RP15

I agree that no interview = slim chance of getting accepted (for UCB). The UC Berkeley prof that interviewed me told me that it's standard to interview first.

I am not sure if admission to the EECS at UCB depends on interviews. However, it is extremely common to be interviewed before admissions. Surely, if you say something remarkably stupid (i.e. "I'm pursuing a PhD because Dr. Escadoula sounds cool"), then don't be surprised if that results in a rejection. I was informed about the interview today. Official acceptance letters are sent the beginning of February.

I have an interview with a UC Berkeley professor! ECE PhD program

Hi all, I have an internship lined up with Intel next summer in a field that is relevant to my research interests. In fact, this internship is in an R&D lab, so it will be research oriented as well. As I'm applying to graduate schools now, is it a good idea to list this future internship in my resume? What impression would that have?

Well you're 1 quant point away from 90th percentile (165Q).. Most engineering applicants have 150-160V, from what I've seen. It's up to you in the end though

With good LoRs and SoP, your chances are almost certain to get admitted to at least one of those institutions. Especially since you have publications. Usually applicants with publications, 1.5+ years of research experience, and high credentials (GPA/GRE) aim for tier 1 universities. You seem to have all of these, except for a low Verbal and writing score. I would add at least one or two Tier 1 if I were you.

That's what I was thinking. A significant portion of students accepted into prestigious programs have no publications. If his lack of publications is what makes him believe he has no shot, then I think he's not being realistic. Oh well, the universities he listed are indeed great for their fields. Best of luck!

Thank you for the insight. I retook the GRE yesterday and got 165Q, right at that 90th percentile! Now I'm sweating to get these new scores in by the Dec 15th deadline. I'll be making plenty of phone calls.

Paper - 1 First Author and 1 3rd Author This is the only helpful information you've given us, and its still not specific enough. The GRE and GPA are mostly qualifiers. Nobody ever says "Wow look at that high GRE score/GPA, let's grant him admission"... Also, the most important aspects of your application: LoRs, SoP, and Research Experience, is not outlined here.

The only thing you seem to be "lacking" is publications... I think with strong LoRs and a strong SoP, you have a decent shot at tier 2 institutions at least

Warning to everyone thinking about applying to the NSF GRFP in the future. Read the rules of the paper format, and then read them again. I just got disqualified today because the margins of the second page of my Graduate proposal was less than 1 inch. The reason was because of the damn footnotes. I used the footnotes for references, and the margins were less than an inch. Bam, disqualified. Don't make the same mistake

Undergrad Institution: Small state school Major(s): Electrical Engineering and Modern Languages Minor(s): GPA in Major: 3.90 Overall GPA: 4.0 Length of Degree: 4 year degree (took me 5 years to complete both due to Study Abroad year) Position in Class: Close to the top Type of Student: Hispanic GRE Scores: (Retaking, will update soon) Q: 157 V: 148 W: 5.0 Research Experience: [Future] Will do research at Intel Corporation next summer, before PhD begins. REU at Cornell REU at University of Maryland College Park 1 semester of independent research at my university 1 semester of research in Paris, France Awards/Honors/Recognitions: IEEE Power and Energy Society scholar Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship recipient National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) scholar Pertinent Activities or Jobs: REU for sophomore and junior summer 6 Month Internship with Intel Will have 3 month Internship at an R&D lab with Intel next summer Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Professor from Carnegie Mellon seems to be impressed... I'll be going to Silicon Valley this December. While there, I'll be meeting a postdoc at Stanford and a professor at Berkeley to learn more about their research. Applying for PhD at: PhD, EE at: MIT Stanford Berkeley Caltech Georgia Tech UMD Columbia UCSD Princeton Carnegie Mellon

Why aren't you applying to prestigious PhD programs for Aerospace, such as Caltech? Just curious

All you have told us is (1) GRE score and (2) GPA. The two most worthless aspects of your application. How closely related are your 3 years of work experience to your interests? Do you have good LoR writers?

Doesn't matter imo. Just make sure to save the ETS powerprep II exams for last.

Right, I'm aware it's a great school. I'm just curious if the professor will get my application. He has told me, and I quote "it is impressive how much above and beyond the usual coursework have you accomplished. Would you be planning to apply to ECE or MSE grad program at CMU? I have appointments in both." I take this is a very good thing. Given he is a long time tenured professor, how much power does he have in influencing the decision of my acceptance? I'm scheduled to retake the GRE December 1st. I know it's very late, but at the least I can email the grad committees/professors to overlook the old GRE scores and consider the new ones (even though it wont be officially on my application package).

