<p>My son will be a 5th year senior next year (2011-12) with a major in civil engineering at KU. He has decided that he wants to go on to graduate school, and it seems that every week he wants to go somewhere else. So I am taking it upon myself to do some research for him. First, when should he take the GRE? Is it similar to taking the ACT--that is, can he take it multiple times if he is not satisfied with his first score and do schools just take the highest score? I am hoping that he will score at least as well as his ACT which was a 31.</p>
<p>At the moment, he has his heart set on Berkeley (I think because of the location more than the program). He is well aware that this would not be an easy school in which to be admitted. At the moment he has a GPA of 3.88 and has had some fair research opportunities. He has interned for the USGA for the past year compiling research data, had a short stint in Germany last summer and will intern at a water treatment plant this next summer in Germany. He is fluent in the language. </p>
<p>My question is, are there other things that he should be doing to make him more attractive to graduate schools? And should he be accepted, how hard is it to get financial aid (other than loans) at the graduate level? I have heard conflicting stories--that it is easy to get--that it is not..... </p>
I would advise him to take the GRE at his earliest convenience, just to get it out of the way. As long as he does well on the math part and does not screw up the English and writing sections, he’ll be fine. No one expects an engineering graduate student to score in the 90th percentile of the verbal section. The GRE does not matter nearly as much as the SAT and ACT did for undergraduate admission.</p>
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I am not sure for engineering. In the sciences, PhD students are usually fully funded (tuition waiver, health insurance and a stipend for living expenses) but Master’s students are not. That’s why many prospective science graduate students apply straight to PhD programs without doing a Master’s first.</p>
<p>I guess I didn’t realize one could apply straight to PhD programs. This is probably a dumb question, but what would the difference be between the two programs (other than the degree itself)? I mean, if the PhD program would be fully funded, why wouldn’t a student take that route instead?</p>
<p>You might not be interested in doing research, that’s why.</p>
<p>I agree that he should get the GRE out of the way ASAP, and shouldn’t let it get in the way of coursework (or summer research or whatever). And I think he should be doing his own research.</p>
<p>“And I think he should be doing his own research.” </p>
<p>+1</p>
<p>If your son isn’t motivated enough to do his own research on getting into graduate school then he doesn’t deserve to be accepted. Lots of students spend countless hours researching this process and only a handful of those get accepted.</p>
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<li><p>Make him do his own research! </p></li>
<li><p>Might as well get the GRE out of the way. He can take it multiple times but why waste time and money? It’s pretty different from the SAT/ACTs however. The quantitative sections are probably roughly equal in difficulty but he will most likely have to study a bit for the verbal section. (Also, there’s talk of the GRE changing in August 2011 to a format that allows for more time and doesn’t adjust question difficulty based on correct answers among other things so you might want to take that into consideration too)</p></li>
<li><p>Berkeley is almost certainly going to be a stretch. Even kids with high GPAs and great research experience from top UG schools aren’t guaranteed to get in. I’d say that you ought to encourage your kid to look into more programs - not only location but also curriculum and requirements. </p></li>
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<p>Is he looking at Masters or PhD programs? Echoing what others have said, most PhD programs at decent schools will have funding. Masters’ programs are much less reliable though it’s entirely possible to get a TA or RA position depending on the school. </p>
<p>Also, since he’s fluent in German, maybe you should encourage him to look at graduate schools in Germany. Could be a great experience.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. I agree Berkeley is quite a stretch. I’m not too concerned about the GRE. He is a pretty good test taker–scored 34 on the verbal part of ACT and 11 out of 12 on the on the written part of the SAT. Weirdly enough it was his math scores that brought him down (27 on ACT). But he has made A’s in all of his math and engieering classes and found that he really loves math. He didn’t take much advanced math in high school, which is probably why he did not score so high in that area.</p>
<p>As far as doing his own research–it is not lack of motivation because he is highly motivated–I guess I need to ask him. Maybe lack of opportunity or time? I don’t know–he does hold down two jobs which could be part of it (and a girlfriend who takes up a lot of his time). But you are right–this is a direction he should be taking. </p>
<p>And he is considering applying to a university on Germany. He spent his senior year in high school foreign exchange there and feels very comfortable in Germany. He will be doing research with a German doctoral student on water sanitation (yes…I know, not his own research) next summer at a university over there, but it is a fully paid internship and maybe it will be the imputus to steer him toward his own research.</p>
<p>I think you misunderstood the reply. “Make him do his own research!” is directed at his interest in graduate studies.</p>
<p>Your son needs to be the one investigating programs, figuring out how to be a competitive candidate, reaching out to professors and building a c.v. and statement of purpose. Graduate school is deeply specialized and personalized study and research, and the only person who’s going to know the right fit is him.</p>
<p>Self-direction is key in graduate school. Getting a master’s/doctorate is not like two or four more undergraduate years - it’s designed to develop scholarly capacities for independent research. That means no hand-holding. If he can’t articulate his interests and rationale for pursuing advanced studies, he’s not going to be accepted anywhere.</p>
<p>Excellent point–thanks. He loves learning and loves school which is really why he wants to go on after he graduates (I think). But he definitely does not have a focus and I think you are right–he is not able to “articulate his interests.” For years his goal was to get a degree and then join the Peace Corps before pursuing an advanced degree but one of his professors told him that he would be better off going to graduate school while his math was still fresh, otherwise he would really struggle to catch up. I think I will copy your post and send it to him. He may not be ready for grad. school yet. (believe me, I have not been holding his hand–I only see him a couple weeks a year–we just happened to have this “I think I have changed my plans for after graduation.” over Christmas and it got me to wondering how realistic he was being. Anyhoo…I really appreciate your answer. It makes a lot of sense.</p>