Chances to get into Grad school WITHOUT paying outta pocket

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>I'm a senior at Iowa State University, I want to go to grad school (M.S.)</p>

<p>Qualificaitons:</p>

<p>3.35 GPA....deans list last two years : )
2 summer internships
Grader for thermodynamics</p>

<p>Desired Schools:</p>

<p>just PURDUE really....</p>

<p>I have two questions
1. What are my chances of getting into Purdue AND not having to pay for tuition/living/food
2. Do Engineering M.S. students with Teaching assistantships (not RA's) end up paying out of pocket for schools like Mich, Purdue, Ga. Tech, Wisc, U of Minn, U of Ill...</p>

<p>I really want to go to Purdue because it's like ISU on steroids...there's other schools (mich, wisc, minn) but there just 'different'...I'm looking for a school where if u pick up a rock and throw it u'll hit an engineer, where the town is small and boring but the people are friendly and u don't have to worry bout stuff....</p>

2

<p>I swear to god I’m not trying to be mean, just direct and bear in mind I’m tired and an undergraduate myself, so feel free to ignore. Caveat emptor.</p>

<p>Your GPA is mediocre. What’s your in-major GPA like? A 3.35 GPA is not bad, especially depending on major (which is, by the way?), but it goes without saying a >3.5 would seem more appropriate, especially for a good school like Purdue.</p>

<p>What kind of internships did you have? Any research component? Any other research? On a separate note, have you done undergraduate research? No? Perhaps some undergraduate research then? …</p>

<p>The grading experience is worth something, but did you ever help with teaching or anything like that? Any work tutoring (not just private, something institutionalized, maybe, volunteer?, for 6 months or more)? Like I said, grading is worth something, but TAs often have to teach on occasion, or at least interact with students, or run labs, and the main challenge of that is being a good people person. Anyway.</p>

<p>What are your GRE scores like? Don’t waste your time with subject GREs unless you’re going into CS, in which case it might not be a bad idea to take it. You should aiming for a solid 800 on the math general, and if you’re a US citizen, a 500 or higher (really, anything under 600 is pretty disappointing), and as far as the writing goes… just do the best you can, but anything less than a 3.0 is pretty unacceptable and a 4.0 is probably respectable enough. For the CS GRE, aim for the top 10% or don’t bother unless it’s required.</p>

<p>Apply early, apply soon. Have your application in by the deadline or they wouldn’t let Einstein in with a TA position (even if he were alive). </p>

<p>Have a good resume/CV that you give them. Have a good SOP. Have people look at these, preferably, people who know what they’re talking about. Think about solid references; clearly, there will be people at Purdue who know faculty at ISU, so get those if you can.</p>

<p>These are really just the basics of making a strong application. You’ll be applying against some pretty stiff competition at Purdue, so give it your best shot. Good luck.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the input Auburn Math Tutor…i’lll give it a shot for sure…sounds competitive</p>

<p>I’m still really interested about costs…do typical M.S. Eng students with TA’s have to pay for tuition/living/food???</p>

<p>I know RA’s are usually set…are there any M.S. students out there that are TA’s…do u guys have to pay out of pocket for tuition/living/food???</p>

4

<p>All of the schools I’ve looked at and applied to have a tuition waiver program and stipends for TAs and RAs. RAs maybe make more, but I would imagine that - if you are competitive at the program you are applying to - you shouldn’t be paying. With a Master’s, that may be a little harder to swing, but depending on school it may vary. I have no idea about Purdue.</p>

5

<p>I don’t have time to read your whole posts (and those after it) but many times PhD students (in the sciences/engineering) can get fellowships (even with stipends). I haven’t heard of TOO many people getting fellowships for masters programs though. Doesn’t mean it’s impossible, but less probable.</p>

6

<p>Here is my two bits. It depends a lot on your GRE and recommendations and research experience at this point. It also will depend on your major somewhat. I was a mechanical engineer in undergrad and am doing my Ph.D. in aerospace now. My stats were:</p>

