undergradute research for getting into grad school

[superstar]

Hey guys

I have a very quick question here.

I'm an undergraduate student majoring in Electrical Engineering, and planning to pursue Ph. D in EE as well.

Well, my goal is getting into top 3 engineering schools, such as MIT, Berkeley, or Stanford. ( I actually prefer to go to Stanford... but it is just a dream)

So far, my GPA is 4.0 and I also have several research experiences. However, I don't have any publications yet, and I don't think I will ever publish any paper before I graduate.

is it required to have at least one publication to go to such schools above?

Do you guys think I still have a little chance of getting accepted from those schools?

Moreover, what else am I supposed to do to strengthen my resume for grad school?

P.S : I might graduate in summer of 2011.

Edited May 24, 2010 by superstar

[brahmin]

hey superstar, I am in the same boat as you are. I have a similar profile that I posted in the same engineering page. I also worry that I haven't published anything or presented my work in a conference or something. I looked at some of the profiles that got accepted into the elite schools you mentioned..and quite a few didn't i don't think. I have asked the same question in other forums and ppl have said that the committees don't really look for published material. It would definitely boost your profile but they understand that we are just undergrads and plus things that undergrads publish no one cares about it anyway. Your recommendation letters are the ones that are going to show your research skills. I hope this helps

[superstar]

hey superstar, I am in the same boat as you are. I have a similar profile that I posted in the same engineering page. I also worry that I haven't published anything or presented my work in a conference or something. I looked at some of the profiles that got accepted into the elite schools you mentioned..and quite a few didn't i don't think. I have asked the same question in other forums and ppl have said that the committees don't really look for published material. It would definitely boost your profile but they understand that we are just undergrads and plus things that undergrads publish no one cares about it anyway. Your recommendation letters are the ones that are going to show your research skills. I hope this helps

Hey brahmin

Thanks for letting me know those stuff. that helps me a lot.

I also looked other profiles and some of them who worked in some research lab for 6 years w/ no publication got accepted into Stanford.

But, those guys who don't have publication have at least M.S. degree.

If I have only B.S. degree and have no publication but research experience, would it make any difference?

[international_student]

Hey guys

I have a very quick question here.

I'm an undergraduate student majoring in Electrical Engineering, and planning to pursue Ph. D in EE as well.

Well, my goal is getting into top 3 engineering schools, such as MIT, Berkeley, or Stanford. ( I actually prefer to go to Stanford... but it is just a dream)

So far, my GPA is 4.0 and I also have several research experiences. However, I don't have any publications yet, and I don't think I will ever publish any paper before I graduate.

is it required to have at least one publication to go to such schools above?

Do you guys think I still have a little chance of getting accepted from those schools?

Moreover, what else am I supposed to do to strengthen my resume for grad school?

P.S : I might graduate in summer of 2011.

A paper in UG will have a huge impact on your application but it is not required by any means. Speaking with EE terms, you should be note that there are a lot of "non-linear" effects in the application processes. So, you can not be sure that whether the lack of something will effect your application as well as being 4.00 will guarantee your admission.

However, talking from experience I think that having a GPA over 3.9, having done UG research, and applying to the areas similar to the UG research topic, and having 1 or 2 "research LOR" (as opposed to "course LOR" )   should ensure you admission of at least 1/3 (among Stanford,MIT and Berkeley). 4.00 GPA might bring you 2/3. but 3/3 if a little bit of dream 

ps: I can recommend you to stress your research in your statement of purpose as much as possible.

Edited June 4, 2010 by international_student

[Slorg]

Publications are definitely not required. I got into Berkeley and Stanford with funding (rejected by MIT), and I had no publications or conference presentations whatsoever.