mechengr2000

What school is this? I have a feeling I know which one. If the school's name starts with an "S" and its a private school on the west coast, I think you are right to be alarmed, as I have also heard things. Be shrewd, but respectful when dealing with these programs. They act in their own self-interest, not yours.

Wait... so is USC free, or are they charging tuition? Eitherway, I say go with USC

How have your circumstances changed?

I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder my senior year of undergrad (i.e. this last year). It made things difficult, as I had to sleep 16 hours a day. I informed my professors, ***in detail***, and they were very accommodating. It was also a mental battle for me, because I wanted to give up and use my disease as an excuse to stop trying. It was a very difficult part of my life. Typical recovery time is 3-5 years, so I still have at least 2 years to go. I am starting my Phd this summer. Symptoms are much better, im at 85% of my full health. What specific concerns do you have? Can you elaborate on how your back problems will affect you? What would an otherwise healthy version of you be able to do that you cannot currently do?

I'm in the same situation. I think I would like to get a part time job on the weekends, or after 5 on weekdays, and I was wondering what the protocol is in grad school for this kind of thing if the school is funding me already as an RA.

How much should a new PhD graduate in engineering expect as a first year starting salary in private sector? What is your experience with salary?

The reputation of your school is not going to affect you.

I think that all the cards are not on the table yet, so there is no sense in trying to make a hand. Let's get all the available options on the table first. Think real hard about how you are going to tell Michigan how you want to do a PhD, but just need the funding. Think about this hard for the next two days and draft something. You can PM me if you like.

That's a big deal. Congratulations! See? They are unlikely to give funding if you apply for MS. You should tell them your heart is in PhD. Tell them you applied for PhD at Iowa, and was accepted with funding. If you could do PhD with them with funding, you would prefer to go there. Just tell them honestly.

My friend is a PhD student in Physics there. You definitely need ~800 on the Math section of GRE. Even very low ranking programs will scoff at an application that isnt near 800 Math. 6% of people who take the GRE get a perfect 800 on the Math section, so it looks bad if you don't.

Many schools "milk" their name and use it as an excuse to give you a darn horrible experience for 4-6 years. The name is not going to mean you automatically beat every other candidate when applying for jobs. Read reviews on Yelp of big name universities, and see the awful reviews they get. Read the specific details. Some of these universities do things that are detrimental to your development in your career, and severely hold you back from gaining meaningful positions. Investigate. Only suckers are naive. You have set lofty goals and you can obtain them if you keep shrewd and focussed about it. Good luck, again!

Great! I'm glad everything worked out. Good luck, and get well soon to your Dad!

This sounds, at first, like a BAD idea. Applying to MS programs is very difficult. Why not apply for PhD first? Schools generally hate taking MS-only students, and will not fund them. Again, that's in general.

To directly answer your question: Harvard most heavily weighs GPA/Coursework because they KILL their grad students with coursework. I have a friend going through this right now. They give loads and loads of homework. Since they see coursework as such a high priority, you will need something near or at 4.0 GPA to get in. I would say thats more important to them than research experience. Getting into grad schools is not a "linear process." Meaning that just because you can get into the schools ranked #1-5 does not mean you can get into the ones ranked #10-15. Do not see them as numbers. Each institution has a wildly different style, and are each looking for something qualitatively specific and unique. For Harvard, that is GPA. For other school X, that is research experience. For school Y, that is teaching experience. For school Z, that is industry experience. Each school is totally different about this, and NOT UPFRONT about what they are looking for. If you want to know what school N is looking for, you are best off asking us or current grad students at that institution. If you call admissions dept and ask them what are their priorities, I bet you that they will not give you this detail. (I have tried asking them and other schools, and they do not tell. One school added that we as students should just do what comes naturally to us, and not try to do anything to please them, so that both parties are happy. I think that is golden advice.) To add my two cents that you are not asking for: When someone is looking to hire a person for a position, do you think they are going to look for who can do that job the best and put the company ahead, or just look for alumni? I think you are over estimating the power of an alumni network. Alumni can get you interviews. Alumni can get you jobs where the jobs are cushy and the person is not expected to actually be able to do anything hard, unique, or special. But being a startup founder or CTO of a competitve business requires something special, so please make sure you consider that. Also consider that a major portion of Harvard's Engineering faculty does not hold engineering degrees. They mostly hold science or math degrees. This will make it hard for you to learn how to develop technology from them. (Again, look at qualitative aspects like this when you consider programs.)Good luck with your decisions and goals!! I wish you the best!!

Go with UM. I recently visited for the MechE program. Fantastic people. I strongly doubt that going to UCI will increase your chances of employment in California over someone who went to school outside the state. Companies look for the best candidates, and pay top dollar to recruit them from around the world. Go to U of M. They are top ranked and absolutely great people.

I think you need to talk to your Dad's doctor. Tell him your #1 priority to make sure your parents are OK. Ask him to tell you objectively as a doctor if would be a logical decision, or an emotional one, at this point, to post pone future school plans so that you can take care of your parents. Get him to give you as much feedback as possible as to how much confidence he has in your Dad's recovery, and how much help your Dad will need.

When did you receive this offer? Did you attend Visit Day?

I dont think this is because he is an international student. I myself was accepted at 6 of the top, top programs in my field this year, and only three of them offered any support! This is due to the recession and nothing else. Don't take it personally.

This is a very difficult time in your life. I am sorry to hear about these trouble's, especially about your Dad's health. Who is currently the primary caretaker of your parents? How often do you currently see them? It sounds like the deeply care about your education. Keep in mind that while at grad school, schedules are extremely flexible, so if you ever had to take a trip home, you could do it spur of the moment. Also keep in mind modern technologies, like Skype and the good old telephone that make it possible to see your Dad everyday even if he is miles away. That way you can give him the support he needs, and he can also take satisfaction in knowing you are pursuing something important to you.

We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to win "prestigious" awards. Do these things really matter? In which ways do they count? In which ways do they not count? Does it matter 5 years down the line? 10 years? Sound off.

What is your extracurricular record?

Energy Science & Technology

I noticed with my own admissions process, what matters are not these numbers so much. I applied to 18 schools, got accepted at all my top choices, got rejected from the bottom 3 choices, and mixed decisions in between. Find out what kind of culture exists at each of these schools (more qualititative stuff) and see where you will be the best fit. They care about "fit" more than anything else, based on my own experience applying to so many schools and seeing how each one had a different reaction to my application. Some value GPA and don't value research experience. Some are the other way around. etc etc

When are NDSEG evals supposed to come out? The last time I spoke to them on the phone, they said today, but I haven't gotten anything!

I would email and then follow up with a phone call. Good luck! i got absolutely no feedback when I've asked. I would get a professor to do it, rather than an admissions counselor, but try both and dont give up.