Mostly people don’t reply on forum, so I will try to make this very quick as possible for one to answer my question.
Apart from GRE scores (for Engineering studies), what makes one stand out?
On tangent, I’ve been searching a lot for profiles of Grad. MIT students, so I can get an idea, but I got no where close. I would really appreciate if anyone helped me on this matter.
Thanks a bunch!
@KaranMIT:
The answer likely depends on the field you’re pursing, your undergrad school and grades, any experience relevant to what you’re pursuing.
On a different note, you’re a freshman in college. Are you laying out a grad school strategy already? It seems very early to be doing that, since you have nothing to stand on yet to try and make your application stand out.
@jpm50 : Indeed, I am a freshman in my college. I’m pursuing Electrical Engineering. Yes, I know most people would think it’s too early, but I believe I’m at a right pace.
I’ve lacked off during my High School not being aware of SAT’s and extra-curricular activities, and I find that to be the mere reason for my rejection at MIT, and I accept my mistakes. I just want to take a head-start, so I don’t make the same mistakes twice in my life - that’s all.
@MITer94 I agree; it is a little early to think about graduate school at MIT specifically. But it is good for you to set goals.
You’ll definitely want a competitive GPA with rigorous courses that are relevant to your field of study, and good recommendations. Some MIT departments don’t require the GRE, and I’m not sure if a high GRE really stands out (after all, it is pretty much SAT-level). Having research experience or interesting activities/EC’s helps.
look at thegradcafe.com
you will see where some engineers apply and also accepted and what their backgrounds were as an undergrad.
To be honest, the chances of you finding something you really like that you didn’t know about before is too high for us to make a clear straight path to grad school. So my advice is explore around your major, try a few projects/upper coursework in EE and see if you like it first. If you like it, come back for advice… As usual, to keep your options open, maintain high grades, and master the subject material in your classes.
You may know that MIT no longer offers terminal masters degrees in EE. So you must sign on and be interested in a PhD if you want to go to MIT in EE. (thats not true for other engineering fields at MIT, only EE and CS )
If you are planning for a PHD in EE, then undergraduate research may be in order for you. Look at NSF REUs in physics, math or engineering. Those are summer positions at other universities, that pay well. Also look at the DOD and DOE for summer positions. You may need US citizenship for some of these positions or be a permanent US resident for some of them. Or industry experience will be possibly useful. It all depends exactly what your research interest is, and if it is something industry does, then go for that. I did a bachelors, and masters and PhD at MIT. My summer experiences were at ATT Bell Labs and Hitachi Central Research Labs in Japan. That got me into all the grad schools I applied for, having more than one publication in my field,with good scientists at Bell Labs and Hitachi. My advisor in EE was a theoretical solid state physicist. My degree was in materials science/semiconductors. MIT’s EE department spans optics, device physics, materials science, power electronics, digital design, computer architecture, bioelectrical stuff, and much more. There are hundreds of EE faculty at MIT and thus studying the website now might inspire you to focus on one area versus another. So once you narrow down what you want, you need to contact some MIT faculty and get a feel if they are interested in someone with your background. You should be very proactive in contacting faculty and visiting MIT. That will get you an RA. (research assistantship). Ask the faculty directly what they look for . Do NOT be shy. MIT is not for shy people. But wait, maybe for two years under your belt, so that you know , do you want to study electronics, systems, optics, devices, there is a lot to pick from at MIT. AND many EEs do their PHD research at MIT Lincoln Labs, look that up. It is a military electronics lab that MIT runs on an Air Force base in Lexington, not too far from the main campus in Cambridge.
I strongly feel you should focus your efforts on research activities.