Apologies for the ambiguity. The timeline went as follows: 1. I have already contacted him 2. He asked for resume 3. He is obvious in his interest in me, given his comments 4. I took the GRE and got a bad score [future] 5. Will my application reach him or be thrown away due to bad score and filtering? Thanks

Hi all, So I have been in contact with an EE/Material science professor from CMU. I've showed him my resume and he is interested in me, asking me "how did you get so many opportunities"... and using words "impressive", "your coursework is greater than average", and "email me when you submit your application" I know this is a big deal since at first he was not interested in replying to my messages. But once I gave him my resume, he's now forwarding me papers, telling me about his research group, and asking me what I think about several publications. The problem now is, my GRE quant score is 157Q -.- Working and studying full time is dreading, and this carried over to my GRE. How will this affect me ? Will my application just be thrown away and not reach the professor? I'm thinking of retaking the GRE on December 2nd, just so I can email the grad committee and tell them "My new GRE scores are XXX! But they'll arrive after the deadline" What do you all think?

Im in the same boat. I'm just under 160Q with great credentials (3.90 GPA, 3 research positions, internship at Intel, etc..). I'm retaking the GRE on December 2nd. I know it's late as hell, but I figure I can e-mail the scores to the grad programs as a way of saying "I know my scores are terrible, but just so you know, here are my most recent ones" I would apply to those programs anyway, especially to MIT since they do not care for the GRE (at least with EE they dont). So frustrating, I know. My application is gold, but this pathetic exam may prevent me from getting accepted just because I didn't answer a few probability questions correctly

Since you took the time to reply to my thread, I shall honor you by using "If it were I" henceforth Good point, I figured it'd make me sound childish in trying to justify my low score. If anything it'll make me sound insecure. Thanks for the tip

Ok thank you for your input. Yeah I have a decent grasp of what graduate school entails, I've done a few REUs and research in France as well, overall I find it enjoyable. Being an intern at Intel is fun too. Completely different, but fun (although the business side of it gets irking). I didn't know that about the GRE. I always figured that if a student gets below, say 162 in the Quant, he's not even worth reviewing. Currently Magoosh is estimating around 160 for me for the Quant. I'll try my best, but being a full time student and working at Intel is really difficult to find time to study... Hey now that I think of it, if I get a low score, would it be worth mentioning in my SoP that my status as a FT Intel employee and college student impeded me from studying for the GRE? Haven't thought of that until now.

Ha! "If it were I" sounded so odd to me, I was about to correct you, and promptly refrained from doing so when I read "English Ph.D", not going to even compete with that. Thank you for your input Yeah I do wish to start grad school, there is something so unique about teaching, not sure what it is, but it's rewarding. Plus, the freedom as a PhD student is fantastic. I'll see what I can do, a lot of this is dependent on my GRE score (will take the exam this Saturday). I am so infuriated that a low GRE score will get my application tossed out, but a high score does nothing but get your application reviewed. I find all of my other experiences superb for a 22 yr old (3 research positions, and a 6-mo internship at Intel), plus a high GPA.... But NOPE! not a good student, should have gotten a few more GRE math questions correct, to the trash my app goes! >_>

Well, the position begins in May 2015. In reality the job is a 9 month internship, which leads to a full time ("Internship-to-CG") I would much rather not be employed for ~3 months and then quit, that will make me look terrible. Not having a PhD will certainly not put me at a disadvantage in terms of finding a job within industry. When it comes to engineering, having a bachelor's with great experience (or even better with a Masters) is more than enough to secure your status as an employee. Sooooooo now I'm stuck here. Maybe if I take the position and improve my GRE score next year, I'll apply to PhD programs once again? What do you all think of this route? Obviously it's up to me, but damn is this difficult. Also, what if I accept the position, and end up getting into, say, Stanford ? Is it understandable to rescind a job agreement for this?

I'm stuck here and I have no clue what to take. The offer is from Intel Corporation.... Currently I'm applying to prestigious PhD programs, but I don't even know if I will be admitted. Despite allll of my research experience and high GPA, I anticipate a weak GRE score (I keep scoring poorly in practice exams)... This, I'm afraid, may likely cause the committee to toss my application If I take the offer from Intel, is that aiming lower or higher relative to a PhD? I really enjoy what both academia and industry have to offer, to be quite honest. Any insight would be nice

Hi all, Most of my applications are due Dec 15... and I'm afraid I won't do well on the GRE. Currently I'm signed up for Nov 16th, which is about 29 days before the deadline (more than enough time for the scores to be sent). However, would it be better to reschedule the GRE to Nov 8th, knowing that I can take it again on Nov 30th? I know Nov 30th is "late"... But never have I heard of a case of GRE scores taking more than 2 weeks to arrive. Plus, most grad programs willingly accept the GRE scores days after the deadline. And thoughts would be appreciated