<p>My son is currently in his Junior year pursuing a BS in Aerospace Engineering at UIUC. In order to keep all options available post grad, when do you think the best time for him to take the GRE would be? Post Junior year, or post senior year? He's got all his Math and Science done already, and is immersed in the core AE courses now. Would he be better off taking the GRE sooner, while those Math, Physics and Chem courses are fresh, or later? Also, would he need to go for research experience, or, if he accepted an internship, would that hurt his chances much?</p>
<p>
I would say that the best time is probably at the end of the summer before his last year - it is generally easier to study over the summer (if he needs/chooses to do so) and taking it well before application deadlines ensures that he has time to schedule a restest if necessary.</p>
<p>
I would NEVER recommend taking the GRE post senior year if he has plans to go to grad school. If he wants to go to grad school the fall after graduation, then he must take the GRE no later than December of his senior year, or he will simply miss the deadlines. And if he wants to spend a few years working then he might as well wait until he is ready to actually apply to grad schools - a few years in industry and he might not WANT to attend, or might want to wait more than the 5 years over which GRE scores are valid.</p>
<p>
For the vast majority of research degrees, internships are just about meaningless. They won’t hurt his chances, per se, they just won’t help much either. As a grad student he will be a researcher, and admission committees want to see experience and reviews as a researcher. Interestingly, research experience is somewhat valued by employers and highly valued by grad schools, while internships really only have value to employers. I would strongly recommend that he gets at least SOME research experience as an undergrad, as otherwise he will be at a competitive disadvantage in grad school admissions - most grad school-bound undergrads have at least a little, and at the better grad schools it is all but a requirement.</p>
<p>Or…</p>
<p>Work in the industry for about 5+ years and let your work experience, the relationship your employer has with certain universities and that tuition-reimbursement check make it easier to be admitted to grad school.</p>
<p>In some cases, you may not even have to take a GRE.</p>
<p>Would it happen that a PhD program look at someone with no internships and worry that he may change his mind about grad school while looking at someone else with an internship and think that they explored their options and decided against going into the workforce for going to school?</p>
<p>To expand on what cosmicfish already said, it is also very important to get research experience so that you can actually decide that you are interested in graduate school. Doing a research-based graduate degree is a bit foolhardy if you have zero exposure to research and therefore have no idea if you are even interested in research.</p>
<p>In relation to what GLOBALTRAVELER said, this is a viable option as well, though it typically only applies to the non-thesis masters degrees. There aren’t a whole lot of employers that regularly pay for a thesis-based degree because (A) you often don’t have to pay for a thesis-based degree and (B) they often require one to be a full-time student. That isn’t to say it never happens, but it isn’t nearly as common.</p>
<p>Vladenschlutte, the chances of that happening are minimal, especially if your first example has research experience. On top of that, a PhD program is essentially an investment on the part of the school and the advising professor. By the end of your PhD, your advisor and school will have spent several hundred thousand dollars on you at least in most cases. It is a highly personal thing, so in order to even get into that program with a given professor, you have to in some way convince that professor that you are worth his time and money and effort. Generally, those professors aren’t going to make their decision based on your work experience, but on conversation with you and your whole application. Of course, every professor is different so your mileage may vary.</p>
<p>Agree with above poster. DD took a paid campus research position her junior year. She found that she HATED research and now wants no part of grad school. (She has always enjoyed all of her summer internships.) Good to find out now rather than later.</p>