<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>I am a junior mechanical engineering student attending a state school and hoping to apply to a top 10 graduate program after graduation.</p>
<p>I was wondering if I took summer 2012 to study abroad, mainly for cultural and language immersion, if that would affect my application to graduate programs. If I have an okay GPA (~3.6) and one (maybe two) research publications, would a summer REU or other engineering-related activity really enhance my application that much?</p>
<p>Or would I be alright studying abroad with nothing to do with engineering?</p>