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eesj

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Everything posted by eesj

  1. If you're not applying to Stanford then I wouldn't report the grade.
  2. I have been working with a new PI (recent grad) for a couple of years and I am now thinking of switching advisors. My motivation to switch comes from the fact that up until now, it does not seem like there is a clear path to completing my Ph.D. Current advisor has had me work on 3 separate projects, all which have resulted in publications. I was first author of one and second on the others, but all were published in top tier conferences. If I do switch advisors, he will be tenured and very experienced. On top of this, he is very respected in the community of my area of research (more likely then not, if you've taken a class on this subject you would have used his text book). One thing to note is that although I have been working with my current PI for a couple years, I was only recently admitted to the Ph.D. program, so I am essentially considered a first year Ph.D. student. In regards to funding, I am on fellowship and also have external funding sources who fund my tuition and research so there is no issue here.
  3. Hi All, Looking for some advice/inputs on transferring to an EE Ph.D. Program. In particular looking to go to USC, UCLA, UC Davis, or UCB. Here is my current situation... I am at Stanford University and have candidacy with the EE department's Engineer's Degree program. I chose this route with the intentions of petitioning to take the Quals and enter the Ph.D. program. Unfortunately, Stanford changed their policy in transferring programs and I do not think petitioning remains option. I have been working very closely with an advisor at Stanford and my research has even been presented at seminars within the university . I was awarded multiple RA positions at the university to perform research, and have been offered another RA to continue my work. i.e. my advisor knows I really want to earn a Ph.D. I just see sticking around w/ the hopes of eventually getting into the Ph.D. program as highly uncertain and potentially a waste of time when I can possibly move to another university. My stats are: Stanford GPA: 3.85/4.0 (12 units of courses, 18 units of Ph.D. level research, one planned conference paper, two unrefereed publications within Stanford) MS EE GPA: 3.45/4.0 (not from Stanford) BS EE GPA: 3.16/4.0 (Overall), 3.32/4.0 (Major) GRE(Q/V/W): 720/410/4.5 --> I know this sucks Industry Experience (>5 years) Research Experience (>1.5 year @ Stanford) Will get good LOR from my current PI.
  4. eesj

    Fellowship vs RA

    Your advisor would probably suggest you take the Fellowship since he/she does not need to pay for you out of his own funding. Fellowships like NDSEG are also prestigious awards and help with receiving future funding. You can also continue working your current project if you receive the fellowship.
  5. I go to Stanford at the moment (and love the enviromnment they provide us), but my rankings would be: 1)MIT 2)Caltech 3)Stanford, UCB (I wanted to go to UCB, but Stanford is 20mins from where I live) 4)Harvard
  6. I took a similar route during my MSEE and was recently accepted into Stanford for the Ph.D. Unfortunately, I did not receive a fellowship from the university and I am going to keep working so I can have my company reimburse the tuition. I plan on doing this for the first year and then work part time (20HRs) once I get a fellowship... To answer your questions: 1. How many publications can you get through a normal MS thesis in electrical engineering? I did not publish, but you can probably get 1 pub. I did not publish my work, but instead filed U.S. Patent applications on my research. Patents are expensive but I would rather receive royalties versus publishing work. 2. Would a normal MS thesis be good enough, as far as research goes, to look good as a PhD applicant? Make sure your thesis research is on an interesting topic relevant to what you want to do in the Ph.D. Try to fabricate a device if possible. 3. What type of GPA (within the MS program only) do students looking for PhD program admission, have? I only had a UG 3.16/4.0 (3.32/4.0 major), MS 3.43/4.0. But I research in a known companies R&D group. You can have a 4.0 GPA but ZERO practical knowledge and professors realize this. They are more appreciative of those who know real world problems that need to be solved. 4. When do you apply for PhD program (like how long before finishing the MS)? I applied a year after my MS. Graduated in Dec 2010...applied/accepted in 2011. 5. When do people take the qualification exams? (From my research, some people say you need the qualification exams to get in...others say you take it a year or so into the PhD program...this has me quite confused lol) I am trying to take it a year after I start. The quals is a weeder process where you are essentially competing against your peers to get accepted into an advisors research group. The most important part of the quals (pass or fail) is to get an advisor. Even if you pass the quals it does not mean you will get an advisor. No advisor = no research = no dissertation. 6. Do they look at your undergrad GPA at all? Yes. This sort of shows your understanding of the fundamentals of EE. 7. What about GREs? (I am wondering about these last two questions because they were used to get into the MS program in the first place...so why would they even matter for PhD admission??...it feels as pointless as asking for your HS transcript and SAT scores for admission to the MS program) I honestly dont think they care. Just as long as you get over a 700Q. My scores were Q710/V410/4AW...so this almost says that I cant speak english. hope this helps.
