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I believe USC, Columbia, and Stanford (if you're an HCP applicant) have rolling admissions.

I just applied for the Stanford HCP Eng EE. Does checking "No" for financial aid assistance improve my chances for admissions? I currently am not requesting aid since my employer will cover the tuition costs.

Well I will be submitting my application this winter @ Stanford. Hope this goes well. BTW hasseye the Stanford Eng.D. admissions application requires a professor to write 1/3 of your LoRs (kind of a strange requirement) basically stating they will work with you. My company is willing to reimburse tuition every quarter, so I assume this can be considered fully funded. Do you feel this will help my application? Anyone else applying for Winter 2012?

Thanks for your insight kitkat! 3B was my senior advisor during senior project. I havent directly researched with 3B since undergrad but have been in contact discussing my current R&D activities. I decided to go with 3B since there is a connection to the university that I am applying to, and 3B is familiar with what the university likes to hear in a good LoR. During an onsite meeting with recommender #, he stated that he knew 3B and it would be great to receive the LoR from that individual.

I interviewed with a professor and just wore jeans and a polo shirt. I dont think they really care.

You seem like a good candidate, but it probably depends on the university that you are applying to. Have you contacted any professors?

Depends what part of the Radar you are trying to work on...and the approach. Historically most of the best radar schools are in the east coast (MIT, Cornell, U.Penn etc), west coast would be CalTech (they work with JPL).

I am trying to apply to an engineering program for Winter 2012 and want to get my application in as soon as possible. I am doing this so that my LOR authors have sufficient time to write without rushing. I only heard that the app would open in early September. Has anyone heard a solid date?

I met with two professors and gave a presentation on my past research and work experience. They did not ask me prior to present anything, but I just had it prepared and offered to present it when I go there. I wanted to show them pictures and results rather than just my resume. Both professors agreed to work with me if I was admitted, and one is also writing a letter of recommendation to support my application. Both professors will ask typical questions about what you are interested in, and talk about their group's work. They also asked me my thoughts on some topics they were researching.

The application for this degree program (Eng. D.) requires a Stanford professor to back your application - so I need this LOR. This is why my dilemma is who makes a better letter of rec, 3A or 3B?

I am applying to Stanford's EE grad program and need some advice on who to choose for my 3rd letter of rec. My dilemma - The program I am applying to requires 3 letters of recommendation, where 1 must come from a Stanford faculty member (stating they will be your advisor). So this really leaves me with choosing 2 references to persuade the adcomm. I am now choosing between who will be the best 3rd recommendation... LORs: Letter # 1: Stanford professor recommending me to the program (i.e. he is backing my application as my advisor). This is really a character reference since his decision is coming from a presentation I made and an interview. Letter#2: A past Stanford Ph.D. who I have been working/researching with for the past +3 years. This will be my strongest LOR. since he has the best knowledge of my capabilities/background, ability to research, and has a history with Stanford. Letter#3A: Co-worker/Ph.D who I have researched with and have also worked with for 3 years. He is not well published, but has held high positions within industry. Also his Ph.D. was in applied physics versus EE. OR Letter#3B: Past undergrad advisor (back in 2007). A Stanford EE Ph.D who completed research with one of Stanford's most well known EE professor/researcher. Very well known in industry. I have not really interacted with this professor much since 2010 (met to discuss research i was conducting) so this may weaken this reference. But, this professor understands the importance of the LOR and is familiar with Stanford's admissions - so I feel the letter will be written with the goal in mind of persuading the adcomm. Based on my LOR background, who do you feel will make a better Letter #3 (3A or 3B)?

I am applying to Stanford's EE grad program and need some advice on who to choose for my 3rd letter of rec. My dilemma - The program I am applying to requires 3 letters of recommendation, where 1 must come from a Stanford faculty member (stating they will be your advisor). So this really leaves me with choosing 2 references to persuade the adcomm. I am now choosing between who will be the best 3rd recommendation... LORs: Letter # 1: Stanford professor recommending me to the program (i.e. he is backing my application as my advisor). This is really a character reference since his decision is coming from a presentation I made and an interview. Letter#2: A past Stanford Ph.D. who I have been working/researching with for the past +3 years. This will be my strongest LOR. since he has the best knowledge of my capabilities/background, ability to research, and has a history with Stanford. Letter#3A: Co-worker/Ph.D who I have researched with and have also worked with for 3 years. He is not well published, but has held high positions within industry. Also his Ph.D. was in applied physics versus EE. OR Letter#3B: Past undergrad advisor (back in 2007). A Stanford EE Ph.D who completed research with one of Stanford's most well known EE professor/researcher. Very well known in industry. I have not really interacted with this professor much since 2010 (met to discuss research i was conducting) so this may weaken this reference. But, this professor understands the importance of the LOR and is familiar with Stanford's admissions - so I feel the letter will be written with the goal in mind of persuading the adcomm. Based on my LOR background, who do you feel will make a better Letter #3 (3A or 3B)?

