Hi All, I graduated Fall 2014 and got rejected for Fall 2015 PhD from Berkeley, Stanford and UCLA. It was my fault. I was having a very bad day on GRE exam day and I submitted all my applications last minute (some recommendations submitted after deadline) and didn't contact any professor before submitting. I am planning to apply again for Fall 2016 and I wanted to know your opinion about my chances of getting into any of these top 4 schools. Undergraduate : University of Maryland, College Park Major: Electrical Engineering GPA : 3.9 (a B in DSP and a B+ in technical writing) Research : Research assistant (nothing published) letters of Recommendations from good professors (Haven't seen the letters) GRE : 167/147/4 (Q/V/A) Status : domestic Ever since graduation, I have been working at Visa in San Francisco as a Systems Analyst (Software Engineer). This time, I have enough time to apply thoroughly and I'm also planning to retake the GRE very soon. What do you think my chances are and what should I do? Should I email professors before I submit the application? (Last year I didn't contact any professors) Thanks in advance, Kia