Hi Raunak,
It’s a good point that to become an ID’er you need to be in the right environment, say, you need to marinate a bit and get a feel for the work you are doing vs. being a Mech Eng. So I can understand that following a program attracts you. That being said, I have to say I would think twice before investing in the NCSU program compared to Georgia Tech. It looks quite traditional in approach (it can be a good thing if that is what you are looking for), I have never heard of any of the teachers, I don’t see much innovative or top-class work and I don’t get a good idea of their studio-environments looking at the website. At Georgia Tech you can also follow electives and focus more on traditional ID skills if you want. Maybe there is someone else on the board who knows the NCSU program better. Have you applied to any European programs?
In my view though, you are already a step ahead having a technical degree plus an ID-related internship. It would be ideal if you could work part-time in your field, and see if you can integrate ID-related activities more and more, and spend the rest of the days doing your own ID-related activities - setting up projects, visiting trade fairs, doing workshops - directly working towards an ID-related job. But if you have a strong feeling you need an academic environment, that is a good point because you can spend full time specializing yourself, gaining deeper knowledge and experience and creating a unique master project.