Any suggestions on this statement? "I continued onto the M.S.E.E. while working full-time with XYZ, where I focused my course work on XYZ and my research on XYZ. My overall GPA was a 3.43/4.00 and was a result of my excessive workload and business travel during my Spring-’09 semester, where I received 6-units of B. Although these marks do not reflect my abilities or work ethic as a student, I was able to learn from my mistakes. I learned to balance unexpected surges of work with my academic commitments, and in practice was able to complete my final year of the M.S.E.E. with an average GPA of 3.67/4.00." Thanks!

Thanks you two for the great responses. I will definitely take them into consideration when writing my SOPs.

Hello, I am writing up my SOPs for various applications, but am wondering if it is worth explaining a low GPA? During my MSEE I had one bad semester where I received 6-units of B, due to the amount of work/travel I did not anticipate (one con of pursuing an MS while working =[ ). This one semester unfortunately killed my overall GPA. My last year of my MSEE I averaged a GPA of 3.67, but when combined with my first year GPA it drops to 3.43. Should I even bother explaining this in my SOP? I do not want to sound like I am making excuses to the committee, but I also want the committee to know that I improved/learned from that one bad semester. Thanks!

I know that this is a very old forum topic, but I would like to get your advice on the D.Eng and my chances of getting in. I am looking at applying to this program at Stanford, but I have lousy stats: Undergrad GPA 3.16/4.0 (CSU) Major GPA: 3.32/4.0 (CSU) MSEE GPA: 3.43/4.0 GRE: Q710 V410 AW 4 I did work a year long internship while completing my senior year of undergrad, and have been working in R&D for a very well known engineering firm for 4 years (I hope this helps). I also have a faculty member from Stanford willing to take me as a student, and to write a letter of recommendation. Getting a letter of rec from a faculty member is actually a requirement for the application. Thanks!

Hello, Does anyone know the typical statistics for getting into the Engineer's Degree program at Stanford? Has anyone enrolled or completed the D.Eng EE at Stanford? I plan on applying for the Autumn quarter and want to know if I will be wasting $125 on this application. Thanks!

Unfortunately moving isn't an option for me, since I need to work. I actually passed up Columbia this year for that reason. I'm pretty sure I can get into Santa Clara, but it's not really a great school. :|

I plan on applying to the PhD EE program at Stanford. My employer will most likely pay for all the tuition costs, books etc. The only thing they will not pay (at the moment) is things like fabrication costs (things dealing with the research).

Do admissions care whether or not you will be funded by an employer when determining acceptance?

When a university is offering funding to a student what does this cover? Does this simply cover the cost of living expenses, and tuition? If my employer is currently offering to pay for my tuition to attend a PhD program, will this have any influence on the admissions committee?

Thanks for the replies. My letters of rec will be comming from a PhD I research with at work, a sr research manager, and my msee advisor. I plan on writing custom sop for each of the universities. Anything else I can do to increase my chances?

Hello All, I am looking into applying to PhD programs in California, but want to get some opinions prior to spending all that money. My stats are: UGPA-cum : 3.16/4.0 --from a top 10 EE program UGPA-major: 3.33/4.0 MSEE - GPA: 3.43/4.0 (Working full time in industry in an R&D group for a top company) GRE Q710 V410 AW:TBD Two Patent Applications submitted to USPTO No publications Work experience -1 yr co-op my senior year of undergrad for a well known IC design house -4 yrs in top companies R&D group as an RFIC/mixed signal -lead own research projects for my company focused in RFIC I am applying to: Stanford (first choice)- they seem very lenient on admissions Santa Clara(last choice) UCSD UCB( might apply) UCSB Can you rate my chances? I am assuming UCB is a very very very long shot

I'd go to wherever the best research is going on. People in your field will respect that you studied under the top researcher in the field rather than the university name.

Hello All, I am planning to apply to Stanford's PhD EE program, and am looking for some advice from a current PhD Candidate. First question: If I already have an MSEE, and am waitlisted (or rejected) for the PhD EE, can I still work on an MSEE at Stanford? Next, I have been looking at the reported stats from the applicants on this site and it seems Stanford's admissions requirements are very inconsistent. Based on my stats do you feel I have any chance of getting accepted? UGPA: 3.16/4.0 (worked a co-op senior year for a very well known IC design firm) UGPA - Major 3.32/4.0 MSEE GPA: 3.43/4.0 (working full-time in a very well known companies R&D group) GRE Q-710 V-410 Analytical Writing- TBD (but probably a 4-4.5) Work experience: 5 years (including Co-Op) R&D: 4 years in research group Letters of rec from: Stanford Grad/ principal R&D Engineer (PhD), Senior R&D Manager, sr. Staff Engineer (PhD from RPI) or my MSEE Advisor Any advice is appreciated since I do not want to waste $120 on the application.