Hi everyone,
Currently applying for my Master’s in Structural Engineering to these fine schools:
Berkeley
Stanford
USC
UCLA
UC San Diego
UC Davis
Got my B.S. in Civil Engineering in 2014 from Berkeley
Overall GPA: 3.75
Upper Division GPA: 3.8
Graduated with honors.
Got 2 letters of recommendation from Professors at Berkeley, one of whom is now a senior consultant at a very highly respected Structural Engineering firm. My 3rd letter is from a professional colleague who has helped me expand my current business endeavors.
Extracurriculars:
- Member of two Civil Engineering honor societies (held two office positions in one for nearly 2 years during my undergrad)
- Member of an engineering competition team for nearly 3 years, which saw significant success during our competition runs.
Honors/Awards:
- Two engineering honor societies
- Boeing scholarship recipient after my first year at Berkeley (~$1k if I recall correctly)
Enough with the pros, here’s the cons:
- No official internship/work experience related to Structural Engineering
- Had a 1 year gap near the end of a Spring semester due to family matters, got readmitted the following Spring semester. (almost 1 year gap)
- got my B.S. in 2014 and I am only now applying to grad schools. Since graduation I have been steadily expanding my businesses, none of which directly relate to Structural Engineering, yet have provided me with invaluable professional experience and people/managing skills.
Can anyone who is in/has been in a similar boat as me comment on my chances? I feel good about my applications, but I still have that unnerving sense of dread that will probably last until this March/April.