Help plan my Three year road From CSU to Top Engineering Grad School

Graduate School
1

<p>I have a long and arduous road ahead of me, so I'll need all the help I can get. But first, here's my story:</p>

<p>I recently transferred from another CSU to CSUEB, where I'll be pursuing an Engineering Degree with a Computer Engineering Option. I plan on going to Grad school at either UC Berkeley or Stanford for a M.S in their Electrical Engineering department (or another Engineering field if I felt so compelled to change, but that would make acceptance more difficult.)</p>

<p>My horrible chances stem from the fact that this will be my fourth year in college. While at the other CSU, I was pursuing an English degree with no heart in my efforts. But after a big realization, which involves near-death experiences of my family and relatives, I knew a B.A wasn't for me. Now, I'm incredibly focused and ready to pull off a comeback.</p>

<p>My GPA is horrible. Although I plan on being perfect in all my classes, the highest come application time will be a 3.7.</p>

<p>I do plan on excelling at the GRE, as well as take any subject GRE (still to be determined) to help compensate for my GPA. In fact, I'm studying right now, although I won't take it until a year or two.</p>

<p>I also will become heavily involved with my professors to participate in research projects and publish a few papers when and if I can, as well as acquiring excellent LORs.</p>

<p>While I do want to intern in my field, I am currently working a retail job to pay for college. And, for the most part, money will come before interning because of my situation. I will be taking loans when I go to graduate school.</p>

<p>I plan on finishing my undergrad studies in two and a half to three years, which would mean it would've taken six years to complete in total. It's horrible, but the application committees will know of my stellar performance after switching to Engineering.</p>

<p>As you can see, my chances are very low, but this is why I created this thread. Aside from what I posted, what else should I be doing to increase my chances?</p>

<p>Extra info</p>

<p>Since I took English classes, I was wondering if there was anyway to drop those grades, as it will be plain to see that my credits will go way over the necessary requirements to graduate. Of course, it might not be that big of a deal since they would consider my situation and weigh my major GPA more heavily.</p>

<p>I will be what you consider a big fish in a little pond. I was at my other college and I will be here, though I wish my GPA would reflect that better!</p>

<p>I will play the numbers game as best as I can, but I also understand that efforts in research projects and my LORs will be very important and most likely be the deciding factor of my acceptance.</p>

<p>The program I'm in is actually the newest one in the bay area, which I assume hurts my chances if we're talking about prestige. But CSUEB's industrial Engineering is ABET and valued. I will be learning from these same professors, as well as a PH.D from Stanford and another from Georgia Institute for my computer science courses. Their LORs would be highly valuable.</p>

<p>I chose UC Berkeley and Stanford based on location and the merits of their programs. I know there are other great schools but I have already researched them. If I cannot get in either, I will work for a year and come back to re-apply. In a way, failure is not an option to get into one of these schools. I'm quite stubborn, which I hope will help.</p>

<p>The turning point in my life that I mentioned above involved a few family members, all within the same month, near-missing having to go through surgery and one of them actually having brain surgery. I am happy to say he is recovering perfectly fine. This turning point forced me to get my act together, making me become very less selfish and more loving towards my family, since I now understand that life is short.</p>

<p>My father migrated here after a war and received an electrical engineering certificate, which is why I have become passionate about the field. It is the love for my family which is pushing me to go to grad school, where I have great interest in researching theories related to Biomedical Engineering, where I can help in extending the longevity of human beings. I will be the first child to go to grad school. Mentioning that should help my chances by a little.</p>

<p>In many ways this goal is redemption, proving to myself that I can do something I set my mind to. I also want to make my parents proud, letting them know that they raised a good child.</p>

<p>Thank you for taking the time to read my situation. Any help is greatly appreciated, but hearing that I have a very slim chance isn't helpful, since I already know!</p>

<p>Two and a half to three years seems both short and long. I'll be dedicated the whole way, so be assured your tips and suggestions will be taken seriously.</p>

2

<p>I’ve gone through this path from CSU Pomona as a Civil Eng to Stanford for my MS in Env Eng. You can do it, there’s no specific reason why I couldn’t or could get in. Just do well in school and score high on GREs, you should be fine getting in.</p>

<p>It also helps to have not high grades but a lot of work experience. I had 4 internships every summer since freshman year at an engineering or construction firm. Best of luck!</p>

3

<p>Thanks Holycow. Hearing similar stories is one of the best confidence boosters there is.</p>

