Graduate School Chances

Graduate School
1

<p>Hello everyone,</p>

<p>So I'm not really sure how this works, but I thought I'd give this a shot...</p>

<p>I'm a senior in nuclear engineering at UW-Madison, and I'm applying to graduate programs here over the next few months. My fiancee is going to Harvard Medical School in a month, and I've been working really hard to finish up my undergrad so I can follow her. As I stand right now, I have the following statistics:</p>

<p>GPA:
3.500
Research:
1.5 years at the MST fusion reactor, nothing published
Summer biophysics international research in Bangalore, India, nothing published
Extra curriculars:
Project manager for Engineers Without Borders for 3 years
1 year with SAE Baja mechanical engineering student organization
1 semester of being a TA for an introductory engineering class
3 different university music groups (just as a personal note)
Volunteer experience:
Construction and design of two rainwater catchment systems in Hindiro, Rwanda
Surveying of a new clinic in Gashonye, Rwanda
Two design projects implemented for the Madison community
4 months with Young Scientists of America (teaching kids about science's epicness)
Letters of Recommendation:
Two professors, both in engineering department (both should be really positive)
One from project coordinator at the fusion reactor (should be really positive, too)
GRE's:
Verbal: 580 (80%)
Quantitative: 790 (91%)
Analytical Writing: 3.5 (26% - yikes...)
Other School Stuff:
Distinguished Scholar's Program member (highest honors possible here in engineering)
Certificate in International Engineering
Summer study abroad experience in France (language/culture only, nothing technical)</p>

<p>That about does it, I guess. I'd like to apply to the MEMP program at MIT/Harvard, along with a couple of other departments (nuclear engineering, biomedical engineering, etc.). I've been kinda freaking out lately about my chances of being accepted to these programs, as they are extremely competitive. From what I've gathered, it seems that my application looks about average for those accepted to these programs, if maybe slightly below average...</p>

<p>Does anybody know if I've got a shot? I'd also like to apply to Yale, Brown, Columbia, and Cornell, but my heart is REALLY set on Boston (I miss her already...). I know that there are some smaller, less competitive programs in Boston, too - like Amherst, Tufts, and Northeastern - do I at least have a shot at these programs, too?</p>

<p>That about does it for my question - sorry for the MAJOR tl;dr... I've been having these concerns for a while, and I guess I just couldn't take it anymore - I had to ask someone!!!</p>

<p>Thanks for your time!!</p>

2

<p>It’s hard to chance someone for grad school, but without publications and your GPA it might be a long shot, just as it’s a long shot for everyone. However, you should apply for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. The NSF would like your service and international experiences, whereas most graduate schools don’t care about extracurriculars. If you can win this fellowship, you can get into any program you want; you can even ask schools that rejected you to “reconsider” their decision in light of your fellowship.</p>

<p>You should, however, define what you want to conduct research on before embarking on a PhD. Make sure you are willing to devote 5-6 years of intense research in your field of study; it probably also means you should define one department to apply for (at multiple schools), not three or more different ones, unless you have an interdisciplinary research interest. I understand your desire to be with your partner, but there are also plenty of jobs available in the Boston area.</p>

3

<p>Its not a long shot. There’s nothing wrong with your GPA, test scores or lack of publications. </p>

<p>If you have nothing to lose, then go for it.</p>

4

<p>It’s not a ‘long shot.’ The vast majority of entering undergraduates don’t have any publications. The other thing is that the NSF is even more competitive than grad school, so if you don’t think he’ll get into MIT, what makes you think he’ll get an NSF? He wouldn’t hear about the NSF until after graduate school decisions have rolled in anyway.</p>

<p>On the other hand, you are on the lower end of a standard PhD applicant. 3.5 is usually the lower bound of GPA considerations; 1.5 years of research is kind of low; and I think that most science/engineering PhD students end up doing an REU over the summer (although yours is international so it’s interesting). Extracurriculars usually don’t matter, but yours are all engineering related, so they would matter to a PhD, although not every much. The designing of the catchment systems and surveying of the new clinic in Rwanda will be very interesting if they are related to your professional goals after the program. The music group will not matter at all, and don’t bother including it.</p>

<p>You’re not a long shot, but you’re not a shoo-in. Just apply and see what happens.</p>

5

<p>I meant that it’s a long shot if Harvard and MIT are the only two options (as it would be for almost anyone unless they already have funding or multiple papers). But it’s definitely probable that you’ll get into a graduate program in Boston. I apologize for being unclear.</p>

<p>While the NSF is in general more difficult to receive, they have different review criteria. Specifically, “broader impacts” constitute half the NSF review criteria. The OP has some very interesting international and volunteer experiences that meets broader impacts well (especially since they relate to engineering), but those experiences matter little for ordinary graduate school admissions. Schools have changed admissions decisions after learning that the student has received external funding, or not hand out rejection letters until the last minute, after fellowship decisions, which is often several months after handing out the first acceptance letters.</p>