chemeng24 Posted January 18, 2014 Posted January 18, 2014 You never know what could happen so you should always apply to some schools that are not as competitive as the top 10. Even if you have perfect stats, you can't assume that will get you in some of the more competitive schools. There is a lot more that goes on in the process that one might think. I was also over confident when I was applying but I still took the time to apply to schools such as Michigan, good but not in the top ten. It's easy to underestimate the competition when you are one of the top in your school. You have to realize that there are hundreds of ChemE programs in the nation, and all of them have students with stellar stats applying to graduate schools. I was told that the average GPA for the UT admits this year was 3.98. That gives you an idea of how competitive it is. Best of luck to you guys.
gus_fring Posted January 18, 2014 Posted January 18, 2014 @chemeng24 - Yeah you're right. I really should have known better. Really hope I get in somewhere by a miracle! I agree with TexasGuy- that 3.98 requirement is a bit of a bummer though!
Ursathrope Posted January 18, 2014 Posted January 18, 2014 (edited) Just wanted to chime in. I got into UT-Austin with a 3.772 GPA. I have 3 years of research, 1 pub and another on the way. GPA isn't everything! EDIT: I too can confirm UT sent out all of their invitations. The graduate adviser told me that they wanted it all finished before the new year. Edited January 18, 2014 by Ursathrope
tfcsda Posted January 18, 2014 Posted January 18, 2014 @gus_fring - It seems like you have pretty good stats - good enough to get into any of the schools you applied to. I wouldn't be discouraged yet, it's not like it's April 15. I agree with chemeng24 that the admission process is more intricate and non linear than we might have expected, but that's also the reason why other schools might consider you a good fit, even though UT Austin might not, according to chemeng24. It's easy to speculate and freak out now, but the truth is, nobody knows what's gonna happen!
chemeng24 Posted January 18, 2014 Posted January 18, 2014 I just spoke with somebody and they corrected me, the average GPA of the admits was 3.95. It is NOT a requirement that you have to have this GPA to get into UT, but thats just how the statistics were this year. Obviously there would be some with a higher GPA and some with lower. I agree with Ursanthrope that GPA is only a small portion of the pie. But, some schools use GPA and GRE to sort of screen out applicants, which I don't agree with. Anyway, I wouldn't give up hope until all of the decisions for each school are made!
gus_fring Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 @tfcsda and chemeng24 - Thanks for your reassurance . I really hope I get to some positive news during this depressing waiting period.
gus_fring Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 Am I right in assuming that all Berkeley applicants, whether they are rejected or accepted, get a 'Prospective Weekend' (organized by Berkeley Grads) invitation email?
orthostice Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 im going to start emailing profs on Monday. Thats something that people advise against but at this point I have to What are you planning to write in the email? Best of luck!
TexasGuy Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 ortho...i've read a couple of papers published by professors I want to work with. I will email them and suggest ways the research can be extended..and tie it into the type of research that I do Honestly, I'm not sure what approach to take in this email. If anyone can offer some advice please do.
spectastic Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 anyone have information on GA tech so far?
spectastic Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 also out of curiosity. anyone have had industrial experience? I'm working in industry right now, and I'm curious what others have drawn from it.
Ursathrope Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 I just received my acceptance email from Georgia Tech this morning.
teerav42 Posted January 23, 2014 Author Posted January 23, 2014 How is everyone prioritizing which departments to visit? I applied to seven schools, have been admitted to four, and I'm still waiting on two, and I expect I will get in to one of the last two. So, That means five potential visits, which seems like a lot. What do you guys think is a reasonable number of visits to make, and how are you prioritizing which schools you want to check out?
yushish Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 How is everyone prioritizing which departments to visit? I applied to seven schools, have been admitted to four, and I'm still waiting on two, and I expect I will get in to one of the last two. So, That means five potential visits, which seems like a lot. What do you guys think is a reasonable number of visits to make, and how are you prioritizing which schools you want to check out? Having talked to grad students in my lab, it seems like 4 visits is a pretty good number. Those who visited more than 4 felt quite burnt out by the end. For me, I will definitely visit Stanford and Princeton, and I feel obligated to visit Penn because I did an REU there and my PI wrote me a very strong letter. Unfortunately, both of Wisconsin's weekends conflict for me. If I get into MIT or Caltech I will probably visit those as well, but I'm happy with my choices right now.
