<p>I'm currently a freshman at Stanford and beginning to realize just how daunting a task getting into grad school will be. I don't think I want to continue on at Stanford for a PhD, but would like to go somewhere with the same level of research. Stanford has a lot of pride issues imo, and my advisor has only offered MIT, Cal tech or Berkeley as future schools? Do you have any other schools that you think I should consider? </p>
<p>Basics:
Asian
Female
Electrical Engineering major, CS minor
Freshman (planning to graduate in 4 years by 2017, perhaps I'll a co-term(dual master's degree at Stanford) in the 4 years as well)
GPA: ~ 3.7, waiting for a few more grades this quarter</p>
<p>Other things
I've been doing research since winter quarter and will be continuing it into summer and throughout sophomore year. I hope to write my honors thesis based on it, but we'll see. I'm not 100% sure the research I'm currently doing is what I want to pursue as my focus. Would you recommend that I continue with the same research group for all 4 years or try something different? </p>
<p>I am currently leaning towards a digital systems/ computer engineering focus in EE. My current research is focused on biosensor development and while I'm learning a lot of nanofab from it, I'm not sure I want to pursue it in the future. </p>
<p>I'm concerned my GPA won't make the mark. I wasn't prepared for what I got myself into fall quarter and got a few Bs, but I've been doing around 3.8-3.9 per quarter since then. I think I've learned how to pace myself, but I know my class load and difficulty will only increase from here on out. What's a good GPA mark to aim for, especially considering Stanford's GPA padding? </p>
<p>Some other questions:
1. When should I begin studying for GREs?
2. What are other things that grad schools will consider?
3. Who did you ask on campus for help with getting into grad school?</p>
<p>You are only a freshman, it is pointless to consider specific grad schools now. You yourself said you haven’t identified your research interest for a PhD yet, at least you aren’t foolish enough to assert that. Keep an open mind toward where you may develop sustained interest, explore different areas, you have only scratched the surface in your coursework. Maybe you should aim for 3.5+ gpa. You may not need to study for GRE, my kid just took some practice tests a few weeks before, but she did same with SAT and she is not a ‘score grubber’ type. If you are a good test taker, do a practice in spring Jr year or summer, likely and see if you need to do any ‘studying’ during the summer. Otherwise I’m sure you have better things to do. Talk to your professors and grad students about guidance with grad school admissions, but don’t do that now, it could be annoying. Wait until you are a more mature student with some experience and direction. Then you can get help to select the right grad schools that have the best people working in your subfield. Can’t you see that there is nothing to go on for anyone to advise you now?</p>
<p>I agree that there is not point in getting hung up on the specifics yet. You don’t need to be looking at figuring out specific schools for a few years. What you’re doing right now is putting you on the right track: solid grades and research experience. A 3.7 GPA is not a problem, but if you bump it up over the next few years it will just make your application a little bit shinier. You said you’re worried about classes getting harder and grades dropping, but that’s not always what happens. You get past weeder classes and into classes you’re more interested in and you adjust to college, so grades often pick up.</p>
<p>For the GRE, I wouldn’t stress about that yet, either. It’s the same type of problems as on the SAT, just bumped up a notch. It doesn’t require a lot of explicit studying. Like BrownParent said, start looking at some stuff during your junior year and take the test over the summer before senior year or that fall.</p>
<p>The best resource on-campus resource for grad school information is probably the professor you do research with (if that’s the field you want to continue in). They know the field, professors, and universities best. My PI has been really supportive, and given me a ton of useful advice. Also talk to grad students who have gone through the process more recently. As you spend more time in your field, you will become more familiar with who’s who, and going to a few conferences can really help with networking and making connections to different institutions.</p>
<p>But that’s a ways off. At this point, keep up with grades and research and you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>I believe you need at least 3.8 to be competitive, but I am speaking in general terms. Grad schools are becoming increasingly consequentialist; an applicant who has a demonstrated aptitude in research will, to some degree, be favored over applicants with shiny 4.0s but with no research exposure. You could start beefing up the research element of your CV by co authoring some papers (even conference papers at an undergrad level are of a certain magnitude) or becoming a research assistant to some of your professors. </p>
<p>I am speaking mostly from the perspective of a grad student in a top 5 uni who has seen absolutely stellar double major applicants with medals and 4.0s from brilliant institutions get turned down in favor of applicants with lower CGPAs from lower tier universities get accepted for the very same program.</p>
<p>To get into PhD programs, the most important factors are letters and research experience. This is what will make you competitive at top ten schools. Pick recommenders you know from research first and then possibly someone you took a course with but know better from having other interactions with (my fourth letter was a professor I had taken a two semester graduate sequence with who I got to know very well and gave me a lot of great advice). When choosing a research advisor, not only should you consider the specific subfield, you should try to figure out if the PI has had undergrads work for them in the past and how their experiences were. It is really great to work with a PI who will support and promote you during this process.</p>
<p>Your transcript is important in that it can show you have mastered the fundamentals and have challenged yourself with more advanced courses. In this sense, grad schools are pretty forgiving about GPA. For example, if you had a tough time in intro courses but did very well in upper level courses, they know that the latter are a much better representation of your abilities and will not penalize you.</p>