  7. I did not get a TA, but the letter stated "Your interest match well with professor xyz and he will serve as your program advisor...please contact him with any questions regards to research programs or academic issues." I will most likely contact him in regards to my options in possibly receiving funding.
  8. So I received my admit email today for Stanford. Here is what I can now say about the admission process...Grades matter, you definitely do not need stellar GREs, you do need good LoRs and SoP. I feel I was admitted based on the fact I networked with professors at Stanford. If you have the opportunity to meet with one...do it. If you are able to schedule a meeting phone or in person, make it count. Send a well taylored CV, and prepare some "poster" style presentation detailing your accomplishments.
  9. I just got my admit letter to Stanford !
  10. I applied for winter 2012...two reasons 1) less competition at this time and 2) I applied as an HCP
  11. I will let you know in a few weeks about Stanford since I applied with similar stats. Although I did have a professor from Stanford EE write a letter of rec, and two Stanford alumni write the others. One recommender is still tight with Stanford alumni association .
  12. Im applying with similar stats..3.16UG GPA/ 3.43MS GPA and ok GREs 710/410/4 (Q/V/AW). 4+ research experience in industry, two pending patents, no pubs(haven't been allowed to publish). I think the SOP and LoRs will make or break your application. Good luck!
  13. Applied to Columbia and Stanford about month ago for S'12 and W'12 sessions and am wondering if anyone else has heard anything from either school. Are adcoms slower for those not applying for a Fall start date?
  14. Im waiting it out for Columbia EE also. I interviewed with a professor who was pushing for me to apply for spring (which I did) so I assumed the decision would have been sent out quickly. I submitted my application right before the deadline (oct 1st) so it has been about a month. Nothing you can really do but just wait...I really wouldn't stress out over it.
  15. I honestly cannot say since I am still in the application process myself. Looking at the results section it seems that MSME and MSCE are much more competitive than the MSEE program.
  16. I was basing my assumptions off this email from stanford's CS department... From daemon@CS.Stanford.EDU Mon Nov 6 21:44:34 2000 Received: from Sunburn.Stanford.EDU (Sunburn.Stanford.EDU [171.64.67.178]) by Xenon.Stanford.EDU (8.9.1/8.9.1) with ESMTP id VAA08349; Mon, 6 Nov 2000 21:44:31 -0800 (PST) Received: by Sunburn.Stanford.EDU (8.9.3/8.9.3) id VAA01100; Mon, 6 Nov 2000 21:37:08 -0800 (PST) Date: Mon, 6 Nov 2000 21:37:08 -0800 (PST) Message-Id: <200011070537.VAA01100@Sunburn.Stanford.EDU> From: David Dill Reply-To: David Dill To: mscs@CS.Stanford.EDU Subject: Fall folders Content-Length: 3705 Status: RO X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 283 In the interests of efficiency, I have elected to send out an email about reading folders rather than getting us all together to discuss them. Please take a moment to read this message carefully. I think we need to be more consistent about admissions. I reviewed several cases last year where I honestly could not explain why an applicant was not admitted. A handout from previous years was included (at least in my bunch) that contains some guidelines, but this message has more specific information. If you see an error or omission in these notes, or simply disagree, please send me email or talk to me. ------------ In the Autumn and Spring, we have a small number of folders consisting of three classes of applicants: * co-terminal BS/MS degrees (Stanford CS undergrads) * Honors Coop (HCP) students (from industry) * People wanting to transfer to other departments (or get another degree). The Winter has a boatload of external applicants, so that’s when we have to work the hardest. IMPORTANT: Transfer’s are held to a higher standard than co-terms and HCP students. On the evaluation sheet, the threshhold score for co-terms & HCPs was around 6, and for transfers and external applicants, around 7.25. Before we made the program more competitive last year, the threshhold for external applicants was 6.25 or 6.5. We accept about 1/4-1/5 of external applicants (although you won’t have a statistically meaningful sample in this batch of folders). Coterms: ------- Our main priority is to make sure they will do OK in our classes. Since we can see their Stanford grades, test scores and recommendations are secondary unless they are truly problematic (or unless there is a grade problem). I would like to see at least a B+ average in the tougher CS courses, such as CS140, CS143, CS154, CS157, and CS161. It would be great to have at least one A and nothing worse than a B at this level. Classes like CS108 and CS193whatever seem to be easier. The usual guideline has been: the applicant is in if they have >= 3.5 GPA, and people under that are considered based on recommendations and test scores. HOWEVER, be careful about applicants with good GPAs