Chance Me, Grad School

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

Demographics

  • US Citizen
  • Texas
  • College: An engineering College in Texas~ Studying Mechanical Engineering
  • Female/Asian:
  • Other special factors Nothing~:

Intended Major(s): Graduate school in Mechanical, EE, Aerospace or Robotics idk
Intended Track/Program(s): Open to Masters of Science (only if a GA) or PhD

GPA and Test Scores

  • College GPA: 3.633
  • GRE: Haven’t taken it yet :neutral_face:

Coursework
Currently studying Mechanical engineering and following the MechE track, any additional/unconventional courses would be Business and CS-related (very few though, I like to focus more on my ECs).

Awards
No outstanding awards besides Dean’s List, but I’ve had the chance to compete internationally, nationally, and speak at conventions in Europe

Extracurriculars
I’m a co-founder of a research organization, was on an executive board for a diversity club, team lead for a research project, and team lead for a project team. Also, do music on the side and outreach for females in engineering for college and high school students.

Work Experience
Student-teacher for a high-level numerical methods course, Completed 4 internships in software, controls, and mechanical design at reputable companies.

Cost Constraints / Budget
I really don’t want to pay for graduate school unless I have to

Research Interest
Autonomous Systems and Controls, Data Science, Swarm robotics, connected vehicles, etc.

Schools

  • I have no idea what schools would be interested in me, but I have the basic dreams of state schools like University of Michigan, University of Washington, and then IVY’s if they’d take me. I’d rather just find a school that’s a good fit for me. Any school that puts an emphasis on inclusion and diversity (and preferably in a diverse area would be great).
2

The approach should not be schools that want you, but rather schools you want, ESPECIALLY if you want a PhD. Of course they have to want you too, but you want to go where you’ll be doing what you want to do.

First and foremost, you need to decide, terminal MS or PhD.

If you decide terminal MS, then you need to decide Thesis or non-Thesis based. The latter is essentially a BS on steroids. I recommend a Thesis based MS. Funding in terminal based Masters programs is rare, but they are possible to find. My son was funded for a thesis based MS.

If you want a PhD then you do not pick a school per se. You pick professors doing research that interests you and that is aligned with research you’ve done. Depending on what you pick, schools like Wisconsin, A&M, Iowa State, etc. might be the very best of what you want, and MIT or Stanford could be bad. It all depends on who is doing what where. This is a very important point. You need to get along with that person. They’ll be controlling your life for multiple years. Don’t go in blind (if you even can) and find out that you hate your boss, hate your work, or heaven forbid, both.

So, put some thought into what you want to do. Then you can get the best advise.

I’ll part with a few random thoughts:

  1. What year are you?

  2. Why would you pick an Ivy for ME?

  3. There many threads in the Engineering Forum that will counsel you not to take business classes in UG unless you’re an IE.

  4. You’ll get all the CS you need in the classes you take, especially if you want to do mechatronics. The exception would be machine learning.

I’m also suggesting the moderators move this to the Engineering Forum. You’ll be better served there. Good luck!

3 Likes
3

agree with @eyemgh.

The key difference between a PhD & a terminal Masters is original research. In a PhD you will spend ~5 years doing research in a very specialized area- you want to be sure that you love it enough to go the distance. Given the range of your interests I’m guessing/hoping you are in second year- I hope you have a great summer internship lined up to help you focus your interests.

@eyemgh’s son is the exception- my guess is that he had research interests that aligned with those of the program he was in, and thus his thesis work would be useful enough to fund. Funding for a taught Masters is even rarer.

re: “Ivy” - the label will impress only non-engineers: although there is some variation year to year, Cornell is the only “Ivy” that regularly is ranked as a top-10 engineering program (though this year USNWR has it at #12; Columbia & UPenn in the teens, Harvard & Princeton in the 20s, and Yale in the 30s). As above, you pick the programs that specialize in your area of interest. The overlap between the top aerospace programs and the top robotics schools is not huge.

2 Likes
4

Admissions to graduate schools for PhD (or thesis-based MS) are very different from undergraduate admissons. Professors in the department you’re interested in are the ones who’ll determine your acceptance into their programs. Your ECs, other than researches in the subject area, aren’t going to matter much. Being a female does increase your chances, however, as most STEM programs (other than biology) are still dominated by males. Paradoxically, your chances are better at schools that are less diverse gender-wise.

3 Likes
5

What everybody says, plus:

What school are you at, and who you ask for letters of recommendation are extremely important, especially the latter. A strong, personalized LoR from a big name in the field who has personal experience with your abilities in your field is a huge benefit.

Grad schools are not looking to “build a class”. They are looking to accept students who will graduate, and will publish their research. Your applications will not be read by admissions officers, but by a committee made up of faculty and grad students.

The only ECs which are really important are those related to research experience - working in a lab, working on research, working on independent research, presentations, and publications. Nobody cares about your music or athletics, or anything which does not reflect on your capabilities ad a potential researcher (and perhaps teacher).

Competitions are not important, except for “best research”, “best talk by a graduate student”. Presentations at peer reviewed conferences are great, as are grants, especially from outside your university.

Internships and teaching are also great.

Do not, I repeat, do not pay for graduate school.

If you are looking for a non-thesis masters, it is better to first gain experience, since people with masters are paid more, and corporation generally prefer to have that extra pay include experience, not just a couple extra years of classes.

6

The EC’s are important if you’re applying for graduate fellowships like Rhodes, Marshall, etc. and even some school awarded fellowships.

7

But these are rarely something engineers consider for their graduate experience.

8

It depends on the school. These are highly sought after at my kid’s engineering school.

9

Certainly they are school dependent. One of the schools my son was accepted to was talking about Fulbright support before he’d even accepted spot at any school. The fact though is that they are a minority, by a significant margin, for all engineers applying to graduate school. The things one should do to be competitive for those should be on the margins of all the other things (good grades, good research experience, LORs, etc.) needed to land a more typical graduate position. They are the icing if you will and not the cake.

2 Likes