Applied to PhD in Mechanical Engineering - acceptance chances for English girl at UC Berkeley?!

[englishacademic]

Hi!

 

I'm a girl from England, and recently applied to UC Berkeley for a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, with the Mechanical Engineering department.

 

I'm super excited about my application and to help ease my nerves while I wait I thought I'd post and see what people thought of my chances of being accepted

 

Here's my background:

- Masters in Engineering, and BSc also in Engineering, and was in the top 5% scoring of both degrees.

 

- Scored 70% on the GRE Quantitative, 95% on the verbal.

 

- Some research experience, a few prizes and extracurricular achievements, and also have some idea of the research group I would join at UC Berkeley.

 

Let me know what everyone thinks! 

(Be honest, I'm so nervous anyway )

 

 

 

   

[isawnewton]

Your GRE quantitative is low. Conversely, your GRE Verbal is higher than most candidates who get accepted to top engineering programs. If Berkeley uses a combination of your GRE and your GPA (without weighing the Verbal and the Quantitative portions differently), I think you *should* be fine for the initial cutoff. Usually, for top programs like Berkeley, GRE scores cannot really help you much but they can hurt you if they are not at par with the rest of the strong candidates.

Anyways, can you elaborate on your research experience? Research and your LOR writers' descriptions of your research ability probably comprise the most important part of your application. It also depends on how well you can tie in your interests with your abilities.

P.S. If you don't mind divulging this, which group are you looking to join at Berkeley? I am a Mechanical Engineering student as well You can PM me this if you prefer.