Ursathrope Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 I will be visiting at least four of my schools (pending acceptance). Right now the schools I will definitely visit are Texas, MIT, Berkeley, and Minnesota. If any of the last three fail to accept me I will visit Georgia Tech and Washington. I think 4 or 5 schools is a pretty solid number and definitely will make the semester go by a little quicker!
Lasserith Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 I was accepted there also. I'm strongly considering attending but I'm a bit nervous since its the first year of the program. Anybody else have thoughts on the UChicago IME program? I'm strongly considering as well. I applied to Twin Cities, MIT, Caltech, Berkely, Princeton, UMich, and of course UChicago. Out of those MIT and UChicago are my top choices. Allow me to explain. UChicago has a reputation for poaching the best professors. Dr. Tirrell who founded the institute is no exception. He was the dean of engineering at UCSB. On top of this all of their professors are not new researchers. They all are well established and well known. My undergrad mentor specifically recommended the program to me as one of the best programs. Sure their is some risk as it is a brand new department but that also has quite a few benefits. All the labs are brand new, everything is well funded, they are offering very good stipends etc.There is also something very appealing about the idea of being a founding member of what could be one of the top programs. I'm visiting for sure. If you want to talk more feel free to pm me and I can give you my email.
Jacie_ChE Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 Purdue ChE is sending out their first round choices this week. Visit is in early March I belive. Second wave will go out sometime after the visit. Good luck to all you applying and making decisions, I was in your shoes last year.
TruongPham Posted January 25, 2014 Posted January 25, 2014 Does anyone know when the MIT and UCSB weekends are? 7 schools have invited me already, but I want to save the dates for MIT and UCSB, my top 2 choices.
yushish Posted January 25, 2014 Posted January 25, 2014 (edited) Does anyone know when the MIT and UCSB weekends are? 7 schools have invited me already, but I want to save the dates for MIT and UCSB, my top 2 choices. UCSB's weekends are February 28 and March 14, while MIT's weekends are February 28 and March 7. Good luck! Edited January 25, 2014 by yushish
TruongPham Posted January 26, 2014 Posted January 26, 2014 Alright, Thanks a lot. I guess I wondered if they stopped sending invitations to the first weekend? Not getting the email yet is likely an indicator of getting rejected?
teerav42 Posted January 26, 2014 Author Posted January 26, 2014 UCSB's weekends are February 28 and March 14, while MIT's weekends are February 28 and March 7. Good luck! Thanks for the MIT dates! On a related note, does anyone know when Carnegie Mellon's weekends are? I would like to save those dates as well. And another related note, has anyone heard from MIT or Carnegie Mellon, or have any idea when I might hear from them? Those are my last two to hear from and I'm getting antsy.
yushish Posted January 26, 2014 Posted January 26, 2014 A friend of mine was just admitted to MIT today, and historically people have been admitted through the end of January, so I don't think they're quite done sending acceptances yet.
teerav42 Posted January 26, 2014 Author Posted January 26, 2014 A friend of mine was just admitted to MIT today, and historically people have been admitted through the end of January, so I don't think they're quite done sending acceptances yet. Gotcha. I don't want to exactly throw in the towel but I am thinking that if someone with your profile hasn't been admitted yet then I probably won't be getting in to MIT. Ah well. If it happens it'll be a lovely surprise.
darmok Posted January 26, 2014 Posted January 26, 2014 (edited) Mainly just waiting for acceptance/ rejection from MIT - leaning toward UPenn right now. Intend to visit UDel, Cornell, UPenn - not sure about CMU. Also - CMU visit date is March 7th-9th, alternate March 21st-22nd Edited January 26, 2014 by darmok
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