<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I've been lurking for the past week and reading a lot of helpful tips regarding the graduate school application process. I have several questions, and I welcome all feedback, good or bad. My questions to you are listed at the end.</p>
<p>My Stats
Undergrad: Tier-2
Major: Biomedical Engineering, class of 2009
GPA: 3.16
GRE: 800M, 490V, 3.5A (taken 2009). Retaking in 4 weeks, shooting for 800M/600V/4.5A.
Research: total of 2.5 years combined at 3 different labs, including my current job.
Current job: Junior researcher at the university I graduated in.
Publication: 2 peer-reviewed articles (not 1st author), 1 editorial article (1st author), and 1 poster presentation.
Patents: 2 submitted for provisional patents (unclear if it will move onto become non-provisional at this stage)
LOR's: all 3 from professors.</p>
<p>Interests: Biomechanics, Imaging, Signal Processing, Product Design and Development
Secondary interests: Dynamics, Computational Sciences</p>
<p>Interested in Biomedical Engineering programs at:
UC Davis
UC Berkeley
UC Irvine
UCLA
UCSD
Stanford
USC</p>
<p>Reasons for Obtaining a MS
1. Solidify my engineering foundation
2. Obtain better job positions than if I would now
3. Explore the option of going into academia (by continuing to pursue PhD after MS)</p>
<p>My Problem
Ultimately, I want to go into the medical devices industry. My resume and background are highly geared toward industry work, with multiple design projects (currently the lead of 2 projects among 4 that I am working on) and a lot of experience in CAD and MatLab modeling. The problem is: of the 7 schools that I listed above, only 2 (Stanford and USC) has concentration specifically for "Medical Devices." These are my top 2 choices since they focus on product development processes. For the other universities from the list, I will apply under Biomechanics or Imaging, both of which I have strong interest in but have zero research experience.</p>
<p>Q1.
Are my stats good enough to get me into these top universities? I will be extremely pleased and proud to attend a graduate program at any of those universities. My GPA is low for graduate studies, and my GRE scores are average at best. I would be banking the admission on my experience, SOP, and LOR's.</p>
<p>Q2.
What other schools, off the top of your head, that I should aim for given my stats?</p>
<p>Thanks for your time. I look forward to reading your feedback!</p>
<p>Regards,
Fart</p>