Not sure if this belongs in this section or engineering...Feel free to comment on chances and all that. I have thick skin and won't take it personally lol...OK here goes:
Undergrad Institution: Cornell Univ. Major(s): Civil Engineering Minor(s): GPA in Major: 3.42 Overall GPA: 3.3 Position in Class: no idea? (rumored avg. eng. gpa 2.7) Type of Student: Domestic/Male/Minority GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q:165 V:154 (should've tried harder in these other sections, but I was told they don't matter much so didn't retake ) W:3.5 Research Experience: No pubs or conferences. Kind of got a late start on the research train.
Co-director of research-design-build project team focused on providing sustainable housing options for local, low-income families; Summer internship at Ghana's largest energy company where I conducted "research" on the feasibility of a waste-to-energy facility; DOE, research-based, summer internship through selective program where I conducted research in the area of reservoir simulation. Hired part-time to continue research back at school. (most recent and sparked my interest in the field of study)
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 3 school scholarships, DOE summer "fellowship", Shell corporate sponsorship award (smaller than it sounds)
Activities or Jobs: Varsity athlete for major sport, Part-time research with DOE, Philanthropy chair for fraternity, Minority engineering society (e-board), started a finance club? Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: eh nothing really. Sports took up most of my free time the first three years. Finally quit so I can enjoy my senior year! Special Bonus Points: Have decent/good connections at all schools except UT-Austin through past employers and mentors. Have had phone conversations with POI at almost every school. Gotten good vibes, but you never know. Work done for DOE pretty similar to POI's research at some schools Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Upward trend in grades. And really good grades in geo classes... Some of the professors seem to respect the (varsity sports+engineering) thing more than I anticipated. Also, I have been told being a minority and us citizen in this field of study in particular is a plus.
Applying to Where: MS ONLY
USC - Pet. Eng. - Reservoir Eng./Simulation/Smart fields Stanford - Energy Resource Engineering - Reservoir Eng./Simulation/Smart fields
UT austin - Pet. Eng. - Reservoir Eng./Simulation
Texas A&M - Pet. Eng. - Naturally fractured reservoirs/Simulation
Penn St. - EME - Reservoir Eng./Simulation
Good luck to everyone!