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Hello everyone, I'm new to the Grad Cafe. I'm an international 3rd year undergraduate student from another country who is seeking a funded phd program in electrical/computer engineering in the US (I cannot afford colleges in the US). In my first year of college, due to some health problems my GPA ended up very poorly (1.2/4 gpa in the 1st year). However, I have fixed it later on, and raised it to 3.3 / 4 by the end of my 3rd year. And I can say that my average GPA in the last two years is 3.5+. In my school it is usually very hard to get high grades, so I am right now the best student in my class. I am going to take the GRE and TOEFL/IELTS tests next month. I have no research experience since I am an undergraduate student. This summer I am going to do an internship at a major and well-known electronics company. I can probably get great recommendation letters. I am worried about my GPA being low for a funded phd program and I am wondering what are my chances to get accepted. Which engineering schools could match with my profile? Is there anyone who got admitted to a phd program with a low grade, and which schools? I would be very glad to hear your own experience. Thanks in advance for taking your time and recommendations.