<p>When you apply to grad schools, it would be better to be a top student from a state school than someone in the lower half of the class at Princeton. Undergraduates always talk to their professors about which grad school would be best for them. Typically an undergraduate will have a specific interest such as studying the effect of sleep deprivation on marsupials or something else equally odd. You don't pick the grad school on the general prestige of the school, but rather the specific areas of research that the school is doing. </p>
<p>Talk to your professors about grad school. The CC forum is oriented towards getting into HYP. The rest of life isn't like that, fortunately. (well, okay, med school is like that)</p>
<p>When it comes to graduate school, in the most competitive programs it is often a lot easier to get in than to stay in. So you need to do a lot more than look good for admissions committees, you need to actually learn as much as possible as an undergraduate and learn how to work really, really hard.</p>
<p>I want to second what 'august' posted, but I would also extend the comment to undergraduate engineering programs. For non-engineers, freshman year is a time when the school is trying to help everyone fulfill their potential and succeed in life. For engineers, freshman year is when the engineering faculty is trying to thin the herd by driving the less motivated students into other majors. </p>
<p>In grad school, the prize is a doctorate. Professors will make sure that you only get a masters unless they feel that you really deserve the PhD. A doctorate is the ticket you need to ride into academia. In a field like computer science, you are either a PhD during scientific research, or somebody without a PhD sitting in cubicle at work writing internet code.</p>
<p>Since i have only 2 yrs and tons of classes to complete...im not even sure if i can get some research work done...so is it ok to finish school and then do research/internship for 1-2 yrs and then apply? I'm not sure if I want to go into academia...In that case, do I really need undergrd research work ? Is M.S. degree less competitive to get into than PhD?</p>
<p>Normally doctoral programs assume that you are going to school full time. For these programs, getting a masters is a consolation prize for somebody who couldn't cut it. Masters programs are often taught in night school. A masters in a science/engineering field requires that you take perhaps 10 courses and then you graduate. At Johns Hopkins' night school program, you don't have to be much more than a warm body with an undergraduate degree to get in. Each class costs a little over $2000 and it is a bit of a cottage industry for the school. Often you place of employment will have a tuition reimbursement program. If you aren't going into academia, then it doesn't matter that much where you get your masters.</p>