Civil Engineering Grad School - opinions please

<p>Hey all,</p>

<p>I am a junior at a regular ABET-accredited state university. I have a 3.5 gpa and I am also a member of Steel Bridge Team, Chi Epsilon Honors Sociey, ASCE (obviously), and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. I have no internship experience (hopefully this coming summer) nor do I have any research experience (I wish). I would like to know if I have any chance at the following grad schools.</p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon
Purdue
Northwestern
U. of Wisconsin - Madison
Cornell
UCSD
Rensselaer Polytech</p>

<p>I know this is very ambitious. This might be waaaay over my head so don't be afraid to make fun of me. Please answer honestly - your feedback will be VERY helpful. I know it hurts my chances not having any expereince outside the classroom. If I am not a strong enough candidate could you please refer me to some more fitting universities and/or tell me what I would need to do in the next few semsters to have a chance. </p>

<p>I hope this question is not too outrageuos.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>I got a friend that went to cal poly and got his ms from ucsd. His undergrad gpa was a little above 3.0. So i’d say u definitely have a good chance at ucsd…</p>

<p>I don’t think that’s outrageous at all. How are your GRE scores? Have you taken them yet?</p>

<p>rheidzan, Thanks. That’s both helpful and encouraging.</p>

<p>aibarr, I have not taken the GRE yet. I never even considered grad school until this year. When do I need to take the exam? What kind of score would I need on the math segment?</p>

<p>You’d probably need to get an 800, or at least close to it… don’t panic yet, though, because it’s basically the same difficulty of math as the SAT tests, so you should be able to do fine on it. Just make sure you’re methodical and accurate as you go along. (If you’re fluent in English, they don’t really care what you make on the verbal and writing tests, just make sure your application essays reflect that you have a good grasp of how to communicate.)</p>

<p>You’re a junior, right? Take it over the summer, or next fall. It’s not a huge hurdle for engineers.</p>

<p>Thank you. That is very helpful. I will probably take it over the summer to get it out of the way. </p>

<p>If anyone else has any suggestions, I would be happy to hear them.</p>

<p>i think they are all within your reach. you should also throw in some reach schools. you never know</p>

<p>Possible for MS but very unlikely for PhD.</p>

<p>Thanks for the help guys!</p>