<p>I really should do internships, so I’ll see what I can do about the money issue. I do have one question though. How did you do 4 internships every summer? Seems like quite the workload. Having experience like that on your application really demonstrates your will and efforts.</p>

<p>Another issue is that I hope to take classes during summer to help speed up my degree completion. In fact, the two and a half to three years period already takes summer classes into account.</p>

4

<p>Well, during the hayday of the real estate boom (2005-2007), almost any civil or construction firm took on interns with no experience at all. I was surprised myself to get an offer after taking some intro math and physics classes. It took me nearly 5 yrs to graduate, technically 4.5 to ease up the load and do well in all my classes. I don’t think it’s necessarily a good idea to speed up your degree completion unless you already know EXACTLY what you want to do. </p>

<p>Believe me, grad school was the last thing I wanted to do after graduating. I decided to go back to school because of the poor job market when I graduated in June 2008. </p>

<p>Also, CSU Pomona had a good Civil Program with great professors and we also had an amazing senior project that I was a part of. Our team was working along with Metro Water District so I’m sure my prof wrote that in the LOR. I don’t think it’s always about grades, although helpful, your LOR and PS goes a long way. Good luck.</p>

5

<p>CSU Pomona is well known for their Engineering program, which must have given you a great edge for admissions.</p>

<p>I do understand that my feelings about graduate school can change in time, but I’ll face that moment when it comes.</p>

<p>Another possibility that I’ve thought of is transfer to UC Berkeley or Stanford next year. By that time, my GPA will have raised to a 3.60. The question would be if, after 4 years worth of college courses, should I re-take the SATS? I don’t know if Berkeley requires that I report my scores, but I know Stanford requires it, no matter what year I am in college.</p>

<p>My Sat scores are abysmal: Critical Reading:530, Math:510, Writing 500. I didn’t bother studying for the sats since I was planning on going to a state school anyways.</p>

<p>If I try to transfer next year, what should I do to increase my chances?</p>

6

<p>UC Berkeley does not require sending in SAT scores.</p>

7

<p>i know it’s hard but do look at other schools. In the end, they all provide a similar education. It’s just your peers will be different. Transferring to either is probably out of the question as both Berkeley and Stanford have pretty damn hard transfer admissions. Your best bet would be graduate admissions. To be frank, I don’t think you currently have a shot through traditional full time graduate admissions, either. If i were you, I would try to take classes at Stanford/Berkeley as a non-degree student initially, and excel at them. It’s a risk financially, but you can prove yourself to professors that way while also learning the material that you want to learn from these schools. if you do well enough, you might find a professor willing to go to bat for you in admissions.</p>

8

<p>To be frank, going to Stanford or Berk will set you back a lot in terms of debt. Coming out of CSU system, I don’t have any debt because I saved up every summer from my internship and working while in school. The cost of a CSU is $5k per year compared to a whopping $20-50k at Berk and Stanford respectively. I agree with Blah, switching schools is not a good idea right now for you and in the engineering field, it doesn’t really matter what school you came from. I remember that most eng firms ask you at interviews is whether or not you have your EIT. It’s different in the case if you want to pursue something like Finance or Ibanking, schools would matter for this type of scenario.</p>

9

<p>Yes, both of you are correct in terms of financial burden. However, I only worry about tuition, books, and gas, since I live at home. It’s actually quite durable if I transfer to Berkeley.</p>

<p>As for Programs, I will agree that the school itself doesn’t matter, but I do feel UC Berkeley will push me in my studies, because I’ll be surrounded by other passionate students and offer more research and project opportunities.</p>

<p>I won’t be applying to transfer to Stanford, but after a bit of research, I do feel I have a chance at transferring to UC Berkeley, so I will apply.</p>

<p>Blah2009 - I feel it’s the longest shot, but I plan on proving my worth by the time I apply for grad school, so I won’t rule out Stanford. Besides, I’ll work if I don’t get accepted and simply re-apply again. Secondly, what do you know about taking classes at Stanford as a non-degree student? Is it only available in the summer, and is it possible for them to apply to my undergrad degree, or should I use it as extra curricular activities to make me shine more?</p>

<p>Holycowbanana - Is it possible to get my EIT before finishing my undergrad studies? I assume I simply need to take the exam to be licensed.</p>

<p>Thank you to both of you.</p>

10

<p>Yes, you can take your EIT while you’re in school. Not necessarily needed for EE but for Mech and Civil, it is a must.</p>