<p>I just finished college in India at a pretty well known university. I majored in mechanical engineering. I'm applying to MS programs in the US (fall '13). </p>
<p>I'm a little worried about my (lack of) research experience. The only experience I've had was for my undergraduate thesis. Aside from this, I have no academic papers/publications to my credit.</p>
<p>My profile:</p>
<p>GPA - **9.43/10<a href="Major%20GPA%20-%209.39/10">/b</a> (Upper 5% of my class)</p>
<p>GRE - 165V/167Q/4AWA</p>
<p>TOEFL - 116/120 (30/30/26/30)</p>
<p>I think I'll get pretty strong recommendation letters from my undergrad professors.</p>
<p>I have strong extracurriculars, literary and theater, but I don't know if this counts for much.</p>
<p>I've also done a lot of community service and actively worked in animal shelters, NGOs. I've co-founded/head a couple of popular environmental organisations. (Again, I don't know if this matters.)</p>
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<p>**What are my chances of getting into the following grad schools for an MS in ME? (I don't intend to do PhD)</p>
<p>Columbia, Princeton, UCLA, CMU, Northwestern, Purdue, Michigan Ann Arbor**</p>
<p>You want a master’s degree; thesis or non-thesis?</p>
<p>You can try Polytechnique (Montreal) for a safety, though. Many people who get into Polytechnique for a MS or ME (thesis or non-thesis) in mechanical engineering don’t have a 9.39/10…</p>
<p>However, for the institutions on your list, you might have a chance but I can’t say any more.</p>
<p>I want to do the non-thesis option because I don’t plan to do my doctoral degree after this and would prefer to get a job. But I’m open to doing the thesis option if the finaid opportunities are better. I think I’ll enjoy that too, so not too sure.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m applying to a couple of schools that should be safe… :)</p>
<p>If you go for a professional engineering degree, then research makes no difference. Your grades are good and your test scores are strong. You should have a reasonable chance of getting accepted in those schools for a professional degree with no financial aid.</p>
<p>Polytechnique offers a yearly $17,000 stipend if you go for the thesis MEng, which would not be offered for a non-thesis MEng. But, as far as a thesis MEng at Polytechnique is concerned, pay attention to the research specialities of faculty, and email faculty as well.</p>