<p>So after finishing my Junior year in college, I decided that I want to go to grad school for Engineering at Purdue. </p>
<p>Unfortunately I didn't really plan for it beforehand, so all I have are internships at Lilly and GE and no research experience. My GPA is 3.57, which is .03 below the 3.6 GPA average of the students who got accepted. </p>
<p>I have been heavily involved with my cross country team and a diversity, but I heard that those EC's don't matter for grad school. </p>
<p>Do I have a chance? Or do I really need to get some research experience and/or a higher GPA? </p>
<p>Your gpa is fine, it is high for engineering and even you are pointing out it is well within line for accepted students. Research is a must for a PhD program. For Master’s it depends on the criteria of the university. Talk to your profs. Take the GRE too. ECs don’t really matter for grad school unless they are related to your studies. Oh, there is a specific grad school forum here for this type of question. You might browse it.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response! I’m only planning to get masters, and I was worried that my GPA and a (hopeful) good GRE score will not be enough to counteract the lack of research. I’ll look for that forum. Thanks again!</p>
<p>Where’d you go for undergrad </p>
<p>Admissions for the MS is generally easier than for the PhD, and I would say you at least have a shot. I would definitely expand your search beyond Purdue, however - grad admissions is more individual and holistic than undergrad, and rejection is common even when you appear well-qualified. It is always a good idea both to apply to several schools and also to make contingency plans for the common situation where you get rejected by all.</p>
<p>Oh, and you are correct that your EC’s will be largely worthless - while some might appeal to individual professors, overall they don’t care about how “well-rounded” you are, just how much of an asset you will be to their lab and the field.</p>
<p>If you are planning for a terminal Masters then a professional engineering degree might be your best choice and you have to be prepared to self-fund the degree. Research is generally not required in that case but work experience is valued. You might consider working for a couple of years and then figuring out what masters degree best suites your career plans. Your employer might even pay for the Masters tuition.</p>