bigtrees

I am a non-traditional applicant, considering pursuing a 100% online PhD in Systems Engineering from Colorado State University. If I move forward, I'll be funded by my employer. I've reached out to a professor at CSU, who might be my advisor, and his response when I inquired about potential dissertation topics is that I can pretty much pick anything related to systems engineering, but it should be something that I have passion for and am highly interested in. This is a bit of a quandary for me, I was more hoping that there would be a list of potential topics and I could pick the most interesting one. Since that is not the case, and I am on my own to find and propose a dissertation topic, any suggestions about how I go about doing just that?

Still waiting on University of Southern California. Would like to hear something soon.

Waitiing to hear back from University of Southern California. I don't think that I have sufficient undergraduate courses based on my major (missing Heat Transfers, for example) so expect to get rejected in Aerospace Engineering. Holding out most hope for Product Development Engineering.

What were your undergraduate and masters majors?

I have one program that accepts but does not require LORs. Several professional colleagues were kind enough to write Letters of Recommendation for me. I read two of these. While excellent LORs, they reflect professional contributions to my field and do not discuss my potential as a graduate student. Is it beneficial to ask the letter writers to submit to the program that has optional LORs? I hate to bother the kind folks who wrote the letters again, and don't think that they really tell an admissions committee much that they admissions committee doesn't already know. My gut feeling is I should be fine without LORs but wanted to ask here.

Just submitted my second application to the same university. I customized my future plans section of each statement of purpose based on the degree. In one SOP, I said I might become a lead engineer, in the other SOP, I said I would be interested in joining another group. Both are true statements however I really don't know where my career path will lead. What I didn't do is tie the two different statements of purpose together so they would make sense if read by the same people. However, I am worrying that perhaps the same people will review both applications and be concerned that my future plans aren't the same in both SOPs. Do you think this is a valid concern? If so, is there any action that I should take at this point? In my opinion, nobody really knows the future, so it's hard to write about how a particular degree will be beneficial in the future.

Undergrad Institution: Montana State University, BS in Mechanical Engineering Technology Concentration: Manufacturing Processes and Technologies Overall GPA: 3.5 / 4.00 Graduate Institution: University of Washington, MS in Mechanical Engineering Concentration: Mechanics of Materials Overall GPA: 3.3 / 4.00 Where you applied: University of Southern California (two applications: Aerospace Engineering and Product Development Engineering) Demographics/Background: 15 years of industry experience GRE Scores: Q160 / V161 / AW 4.5 LOR: Not disclosing online Awards/Honors/Recognitions: N/A, Anything else: Research Interests: Additive Manufacturing

I have a BS in MET (3.5 GPA) and a MS in ME (3.3 GPA). Have taken 5 post-masters graduate engineering courses. Applying at USC for two programs (not dual major, will choose one of the two) in Aerospace Engineering and Product Development Engineering. Have no published papers, research experience, etc, but have been in aerospace industry for many years. Wondering how grad applicant committees look at holding a masters degree when applying for a second masters degree? How I did in my first masters will be good indication as to how I will do in my second masters degree, I believe. My overall profile: - BSMET at Flagship state college - MSME at Top 25 flagship state college - 5 post-graduate courses completed at Stanford - Undergraduate GPA - 3.5 - Graduate GPA - 3.3 - Licensed PE in 2 states - GRE scores: Q160/V161/AW4.5 - 15 years work experience at prime contractor Would appreciate any comments on my application to USC.

Just completed the GRE this weekend. Received 161Q/160V/?AW. Am trying to wrap my mind around the GRE scores. Would appreciate any comments. Planned major is MS in Engineering from USC. Looking online, their applicants have an average 164Q, so I am a little below average for that school.

Is anyone else applying to the Stanford Honors Cooperative Program (HCP), that is, the program that lets you take classes at a distance for a masters degree? I applied to Stanford for a MS in Aeronautics and Astronautics with the following stats....and waiting to see if I've been accepted: - GRE: 750/530/5.0 - Undergraduate GPA: 3.5 in mechanical engineering technology major (state university) - Masters GPA: 3.38 for a MS in Mechanical Engineering from a top 25 university (yes, I already have one masters) - Licensed professional engineer in 2 states - 7 years professional experience at prime contractor - Have taken 3 engineering courses at Stanford, with grades of A-, A-, and B+. Any idea if this will be enough? The only part that makes me nervous is my engineering technology undergraduate degree....I've since earned a masters in mechanical engineering, so I'm hoping they will consider that to be sufficient engineering education. (Yes, I've taken 2 years calculus, 1 year calculus-based physics, statics, etc, etc).