I am currently a Junior at an Abet Accredited Engineering School in Georgia. I attend Georgia Southern University.
I am majoring in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics and have a 3.4 G.P.A .
I have not taken the GRE yet, but plan to take it my senior year which gives me time to study and make a high score.
I currently have an internship under my belt with Georgia Pacific, where I was a Project Engineering Intern. I planed, managed, and implemented million dollar projects in the Plant. Including budgeting, contract bidding, Electrical design, and Project Management of my own project worth $15 Million Dollars.
I plan on going back this summer again to Georgia Pacific, but then next summer I plan on landing an internship with a large Defense Contractor like Lockheed Martin or Boeing in Washington D.C. since defense is the field I want to go in.
I am apart of the robotics club and have joined IEEE. But I have know research experience, but I am not sure if I need any since I want to go into industry and not get a PHD.
What are my realistic chances of getting accepted into U Penn masters in Systems Engineering Program?
Or am I aiming way to high? I have looked at other programs but U Penn gives me everything I want. Unlike my Undergrad
Nice City.
Prestigious School.
Connections.
I think you’d be a competitive candidate provided you don’t completely bomb the GRE.
Some advice though for you.
I’d recommend you take the GRE sooner rather than later. Penn’s graduate programs have an EA deadline like an undergrad program would that is November 15th. Penn’s admissions department themselves claim it is easier to get in if you submit your application by that deadline since you are competing with less applications. Otherwise, you get grouped together with everyone who applied between November and March 15th plus the ones they deferred from the EA group. The November deadline is also great because they give you a decision early which is really helpful when trying to plan out your post-graduation life. You’re going to need your GRE done by November 15th in order to have a complete application and be counted in that group.
As for research, I can only give you anecdotal evidence but I didn’t do any research with a professor as an undergrad when I applied/got accepted to Penn but I did have post-undergrad full time work experience. If you want a thesis-based master’s degree, they will want to see research experience. A course-work only masters might let you get away with no research.
I’d recommend you make the most of any senior design or capstone project your school offers. It serves as both proof of interest in your chosen field and you interact pretty closely with your advising professor which comes in handy when looking for people to write you letters of rec.
Also, you are more likely to get responses about grad school on the grad school cc forum. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/
@tk9900 Your GPA is a bit low, most engineering masters students at Penn have a 3.5+ GPA, often 3.6+. But 3.4 is still a very good engineering GPA and you have decent chances of getting in providing you do well on the GRE.
@tk9900, that’s right. although you can take the GRE any time before the deadline really. The GRE isn’t only offered on one Saturday morning a month like the SAT/ACT. I think I did mine on like a Thursday afternoon.
And I didn’t know this before I took it, but they will let you send scores for free to 4 schools when you take the GRE. It’s $27/school to send scores after you take the test. :-<
I have a low GPA but high GRE scores. Can my GRE scores balance out/make up for my GPA?
No. Your GRE scores are, arguably, the least important part of your application. The old adage is “they can keep you out, but they can’t get you in.” Having GRE scores that are too low can get your application cut in a first or second-round pass. But having really high GRE scores is unlikely to have a big impact - once you are past a certain threshold the department usually turns to other aspects of your application. And GPA, especially your major GPA, is a better indicator of your knowledge and potential than GRE scores.
So provided you don’t screw up too much on the GRE, you should be fine. Work experience and good letters of rec are always a plus. I wouldn’t worry about your GPA being low too much, its kind of borderline between low and good.