Need help in deciding when to apply for my MS

[allendoss79]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm doing my final year of mechanical enineering.I am planning on applying for my masters in aerospace engineering in some of the top universities like University of Michigan(Ann Arbor),Georgia tech,Purdue etc..As you know these universities are very hard to get into, I was thinking of doing some research paper work after my final year to improve my profile.I am working on a paper this year too, and i feel i won't be able to complete it on time, as the deadlines for fall 2014 admissions start from Jan 2014.So could someone please tell me if I'm making the right choice in waiting for another year and applying for fall 2015 instead of fall 2014??

GRE- Nov 4th

GPA(avg)-8.3/10

Internships-1(non intrusive flow diagnostics)

mini-project-1:solving heat transfer problem in fluent

 

If in case i wait(or waste  ) another year and apply for fall 2015,in addition to the above i will have in my profile,

research papers-2

Final year project-1

Also a chance to increase my GPA(avg).

 

Please help,

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

 

 

[yhk331]

Hi Decaf,

 

I think there is no harm applying it first. You can always reapply it again. Typically, if you have 1 research paper published in a conference, then your profile will be relatively good. You GPA seems good too. As for GRE, personally, I won't be too concerned about it. What I suggest you to do, is to find and contact a potential supervisor for your MS. If a professor replies you back, then you have a good chance of getting into the school. Basically, if a prof wants you, it is hard for the school to say no.

 

So, it is important how you write you first inquiry email. I have written a blog post on this:

http://controlgradstudy.blogspot.ca/2013/04/ace-inquiry-email-for-your-potential.html

 

Furthermore, I have also written a blog post on how to select a supervisor, program and a grad school.

http://controlgradstudy.blogspot.ca/2013/04/selecting-your-program-supervisor-and.html

 

I hope you find this useful.

[allendoss79]

Thanx I'll look into it

[jimmy_01]

I agree, you should apply now and see how things go. Worst case scenario is that you get rejected from every school, and in that case you re-apply next year. Schools don't look down on students who re-apply for admission...typically, it's actually the opposite; admissions committees admire students you persist and who provide a better quailty application on the second try.

Edited August 2, 2013 by jimmy_01

[zapster]

Agreed - you should definitely apply now; in the worst case that you do not get in to any of your schools, the application process itself will be a great learning process and help you improve your SOP etc. for the next year, as well as provide you with implicit feedback on any other areas you might want to focus on improving.