<p>As the title says, I've applied to 4 grad programs and was denied to all of them, including the university for which I will receive my BS in Electrical Engineering.</p>
<p>I don't get it. I have 2 years research and internship experience, a 3.1 GPA (minimum is 3.0), and as already mentioned, I'm getting my BS from the same college. </p>
<p>So now what? Lol. I have 3 more classes to go before I graduate. </p>
<p>Try and get a Co-op and finish the classes next semester? </p>
<p>Drag my education out and just re-apply next Spring? </p>
<p>Forget the whole idea and try to get a job anyway? (Are my current credentials enough to dive into industry as is?)</p>
<p>NOT forget the whole idea and see if I can get a job and have the company pay for a Masters?</p>
<p>Take a semester off from engineering and travel and/or learn something new from a trade school?</p>
<p>What would you guys do? Lol.</p>
<p>(For some reason, I'm not really disappointed. I feel like a weight has lifted off my shoulders and now is the time to relieve some stress and enjoy life a little.)</p>
<p>My general 2 cents of advice. First, I would ask the graduate school advisor from your school what was deficient in your application. Perhaps your professors didn’t think much of your research potential. If so, then definitely you should pursue work before attending grad school. Will you graduate in Dec 2013? If so, hit the career fair at full speed in Sept/Oct. Good luck.</p>
The internships don’t help and the research only helps to the extent that your LOR writers says it does. If you didn’t do much during that time, it won’t help.</p>
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The “minimum” quoted by grad schools is for those applying with a patent and a LOR from a Nobel Laureate. You need to be looking at schools where a 3.1 is near the average, not the minimum.</p>
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At some schools that helps, at others it does not. Plus, if you are not the top in-house choice for any given professor then it is not surprising that you were passed over - they would rather take a gamble on someone from the outside.</p>
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Well, your next shot at grad school is a year away. I would start applying for engineering jobs ASAP.</p>
<p>What was your purpose for a master’s degree?</p>
<p>If you want a thesis-based M.S. from top/near-top school, then admission is very competitive. If you wanted a M.S./M.Eng to aid you in obtaining more senior-level positions in the working world, then consider a non-thesis M.S./M.Eng program, which sometimes is more of a money-making business for many schools. The admission standards are not as strict, especially if you have work experience.</p>
<p>Seems like for either path, you will need to obtain work experience first…then apply. By that time, you will have more of an idea of a purpose for the master’s degree AND what specialty.</p>
<p>@boneh3ad. I’ve applied to Berkeley just to see what would happen. I also applied to USC and both Nevada universities. I’m in Nevada which is not known for it’s engineering programs and low number of American grad students, so it amazes me how I didn’t get into any of those.</p>
<p>@ChrisTKD. I was going to graduate in the summer, but now I’ll prolong it until the fall. I like your advice a lot and most likely will go this route.</p>
<p>@cosmicfish. Having received 3 letters of recommendations working for 3 different professors for research, I figured my relations with the faculty were already in my favor. </p>
<p>@GLOBALTRAVELER. I wanted to purse a masters for self fulfillment. I really wanted to learn electronics and power going into engineering, but for some reason, those higher end classes are only offered at the MS level. Equally important, our university is not well known for our engineering, and by going to job fairs, I saw how much that hindered my internship hunting when talking to employers. So I was hoping that a MS in engineering can be on the same playing field as a BS from Stanford, Berkeley, or the other top dogs and redeem our low ranking reputation.</p>
All LOR’s are not the same. Those three professors could have all written versions of “Good, but not great”, which is not enough when you are barely over the minimum GPA line. Or it could be that your particular department starts the admissions process by culling the bottom X% by GPA/GRE, and that your application was put in the NO pile before anyone got to looking at the LOR’s.</p>
<p>Talk to the department about why you were passed over, but do not be surprised if they refuse or are unable to tell you. They rarely keep actual records of why they pass people over, and are reluctant to tell lest a rejected student fix the “problem” and reapply - if they then reject them again it could make for a very complex situation possibly involving lawyers.</p>
<p>That 3.0 limit exists for the kids who got a 2.5 freshman/sophomore years and a 3.5 for their upper level classes. They really want to see mostly As in the upper level technical courses as proof that you can handle the graduate level. Having an A in Intro to Philosophy and a B- in Analog Circuits, though it meets the GPA requirements, will get you rejected.</p>
<p>If you can afford it, talk to your advisor and petition into a grad level course in addition to your 3 required courses. Evidence that you can handle MS coursework will help next time you apply.</p>