who have had no upper-level CS courses. Usually, we can ask them to reapply after they’ve had some more classes. HCP: --- The Honors Coop program consists of students working in industry who are generally working full-time. Many of these students will have taken some of our courses “NDO” (not for credit). The standards should pretty much be the same as co-terms in these cases -- if the grades are good, GREs and recommendations are no too critical. If someone has NOT taken our classes, then test scores and recommendations carry more weight. Still, our main concern is whether they can handle the classes. Of course, other universities vary in strength, so you have to use your judgement to adjust their grades to Stanford’s. If a candidate is marginal and has not taken our classes, we can reject them and suggest that they take some classes NDO. If they do well, they’ll get admitted later (and they can convert the credits). Transfers from other departments ------------------------------- These students need to be treated like external applicants (otherwise, they apply to, say, Petroleum Engineering as an easier way to get into the CS MS program). The guidelines handed out with the folders are fairly reasonable, but could be perhaps a little more stringent. +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | This message was sent via the mscs@cs mailing list. | +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
  17. I read that it's about 1/5 to 1/4 of external applicants ( for CS). I am assuming that it is fairly consistent amongst the engineering and CS departments.
  18. They treat HCP students as continuing students ( like you did your undergrad there). Admissions are not as competitive compared to external applicants. I think you have a good chance of getting in with your GPA and assuming your GRE scores are decent (>700 Q ). Note they also apply a scaling factor to your GPA...where did you do your undergrad?
  19. Sorry, actually I am not to sure if you need a stanford prof to recommend you for the construction management program ( I am applying for EE). For Stanford's grad programs they are more selective on external applicants as well (e.g. they have a higher threshold to meet on the ad comm score card). Maybe someone else can comment?
  20. George you need to have a Stanford professors letter of rec to apply to the Eng D. If you don't have that I would just apply to the MS, since off the bat you are not meeting the minimum reqs to apply.
  21. So my GPA is slightly below 3.5/4.0 (its 3.43/4.0--very low grade inflation at this university) and my GRE is (710/410/4 --Q/V/AW)... I do have a Stanford professor's letter of rec (very well known associate prof. at Stanford) and my other 2 recs are Stanford Ph.D. Actually, the Stanford professor who wrote my letter of rec specifically asked that I have a certain past professor write one of my references (since they know each other)---which I did. My SoP was critiqued by a Stanford professor who will be my Co-Adviser and he felt it was well written and demonstrates all pertinent points (R&D interest, experience, and professional goals). Additionally, I am a U.S. citizen, have worked a year long Co-Op during my undergrad, and have been working in a research group for a very large(and well known) engineering firm for 4.5 years. I have 2 pending U.S. Patents (1 listed as inventor, 1 listed as Co-inventor). I am not asking for funding/financial aide, since my company has offered a fellowship to pay for the $50K tuition each year until I complete the degree. I know my GPA sucks, but hopefully other aspects of my application (SoP, LoRs, and experience) help reviewers overlook these....Anyways all I can do is wait it out
  22. Sure feel free to send your first draft in a PM and I'll take a look.
  23. I did not apply to UCB, but a UCB Ph.D. (and now a Stanford Professor) critiqued my SoP -and he like it. I would shoot for 1-2pages but no more than 2 pages. Structure --Thats up to you to be creative.. I structured mine with the following: Paragraph 1 -Strong opening--Clearly defining what I plan on pursuing -What and why I want to research Paragraph 2 Some notable relative experience related to this research and how I prepared for the research Paragraph 3 How I have contributed to the research community already (i.e. what type of individual research I have done and its outcomes) Paragraph 4 My career goals - and how it relates to the univesity Paragraph 5 Which professors I want to work with and how I would contribute to their research activities Paragraph 6 Conclusion to tie everything together Additionally I would tie in how I would contribute to the graduate class, research community, and to the overall university culture. Hope this helps!
  24. Hello, Did anyone apply to Stanford EE for Winter 2011-12 quarter? Do you know the typical wait time for a decision?
  25. I would mention your interests in the SoP...this would show the reviewer/professor that you are hoping to impress that you have a clear research focus in mind.
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