I am set to begin a MS/PhD in an engineering discipline at a top 5 program. I mention this because, despite the concerns I will lay out below, I am sure that I'll be able to make good connections through this department.
However, in my specific subfield the options are a bit limited. The sort of research I originally intended to focus on I would be able to conduct at this school. That being said, this field is very interdisciplinary and, after lots of preparatory literature search this summer, I am starting to feel my interests shift. I now feel that a different side of this field would probably fit me better, research for which would fall under a different department. The problem is that there is nobody who specializes in this particular concentration.
On top of this, the weirdness of starting a graduate program during a pandemic has me wondering if I would be better off deferring and possibly reapplying. My undergraduate record is pretty strong (high gpa, multiple publications, etc.) and I feel confident I would be able to get in somewhere. However, I worry that this coming admissions cycle will be brutal and if I am better off taking my current offer and trying to make it work.
Perhaps it would be best to go and, if I truly want to shift focus and cannot there, master out and reapply. To be clear, I would re-apply for a different engineering discipline.
Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks.
