<p>Hello to all CCers!</p>
<p>I am currently a senior trying to apply for grad school as a Nuclear Engineering major.</p>
<p>(I am planning to study fission reactors in order to maybe design or build but definitely manage nuclear reactors).</p>
<p>I am currently majoring as a NE in one of the 5 schools listed (Not MIT or Cal Tech ^^;; ) with 3.45 gpa / 1470 GRE / 1.5 years of undergrad research experience under Professor (planning on doing for another year / Very very good LOR.</p>
<p>I've looked at some top schools for NE:
MIT, Michigan, Wisconsin, Texas, UC-Berkeley, etc.</p>
<p>Questions if you don't mind:
1. USNews indicates these schools to be the top 5 in that order. How credible are the rankings?
2. How hard is it to get into these top 5 graduate schools? Would it be harder to get into ex.) Michigan than Berkeley?
3. What are some other schools you might suggest?</p>
<p>and finally, do I have a shot?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>To answer your questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>USNews ranks these colleges through academic surveys of peer institutions. So, they are credible, IMO.</p></li>
<li><p>I would say you have a good shot at all of them. I don't think NE is as competitive. I think the colleges will weigh the quantitative portion of the GRE more than verbal for engineering. Your GPA is good for engineering, but if you can improve it a bit, it will help.</p></li>
<li><p>I think you'll get into at least one of the top schools, so other schools don't matter. Stanford may have a NE program as well.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>^ I just checked...Stanford doesn't list nuclear engineering on their website.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Anyways, it kinda sucks that the majority of the "top schools" don't have NE programs. But I guess getting into any of the top 5 program would be good enough to get a secure job... Hopefully.</p>
<p>Andrewguy, do you need a graduate degree to secure a job in NE? I assume you're going for a masters degree, which will help though.</p>
<p>Nuc got nixed after the accidents. But, it's experiencing a resurgence with the whole global warming issue.</p>
<p>We aren't going to solve all our energy needs with biofuels and solar power.</p>
<p>I shouldn't have said "to get a secure job." As I mentioned, I would like to design and manage nuclear reactors.</p>
<p>Unfortunately this is almost impossible without going to grad school.</p>
<p>Just a fun fact: Number of undergrads and grads coming out with NE degrees from college is almost alike.</p>
<p>Grad school is important for nuclear engineers unless they decide to do something else. You need at least a master's degree in order to design reactors.</p>
<p>Also, I want to believe that new nuclear reactors will become reality in the US. Many people seem to show interest these days : )</p>
<p>"I shouldn't have said "to get a secure job." As I mentioned, I would like to design and manage nuclear reactors. Unfortunately this is almost impossible without going to grad school."</p>
<p>The above statement conveys misconceptions about the application of a nuclear engineering degree in the nuclear power industry. One must remember that the nuclear reactor/core is only one piece (although an important piece) of a nuclear power plant. Only a small number of the engineers at the plant will deal with the nuclear reactor itself. The vast majority of engineers at the plant (and correspondingly those providing support in corporate offices) deal with other parts of the plant and processes. Hence, a nuclear power plant will employ mostly mechanical and electrical engineers. A nuclear engineer who wants to move up into management at a nuclear utility will need to broaden himself/herself considerably beyond just the reactor into other types of equipment and engineering disciplines, as well as other functions (operations, maintenance, etc.) Otherwise he/she is probably destined to rise no higher than first line supervisor over the small group of engineers focused on the reactor itself. While going to grad school for nuclear engineering might be useful with respect to a job as a reactor engineer at a nuclear power plant, it isn't really necessary, and probably won't make much difference for the broadening and subsequent movement into management.</p>
<p>Also, it is not possible to "design and manage nuclear reactors". The reactors are designed by the large manufacturers (like General Electric and Westinghouse), but the reactors (and the plant as a whole) is operated and managed by the owner (usually an electric utility.) The utility might have a few engineers involved in the core design (arrangement of fuel that goes into the reactor) for each refueling though, but tend to rely on the manufacturers for much of that analysis. Grad school would be much more useful (and possible really needed) for many of the related jobs (design, etc.) at the manufacturers. But don't expect to actually manage a reactor if that is the direction you go. Also, an interesting fact about nuclear reactors. The U.S. no longer has the ability to fabricate nuclear reactors. The reactors are now all built overseas (usually Japan or Italy) and shipped back to the U.S.</p>
<p>"I shouldn't have said "to get a secure job." As I mentioned, I would like to design and manage nuclear reactors. Unfortunately this is almost impossible without going to grad school."</p>
<p>The above statement conveys misconceptions about the application of a nuclear engineering degree in the nuclear power industry. One must remember that the nuclear reactor/core is only one piece (although an important piece) of a nuclear power plant. Only a small number of the engineers at the plant will deal with the nuclear reactor itself. The vast majority of engineers at the plant (and correspondingly those providing support in corporate offices) deal with other parts of the plant and processes. Hence, a nuclear power plant will employ mostly mechanical and electrical engineers. A nuclear engineer who wants to move up into management at a nuclear utility will need to broaden himself/herself considerably beyond just the reactor into other types of equipment and engineering disciplines, as well as other functions (operations, maintenance, etc.) Otherwise he/she is probably destined to rise no higher than first line supervisor over the small group of engineers focused on the reactor itself. While going to grad school for nuclear engineering might be useful with respect to a job as a reactor engineer at a nuclear power plant, it isn't really necessary, and probably won't make much difference for the broadening and subsequent movement into management.</p>
<p>Also, it is not possible to "design and manage nuclear reactors". The reactors are designed by the large manufacturers (like General Electric and Westinghouse), but the reactors (and the plant as a whole) is operated and managed by the owner (usually an electric utility.) The utility might have a few engineers involved in the core design (arrangement of fuel that goes into the reactor) for each refueling though, but tend to rely on the manufacturers for much of that analysis. Grad school would be much more useful (and possible really needed) for many of the related jobs (design, etc.) at the manufacturers. But don't expect to actually manage a reactor if that is the direction you go. Also, an interesting fact about nuclear reactors. The U.S. no longer has the ability to fabricate nuclear reactors. The reactors are now all built overseas (usually Japan or Italy) and shipped back to the U.S.</p>