Chances - Mechanical Engineering PhD

[beartato]

I'm a senior in ME at Cornell, and I'm interested in getting a PhD. My stats aren't really stellar, so I thought i would post here to get an idea of where I should be aiming.

GRE: 770Q, 630V, 5.0 W (kind of bummed, but not worth taking again)

GPA: 3.48 overall, 3.56 major

(Lots of Bs and a C+ my sophomore year. I've had above 3.5 for 4/6 semesters, above 3.7 in 2/6.)

Research experience: Two summers and a winter in Materials Science at a flagship public university near my home. It was a good experience, but unfortunately not in my area of interest (robotics/mechatronics/controls), which I picked up after I took Mechatronics last year. Worked on a design project as well as helped a grad student with his research. Did not write anything publishable.

Work experience: Most recent summer at a large engineering company. Did various design and analytical work. Again, a good experience. Also found out that I like the corporate environment and would probably like to do research in industry.

Other: No significant awards (four semesters on Dean's list), but I hold leadership positions in a couple of campus organizations (this can be time-consuming). I have also worked about 8 hours a week grading papers for Statics and Dynamics.

LORs: One from my research professor, should be good. The rest will have to be from professors I've had for classes but have not worked for, unfortunately. Would it be wise to ask my supervisor at my internship for a supplemental letter as well? I heard "letters from industry don't count for much".

My top choices are probably Cornell and Michigan. I am also looking at: Purdue, Case Western, and CMU. These obviously are hard to get into, so I will need to look at less selective programs as well.

In short, how likely am I to get into any of these programs, and do you know of any others that might be a good fit for a person of my interests and qualifications?

Thanks.

[beartato]

I'm a senior in ME at Cornell, and I'm interested in getting a PhD. My stats aren't really stellar, so I thought i would post here to get an idea of where I should be aiming.

GRE: 770Q, 630V, 5.0 W (kind of bummed, but not worth taking again)

GPA: 3.48 overall, 3.56 major

(Lots of Bs and a C+ my sophomore year. I've had above 3.5 for 4/6 semesters, above 3.7 in 2/6.)

Research experience: Two summers and a winter in Materials Science at a flagship public university near my home. It was a good experience, but unfortunately not in my area of interest (robotics/mechatronics/controls), which I picked up after I took Mechatronics last year. Worked on a design project as well as helped a grad student with his research. Did not write anything publishable.

Work experience: Most recent summer at a large engineering company. Did various design and analytical work. Again, a good experience. Also found out that I like the corporate environment and would probably like to do research in industry.

Other: No significant awards (four semesters on Dean's list), but I hold leadership positions in a couple of campus organizations (this can be time-consuming). I have also worked about 8 hours a week grading papers for Statics and Dynamics.

LORs: One from my research professor, should be good. The rest will have to be from professors I've had for classes but have not worked for, unfortunately. Would it be wise to ask my supervisor at my internship for a supplemental letter as well? I heard "letters from industry don't count for much".

My top choices are probably Cornell and Michigan. I am also looking at: Purdue, Case Western, and CMU. These obviously are hard to get into, so I will need to look at less selective programs as well.

In short, how likely am I to get into any of these programs, and do you know of any others that might be a good fit for a person of my interests and qualifications?

Thanks.

I believe my weakest point is that I have not done any research in my area of interest; all of my experience is unrelated. I have tried to get into a lab this semester but have not had much success with that. Would it be worth trying to work with another professor? I am beginning to realize that this semester is going to be pretty heavy, and to be completely honest I don't think I would be able to handle the additional workload without giving up one of my other activities (which I'm open to doing if it will seriously improve my chances).

Again, I would appreciate any input, as well as recommendations for programs (preferably top 20 or top 25) for which I would be a competitive applicant.

Thanks.