Grad school advice needed for Elec. Eng.

[Sephi226]

Hello everyone, I'm a senior electrical engineer at Rice University and I was hoping I could get some advice about my situation in applying to graduate school. I am not graduating this year for reasons I will explain later, but my breakdown goes as such:

 

Major: EE

minor: Applied Math

 

GPA: 3.48, Major:3.57 / 4.00

GRE: 780M 680V 5W

 

Experience/Employment

 

Rice University – Researcher under Dr. Zhong Spring 2010 – present

• Design a quad-rotor helicopter that is self-balancing via microcontrollers and sensors.

 

S&G Imports – Contract Engineer Spring 2010 – present

• Head engineer and project consultant for a commercial bar breathalyzer. I’ve redone the product for more accurate sensing and am incorporating a smart interface with touchscreen controls among other capabilities.

 

Rice University − Teaching Assistant for ELEC 301 Fall 2009

 

Rice University − Research Intern – Compressive Sensing – Dr. Baraniuk Summer 2009

• Created a 3-D projection system, performed Compressive Sensing on images and studied other methods such as Compressive Structured Light.

 

Rice University − Teaching Assistant for ELEC241 Fall 2008

 

Baylor College of Medicine − Lab Assistant for Dr. Scott Pletcher Summer 2008

• Engineered devices for Dr. Pletcher to improve his lab’s efficiency such as creating and programming a robotic arm from servo motors to incorporate into a fly counting system I engineered via photointerrupts.

 

Honors:

 

Louis J Walsh scholarship for Engineering (2008), F & M Rogers Scholarship (2008), National Hispanic Scholar (2005), Rice Intramural Billiards Champion (2008), National Society of Collegiate Scholars Inductee (2006).

 

 

Basically, I have a lot of work experience with a few graduate courses under my belt. I am not graduating this year because, while studying abroad last Spring in Singapore at NUS, I had to come back to help take care of my father who was diagnosed with cancer--so I am one semester short. I've luckily been able to continue school and still help my parents since he's being treated across the street at MD Anderson but that is why I will be doing an extra semester.

 

Now, my GPA is low because, quite frankly, I've had interesting circumstances to work through such as taking a full load while living out of my car because of hurricane damage last year, helping parents through cancer treatment and so forth. Anyway, that doesn't show in a transcript so it does not matter. What does matter is what I should be doing in this next year to give myself the best possible chances.

 

In terms of recommendations, I have an excellent recommendation from S & G Imports (a small startup) because I am literally in charge of everything about their product and they are simply paying me to get their end goal product done. One of my better recommenders is a man (Rhodes Scholar) who I have had several Applied Math courses and a research seminar with and is a top 10 in the world Numerical Analyst. Also, the current research under Dr. Zhong should produce a great recommendation as well, and during the summer I expect to be able to get another good to great one at my internship at Schlumberger. As backup, I have a few other recommenders because I am intimate with the faculty at Rice being the IEEE Vice President.

 

Also, if all goes as it has been for the past three semesters, I should be able to get a 3.55+ GPA in the next year (by application time) because my past two years is a 3.75 GPA with mostly engineering courses. So, do I have, realistically, any chance of being accepted at schools such as:

 

 

Cornell, MIT, Rice, Cal Tech, Georgia Tech, WashU, Berkeley, Purdue, etc.

 

 

In terms of project experience, I would have done the following

 

Guitar Effects Processor (senior design) sponsored by Freescale

Commercial Breathalyzer with a smart user interface

Self-stabilizing quadrotor platform

and probably one more thing under Dr. Zhong.

 

 

What should I do to better my chances aside boost my GPA as high as I can, and does my GPA keep me out of the top programs?

 

 

Thanks!

[ScotchDave]

I don't know if it's the done thing where you are, but you could ask one of your recommenders to mention your difficulties in their letter.

Good luck and I hope your dad improves,

Dave

[Sephi226]

I don't know if it's the done thing where you are, but you could ask one of your recommenders to mention your difficulties in their letter.

Good luck and I hope your dad improves,

Dave

I would be hesitant to do so because I get the impression that excuses, even if valid, still come off as excuses. Thanks for the advice though-- I'll definitely consider it.