I’m looking for any suggestions to help myself stand out for the admissions process into a competitive Chemical Engineering Ph.D. program. I was woefully unprepared when applying to undergrad, so I’m a bit apprehensive about the whole process.
I have three semesters left in undergrad, which works out to just under two years with my co-op schedule. I’m welcome to all suggestions that I can cram into that timeframe.
Education:
Decent, but certainly not top-ranked institution. In the top 25 for public universities, not sure about engineering specifically.
4.0 GPA (for now, at least. I’m expecting to graduate with minimum 3.9)
Economics minor
Polymeric Materials emphasis (might drop and/or change to sustainable tech)
Work Experience:
1 year of full-time work experience from co-op. Split between industry support roles (industrialization, quality) and materials research.
1 year of carbon fiber research at the university. ~ 3 months of that was full-time.
Clubs/Hobbies: (Most are not related to ChemE, but I figured I’d list them anyways)
*AIChE Chem-E-Car
Formula SAE
Phi Kappa Phi
AIChE (1 yr)
Re-building high performance engines in spare time
I am planning to continue to do research part-time when I get back to school, though I’m considering switching research groups to expose myself to something that isn’t materials-related, since that’s really all I’ve done. I have one more summer that’s empty before I will start grad school applications, which I’m planning to do another internship. Not sure where/what yet.
You sound like a strong applicant so far, research experience is a good thing to have, but with a co-op you should be ok even without any. Make sure to do well on the GRE, that’s really the only other thing.
-Continue doing research so that when you apply (fall 2018?) you will have 2 years of research under your belt. That’ll make you a stronger candidate.
-If you haven’t already, start thinking about what kind of research you would like to do in graduate school and a little beyond. What are you passionate about? You can even start sketching out ideas or research plans. If you had unlimited money and time, what kind of research would you do? This will form the foundation of your personal statement. If you start thinking about what you want early, you can knock it out of the park come next fall.
-What helps the above is having a good grasp of the literature in your field and knowing where the gaps are. If you can demonstrate that you are familiar with the research in your area and you know where the field needs to advance, you’ll be in a good place.
-If you really want to get a PhD and you know with 90%+ certainty that’s your goal, if I were you next summer I wouldn’t do an industry internship. I’d find a summer undergraduate research experience. Check out the NSF funded REUs [url=<a href=“https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.jsp%5Dhere%5B/url”>https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.jsp]here[/url]. You can also do a search for “chem E summer research” or something similar to find other summer research opportunities. This is a good way to get a letter of recommendation from someone outside your department - that gives you some external validation that you’re a good researcher.
My son had a great time and got valuable research experience. His project was to test tensile strengths of epoxy-coated carbon-fiber fabrics at various temperatures. RWTH is one of Europe’s top technical universities. Tuition is free, so you would only be responsible for airfare, room and living expenses. I don’t have the figures in front of me, but I think the total cost was less than $5,000 and there are scholarships available. You don’t need to speak German at all, but German lessons are included so you will gain some language proficiency. Also included is a rail pass that will take you anywhere in North Rhine Westphalia, including Cologne and Dusseldorf. Aachen is a beautiful medieval town right on the border with the Netherlands and Belgium. My son had a ball on weekends playing tourist with his new friends.
