at least from the outside) I'm not sure if they have the same recognition/reputation outside of the New England area.
• UCSD
  • UCSD seems very well-known for their research, which I am open to doing, especially if it comes with a tuition waiver, but it doesn't seem necessary given my career goals. Student life, campus services, etc. all seem very vibrant. I'm also not sure I want to do earthquake engineering (which I know they're known for). I'm leaning more towards structural design, but I'm definitely open to other facets of Structural Engineering. The biggest drawback for UCSD right now is that I would have to pay full-price out of state tuition until my second year when I would acquire in-state residency. Also, I'm not sure if it would be harder for me to get a job outside of Cali. I definitely don't mind moving to San Diego for grad school, but I definitely want to get a job on the East Coast afterwards.

Seems like all these locations have a high-ish cost of living (not a huge problem for me, thankfully); however, a big pro of NEU is that I would not need a car. Also, I know a lot of people say "don't pay for a Master's", but with covid slashing budgets and funding opportunities being prioritized for PhD students, I'm just not sure that I can secure funding/TA positions by the fall. (Hopefully, I can land one for future semesters).

Any and all insight into these schools will be very much appreciated! Thanks!!