2016 EE PhD Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

[Edotdl]

I don't think there's a profile thread for EE applicants, so I guess I'll make one. Hopefully, there are some of you out there.

Undergrad Institution: (School or type of school, such as big state, lib arts, ivy, technical, foreign (what country?))
Major(s):
Minor(s):
GPA in Major:
Overall GPA:
Position in Class: (No numbers needed, but are you top? near top? average? struggling?)
Type of Student: (Domestic/International, male/female, minority?)

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q:
V:
W:


TOEFL Total: (if applicable, otherwise delete this)

Research Experience: (At your school or elsewhere? What field? How much time? Any publications (Mth author out of N?) or conference talks etc...)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (Within your school or outside?)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, etc...)

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...)

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where:

School - Department - Research Interest
School - Department - Research Interest
School - Department - Research Interest

[Edotdl]

EE major interested in (comp.) neuro stuff like BCIs, neuromorphic chips, cognitive computing, etc.

Undergrad Institution: Ivy
Major(s): EE
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.8+
Overall GPA: 3.8+
Position in Class: top?
Type of Student: Asian Male

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 170 (98%)
V: 162 (90%)
W: 4.5 (80%)

Research Experience: Multiple semester long experiences in not super related areas during freshman and sophomore year. Sophomore summer did research program at Big 10 school in Neuro. Started in lab beginning Junior year in another Neuro lab at my current school (in this lab now). Amgen scholar doing Neuro research summer after junior year.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Dean's list, GPA stuff

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

TA one semester.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Letters from PIs that did PhD at MIT

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
Recs from the two summer programs and the lab I'm in now at my school. At least 2 are relatively famous in their fields (which is not exactly what I want to do in grad school though)
Applying to Where:
All PhD

MIT- EECS

Stanford-EE

CMU-ML

Princeton-EE

Columbia-EE

[slantyeyes]

Undergrad Institution: big private, moderately selective (~30% acceptance rate)
Major(s): EE & Physics
Minor(s): math, cs
GPA in Major: 3.9 (EE), 3,8 (Physics)
Overall GPA: 3.87
Position in Class: top 15-20% ish?
Type of Student: Asian Male

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 170 (98%)
V: 157 (74%)
W: 5 (94%)

Research Experience: EEG brainwave processing, biomedical imaging for cancer detection, quantified fitness

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

dean's list, eta kappa nu, tau beta pi

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

6 months each at a telecommunications company (signal processing), gov't lab (optics & computer vision), well known silicon valley tech company (biomedical research/machine learning)

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: 2 years as D1 athlete

Special Bonus Points: 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where:
All MS

Stanford, Cal, Cornell, UPenn, CMU

[robot_control]

International student with background in *general engineering*. Interested in robotics, and related areas like control, machine learning, optimization, state estimation etc.

No publications yet, but a couple in the pipeline. Hoping my advisers wrote strong recommendations.

EE related places:

• CMU Robotics Institute
• Caltech Control & Dynamical Systems
• U Washington EE (Dieter Fox group)
• UPenn GRASP
• GATech ECE

Best of luck to everyone

[ender wiggin]

I'm actually an ME but applying to several EECS/robotics/controls programs so thought I'd jump on here. I'm curious if any of you know how difficult it is to apply across majors like this. I have relevant research experience in the area but obviously my coursework was tailored differently.

Undergrad Institution: Top 5 for ME
Major(s): ME
Minor(s): 
GPA in Major: 3.97
Overall GPA: 3.98
Position in Class: top 3% at least
Type of Student: nothing helpful

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 168
V: 163
W: 4.0

Research Experience: 2.5 years in same lab, 1 summer REU at home institution, 1 summer REU at prestigious institution (all in area similar to what I want to study)

2 first author conference publications, 1 co-author conference publication, journal paper in works

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Normal grades and merit stuff, one national award
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Co-founded company based off research, raised $40k non-dilutive, crowdfunding, went through pretty big name startup programs and won large competitions. I do a lot of outreach and STEM advocating through various groups/presentations.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Graduating undergrad after 3 total years (rather than 4) so a lot of my work was condensed and happened fast. Should have solid LORs.

Special Bonus Points: Had a chance to talk to several POIs at the conference I presented at.

Applying to Where:

MIT - ME/EECS/AE

Stanford - ME (MS)

CMU - Robotics Academy (PhD/MS)

Berkeley - ME (MS/PhD)

ETH Zurich - Controls and Dynamics (PhD)

Harvard - EE (PhD)

UIUC - ECE (MS)

[Edotdl]

On 12/21/2015 at 11:06 AM, ender wiggin said:

I'm actually an ME but applying to several EECS/robotics/controls programs so thought I'd jump on here. I'm curious if any of you know how difficult it is to apply across majors like this. I have relevant research experience in the area but obviously my coursework was tailored differently.

