<p>I recently graduated from UCI with a B.S. in mechanical engineering (specialization in control systems and energy systems). Cumulative GPA is 3.108 and Upper Division GPA is 3.36. I did two yearlong design projects (pico-satellite and wind turbine) in junior and senior year. I also did some research at UCIs computational fluid dynamics laboratory, mainly just helping out PhD students with their research and learning 2-D and 3-D mesh analysis.</p>
<p>I got to know the two professors who advised the design projects really well and as well as the CFD research professor. </p>
<p>I am working full time as an entry-level mechanical engineer at a class III medical device company. So far, I have been revising a lot of working instructions, making a few device master records, and creating a lot of Solidworks drawings. </p>
<p>I am planning to apply to three different engineering programs: mechanical, biomedical, and nuclear. What are my chances if I apply to the top 10 schools of each program? </p>
<p>Your comments are much appreciated. Thank you for reading. </p>
<p>The design projects help a little but probably no more than your work experience. Your research is okay, but nothing spectacular - no publications, presentations, or exceptional effort. Your GPA is not good at all for a “top 10” school - schools in the 30-40 range are probably your mid-range. You should take the GRE if you are serious - that combined with your gpa determines whether or not your app even gets read, much less accepted.</p>
<p>Another issue is going to be your lack of focus - three different disciplines will stretch you thin in admissions. 30 decent apps will drain you in just about every way, and will put off your letter writers - ~10 is about as many as you can usually ask for. You will need to be knowledgeable enough in each area to offer potential research fields in your SOP’s, and that will be tough to pull of convincingly 30 times.</p>
<p>Is this something you really want to do, or you just bored with your job?</p>
<p>Thank you for your fast reply. Applying to 30 schools does seem like a lot of work… </p>
<p>From being a full time student to working 40 hrs a week is a big transition, I get tired from work easily. Hopefully I can get used to it soon. By the way, do you think having an engineering related job in this economy will boost my chances? </p>
<p>Cosmicfish, asked what I was going to post; Why? </p>
<p>DS went on to grad school with a BS in ME and HCI . He wanted more exposure to Human-Computer Interaction design work and didn’t want to be stuck to a specific job-task. I don’t think he really <em>learned</em> anything new in grad school or got <em>research experience</em>, he already had those skills. He did get more maturity, met a bunch of people who help get him internships and a chance to see more of this world. </p>
<p>So son ends up working for his undergrad adviser doing the same thing that he was doing as an undergrad worker for this adviser, but now getting paid for this work. He took a monetary penalty in doing a master’s program in that his fellow ME’s were being hired with bonus in '06 and had step pay increases. Son’s pay is no more than what a BSME makes with 3 years experience. </p>
<p>Much of what I described about son’s experience happen by luck and by being in the right place, right time, and meeting the right people.</p>
<p>I’m in a similar boat as you, Derek. I recently graduated with my BSME and am also currently working full-time (except for a large defense contractor). I have a couple of good internships and a little bit of research experience (but not much to show from research) and my GPA is also on the lower end of what graduate schools look for (I graduated with a 3.29 cum. and a slightly higher upper division GPA). I am taking the GRE on August 8th.</p>
<p>I am looking at a variety of schools in the top 60-ish range, with my top 10 schools being Georgia Tech and Purdue. After talking to a lot of people, I have more questions than I originally started with. Some people say that our lower GPA puts us out of a serious running for a spot in a top 10 program (although my GPA was in the top 15-20% of my graduating class). Some say that if we nail the GRE we will be fine. Some say that our GPA is perfectly fine if we have plenty of internships/research/work experience to back it up. The list goes on…</p>
<p>All I can really recommend is to nail your GRE…and I mean NAIL it. A top 10 program is going to be averaging 1300+ GRE scores with HIGH (750++) quant. scores. Other than that, try to get some awesome recommendations (which I’m currently struggling with) and concoct a concise, well thought-out SOP that will really wow the board.</p>
<p>If all that fails (which it may very well), you might want to consider partaking in a limited student program initially. Do well in these classes (As) and reapply for the schools that you are interested in after a year or so. If these schools see you acing graduate-level engineering classes it may help them overlook your low-ish gpa. One specific program that I am looking at is USC’s distance learning limited student program. You can take up to 12 hours towards your Masters as a limited student and as long as you meet the minimum requirements (3.0 GPA and some other stuff), then you are automatically eligible to apply.</p>
<p>Having an engineering job will help some, but it will depend on how it relates to your SOP and research - if it matured you, gave you useful research skills, etc., that is what helps you.</p>
<p>Celic,</p>
<p>First of all, top schools look for about 780Q - there are a lot of high-Q scores out there. Second, after a certain point GRE scores stop helping - engineering programs need you to be able write, they don’t need Shakespeare and they don’t care what your V is past about 500.</p>
