<p>Hi,<br>
I'm in a little trouble for applying to grad school and could use some advice</p>
<p>Background:
I'm a senior civil engineering major (focusing on structural mechanics) at a mediocre university and I’m on the 4.5 yr plan – so I still have another semester. I have not taken my college career as seriously as I should have – no internships, no research, no interaction w/ my professors, no extra involvement whatsoever. I really enjoy the fundamentals of engineering but I guess I was too busy having fun to really get involved haha. Anyways, now I want to go to graduate school in Aerospace Engineering (focusing on structural mechanics, composite materials, et cetera) and I’m running into some obvious problems. So I guess I’ll summarize my situation below:</p>
<p>Credentials</p>
<p>GPA: 3.6
GRE: Not Taken
Internships/Research: Zero
Extra Involvement: Technically I’m a member if Chi Epsilon and Tau Beta Pi (these are two engineering honors societies at my school) but I am not very active aside of meeting the minimum requirements</p>
<p>Problem #1:
My undergrad degree is not in aerospace engineering. Some people have told me this is not a deal breaker. I'm aware aero engineering is far more rigorous than civil engineering but I'm confident I can handle it. Is this a huge problem? I have taken relevant structures courses and Finite Element Method.</p>
<p>Problem #2:
Due to no involvement, poor class attendance, and no internships, I feel like I will have a hard time getting even one letter of recommendation. Based off my research, most programs require 3 letters. I have no clue how I will be able to get 3 letters (let alone 3 quality letters) with only one semester left. Any suggestions? </p>
<p>Problem #3:
I’m stuck on campus for the summer and therefore cannot apply for the internships that I was originally planning on. I was applying for internships offered by a few aerospace companies but I just found out that there is a course I still need to take in order to graduate. Unless I want to get on the 5 year plan, I must take it over the summer.</p>
<p>I guess I dug my own grave here. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, I am very serious about pursuing aerospace engineering. This is not a spontaneous decision – I’ve actually been reflecting on the idea for a long time.</p>
<p>Are you looking for a PhD or a Master’s? Have you taken relevant Fluid Dynamics classes? One course of action you can take is to get a relevant job in industry or in a research lab to get experience that way. You can get a LOR from your boss when you apply a year or two later.</p>
<p>Ouroboros, thank you for the quick response! </p>
<p>I’m hoping to apply for a Masters program not a phD. And, no, besides the basic fluid mechanics course I have not taken anything else. Would you suggest that I take a fluid dynamics course (I have room on my schedule to add it)? </p>
<p>That is a good idea that I have not yet considered. However, I hear that it is very difficult to go from a job and then back to grad school (or do grad school part time). But this sounds like a very practical option.</p>
<p>(fancy seeing you here, Ouroboros!)</p>
<p>SIML: You sound…a lot like me last year, at least with regards to interests and field switching. I was/am a very structural/FEA type person (tried to do a ME/CE dual major at my school but there was no precedent for it when I started, so I went ME), then decided I wanted to go into aero/astro engineering. Since you’re not taking quals, the background knowledge won’t kill you to not have, especially if you end up in a structures related lab. Depends what school you end up at too. My grad school is very loose in course requirements -your advisor and you pretty much just pick classes that fit your research. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t give up hope - the LOR thing might be a kicker - what Ouroboros said about working for a year in industry is not a bad thing - I know plenty of people who do it; they just have a hard time taking the paycut to come back to school (; You could also get on the 5 year plan and spend that extra time getting to know some professors, working on research, getting experience that way. That way you could maybe do research or intern over the summer, and overall go into your applications with more things to show for yourself.</p>
<p>I don’t know what fluid dynamics in civil is like, but in aero (I’m mechanical, btw, but aero is combined with mechanical at my school) a big part is boundary layer theory: reynold’s number, prandlt number, mach number, coefficient of drag, etc. I’m not an aero, but that’s what they teach in the aero specific courses here along with wing design.</p>
<p>It’s hard going back to grad school b/c you’d most likely got out of the habit of studying and into the habit of spending money once you get a job, but people do it all the time. Some companies are willing to pay for their employees to go back to grad school, either part time or even full time, but you’d have to distinguish yourself for them to invest in you.</p>
<p>It also depends on WHAT you want to study in aero. If you’d like to turn your structures focus into an “aerospace structures” focus, you can find labs in aero departments that do just structures/composites/etc. In that way, you can keep studying your same niche but with a different context. If you want to go into aero because you want to do aerodynamics, etc, then yeah, fluids and aerodynamics classes = big plus. It’s important to remember that in grad school, you’re not studying a hugely broad field like you were undergrad…you pretty much have a “niche” of the field that you are studying.</p>
<p>Jendoly, glad to here we have a similiar focus. Thanks for the suggestions!</p>
<p>It’s good to here that my undergrad degree won’t prevent me from pursuing an MS in aerospace engineering. I’m probably going to try and find out if there are any RA positions open for a materials/composites lab over the summer. Hopefully I’ll have some luck. I guess I’ll have to decide between the 5 year plan or a few years working in a relevent position. </p>
<p>And to clarify, I intend to pursue aerospace engineering with a specific focus in structures/materials. I don’t intend to get involved in aerodynamcis, propulsion, etc.</p>