<p>Hi guys, I'm an international "student" looking to do a Masters in mechanical engineering. Right now my life is in a slump, my country is in a slump and I just want to get away and go to school. I have not been to the states in years, so I can't relate to the different schools locations and basically I just can't decide which school is right for me. I just need to go somewhere. Please give me some guidance on which schools to apply for, the information on all the websites is too much for me to digest and I am still left clueless every time. I have been two years out of school, I just barely got a low paying job and I just don't know what to do.</p>
<p>GRE. 760 Quantitative, 540 Verbal and 3.5 for analytical. </p>
<p>I can only do paper based GRE and those only come around twice a year down here. I had diarrhea on both occasions doing the exam, so I will just leave my grades at that that no more exams for me. My University GPA on a scale of 4.2, I got 3.58. </p>
<p>I just need something to start on. So please, anybody, a list of schools that I can have a decent chance of getting into. I would be so grateful.</p>
<p>Any medium size state school is a good bet. University of Texas El Paso, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, University of California Santa Barbara. These places are also moderately cheap.</p>
<p>A lot of prestigious places will take you too for a masters program (not PhD), as long as you’re willing to pay out the nose.</p>
<p>Ram - “state schools” are public colleges and universities operated or heavily supported by one of the states, and generally include the name of the state in question. Since some of their funding comes from the state and often some from the federal government they are able to provide reduced tuition to US citizens and an even more substantial discount to state residents. For example, my alma mater (Penn State) charged annual tuition around $10k in-state, $20k out-of-state, and $30k foreign nationals. Few state schools gain elite status (like University of California Berkeley), and most have more modest aspirations. Many state schools have multiple campuses (hence UC Berkeley and UC Santa Barbara), some of which may provide a better or worse level of education.</p>
<p>One potential bit of confusion - some universities include a state name but are NOT state schools. For example, the University of Pennsylvania is an expensive, elite, “Ivy League” private school, whereas the Pennsylvania State University is a less-expensive, less-elite public school.</p>
<p>BTW, if you are not familiar with US political structure, the nation is divided into 50 states (Texas, California, etc.), 1 district (Washington DC), and a few territories and such (Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, etc.).</p>
<p>Alright I am trying for Georgia tech, I have no Idea where Milwaukee is, (sounds cold though), El Paso hmmm, California Santa Barbera… hmm… I’ll think about it.</p>
<p>UCSB is a great school in a great location. Where did you find your numbers from? I’m curious. Is that they number they accepted or number that came?</p>
<p>Michigan Ann-Arbor is not an “easy to get into” school. Some of those state schools (U of Illinois Urbana C, Georgia Tech) are very selective and hard to get into.</p>
<p>Something you should also be aware of is that getting funding for a Masters is hard to get these days at the prestigious schools where they have many PhD students who get funding preference. Many prestigious universities will expect you to pay out of your own pocket for a Masters. But it is still very doable to do a Masters with funding if you look at the right school.</p>
<p>I think your research interests should play a role into which schools you apply to. What are your research interests? Maybe that would be helpful to tell you which schools might potentially be a good fit.</p>
<p>Honestly, I am still undecided on a single area but I have interests in Renewable energy, Thermal/Fluid sciences, Machine design and nanotechnology. Coming from the Caribbean there is not really any in depth, first hand, nor practical exposure to the “higher levels” of mechanical engineering so It is very hard for me to make a decision. This same lack of focus on a single area is also making it difficult for me to complete my statement of purpose essay.</p>
<p>Your gre score, your ambition/motivation, and gpa give you a very good chance to get into any graduate school. If I were you, I would apply to as many graduate programs as possible (it does not matter if the program is high ranked or low ranked). Not many people now this but a degree from any graduate program (it does not matter the rank) gives you a good salary job (much better than the job you probably have). </p>
<p>Also, i noticed that many people in this thread are saying what programs are easy and hard to get into. The fact is that if you never apply to a program, you never now if you get in. Hence, apply to any program even if your stats are not as good as other students…your motivation and ambition is well above average (many professors want highly motivated students…most want motivated students and care less about scores)</p>