<p>Without the high gpa you really rely on your research (if any), LOR’s to demonstrate your research potential, and SOP to demonstrate your maturity, focus, and fit. Grad admissions are holistic, so if you are weak in one area you can recover by being extra-strong in the others. By comparison, most admits at top-10 schools were in the top 2-5% of their class.</p>
<p>After speaking to several representatives from different schools, I noticed that they seemed to stress the importance of job experience when it came to distance learning masters programs. Due to the nature of online masters degrees, I am willing to bet that work experience equals if not exceeds research experience in terms of impact on your getting in/not getting in to many universities. I obviously have no quant. backing to this…it is merely what I have noticed upon speaking to people.</p>
<p>You do bring up a good point, though. The average GPA of someone getting admitted into a graduate program at a top 10 school is going to be 3.5+. I have received figures ranging from 3.5 to 3.7 for various schools including USC, UMich, and Georgia Tech via email and phone conversations, which means that both of us are at the bottom looking up. We just have to hope that our other credential will make up for it.</p>
<p>I missed that you were looking at a distance program - you are correct, most distance and continuing ed degrees are oriented towards professional development, and value job experience over research experience.</p>
<p>I lived this life. Graduated with a 3.3 in Physics. Blew the GRE’s. Only got into a bottom tier grad school. So I dropped out and went to work. At the time 5 years cleared your GRE record so I waited, and worked my ass off, 50-60hr wks the norm. Impressed people. Then I got started on getting into grad school.</p>
<p>I targeted schools specifically researching areas I either worked in, or where my new skills would be a boon to professor’s research. I asked around, and found people at work that graduated from those schools. I asked them for references, and for references from the top managers at the company.</p>
<p>Finally I took GRE classes, 3hrs a night for 6wks, one day each weekend. My scores came back virtually perfect. Pay the money, do the work, you can study for these tests (went from about a 58% to a 98% if I recall).</p>
<p>I was accepted by all schools I applied to. Turns out they wanted me for:
Demonstrated work ethic and discipline, something lacking amongst many straight out of school.
Broad working skill set (AutoCAD, remote instrumentation programming, specification writing, …). Stuff they can use in the labs that other students do not have.
They trust their alumni references.
Stellar GRE’s convince people there’s more to you then meets the eye.</p>
<p>You can do this, but you gotta want it, and you gotta work for it.</p>
<p>I am just an engineer, but I know several PhD’s who have served on AdComs and my sister in law was in charge of implementing “best practices” in admissions and teaching for a major university. I always find it interesting that departments are so provincial that the university had to hire someone to go to the departments and say “that’s stupid - you should do something else!”.</p>
<p>If you don’t mind my stealing this thread for just a bit…</p>
<p>I’m in a similar situation, except a slightly higher projected GPA but without much to show for work experience or research. I’m a rising junior projecting around a 3.3~3.4 from Cornell. I did a couple semester’s worth of work not directly related to my major; I got to work on my own little building project, and I helped a grad student with his research (therefore no publications). I haven’t taken the GRE yet, but in the past I’ve always done very well on standardized tests, both math and verbal. </p>
<p>In terms of rankings, what kind/tier of schools are realistic for me if I want a PhD in mechanical engineering without incurring too much debt? I have been unsuccessfully poking around various places for an answer, and I would appreciate even just a general idea of where I should be aiming. I am not setting my hopes too high, but would like to look for at least decent programs.</p>
<p>I am in similar situation with @TchaiKovskyPiano except my GPA is around 3.4 from Stanford. No GRE yet either and I am applying for master. What school should i be looking at? I am not setting my hopes to high but would like to look for at least Stanford-caliber program</p>
<p>Hello everyone,
Last July, i earned my thesis-oriented Masters degree in Computer Engineering with a GPA of 3.63/4. My undergrad CGPA is 3.28/4. I also took the GRE test last month and scored 790 in the Q section, and 300 in the verbal section. My iBT TOEFL scores was 103/120 (29 reading, 27 listening, 23 speaking, and 24 writing).
I have research background (but not much) and strong letters of recommendations.
I have been teaching at my university for the last two years.<br>
I am planning to apply for PhD in electrical engineering at reputable US universities next Fall. What are my chances of getting an acceptance?Funded-acceptance?
Note that i am not an english native speaker — (to be considered an international student)</p>
<p>i have a tough time believing that if you’re from an ivy/stanford/mit/caltech/ucb you won’t get into a school of similar prestige, regardless of grades (above 3.0). it would just be a waste of education…</p>
<p>I am a graduate of a well known Lebanese University and not one of the universities you listed. In this case, does anything change? Furthermore, assume i want to apply for the universities listed below:UCLA, Purdue (West lafayette), Wisconsin(Madison), Maryland(College Park), UCSB, Northwestern, Columbia, etc… (ranks from 13 till 30). What are the chances?</p>
<pre><code> I strongly disagree with your statement. Having graduated from Cornell, I had a number of friends apply to PhD and masters programs who had gpa’s in the 3.3-3.7 range and not get into a number of top 15 programs (although last years applications were more competitive with the economy). The competition (esp PhD) is extremely fierce and your schools name does not guarantee anything.
</code></pre>