<p>Hi, this is my first post on CC, I was so frustrated so I decided to look for suggestions here... so here is my situation,I am an international student, I graduated from a local university in the UAE with BS in civil and environmental engineering, with a GPA of 3.22... Even though the University is not one of the biggest around, it is ABET accredited... then I enrolled in a graduate program in the UK, University of Manchester, and graduated with an MSc in Structural engineering (taught program) with a merit class (61.1%)...</p>
<p>At that point, I realized that even though the education system in the UK is not too bad, it is still not comparable to the US system... so I decided that if I am going to spend the next five years doing research, I would rather do it in the US, and I started looking for a PhD program in structural engineering at top Universities, only to find myself in shock at how competitive it is to get admitted... :-O </p>
<p>My top choices are: UC Berkeley, Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Penn State and Purdue University...
To be realistic and to count the things that are going against me... My GPA is awful and it is too low compared to other applicants, I reckon people that are getting offers from Berkeley this year have an average GPA of 3.7 and above, and I do not have research experience, the MS program I did was 1 year and was more focused on graduate courses.
so the option I am considering for the next admission cycle, is that if I apply for MS/PhD program at one of these Universities, and I use my graduate degree as a compensation for my low GPA, with good GRE (325+) and toefl scores (100+), and couple of years of working experience, I will be able to do another MS in one of these Unis, and I will work on a thesis, which will enhance my chance of getting accepted for PhD.</p>
<p>I know it's a long shot, but when I was an undergrad student, the idea of going to grad school never crossed my mind, and I find it really disappointing to never get the chance of going to your dream school and achieve your academic ambitions just because you were not interested in your early years in college...</p>
<p>I am not sure if anyone has been through the same experience, or if my situation is quite unique, I would really like to get some suggestions.. does the idea of doing another MSc enhance my chances of getting into PhD sound insane? and will I get accepted, or will I get a straight rejection?
I do not mind funding my MS and even the first year of PhD if it is going to be an issue for the admission folks...
Thanks :)>- </p>