<p>I am looking into applying for grad school for the fall quarter of 2014. I graduated from UC Irvine in 2012 as a electrical engineering major and ended with a cumulative GPA of 3.04 and a engineering GPA of 3.18. After graduating I have been working at a company and will be working for one year in July of 2013. I am considering reapplying to UCI for graduate school (MS). My concern is that my subpar GPA will keep me from getting accepted to UCI. I have a GRE quantitative score of 159 and a few professors (don't know too well) that can write letters of recommendation for me. My essay is also not too bad. Do you guys think I have a chance at going to UCI for masters? What do you guys suggest? Any other schools that I can apply to? I am working in the socal area so I would want to go to school around the area.</p>
<p>There’s no harm in trying, but I had a friend with better stats (high GPA, 2 years as a major player in a high impact lab) who was only accepted to EE masters programs unfunded. My impression was that it was crazy competitive, especially at the big names which were most of his schools. I’m not in EE, so I don’t have a good idea of the tiers, but good luck. Like I said, no harm in trying.</p>
<p>how is your core GPA higher than your total in something as insanely hard as EE? The letters of recommendation part won’t act in your favor. recommendations matter more for graduate admissions than for undergrad, at least I think.</p>
<p>well it’s because i just think that engineering classes interest me more, thus motivating me to study more. I don’t understand what you mean, I am applying for grad school.</p>
<p>another question is: I am having second thoughts about going to grad school because of the financial burden. if i decide to go to grad school a few more years down the road, who would I turn to get letters of recommendation from because i would have graduated for a while by then and professors might not want to write it for me. is it common for employer to write letters of recommendation?</p>
<p>You may get funded by TAing or being a RA, so don’t throw it out as a possibility yet. I also think getting letters of recommendation from an employer is fine if you don’t have anyone else to get one from.</p>
<p>I don’t think that a few more years working will hurt you for your graduate application. You can get letters from colleagues or supervisors for a Masters degree. However, if you had a particularly good relationship with a faculty member, he/she might be willing to write a letter in a few years as long as you provide a current resume.</p>
<p>Depending on the employer, you could also try to do a Masters through the company (it’d probably be part-time, and a LOT of work - but they pay for you to do it).</p>
<p>I know biotech companies often let you do that, not sure about your industry. I’d imagine it’s comparable.</p>