chances for ECE Ph.D.

<p>i'd like to know my chances of getting in to a few schools (ECE = electrical & computer engineering). here are my credentials:
gpa: 3.748/4.0, engineering gpa: 3.882 (graduating from Duke U.)
gre: 800 math, 590 verbal, 4.0 writing
i've done a summer research program, a corporate internship, and several independent studies. i was an active member of an engineering-related extracurricular group and i'm in a research fellow program. i also studied abroad in australia. i received 2 scholarships for my senior year and am a member of the electrical engineering honor society.</p>

<p>by the way, i'm a girl if that helps.</p>

<p>here's where i applied:
stanford
berkeley (i know i have virtually no chance at these two but i just applied for the hell of it)
duke
nc state
UT-austin
UC-san diego
georgia tech</p>

<p>any other suggestions? i'd like to add another UC to my list and possibly virginia tech, U florida, CMU, etc..</p>

<p>thanks.</p>

<p>UCLA or UC Davis would be good adds for ECE.</p>

<p>Only negative point that sticks out is the 4.0 writing. Most schools I've seen want that to be a 5 or at least a 4.5. Depending on what you're interested in, Michigan and UIUC may be good choices also.</p>

<p>yeah i don't know what happened with that writing score. i didn't think my essays were that bad! maybe i should've gotten a regrade or retaken the GRE.</p>

<p>thanks for the suggestions. i hate cold weather though so i'm iffy about schools up north haha.</p>

<p>I think your chances are really good. Don't apply if you wouldn't want to live there.</p>

<p>A 4.0 writing is fine. Duke engineering is known to be a bit grade inflated however. How do you rank within your class? Seems like a good profile. Don't discount your chances at Stanford/Berkeley. Ph.D. EE admissions are a bit random however. I do see you getting into several of those schools.</p>

<p>The year I applied to EE/grad school, I was admitted to UCLA/UCSD/Stanford, but rejected from UCB. (No surprise to me, when I checked the published admission-ratio for each respective EE/grad progarm.) </p>

<p>At the time I went, Stanford's EE master's program was large (many students): Stanford offers a coursework-only program (no thesis/paper, and no exit exam!), and it's expensive enough that a lot of very qualified applicants don't apply (making it easier for everyone else to get in). As others have mentioned, you should also consider USC and UCLA.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, getting into Stanford's graduate school is only half the battle -- Stanford's PhD track is highly competitive! Your PhD candidacy depends on your performance in the (oral) PhD qualifiying exam, and your Stanford (MS/EE-grad) GPA. If you're borderline on either, then your chances of placement into a chosen research group are shot. I don't remember the qual-exam passing rate, but the top research groups are very competitive -- you need to ACE the qual exam (top 10-20% of the applicant pool), and/or have an equally impressive Stanford GPA.</p>

<p>Also, unless things have changed in the past 10 years, the PhD-track consists of 1) applying (and getting admitted) to Stanford's grad-EE program, 2) taking the PhD qual-exam (and earning at least a passing-score), then 3) acceptance into a research-group (based on your competitiveness vs other PhD candidates.) There's also a 3.5 (Stanford/EE) GPA requirement.</p>

<p>...</p>

<p>If you plan on an academic career, eliminate Duke from your consideration. As others have said, academia frowns upon same-school BS/PhDs.</p>