I am an Indian Btech Aeronautical undergraduate and wish to pursue Direct Ph. D. in the states. Please evaluate my profile and reply with honest feedbacks
CGPA :7.25 out of 10 ( Private Uni)
Internship experience :total of 4 relevant core Internships combined of 14 months.Notable ones are as follows: one month Internship in HAL, Eight month research at IIST
Work experience: One year research assistanship at IIT Bombay in Aerospace Department on a sponsored project
Papers published : Total 6 conference papers (4 in International notable forum, 2 in national forums) . Working on the manuscripts for Journal publications.
GRE : V=145, Q= 154, AWA =3 (Most Unis have removed the GRE requirement)
IELTS: 7.0
Recommendations : Profs from IITB, IIST and my Uni ready to give me recommendations.
Desired colleges : UMich Ann Arbor, UIUC (rejected), GeorgiaTech ( rejected) , ERAU, Caltech, UWashington, Purdue, UCB, Penn state etc
Please give me honest feedbacks to my profile. Suggest any good colleges in the US suitable for my profile according to you. Any further suggestions are invited
Not well versed in US university PhD admissions, but my understanding is that funded positions go to those applicants with research interests that match those of a particular professor at that specific university.
How did you pick the colleges that you applied to? Generally, a student will have a specific research interest and identify schools and professors that match that interest. How can anyone suggest schools to you when we don’t know what you are looking for? If you don’t have a clear interest that matches research the school is doing, that could be why you have been rejected. Graduate admissions are very different from undergrad.
You have decent work experience and your publications should help, but I’m concerned about your GPA and GRE scores, which seem on the low side for competitive schools.
I am not familiar with your grading system - how does this compare to other students? Just based on the numbers out of context, this is not super high - but, again, context matters and you would have a better sense if this is a top score or a mediocre one.
This is also on the low side for competitive schools.
But as @Publisher and @me29034 note, research interests are important. For your applications, surely you needed to write some statement of purpose outlining your research background, interests, and goals. This will be an important part of your application and your prospective department will need to be fully convinced that your research skills/topic will be well-matched to what they offer and provide a positive addition to the department.
So in summary:
Work experience and publications = good
GPA and GRE scores = low for competitive schools
Research/statement of purpose/match with department = unknown
Where do you go to school currently? The reason I ask is because if you do not go to a highly regarded university in India, then you will need a stellar GPA and GRE to get serious consideration.
I encourage you to get your GRE score up and get those papers published. Also, apply to less competitive programs. The trade off is that they might not have as many spots or good research programs.
@Mwfan1921 is correct in stating that it will very difficult to get a job as a foreigner but on the flip side, you can consider a career in academia eventually as there is a huge demand.
I don’t think I have any special insight into Ph.D. admissions in scientific or technical fields. In general, I agree with others that the GPA and scores seem low. GPA counts more for admission, probably, but test scores in combination with GPA help determine initial funding. And it’s important to reach out to universities where faculty seem like a match for your research interests to get a sense of whether those faculty are taking new students, what admissions chances are at those particular places, what their job placement success looks like, etc.
I agree with all of this. I don’t have much insight on engineering PhDs or international admissions specifically.
I do know the schools where OP applied are tippy top in engineering and will be quite competitive for admissions. I don’t think that PhD admissions for engineering is very difficult in general, however. They’ll likely have to look at less prestigious programs.
The admissions chances are higher if there are specific professors who are interested in working with an applicant. Try to improve the test scores, look for less prestigious/famous schools who have faculty who are doing work of interest, and consider emailing some of those faculty directly.
I don’t know the end goal. What do you hope to gain from a Ph.D. in the US? Return to India to teach?
Aerospace is a “niche” field of study. People, currently in this line of work, typically have mechanical engineering backgrounds, have US clearances, and have daily hands-on work experience with corporate engineering firms.
Did your professors align or match you with those schools’ researchers in your area of study? It’s not a generic thing. You can send out resumes and apply, but if it’s not something that is currently funded by their grants or proposals, then seeking US schools, for graduate acceptance, will be difficult.
Were you to told to apply to those schools without regard for their current research at those sites?
Funding for projects and PhD candidates comes from many sources and sponsors who are specific about what is being researched.
Many of the sponsorships for research come from a combination of corporate and US government grants.
If you are not a citizen, and were not recommended by a university’s research team, then it will be really tough to accept you over a domestic student who was recommended. Some of the schools only have one or two fellowships to grant for a PhD candidate/s.
You may want to research other universities in your country to see if they can further your education for your PhD.
I don’t know about admissions to PhD Engineering programs per se; my experience is in science. However, neither your GPA nor your GREs look strong strong enough for the schools you’ve listed. Many engineering undergrads here do multiple four month internships; the 8 month internship and the one year research assistantship could both help your cause if they provided experience directly relevant to the PhD program you’re applying to.
For schools, I think you may be shooting too high. Conference papers are good, but not as good as journal publications. Actual journal publications could move your application into the competitive range. (“In preparation” won’t carry much weight in an application; to increase your chances of being admitted, a paper needs to be accepted. However, if that’s impossible, then attach the manuscript to your application so the advisor can judge for himself the relevance of your work to his lab; if it’s a match it could help a lot).
Your goal is to get a PhD to be employable and probably stay in the country. Internationals with PhD’s from US schools can often get visas in the US. You need a few publications in good journals, citations in good journals, references from colleagues etc. and a job offer where the company is willing to sponsor you. You may or may not get approved. If you’re not committed to the US, you could try Canada. For example, York University in Toronto offers a fully-funded PhD in Aeronautical Engineering; it’s a good school but but not extremely competitive for admission (don’t know about the PhD program though). Importantly, a PhD from an Ontario university provides a direct path to permanent residency/citizenship to Canada that does not involve all the hoops and uncertainty that the US process does.
My D worked under an international PhD aero student at Purdue and she was having an extraordinarily difficult time finding a work sponsor. She ended up switching industries to automotive because she couldn’t get the necessary security clearances for aero and as far as I know, she still is searching for work.
I don’t think banking on staying in the US is a good plan.