Undergrad Institution: Top 5 for ME
Major(s): ME
Minor(s): 
GPA in Major: 3.97
Overall GPA: 3.98
Position in Class: top 3% at least
Type of Student: nothing helpful

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 168
V: 163
W: 4.0

Research Experience: 2.5 years in same lab, 1 summer REU at home institution, 1 summer REU at prestigious institution (all in area similar to what I want to study)

2 first author conference publications, 1 co-author conference publication, journal paper in works

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Normal grades and merit stuff, one national award
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Co-founded company based off research, raised $40k non-dilutive, crowdfunding, went through pretty big name startup programs and won large competitions. I do a lot of outreach and STEM advocating through various groups/presentations.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Graduating undergrad after 3 total years (rather than 4) so a lot of my work was condensed and happened fast. Should have solid LORs.

Special Bonus Points: Had a chance to talk to several POIs at the conference I presented at.

Applying to Where:

MIT - ME/EECS/AE

Stanford - ME (MS)

CMU - Robotics Academy (PhD/MS)

Berkeley - ME (MS/PhD)

ETH Zurich - Controls and Dynamics (PhD)

Harvard - EE (PhD)

UIUC - ECE (MS)

You seem like a competitive applicant. In regards to the difficulty of changing majors, I feel like it would depend on your coursework (i.e. are you prepared for graduate level coursework in EE) and your research goals (i.e. do they align with the research done in these EE departments). That being said, I think you'll be fine.

I'm applying to EE, BME, and Neuro programs with mainly Neuro research and all LORs from Neuro professors, so we'll see how that goes.

[Nallapar]

Cross posting here with BioE threads, as my interests are at the cross-section.

Undergrad Institution: Foreign school (unknown to US AdComms), Top 10 EE school in US for Master's
Major(s): Electrical Engineering
GPA in Major: 3.87, 3.85 (Master)
Overall GPA: 3.61
Position in Class: Average in undergraduate, top 1% in masters
Type of Student: International with US Masters

GRE Scores (old version):
Q: 800 (94%) (equivalent to 167)
V: 650 (93%) (equivalent to 163)
W: 3.5 (38%) (All these scores are 5 years old)
 

TOEFL Total: 114 (not required as I have studied in US for 2 years)

Research Experience: I have 2.5 years of research work experience. 1.5 at home country with 1 conference publication (2nd author), Poster (1st author, both at impressive venues with co-authors from EPFL and MIT respectively)
1 year at current institution with 3 conference publications (all 3rd author, but top venues.)
 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Accepted to the Master's honors program for academic performance.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor and grader for one sem each but nothing impressive. 

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: None

Special Bonus Points: My PI is an alumnus of Stanford and he has excellent name in the field. My other recommenders have excellent connections in the field I have applied to and have written a strong LORs.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: None

Applying to Where:

I want to work in medical imaging, specifically MRI. Therefore I have mentioned specific professors in my statement of purpose - hope this doesn't bomb.

MIT - EECS

Stanford - EE

UCB/UCSF - BioE

UMich - EE

UIUC - EE

UVa - Biomedical

Toronto - Biomedical

UCLA - Biomedical

CWRU - Biomedical

USC - EE

Iowa - EE (safety)

Looking at the posters above me, I am very worried about my chances. ha ha 

Edited December 29, 2015 by nallapar
Clarity

[Raul gonzalez]

When does the first round for EE admission decision start ? Is it sometime on mid-feb ? 

I have applied for 10 US universities for Ph.D. in EE but so far have not received any news. 

[Edotdl]

6 hours ago, Raul gonzalez said:

When does the first round for EE admission decision start ? Is it sometime on mid-feb ? 

I have applied for 10 US universities for Ph.D. in EE but so far have not received any news. 

For me, I think it's early Feb. 

[Edotdl]

Just got contacted by Stanford EE for phone interviews. 

[Nallapar]

Amazing, congrats! via mail?

[Edotdl]

34 minutes ago, nallapar said:

Amazing, congrats! via mail?

Yes email, thanks. Although they said interviews aren't required, so not sure if it's good or bad. 

[Nallapar]

I see, my understanding was Stanford gives decisions at the tail end of Jan or beginning of Feb. I am pleasantly surprised, they started early this year or maybe they really like your work. 

[Edotdl]

44 minutes ago, nallapar said:

I see, my understanding was Stanford gives decisions at the tail end of Jan or beginning of Feb. I am pleasantly surprised, they started early this year or maybe they really like your work. 

The thing is, none of the professors interviewing me are the ones I listed in my SOP. The first one's tomorrow so we'll see how it goes.

