Should I go for BS/MEng combined program?

[nkeokon2016]

Hello guys,

I am currently a Computer Engineering senior of UIUC. My department offers a combined BS + MEng program and I don't know whether I should go for it.

Here are my stats:

Overall GPA - 3.60 (after retaking a few courses), ECE GPA - 3.68 (after retaking a few courses), GPA of last 2 semesters - 4.00

GRE - 335

I took 2 years leave after my sophomore year because I had really serious health problem that affected my learning. Thus I didn't have many research experiences besides a cloud project in my freshman year. Currently, I am doing one more research on Data Mining.

I am graduating next semester, but I feel like I definitely will not have enough experience before I graduate from BS, and I don't think my GPA and research experience are good enough to get me into a good MS program at this point. Even though I kept maintaining a 4.0 GPA after I resumed my study, my overall GPA was really dragged down by my first two years (there were several Cs and Ds).

My real question is: should I go for the BS + MEng program offered by my department (it's guaranteed acceptance) to undergrad students SO THAT I can possibly use an extra year to do some more researches (and possibly improve my overall GPA a little bit)? Or should I stick with BS identity for 1 more year and don't apply for graduation? Or should I simply apply for graduation but stay on campus longer and work for professors?

My ultimate goal is a PhD, and I know most people will say that if I want to do PhD I should go for MS instead of MEng. But my current problem is I don't even think I can get into a good MS program.

Thanks.

Edited September 16, 2016 by nkeokon2016