<p>Being accepted to Cornell was one of the greatest moments in my life. Now, the unsettling question is what do the top engineering grad schools look for? Which do they place more importance over? (gpa, gre, undergrad school, research exp, prof rec, creativity, etc..)</p>
<p>I would say that research experience is the most important. If you can publish a paper or two during your undergraduate year, you will be able to gain admission to one of the top grad programs easily. Of course, you still need good GPA or good GRE score. As for the recommendation, you will get great ones if you get to know your research advisor well. After all, graduate school is looking for the best researchers who will publish. They are not looking for bookworms who only know how to ace exams. I have spoken to so many BME Ph.D admission officers, and they all agree that the research experience is what they care about the most.</p>