<p>I graduated from Cal Poly: San Luis Obispo with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering with a GPA of only a 2.51. I worked fro a company for 2 years and 10 months before being terminated due to work performance (I hated this job, but despite my best efforts to suck it up, it wasn't enough). I decided to use this opportunity to pursue a career in renewable energy, my true passion. I'm specifically interested in the design and manufacturing of solar panels, and the extraction and refinement of biofuels. I'm currently a student at National University for a M.S. in Environmental Engineering. I'm still working on any prerequisites in which National University didn't accept credit for from my undergraduate degree, but I've gotten close to straight A's so far. I am also involved in a biofuels club at UCSD and we are currently building a soxhlet extractor with scrap parts.</p>
<p>I would like to get a Ph.D someday, but from a reputable university. I was thinking of Materials Engineering from UCSD (I live in San Diego and would prefer to stay here if possible), since it seems relevant to the design of solar cells/panels, or Chemical Engineering for biofuels (although UCSD's program is under the Nanotechnology department, so I'm not sure how relevant this major is to biofuels). I would apply for a Ph.D in Systems Engineering in USC, UC Berkeley, and other universities as well, due to my Industrial Engineering background.</p>
<p>Two questions:
1) What else do I have to do to improve my chances of acceptance? Can anyone provide an accurate assessment of my background and the likelihood I will even be accepted at all?
2) After graduation from my Masters degree, I do plan to work for 5 years or so to get work experience and pay off my loans. Does anyone know of any companies specializing in biofuels operating in San Diego? I'd like to apply for internships now and maximize my work experience before graduation.</p>
<p>Any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>