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Fiora

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  • Location
    California
  • Application Season
    2018 Fall
  • Program
    MS Electrical Engineering

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  1. Thank you! I actually did consider those schools, but because of my relatively low GPA I wanted to mostly focus on schools at which I thought I had a more reasonable chance of admission. In that sense, Stanford was pretty much my one “Hail Mary” option. Between the schools you named, it also had various course options and programs that would have made it a better fit for me. Also, CMU SV didn’t offer as many classes in my areas of interest, and Berkeley’s program didn’t seem to be a good fit for what I wanted to do afterwards (its MS was very academic and very much geared towards preparing students for a PhD afterwards, which I wasn’t interested in). I did think about Berkeley’s MEng program, but I didn’t think I had the requisite computer science background as stated on the admissions page, so ultimately I did not apply there. Nonetheless, I’m very satisfied with the choices I have. I actually will be attending Duke in the fall - I was initially hesitant because it was so far away from where I currently am (SoCal), but after visiting the campus at an admitted students’ weekend last week I came away very impressed with the level of support and opportunities available to its students. I’ll most likely be returning to California after I finish my master’s, so this is also a nice opportunity for me to experience a different part of the country.
  2. Undergrad Institution: University of California campus ranked in USNWR Top 50Major(s): Electrical EngineeringMinor(s): N/AGPA in Major: 3.51/4.00Overall GPA: 3.47/4.00 (average GPA from current school and previous college)Position in Class: N/A Type of Student: International FemaleGRE Scores (revised):Q: 166 (91%)V: 165 (96%)W: 5.0 (93%)Research Experience: ~2 years on 2 separate projects; presented results of one at a symposium. No publications.Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List, paid summer research fellowship Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Officer of engineering club at previous college, some related volunteeringAny Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: N/ASpecial Bonus Points: Female in engineering (probably not a very large boost)Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Area of interest was microelectronics/circuit designApplying to Where: Applied to master's programs in EE at all the following schools. Stanford University - Rejected Duke University - Accepted UC Santa Barbara - Accepted University of Southern California - Accepted University of Washington, Seattle - Rejected UC Davis - Accepted General Comments: Pretty much what I expected - my stats were just okay, nothing really mind-blowing or outstanding, but I did get into some pretty decent schools. My GPA was definitely on the lower side for most master's programs. On the other hand, I had a good GRE score, strong letters from my recommenders, and spent a lot of time and effort on my SoP (one professor told me it was "among the best he had read in years"). I did not apply to more schools in other regions of the country (particularly the Northeast and Midwest) because I personally cannot stand the harsh winters in those areas. Overall, I'm quite pleased with how things turned out for me. Best wishes to everyone applying next year!
  3. I respectfully disagree. I've actually gleaned a lot of useful information about what each graduate program looks for from previous threads similar to this one, and I especially enjoy reading any reflections/comments from people about the whole process after the application cycle is over. I'm personally going to make another post in this thread in a few months when all my decisions are in.
  4. I agree with the previous two replies. I really don't think you'd have any trouble getting in anywhere, and your GPA/GRE are more than fine. Besides, given that virtually every applicant to the programs you want has done well in those areas, they wouldn't be the distinguishing factor even if you had a perfect 4.0 and 170's on both sections of the GRE. They serve more as a cutoff - having good numbers won't help you as much as having bad ones will hurt you, and if you look at some of the admissions results from previous years posted on this site, there is no shortage of people with really good numbers who were flat-out rejected. What makes you stand out is the fact that you have a clear plan for exactly what you want to research in graduate school and have more than enough experience outside the classroom to back it up. So at this point, I would worry less about what's already done (i.e. your poor grades from a decade ago) and concentrate on writing a strong personal statement for each of your schools that really conveys the message you want to send. Best wishes! (edited for typos/clarity)
  5. This is very insightful - I hadn't considered it before, but I think it would definitely help me in narrowing down my list of prospective schools (i.e. places where the weaknesses in my academic record will not affect me so severely). Thanks for all your replies so far!
  6. Thanks for your input! That makes a lot of sense. The thing about me is that most of the lower grades I got were either in courses not related to my major, or confined to a certain sub-field of EE that I was not as personally interested in. I still worked hard in all my classes, but ultimately I really excelled in those classes related to the sub-field of EE (semiconductors, IC design, microelectronics) that I want to study in grad school, and the research I have done is also related to that area. Given that grad school is supposed to be more "specialized" relative to undergrad where you take a wide range of courses from all areas of EE, I'm inclined to think that this can only work in my favor. Of course, the most ideal situation would still have been to do very well in all my classes in the first place, but unfortunately that didn't work out, so right now I'm just thinking of ways to mitigate the negative effects as much as possible.
  7. I am majoring in electrical engineering at a public university ranked in the top 50 nationally, and plan on applying to graduate school next academic year (Fall 2017). It should be noted that I am only interested in Master's programs, and not a PhD. So far the only real concern I have is regarding my GPA, which is comfortably above a 3.0 but certainly nowhere near where I would like it to be. On the other hand, my GPA in upper division electrical engineering courses (which I understand are the most relevant courses for grad admissions) is significantly higher than my overall GPA. For what it's worth, I have been thinking of ways to counteract this weakness in my application. I already have good GRE scores (164 V, 166 Q, 5.5 AWA) and obtained a paid research fellowship last summer, through which I am confident I can get 2 strong recommendation letters (both from accomplished EECS faculty members) as I have also continued the research work through the school year. Would it be a good idea to ask my recommenders to point out that my performance in upper division courses in my major is significantly better? I am also open to other suggestions you may have as to how else I can improve my chances for admission. Thanks in advance for your time!
  8. Hi all, I am currently a rising junior majoring in electrical engineering. I plan to go on for a terminal MS/MEng in the same field - I currently have no interest in pursuing a PhD, and I do not expect this to change in the future. Since I transferred to my current institution from a community college, I have not been able to gain any research experience up to this point (though I have some work experience). I will still try my best to get a research position next summer, but compared to other applicants who may have been doing research since their freshman year, I am afraid that my relative lack of it will put me at a disadvantage. My question is how severe this disadvantage will be, given that I am applying for a terminal masters and not a PhD. If anyone has any insight, I would be very grateful. Thanks!
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