KindaHardWorker

Jealous. You should have a good shot getting into a lot of those schools. Best of luck my friend!

Are there any professors that you know, or really any staff from undergrad you're close to who could maybe help with this? I find insider advice is the best sometimes.

I can tell you right now that you've got private and Ivy League schools on here... yes they care. They have a reputation to keep up. The key is to not mention your GPA until as late as possible in the process. If they like you as a potential candidate first, it may be easier to get around. That being said, "major weakness" is vague. For example, I went to Purdue and graduated with a 2.9 GPA. That's a major weakness. Other kids have been claiming that their 3.5 GPA is terrible. So it's hard to know your situation.

Yeah I would look into some of those schools with January deadlines. I noticed your undergraduate took 5 years and is 8.5/10 (foreign?). They might take that into account as well. Something else to consider: even managing to get into super elite schools doesn't guarentee a good education or experience. You could be slaving away on a project you're disinterested in, and possibly working with a professor that doesn't suit you. And then if you manage to get in, there's the problem of funding to consider. Keep your options open. One other question: You said it took you 5 years and you did a lot of research. Do you have a bachelors or a masters degree?

I will be out of school for more than two years when I apply to graduate school, which I'm told might make me eligible for certain non-traditional graduate student scholarships. However, upon looking for these I couldn't find any that I qualified for. Does anyone know of some? My GPA is too low for NSF and I'm white male, so a lot of the others are out. Thoughts?

Much appreciated, thank you both. I talked to a few of my friends too, it just caught me off guard because I polished my SOP. Now I have a second document to revise and tailor... So far my main highlights will be choosing to leave industry for a higher degree (giving up a lucrative job), lack of scientific background in family, and how my father's hand injury steered me towards rahabilitation for engineering grad school.

Yeah I hate to say it but that would be a big hurt. I had a friend in a similar position to yours who was form letter rejected from MIT. He made it into Michigan though, so I think he's doing ok. "Is it even worth going as opposed to staying at UF with a low cost of living and low debt?" IMHO don't stay at UF b/c of low cost of living and low debt. A PhD is a life-long investment. You only do it once (hopefully). Get the best possible education that gives you the best career. On the other hand, you shouldn't say, "I'm going into whichever graduate school that accepts me has the highest ranking." You should go to one that has a strong reputation and good professors in the particular research field or focus you're interested in. While MIT/UCBerk etc will have that in almost everything, some schools that are lower will still have a very good program. And much much less competition. If you have to ask if you can get into MIT, you probably can't. I'm sorry, that came out a little harsh. What I mean by that is, if you wanted to go there for graduate school, it should be part of your plan all along. They have so many top tier candidates apply, you really need to be on track towards there for a good part of undergrad. It's kind of like saying, "Oh I was smart in high school... I think I'll go to Harvard." There's a lot more behind it, hidden...

In an essay, discuss how your personal background informs your decision to pursue a graduate degree. Please include any educational, familial, cultural, economic, or social experiences, challenges, or opportunities relevant to your academic journey; how you might contribute to social or cultural diversity within your chosen field; and/or how you might serve educationally underrepresented segments of society with your degree. This "Personal History Statement" is required for all applicants who are US Citizens or legal US Permanent Residents and is different from the "Statement of Purpose" that is also required for all applicants. The "Statement of Purpose" is expected to focus on your academic/research background and interests while the "Personal History Statement" is expected to focus on your personal background. I'm a white middle class male. WTF.

I would do a cost/benefit analysis here: what is $133 in the grand scheme of things? If you are starving or have a family to provide for, that's one thing. But if you have money that is rightfully owed, you need to pay it. Trust me, as someone who has wished for collections to go away, they don't. Start a Kickstarter if you have to, just get it paid.

Since you're going into industry instead of academia, I would ask you this question: what degree do you need to do the job that you want to do? I'd guess there are very few positions for what you've mentioned.

What I mean is... what is the function of it? I'm applying to UC Irvine and they have the essay split into SOP and Personal History. Personal history is supposed to be about your socioeconomic position, challenges, etc, but what should I be using it to showcase? Explaining bad first two years of grades? I know the SOP is showing my research experience and skills in my focus area (going for mechanical engineering) and why I want to go to the school. Personal history, on the surface, seems to be the place to unload all of the "ever since I was a kid... science..." type stuff. However, I know strategically this is probably not the approach I should take. Help a brother out?

The BIGGEST concern of these universities is "can this candidate do research and publish". That is their bread and butter for reputation. This is a great suggestion because it kills two birds with one stone: shows you can turn research into something publishable and shows that you can do the writing they'll require. And yes, the writing part of the GRE is garbage. There's a system to beat it if you know how though. Regardless, they'll ignore it if they see you can do what they want.

I'm looking into this general focus area for graduate school because of an accident that my father had with his hand. I know there are a lot of good programs with this kind of research (MIT, Stanford, etc) but my 2.8 GPA prevents them from being an option. However, I have 165/162/5 on GRE, my LoR should be excellent, and my general SOP is very polished. I have some research experience in controls and I'm shooting for schools around the 30's-40's or lower. So far these are the schools I've looked at: Vanderbilt UC Irvine Arizona State (this has three profs I'd be interested in working with) Drexel UT Austin (a highly ranked one but they have some very interesting hand research) Washington FSU I've applied to some, but if anyone knows of other schools with this kind of research in mechanical engineering I'd appreciate the knowledge. Thanks!

I would say that you should retake the GRE. For top schools like this, they expect to see high GRE scores. A high GRE won't help much but a lower GRE could hurt your chances. I would also definitely explore a lot of schools outside of the top ten and find those who have research interests similar to what you want to do. Your research history will definitely help but I'd apply to schools ranked in the 20's or 30's. Don't want to be the bearer of bad news but my friend went to a top 10 engineering undergrad, had a 3.7 GPA, 800 on GRE math, and published research (as an undergrad) and was rejected via form letter from MIT. Competition for the top schools is absolutely brutal my friend. Definitely don't restrict yourself.