[chances for top tier Bioengineering PhD programs]

Look deeper into WashU's BioE. It's solid stuff.

[Question about master's]

Hmm, seems like you are in the same predicament I was in a few months ago (October-ish) when I was deciding b/t working or going to graduate school. To be honest, the money (ie who will pay for you to go to graduate school) is in the PhD programs. If you think about it, they'd rather keep someone doing great research for 4-6 years, rather than someone who gets started and leaves in 2 years, right at the pinnacle of their research. I've heard it takes two years to actually figure what the heck you're doing and then after that you start doing your actual thesis/research work.

My credentials are: 3.9/4.0 GPA (overall/CE) from a state institution, Honors College, mediocre GRE scores, EIT, LOTS of extracurriculars, German language, and research internship in Germany. My advisor says the only thing that did me when I applied for master's programs was the lack of a consistent research experience, which you have. However, I was accepted into all my schools (Berkeley, Davis, Illinois, UW), all top notch schools for engineering. BUT I think in order to get funding, which is what really matters, you need a consistent research record, VERY GOOD grades, mediocre-high GRE scores, and some of those extracurriculars. You say they don't matter, but in reality, when a prof writes a letter of rec, those activities demonstrate your ability to not only to keep your grades up, do research, but also be involved - this shows great work ethic, ability to multi-task, and perhaps communications skills. Those things are necessary in a masters/PhD student. You just don't want some 4.0 student who doesn't talk to anyone sitting in a corner.

Remember, it is also all about "fit", which is the term going around now. I would go for the PhD. You can always drop down, and it won't hurt their feelings. It might, but it is important to get funding early. At least when you start in the PhD track, you can see if it is for you, and then drop down, which is being perfectly honest with them. I don't want you to be in my position where you apply for master's programs and realize what could have been if you had applied for a PhD.

I hope that made sense ... lots of rambling in the morning ...

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to apply to as many fellowships/scholarship as possible so I can avoid needing funding, but if that does not work then I will probably settle with PhD applications and maybe drop down if I hate it. I like working as a researcher at the moment, but it is rather different doing it for a summer than for several years.

[Question about master's]

Hi all, after a talk with my research professors, I am now no longer so certain about doing a PhD and instead going for a master's in ECE. Since I am now looking at simply going for a masters degree, I was wondering if any of you could give me advice in the following:

Why masters over PhD?

I assume a masters is more flexible than PhD and what I want is job flexibility and good enough money. This is the case correct?

How should I pick my master's school?

At the moment, I am working under an embedded systems professor, but what I am doing is making a quadrotor and make a vision tracking / head tracking system. I like these projects, but they are, in their foundation, not embedded systems as he specializes in--it's more like project to use for research. So, I ask, must I be as thorough in picking my graduate school for a masters as with a phd--must I seek a specific area and look at individual professors, or do I go for just prestige and quality of preparation?

Where should I look at applying credentials wise:

ECE Rice University with minor in Applied math

GPA Overall: 3.51/4.00

Major (ECE + minor): 3.6

*Not sure if this matters, but I have a high upward trend with a 3.7 for the past 2 years taking 15 hrs per semester.

GRE: N/A yet

Research/Project work:

Quadrotor, vision / head IR tracking system, Guitar effects processor (senior design, 3rd place at Rice in TI Analog competition), commercial breathalyzer design for a startup

EC's: Held plenty of positions such as IEEE Vice President, did interviewing for Rice, etc. I'm not sure if these are even considered for Masters because they don't matter for PhD.

Funding?

I know PhD can be funded, but what would allow one to get funding for a masters aside from a fellowship like Hertz?

Thanks!

[Grad school advice needed for Elec. Eng.]

I don't know if it's the done thing where you are, but you could ask one of your recommenders to mention your difficulties in their letter.

Good luck and I hope your dad improves,

Dave

I would be hesitant to do so because I get the impression that excuses, even if valid, still come off as excuses. Thanks for the advice though-- I'll definitely consider it.

[Grad school advice needed for Elec. Eng.]

Hello everyone, I'm a senior electrical engineer at Rice University and I was hoping I could get some advice about my situation in applying to graduate school. I am not graduating this year for reasons I will explain later, but my breakdown goes as such:

 

Major: EE

minor: Applied Math

 

GPA: 3.48, Major:3.57 / 4.00

GRE: 780M 680V 5W

 

Experience/Employment

 

Rice University – Researcher under Dr. Zhong Spring 2010 – present

• Design a quad-rotor helicopter that is self-balancing via microcontrollers and sensors.

 

S&G Imports – Contract Engineer Spring 2010 – present

• Head engineer and project consultant for a commercial bar breathalyzer. I’ve redone the product for more accurate sensing and am incorporating a smart interface with touchscreen controls among other capabilities.

 

Rice University − Teaching Assistant for ELEC 301 Fall 2009

 

Rice University − Research Intern – Compressive Sensing – Dr. Baraniuk Summer 2009

• Created a 3-D projection system, performed Compressive Sensing on images and studied other methods such as Compressive Structured Light.

 

Rice University − Teaching Assistant for ELEC241 Fall 2008

 

Baylor College of Medicine − Lab Assistant for Dr. Scott Pletcher Summer 2008

• Engineered devices for Dr. Pletcher to improve his lab’s efficiency such as creating and programming a robotic arm from servo motors to incorporate into a fly counting system I engineered via photointerrupts.

 

Honors:

 

Louis J Walsh scholarship for Engineering (2008), F & M Rogers Scholarship (2008), National Hispanic Scholar (2005), Rice Intramural Billiards Champion (2008), National Society of Collegiate Scholars Inductee (2006).

 

 

Basically, I have a lot of work experience with a few graduate courses under my belt. I am not graduating this year because, while studying abroad last Spring in Singapore at NUS, I had to come back to help take care of my father who was diagnosed with cancer--so I am one semester short. I've luckily been able to continue school and still help my parents since he's being treated across the street at MD Anderson but that is why I will be doing an extra semester.

 

Now, my GPA is low because, quite frankly, I've had interesting circumstances to work through such as taking a full load while living out of my car because of hurricane damage last year, helping parents through cancer treatment and so forth. Anyway, that doesn't show in a transcript so it does not matter. What does matter is what I should be doing in this next year to give myself the best possible chances.

 

In terms of recommendations, I have an excellent recommendation from S & G Imports (a small startup) because I am literally in charge of everything about their product and they are simply paying me to get their end goal product done. One of my better recommenders is a man (Rhodes Scholar) who I have had several Applied Math courses and a research seminar with and is a top 10 in the world Numerical Analyst. Also, the current research under Dr. Zhong should produce a great recommendation as well, and during the summer I expect to be able to get another good to great one at my internship at Schlumberger. As backup, I have a few other recommenders because I am intimate with the faculty at Rice being the IEEE Vice President.

 

Also, if all goes as it has been for the past three semesters, I should be able to get a 3.55+ GPA in the next year (by application time) because my past two years is a 3.75 GPA with mostly engineering courses. So, do I have, realistically, any chance of being accepted at schools such as:

 

 

Cornell, MIT, Rice, Cal Tech, Georgia Tech, WashU, Berkeley, Purdue, etc.

 

 

In terms of project experience, I would have done the following

 

Guitar Effects Processor (senior design) sponsored by Freescale

Commercial Breathalyzer with a smart user interface

Self-stabilizing quadrotor platform

and probably one more thing under Dr. Zhong.

 

 

What should I do to better my chances aside boost my GPA as high as I can, and does my GPA keep me out of the top programs?

 

 

Thanks!