<p>GPA: 3.33
Major GPA: 3.55
GRE: V: 550 Q: 800 AW: 5.5
Two LORs from professors with whom I had researched and one from a previous supervisor at Rolls-Royce who held an M.S.</p>

<p>I got into UIUC, Purdue, Ga Tech, TAMU, RPI, Cornell and Maryland, some for Ph.D. and some for M.S. Most M.S. degrees are not funded initially without ridiculous stats, and as such, none of my M.S. offers were funded. All of my Ph.D. offers were funded though. However, M.S. students generally get funded within a semester of starting, and here, I don’t know if I actually know any that weren’t funded almost immediately once they started and found a professor to work with, so yes, it is very possible to get funded as an M.S., even with your stats, but you might have to eat a semester worth of cost.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, though, it is not easy to get a TAship at a lot of universities as an M.S. student right off the bat. Out of all of the new grad students I know down here, only 1 or 2 have TAships, the rest are all RAs.</p>

<p>When I got into Purdue, I was not offered any stipend or assistantship, but they did let me know that I could easily get one by contacting professors (if I hadn’t already) and seeing if they had openings. My advice is to look at the profs at Purdue now and start contacting them so that you can have a better chance of getting them to fund you if/when you get in.</p>

<p>As far as getting in goes, just make sure you nail your GREs and get good LORs to make up for the low GPA (low in the sense that the average grad school GPA is closer to 3.5). That is how I made it work.</p>

7

<p>wow, this input is really helpfull…boneh3ad do u mind if i ask where u did ur undergrad? </p>

<p>any other experiences out there??? more input…need input : )</p>

8

<p>Well, holding the school - Purdue - constant, all you can do is apply and see. I assume you are a senior in which case applying is something you need to do anyway.</p>

9

<p>i’m gonna put the purdue fantasy aside for now…</p>

<p>I would like to get a feel for how common it is to be funded for M.S. </p>

<p>i have searched past threads, but people typically only mention which schools they get into…nothing about costs</p>

10

<p>I went to UIUC for my undergrad.</p>

11

<p>There are places you can go for a Master’s and get funded, no question. The question is how much prestige you want with it.</p>

12

<p>Purdue lets everyone in. A full ride is a different story.</p>

13

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<p>Different departments have different policies. Usually professional MS programs (those without a thesis) are not funded unless the student does something extra (works as a TA, for example). Usually, those “extra” activities are hard to come by (usually less than 25%), and will depend on the department (a department with PhD students will have less opportunities, since first and second year PhD students usually get the TA assignments). Research programs (those that require a thesis) are usually funded (generally greater than 75%). PhD programs are almost always fully funded.</p>

<p>But you have to take that with a grain of salt - even if you’re admitted unfunded to a research MS or a PhD program, you can often “find funding” by working on a project with a professor that has funding.</p>

14

<p>hasuchObe…thanks for the input I really appreciate it</p>

<p>AuburnMathTutor, prestige isn’t important as long as it’s top 50…ISU is not prestigious but I’m very happy. I’m was just drooling over Purdue for it’s strong engineering community</p>

<p>BTW funding at ISU is hard to come by without > 3.5… not because of fierce competition but because of limited opportunities…</p>

15

<p>Well jeez, if you’re looking at top 50, even Auburn qualifies for a few of them (EE, IE/sys, etc.?) and I think it’s pretty easy for well-qualified applicants to get a nice deal or two for paying expenses.</p>

16

<p>Ok, these are the top 50 schools < 5 hrs away from home</p>

<p>Purdue
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Washington University st. Louis
Northwestern</p>

<p>< 10 hrs…</p>

<p>Vanderbilt
Ohio State</p>

<p>Can anyone comment on experiences getting into M.S. w/funding at any of these particular schools??? </p>

<p>I have a 3.3 GPA (Iowa State) and some…</p>

17

<p>Not even attempting UIUC or UMich? Thought I suppose UMich would be very difficult to get into and UIUC would probably not fund you right off the bat.</p>