what graduate schools to apply to?

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>Hey, i am going to be a Senior at Penn State in the Fall. I am an electrical engineering major, and considering going to graduate school. </p>

<p>I am not sure what area i want to go into, i am thinking probably communications, controls, or digital signal processing. This next fall semester, i am taking an intro into all 3 classes, so that should help me get a feel. Also i have an internship now that sorta deals with analog / communications, so that should give me some perspective. </p>

<p>How do i decide or choose what schools i should look at. I am thinking of getting a Masters of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. I heard it is important to have a good adviser. Would the process be, to first choose some schools, and then email ta's to find out about the advisers...? </p>

<p>Also what kind of range should i apply to. I will probably graduate with somewhere around a 3.5 - 3.6 (overall gpa). Hopefully i will have decent gre scores, and decent recommendations. No research experience, however i will have 3 internships under my belt. </p>

<p>Any thoughts, as to where i should start.. in terms of picking some schools to apply to. I am thinking maybe 5-6 schools is a good number to apply to.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

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<p>I will be a senior next semester, and i think it would be a good idea to go to graduate school to learn more. However i dont know, what specific area of electrical engineering i would like to go into.</p>

<p>Any ideas, of how to begin making a list of schools to apply too? Is there any data on what graduate schools are most enjoyable according to their grad students. Also, i am thinking of doing a masters of science, not sure whether with thesis or a paper option, but most likely i dont think i would want to get a phd.</p>

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<p>If you have absolutely no idea where to start, I would go down the US News list, BUT look into each program to see if it would be a good fit for you. It's important to figure out what specific area of EE you want to go into before you start applying; otherwise you won't know which schools will be better for you.</p>

<p>Advisors are critical for phd students, but less important for masters students, especially if you're not doing a thesis.</p>