[Nallapar]

I see, best of luck!

[Edotdl]

10 hours ago, nallapar said:

I see, best of luck!

Thanks. It was really short, like 17 min. He basically just asked me if I had any questions about Stanford and named some people I'd be interested in.

[gradcatmewsings]

Undergrad Institution: Top 10 school for EE
Major(s): Electrical Engineering
Minor(s): Computer Science
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 3.8
Position in Class: Probably top 10 - 15%? Not sure.
Type of Student: Domestic female

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 166
V: 161
W: 5.5

Research Experience: 1.5 years + 1 summer at home institution in circuit design. 1 summer research experience at top EE institution in devices. 1 semester at home institution in devices. No publications. 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Eta Kappa Nu, Dean's List, other miscellaneous GPA-based awards. Awarded funding from department to conduct undergrad research. Summer research away from home institution supported by NSF funding. Nominated for departmental scholarships at home institution. 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor 1-2 students/semester. Have been a TA for 4 semesters and counting.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Not really anything super spectacular

Special Bonus Points: Letter recommenders are famous Stanford and Berkeley alum. A+'s in classes related to field of interest for Ph. D. 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I have reasonable involvement on campus, taking leadership positions and other mentoring/volunteering activities for engineering students. Oh, and I'm a strong, strong advocate for women in EECS/STEM in general. 

Applying to Where:

All Ph.D programs with focus on devices.

Berkeley EECS 

Stanford EE

MIT EECS

Caltech EE

UMich ECE

UIUC ECE

Princeton EE

Cornell ECE

Purdue ECE

UT Austin EE

 

I was recently contacted by Stanford for interviews. The first was pretty short, around the 20 minute mark as Edotdl mentioned. I have also been contacted by a POI at UT Austin!

Edited January 13, 2016 by gradcatmewsings
Being careful!

[slantyeyes]

Gah, Stanford's my top choice (I posted stats earlier in the thread) but I assume no one interviews Master's students right? I'm worried because I feel like they'll prioritize giving Master's admissions to PhD applicants who didn't get the PhD offer, and are given the consolation MS instead. I actually just want the MS...

[all_over_the_place]

My application is probably a bit strange, but I studied math at a small German university which accredited in the US as well. Finished in 2015, and am currently at a masters program in europe that i am trying to get out of.

 

But i did have a Skype interview with a prof from the University of Buffalo last week, in the Mechanical and Aerospace engineering department. so thats probably good

 

He told me to expect an email in the next 2-3 weeks from the university....
hopefully it works out

Other programs I applied to:
UCSD Mech Engineering/Aerospace
WPI Engineering
Columbia University School of Engineering Applied Math/Physics

and some other non engineering programs

[blackswan13]

On 1/12/2016 at 9:39 PM, Edotdl said:

Yes email, thanks. Although they said interviews aren't required, so not sure if it's good or bad. 

I asked the interviewer today and he said from now onwards it is a standard procedure! Congratulations on your selection for interview, I hope they went well. Mine were very technical but I really enjoyed talking to the interviewer  (POI)

[qqqqqq]

19 hours ago, blackswan13 said:

I asked the interviewer today and he said from now onwards it is a standard procedure!

May I ask which school it was? Stanford or Berkeley?

[Edotdl]

1 minute ago, qqqqqq said:

May I ask which school it was? Stanford or Berkeley?

I think she was referring to Stanford.

[B00mt0wn]

Undergrad Institution: Lowly Ranked UNM
Major(s): EE with an E-Mag track
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 4.0
Position in Class: Top
Type of Student: Domestic. Male, Minority (but most likely different than any of you)

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 160
V: 156
W: 4

Research Experience: Barely started a lab assistant student job. No publications of any sort

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: NSF Scholarship

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Internship with local company doing pcb design and layout. Peer mentor job

Special Bonus Points: I've taken a grad complex variables class and electrodynamics class. My minority status is very unique, I am en ex-con that served 8.5 years in the federal system on drug charges, but I have obviously made a turn-around. 


Applying to Where:

I applied to twelve schools, all PhD for Fall 2016

 

 

Last night got an informal email from a prof.at U of Michigan saying that I have been admitted and that I would receive a formal admission letter and offer of financial aid in the next couple of days. This is the first response that I have got from any of the schools, but I'm not upset with this one. I had been in contact with this professor before I submitted my app. I emailed him about his research and then told him my story and we then spoke on the telephone. I'm not sure if anyone else has been contacted, but good luck!

[qqqqqq]

MIT EECS acceptance emails are out? Just saw a couple on admission results page.

[Edotdl]

55 minutes ago, qqqqqq said:

MIT EECS acceptance emails are out? Just saw a couple on admission results page.

I see it, but Saturday?...