<p>I need an honest appraisal of my chances of attending a Ph.D. programming in engineering at a "middle 50%" college. I currently have a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. I have applied to a several mid-range universities, and one or two upper-ranked universities, but I have so far been rejected from four (all in the mid-range category), and accepted from none.</p>
<p>Right off the bat, my weak point is experience. It was very hard for me to get my foot into the door during undergraduate studies. Summer of my junior year, I applied to seven Undergraduate Research Programs, didn't get accepted at a single one.</p>
<p>GRE: 800 Q/760 V/ 5.5 W</p>
<p>GPA: 3.51 (in major) - 3.22 (overall)
(Could have been higher, but I made some bad choices with choosing professors - but there's nothing I can do about it now)</p>
<p>Research: Senior Design (required), Foreign Exchange Program at National Taiwan University (#1 University in that country).</p>
<p>Relevant work: engineering tutor for two semesters, MATLAB teaching assistant, worked at a medical center at a large university for several months as a research assistant/programmer</p>
<p>Honors: Mechanical Engineering Honor Society, Dean's List, Evola Prize for Leadership from a campus organization (I don't know if the latter is important or not, but I wrote it anyways).</p>
<p>Ethnicity: I usually mark "other".</p>