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Anyone applying for Petroleum Engineering PhD programs for Fall 2018? Which schools are you considering? Anyone who has previously applied and got accepted, can you provide some feedback on chances of getting into TAMU/Penn State/UT Austin/ U of Houston/Stanford: Undergrad: 2.9/4 (India) MS: 3.33/4 (UK), with thesis GRE (321, 5.0) What kind of profiles get admitted to above mentioned schools?

Hello, I'm an international student and will be paying full OOS tuition to the school I go to, none of them offer funding. My goal after grad school is to transition to industry in the US (possibly in an R&D, technician, or design position...not academia), in the field of MEMS/nanotechnology/photonics. I'm leaning towards University of Michigan - Ann Arbor because it seems to have a good reputation in ECE, but at the end of the day, companies likely don't care too much on the school but rather the skills/knowledge you acquired. I'm not a fan of the location; I would likely look for a job on the (west) coast after graduation. The advisor for my program of interest seems to be well-known in the field for the past decade (I just looked at relevant citations on Google Scholar and compared to the other 2 schools/program advisors). University of Washington - Seattle is located in a relatively nice region; but I think UMich has a better reputation (once again, school reputation is not everything). PennState is currently 3rd on my list; the program quality seems equal to UWash, but the location is not ideal. (In hindsight, I should have applied to more schools in California, I only applied to USC and have not yet heard back.) I would also like to do an internship or co-op work term if that is allowed for F-1 visa holders (advice on this would also be appreciated). Which school would set me up on the path of highest probability to: 1st) Work in industry in the field of MEMS/nanotechnology/photonics. 2nd) Have the ability to relocate to either the west or east coast? 3rd) Graduate. My undergraduate was in engineering physics and I am starting to feel anxiety in doing a Masters in ECE. I'll be trying to fill in knowledge-gaps (e.g. circuits) over the summer. Ideally, the school I go to has excellent academic support for its students, outside regular lectures. I have not discussed my decisions with other people, as I currently work in a somewhat unrelated field. If anyone has experience or is familiar with these schools, any thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you!