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hey there, I recently finished my bachelors and now have the intention to apply for a masters in aerospace engineering. Please help me to get my application going by evaluating my profile below. Thanks a lot! Undergrad Institution: Small state university Major(s): Aerospace Engineering (with focus on electronics) Overall GPA: 1.7 in Germany, depending on grade conversion I land somewhere between 3.1 (Bavarian formula for grade conversion) and 4.0 (http://www.foreigncredits.com/Resources/GPA-Calculator and WES) GRE Scores (revised): Q: 170 V: 160 W: 4.5 TOEFL: 111 Experience: I am not quite familiar with the differentiation between reserach experience and work experience; what I have done until now is the following: - 3 months working as a design engineer for satellite components (besides my studies) - 6 months working as a software engineer in an aerospace navigation project (besides my studies) - 3 months research project on small satellite software (at my undergrad university) - 6 months experience in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles (involving experimental technologies, in this project I also did my bachelors thesis) - 1 year experience as electrical engineer for a satellite subsystem The strong focus on practical work comes from the strong industry cooperations of my university. Except for the satellite software project I gained all experience at a major european aerospace company. Applying to Where: U Michigan Ann-Arbor U Wisconsin Madison U Illinois Urbana-Champaign UC Boulder Purdue GaTech University of southern California Imperial College Do you consider these choices realistic, or are the too ambitious? Could I even stand a chance with higher ranked institututions (MIT, Stanford)?

Dear all, I am a German engineering students interested in going abroad for a masters degree. The curriculum of my bachelors includes mandatory industry placements where I have been obligated to work independently on a topic and present the results in a thesis (1 of around 30 pages, 2 of around 60 pages). Topics I handled were: - Creation of a simulation tool for the testing of an electronic hardware (6 months) - Evaluation of different measurements methods for their suitability with an aircraft structure and partly the implementation of the most promising method (3 months). The aircraft concept is a new development and right now there are no comparable available, therefore this could be research? - Selection of a camera, integration into an unmanned aircraft (same as above), testing of the composition. This might sound like plug-and-play, however required developing a rather complex thermal concept (3 months) During all of these placements I was supervised by an experienced employee of the department. I am not quite sure where to see this work: as working experience (I mean, if I would not have done it, another employee would have done it) or as research experience (as it required adopting to new areas of expertise, independent work under supervision and the creation of an elaborate documentation). I perveice that in Germany, distinguishing between work experience and research experience is not that strictly done, therefore I am not sure how this would be seen for example in the US. I would be very thankful if somebody could tell me where to locate above mentioned work. Thanks a lot, Patrick

Dear all, I am a German engineering student and I will be receiving my bachelors degree in september. Upon that, I am planning to gain one year of working experience and then apply for a masters programme that requires me to submit two recommendations, one from a professor and one from an employer. As I will have left university for nearly a year when applying for the graduate programme of my choice (which is in Europe as well), I have recently approached a professor at my university, who agreed to write a recommendation for me. A few days later however, he asked me to give him a draft of the recommendation. This might sound unusual, however recommendations are not quite part of Germanys academic culture and therefore I assume that he will simply take my draft and sign it. This leaves me with the problem of provoding a promising draft, which I have already written, however I am not familiar with the expectations admission comitees might have. This is why I am looking for a person with experience in LoRs to proof read my draft. If anyone on the forums is willing to do so, I would be more than glad to send him my version for proof reading, and I would be more than thankful for any advice. Thanks a Lot, Patrick

Hey all, I am an aerospace engineering student from Germany and I am currently finishing the last semester of by bachelors. Upon that, I would like to apply for graduate schools in the US, however I find it rather difficult to estimate my chances. I would really appreciate it if you could help me with a few questions. 1) At which of the following colleges do you think I could have a chance? - Penn State - Purdue - University of Illinois UC - University of Colorado Boulder - Georgia Institute of Technology My GPA is 3.3, TOEFL 111. I have not taken the GRE yet. Which scores would you say I should aim for? Alongside my studies, I have gained one year of work experience at a major aerospace company (also in research focused projects) and could get good recommendations (from the head of the aerospace engineering department of my university and from my employer). 2) Which other schools would you recommend for me? Thanks a lot, Patrick