Attending Graduate School While Doing a Co-op

Graduate School
1

Hello,

I am currently a rising senior in an undergraduate computer engineering program. I’m new to graduate schools, so my question may seem foolish. I have a really good co-op position that will likely lead to a permanent job in the future. I am also looking into graduate programs and was wondering what kind of flexibility graduate programs typically have with co-op students’ schedules.

If I were to attend a graduate school that isn’t located near where I work, I would probably need to take one or two semesters off of school to go to work. Will this be a major impediment in terms of what programs I will be able to get into, and will this turn off a lot of graduate advisors?

I am planning on applying to multiple graduate programs and would like to be able to apply to schools like MIT and Caltech (I know these are long shots). My GPA is decent (~3.85), and I have some pretty good field/research experience. I was wondering if anybody would perhaps know what I might be looking at. Would I contact these schools’ admissions officers or program advisors for more information?

Thank you for your help!

2

If you have a permanent job lined up, the question is why do you want to go to graduate school? Do they expect you to have a Masters degree in order to hire you? If so, why would they care if you had a research-oriented Masters degree or just a coursework one?

I think you have to figure out what YOU really want. If it is graduate school, then do it wholeheardetly, it is a serious commitment. If you want to work, then go for that right away and leave the Masters for later if you decide that itis essential for your career. Don’t buy into the argument that you need a graduate degree. In your field particularly, there is really no need.