Orange745

I've been accepted to (for MS): UW- Madison Industrial & Systems - OR concentration Penn State - IE/OR dual masters USC - OR Engineering Northeastern - OR UW - Seattle - IE (still waiting on purdue) Which do you think I should go with? I'm strongly leaning towards Madison, does anyone have any opinion? I didn't get financial aid offers from any. Attack of the loans!

I know USC doesn't offer aid for masters students and MIT is a long shot. What about the rest? Purdue UW- Madison UW- Seattle Penns state Northeastern USC MIT CDO

How is penn state's industrial engineering/OR program?

So human factors is the most competitive?

Does anyone know how common financial aid is for MS engineering students? Will saying that you are seeking financial aid affect your admissions chances? My GPA is low (3.13) so I know my chances of receiving aid are slim, but I said I was seeking aid anyways. If I don't get aid I'll take out loans and do whatever necessary to make sure I go. Will programs see that I am seeking aid and assume I need it to enroll? Could this potentially turn an acceptance into a rejection?

I applied/am applying to all masters programs. Either within industrial engineering or stand alone OR, and MIT's CDO... MIT (CDO) UW- Madison UW- Seattle Purdue Penn State Northeastern USC Does anyone have any feel of how competitive OR admissions are for a masters? There is virtually no information on what kind of stats you need to be competitive. MIT I know I have no chance. The other ones I have no idea how to gauge my chances. My goal is to get a single acceptance. Stat-wise: 3.13 GPA at top public university Math and Econ double major Engineering internships during the summers where I did research in R&D (field wasn't really related) 3 recs. 1 from my supervisor, 1 from the Dean of Operations (In the business school), and 1 from another professor. GRE: 800q, 480v, 4.5w SOP probably pretty average, maybe a litle bit above. Is Industrial Engineering/OR the kind of field where you need to put up monster stats? I think I have the best chance at Northeastern, any thoughts?

What is the optimal length? Is 1 3/4 to 2 pages single spaced too long? Should I keep it to one page?

I love operations research. I'm applying for a masters in industrial engineering with a specialization in OR right now. No one ever talks about it so I'm assuming it is a rather unknown field. I have no idea how to gauge my chances because I have no one to compare to, which is annoying.

Thanks for the advice. I still have one more application to hand in (late deadline). I'll definitely have to add in more specifics about why I want their school and do a little name dropping. It will be interesting because the last school has a pretty big department with about 6-8 people doing stuff that is very closely tied to my interests. My SOP is also getting to be pretty long as is, sounds like I have more work to do!

I have a few questions about SOPs... 1. People talk a lot about SOPs for phd students, do the same rules apply for a masters applicant? My statement was pretty career focused. 2. Should the SOP be somewhat anecdotal? 3. How specific should I be when describing what I want to study? How direct should it be? (i.e. Is it enough to say I am interested in this field with this specialization because of ________.) I'm applying to operations research engineering programs, but I'm a math and econ double major (graduating). I had an engineering internship for a few summers so I have some experience. I read the post about SOPs but I'm still somewhat confused. I explained how I discovered OR, why I chose my majors, my experience with research, and then I explained the importance of a masters degree to my career aspirations. I then complimented the school's curriculem in generic terms and I told them I would be a good fit ect. Is that all you're supposed to do? I have a feeling in the back of my mind that I am missing something.