Engineering Grad School

Graduate School
1

<p>So here's my story:</p>

<p>I'm a junior studying mechanical engineering at Cornell University. I'm currently 'in absentia,' doing a coop assignment at a fairly large company, and have a pretty genuine interest in the field. I've always been into cars and was on the FSAE team the term before I left for coop; I plan to re-join once I get back.</p>

<p>Now here is where things get interesting. Due to a mild (non-life threatening, supposedly) heart condition that struck during my second semester as a freshman, my grades have steadily been dropping. Due to a combination of the medications and the stress, I didn't do too hot. I had a 3.36/4.33 the first semester and I'm fully aware that it's far from stellar.. I would like to note that Cornell's engineering isn't much of a cakewalk, between the very first midterm I took having a class mean of 36, and I won't even go into the tragic gorge events. Well, my current GPA is a lovely 2.775.</p>

<p>I think I have decent experience credentials, despite my horrible grades. I was fortunate enough that during interview time for the coop position, the effects of 2 semesters on that first semester hadn't been enough to drop it significantly, hence successfully getting the job. FSAE I think is also valuable experience, since it combines the technical aspects of engineering and design into creating a car, and the immense amount of team work and communication involved. I had a few other odd jobs in between that ranged from building computers to teaching at tutoring academies.</p>

<p>But I want to apply to grad school. A lot of engineering design work (which is what I'd ultimately like to do) requires that masters degree. The frustrating part is that many of these programs seem to completely exclude applicants with undergrad GPA's of less than 3.0.</p>

<p>There also exists the Cornell early admit m.eng program. The program asks for a minimum GPA of 2.7, noting something along the lines that most accepted applicants have a substantially higher gpa. Despite my condition, I would be able to start the m.eng early admit (implying I get accepted) in my senior year to do this, but of course that involves getting in.</p>

<p>What I'm here to ask is this:
Do I have chances at applying to those grad schools, despite their statement of 'minimum 3.0'?
Are there any other mechanical engineering m.eng programs with an application requirement of GPA somewhere around the 2.75 mark?
Is anyone familiar with the Cornell m.eng early apply system? Any advice/stories to share?</p>

<p>Any other advice/anecdotes are greatly appreciated.
Thank you all so much!</p>

2

<p>Here’s my multi part advice for you. First, since you said you liked the industry and the work, get a job first. You dont need a masters right now and you may find that you dont need one at all. The worst thing about getting a masters right out of undergrad is now you’re competing with freshly minted undergrads for the same entry level jobs, but your pay differential is not what it would be later in your career if you went back to school and then got a more experienced job. Second, it sounds like you already have a good in with your coop company, so see if you can parlay that into your first job. Third, if you really have your heart set on grad school, apply to Cornell anyway, but dont be surprised if you get rejected. Apply to other schools as well as a safety and make sure you put your situation in your statement of purpose. Also to back up the temporary drop in grades, make sure you do extra well from here out. </p>

<p>Also, be aware that grad school and undergrad are totally different animals. I liked undergrad, it let me explore a lot more and actually learn. Grad school is about opening wide, swallowing the knowledge, paying your tuition, and getting it over with. Sure, you can do thesis research and pick your track and all that, but honestly nobody gives a crap about MS thesis research because it doesnt have the funding of the PhD research topics because it doesn’t have the same return on investment to the school. You may get lucky and piggyback off some other research projects that sound interesting, but you probably wont really do what you want to do if a thesis is part of your masters.</p>

<p>So all that said, my best advice is to evaluate why you want your masters, what you want to specialize in, and what do you want your masters to do for you and your career. A masters should really be thought of as a career enhancing tool so keep that in mind during the process.</p>

3

<p>navyasw02</p>

<p>Thank you for your reply. Very sound advice. You seem to be coming from a good amount of experience, would you mind sharing a bit of that?</p>

<p>I’m a bit curious about your comments between grad school and undergrad. If I do a masters I do plan to pursue an M.Eng instead of an M.S. Is there one reason to choose one over the other, or is there any significant difference? My understanding was that M.Eng tended to be the more practical/industry geared side, whereas the M.S. often would result in a more research oriented program. </p>

<p>If I were to say now the reason for grad? Probably something along the lines of the importance of PE. I would like to do design work, or at the least something exciting. I had a great time on FSAE and learned a lot more in that than in other ‘standard’ classes. Maybe it’s just finding the right job then.</p>

4

<p>I’m an Engineering Duty Officer in the Navy. I was a Naval Architecture undergrad, then I got a Masters in Engineering Management, now I’m in my last few months of a Mechanical Engineer’s degree which is in between a MS and PhD. While my career has been in the military so my perspective is skewed that direction, my civilian friends in engineering have pretty much said the same things I said in my previous post. </p>

<p>To be honest, my thesis has been nothing but a hassle. I had about 5 topics I wanted to research, but none was available, funded, or even wanted to be done by potential advisors. In the end, I settled on a topic that was good enough and will check the box to get it done. I dont know how a thesis will help in the civilian world, but most of the jobs I’ve seen posted say Masters, not specifically a MS vs a M.Eng. Unless someone else out there says it’s worthwhile or you’re looking to do a PhD sometime, I’d say skip it. </p>

<p>I’m not saying dont get your grad degree, just work first and figure out what you really want to do. You’ll be able to pick a track, but most of your courses will be generic stuff that everyone has to take like Heat Xfer, Fluids, Solid Mechanics and then you’ll have a few specialty courses. If you really want to become an expert in CFD or FEA just to name a few you will get the opportunity to do it for a few months, but not really to the level you’re looking for without doing a PhD and spending years researching a topic. I’ve found that masters are good for a resume bullet and brings up your general level of knowledge, but you’ll learn more in a specialty by actually working in your field. I’d recommend working, getting your PE first, then going to grad school.</p>