Happy to help! I agree with your framing of the problem.
I asked Claude which Taiwanese universities US masters’ programs are most likely to have heard of. Claude says NTU has the strongest name recognition, followed by NCKU, NTHU, NCTU. Others aren’t as well known internationally. If that’s accurate, that tells me that if the top option you’re considering is not one of those four, (2) mid tier + high GPA would be the best option.
If you’re planning on working on AI risk, my understanding is that most of these companies are US or Europe-based. These companies will have even lower knowledge of the distinctions between Taiwanese universities. Unless your hiring manager or interviewer is Asian, you’ll likely only get a boost from NTU and probably no benefit from NCKU, NTHU, NCTU. That leans me more in favor of (2). (Speaking as someone who interviews candidates and contributes to hiring decisions, I had dim recognition of NTU and no recognition of NCKU, NTHU, NCTU prior to writing this comment, but I expect my Asian colleagues would.)
Based on this, unless your top option is NTU, (2) mid tier + high GPA is likely best. But do your own research and don’t just take my word for it :)
Happy to help! I agree with your framing of the problem.
I asked Claude which Taiwanese universities US masters’ programs are most likely to have heard of. Claude says NTU has the strongest name recognition, followed by NCKU, NTHU, NCTU. Others aren’t as well known internationally. If that’s accurate, that tells me that if the top option you’re considering is not one of those four, (2) mid tier + high GPA would be the best option.
If you’re planning on working on AI risk, my understanding is that most of these companies are US or Europe-based. These companies will have even lower knowledge of the distinctions between Taiwanese universities. Unless your hiring manager or interviewer is Asian, you’ll likely only get a boost from NTU and probably no benefit from NCKU, NTHU, NCTU. That leans me more in favor of (2). (Speaking as someone who interviews candidates and contributes to hiring decisions, I had dim recognition of NTU and no recognition of NCKU, NTHU, NCTU prior to writing this comment, but I expect my Asian colleagues would.)
Based on this, unless your top option is NTU, (2) mid tier + high GPA is likely best. But do your own research and don’t just take my word for it :)