<p>I am an international student studying EE in UW-Seattle. Here are some facts about me</p>
<p>GPA: 3.62, intend to raise to 3.65 by the time of grad school application
Major GPA: 3.6, intend to raise to 3.7
Awards: four time Dean's lists, nothing special
Research experiences: No. Will start in next quarter.</p>
<p>I understand that my current experience is far from a competitive applicant of top EE/ECE master programs, but what should I do to strengthen my application? Since I didn't involve much extracurricular activities since sophomore year, my thought was to take challenging courses and start research this year. My strengths are broad fields of my coursework (Good grades in social science) and and challenging science courses(honor maths and upper-level physics). However, I got the only 2.+ for two important programming courses, which can be a big minus in EE/ECE field. </p>
<p>I am preparing GRE test right now, and doing research. REUs are not open for internationals, so my best shot will be a good research position on campus in upcoming summer. Also I am wondering whether UW engineering undergrad are well-recognized thorough out the nation.</p>
<p>You can still do research outside of your school during the summer. Check out MSRP at MIT, they accept international students (I was there for two summers and I am an international student too).</p>
<p>How far along are you / how much time do you have left before graduation?</p>
<p>Your GPA is okay, if not exceptional for these departments. Your GRE can only hurt you, perfect scores are simply not that meaningful.</p>
<p>Have you decided on a research interest? Fit is very important, and grades in specific classes are important only in their proximity to this research area - your “social sciences” grades are all but worthless, while your programming courses may be highly important if your prospective research group expects those skills.</p>
<p>Research is king and, not knowing how much time you have left, may be your biggest problem. These programs can expect and get plenty of applicants with grads equal to your or better, who ALSO have a couple of years of solid research under their belts. I would advise getting in on some year-round research efforts in your department.</p>
They are more important for international students, but only a smidge, and not so much that they change relative position in the admissions hierarchy. The GRE’s are formulaic and pretty easy to study for, and really only serve as a check on some basic skills. A high score tells you little or nothing about graduate-level skills, a low score for ANYONE signals potential problems… so little real capacity to help, mostly just a chance to hinder.</p>
<p>The only exception I know of is that the GRE’s are used for a lot of cross-discipline funding, and since some admissions are dependent on that very funding, high scores can be important in those departments. But that is often LESS of an issue for internationals simply because there are fewer such opportunities open to them.</p>