<p>Hi guys, I'm new to CC but I've been reading a lot of the forums lately. I'm a third year UG student looking to go to graduate school in MatSci & Eng.</p>
<p>I was wondering if any of you could provide me some insight regarding my chances of getting into the top engineering schools I am considering:
MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, Cornell, Northwestern (top 3 in matsci)</p>
<p>Here's some stats:
BS in Mechanical Engineering from UT Austin
Engineering Honors program</p>
<p>UG gpa: 3.7 / 4.0
(I could prob get it up to 3.75+ by the time I apply)</p>
<p>two years + one summer of research by graduation
currently three journal publications (one second author)</p>
<p>two strong LOR's from professors I have worked with.
(One of the profs mentioned was a pretty big name at Northwestern, if that helps.)
one from either a postdoc or an associate prof.</p>
<p>I'll be writing an undergraduate honors thesis next year
no internships
some community work at local schools in Austin</p>
<p>I know that a lot of graduate school admissions is unclear, but any advice/help would be much appreciated.
Also, what areas should I improve on? How important are GRE scores?</p>
<p>I had similar stats to you coming from CMU (major in MSE with a minor in physics) and I got into about half of the schools I applied to (mostly top-10 programs).</p>
<p>I’ve heard MIT has a GPA cutoff around 3.8 which they don’t advertise, but of the people I know who have been admitted, is true.</p>
<p>Try talking with professors in your department to find out where people with similar stats as you have gotten into. Be sure to spend time reading faculty webpages and figuring out who you’d like to work with so you don’t waste applications on schools you wouldn’t really like to go to in the end.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply RacinReaver. I know that you’re in the Caltech MatSci program. How’s that going for you, do you enjoy it? Do you think that Caltech has a strong MatSci program? I was thinking of applying there for mechanical engineering because, based on rankings, they have a much stronger ME program.</p>
<p>I haven’t really read too many faculty webpages yet, but that sounds like a good idea. The list of programs that I posted was mainly based on rankings, prestige, and location.</p>
<p>Looks to me like you have a great shot. I got into Berkeley’s MSE program with less research and no publications and probably only one strong letter and a somewhat higher GPA, so you’re in good shape, I think.</p>
<p>Haha, f Berkeley, they didn’t send me notification until sometime in late April. :mad:</p>
<p>I’ve got mixed feelings about the materials department here. If you’re really into science/physics/math you’ll get an excellent education, but if you’re more interested in “traditional” materials science you’ll be better off elsewhere. If you’ve got any other questions feel free to ask here or PM me.</p>
<p>@Slorg
Thanks for the input Slorg. Can I ask you where you went for your undergraduate degree? Also, I’m not sure if my mechanical engineering undergrad degree will put me at a disadvantage to those who have had an undergrad education in MSE. It’s a bummer that UT doesn’t offer a materials undergrad program.</p>
<p>@RacinReaver
I’m really into science and physics, but I don’t feel like I have a very strong background in that as a mechanical engineer. Do you think that Caltech prepares you well enough to go into research and academia? That’s the plan that I have right now.</p>
<p>Also, I’ve pretty much been in Texas my whole life, so could you guys share some info on what California is like to live and study in? I think more than half of the schools I am considering are in Cal. I really enjoy snowboarding, are there any ski areas close to the schools?</p>
<p>I think only one or two of the other people admitted my year had an undergrad in MSE. Most of them were physics, chemistry, or ChemE, though I’m sure you’d be able to get in with a MechE degree (one of my labmates was MechE, actually). MSE is a really interdisciplinary science and there’s tons of different subfields you can work in, so they encourage people from all sorts of backgrounds to apply. Also, it’s pretty well known that MSE is still a somewhat uncommon major in undergrad, so they have to deal with that. I imagine it’s similar in NukeE and Aero.</p>
<p>Caltech certainly prepares you for research and academia; you’ll be doing plenty of learning on your own (classes are generally mediocre at best). You’ll definitely struggle a bit with some of the classes, but so does everyone else.</p>
<p>CA is very different depending on if you’re living in SF, LA, or SD. I’m from Pennsylvania and not really that huge a fan of LA since people tend to just be very aloof and traffic is the worst thing ever, but there are a few nice things. I get fresh fruit and veggies for really cheap (and they’re generally delicious) and the weather’s pretty much always nice. There are lots of things to do no matter what you’re into, too. If you like the beach, it’s “only” 45 minutes away (that’s without traffic…), there’s also mountains just a short ride away from Pasadena. I have a number of friends that go skiing, snowboarding, and hiking depending on which season it is. There’s a few different ski towns within two hours; I know of Big Bear, Mammoth, and Mt Baldy off the top of my head. If you’re more into music/theater you can take the train downtown, or drive over to Hollywood.</p>
<p>My biggest complaint is Pasadena is a pretty crappy college town. It’s mostly upscale, there aren’t many places open after 10 PM, and once you step off of Caltech’s property there’s a 50/50 chance people don’t even know there’s a college nearby.</p>