Making the Undergrad Years Count for Grad Applications

[ComradeTaco]

Hello everyone, longtime lurker but first time poster here,

I am a current sophomore student of civil engineering at WPI. 

Right now I'm sustaining a 3.94 GPA, and have also secured a 8 month construction internship at a large environmental and water firm. If reading these forums are any indication however, a high GPA is not nearly enough to secure a spot in a top tier masters program. 

Things to gain before I graduate include:

• A substantial amount of research experience
• High GRE scores, especially quantitative
• Recommendations that glow like a nuclear reactor 

My greatest interest for my masters is in transportation engineering. I would like to put myself in a place where I could be considered a serious applicant for MIT or UC Berkeley. I do not wish to pursue a Ph.D at this point in my life. 

I have had some issues so far. I approached a professor on getting actively involved in some transport related research, but I was told that we have none this academic year. I also feel like I may just be getting exclusively generic credentials while failing to demonstrate that I would meet the actual demands of the schools I hope to apply to. 

My question to you fine people is: What did you do to make the time before your application count? 

Edited April 7, 2016 by ComradeTaco

[TakeruK]

54 minutes ago, ComradeTaco said:

My greatest interest for my masters is in transportation engineering. I would like to put myself in a place where I could be considered a serious applicant for MIT or UC Berkeley. I do not wish to pursue a Ph.D at this point in my life. 

I have had some issues so far. I approached a professor on getting actively involved in some transport related research, but I was told that we have none this academic year. I also feel like I may just be getting exclusively generic credentials while failing to demonstrate that I would meet the actual demands of the schools I hope to apply to. 

My question to you fine people is: What did you do to make the time before your application count? 

It's great that you already have something lined up for this summer. When planning for future summers (or even part time research during the school year), my advice is to not worry too much about the specific field of research. Graduate programs care more about the quality of your research experience rather than the subject matter. Also, you might find other things interesting as well---you have lots more time to decide your grad school directions. I would say that you should seek out the most enriching/promising research opportunities available and don't be afraid to seek out opportunities outside of transport related research if there is a good opportunity.

[GuywithPants]

Hello ComradeTaco,

I was in almost the same situation as you just a year ago. First, of all, like Takeruk said, quality is more important than quality. Don't try to do as much as possible, but rather get deeply involved in a few activities/research that you find interesting. If you're sure to want to continue in Transportation Engineering at Berkeley, then I can hopefully help you by presenting you with my personal experience.

In my case, I applied this year and got accepted into UC Berkeley for the Master of Civil Engineering in Transportation. Just a heads up, the master's program at Berkeley for transportation is an MEng and not MS, meaning it's more industry oriented rather than research oriented, and it's also considered a terminal degree (which seems to align with with your desire not to pursue a PhD. It's also only 1 year long). The only transportation research I did was my Final Year project in undergrad, and I did one summer internship at a construction company (completely unrelated to transportation). However, I've been working for the past year and a half on a huge prestigious project, so I suppose that gave me an edge when applying.

My GRE scores are good but not outstanding, and I have a good (again, not outstanding) GPA. I'm writing this to tell you that the most important factor for getting in is (according to my experience) the SOP and LORs. You said the LORs should glow like a nuclear reactor. You're right, they should, and your SOP should shine just as bright if not brighter. This has been said many times in this forum, but I feel compelled to repeat it: Fit. You must show them in your SOP that their program has been created specifically for you, and that you were born specifically for this program. Everything that you have done in your life has led to this program, and you getting in is your destiny. (I'm exaggerating, but you get the point).

You seem to have a strong profile (for the MEng at Berkeley, I have no idea about MIT), but that doesn't mean you're guaranteed an acceptance and should stop working on your application. As Takeruk said, seek the most enriching research (or work if possible) experience for you and don't be afraid to try something outside of transportation. Finally, when it's application season, apply everywhere, even if everybody tells you that you're just wasting your time. As long as you focus on your strengths and fit, you increase your chances of getting in.

Good Luck!

[TakeruK]

30 minutes ago, GuywithPants said:

The only transportation research I did was my Final Year project in undergrad, and I did one summer internship at a construction company (completely unrelated to transportation). However, I've been working for the past year and a half on a huge prestigious project, so I suppose that gave me an edge when applying.

I forgot to include my own example! I did an undergrad co-op degree program that was 4 years of classes + 1 year of full time work (research). In total there were 16 months of full time research (2 summers plus one academic year). I also did an honours/senior thesis in my last year (very part-time, maybe 10 hours per week for 8 months). The first 8 full time months were extragalactic astronomy. The next 8 full time months was in a medical imaging group. The part-time thesis work was on the solar system. My Masters thesis was planet formation. My PhD work is on planets in other solar systems. So, like GuywithPants, it's only my thesis work that was related to my graduate work (and at time of application, I had just started the work!). 

[Denominator]

On 4/7/2016 at 10:42 PM, ComradeTaco said:

Hello everyone, longtime lurker but first time poster here,

I am a current sophomore student of civil engineering at WPI. 

Right now I'm sustaining a 3.94 GPA, and have also secured a 8 month construction internship at a large environmental and water firm. If reading these forums are any indication however, a high GPA is not nearly enough to secure a spot in a top tier masters program. 

Things to gain before I graduate include:

• A substantial amount of research experience
• High GRE scores, especially quantitative
• Recommendations that glow like a nuclear reactor 

My greatest interest for my masters is in transportation engineering. I would like to put myself in a place where I could be considered a serious applicant for MIT or UC Berkeley. I do not wish to pursue a Ph.D at this point in my life. 

I have had some issues so far. I approached a professor on getting actively involved in some transport related research, but I was told that we have none this academic year. I also feel like I may just be getting exclusively generic credentials while failing to demonstrate that I would meet the actual demands of the schools I hope to apply to. 

My question to you fine people is: What did you do to make the time before your application count? 

I was a really terrible undergrad.  I honestly never really considered getting a phd when I was 20. Over the course of 14 years of devoting myself to my field and graduate work in that field (at a couple different regional universities) I was finally able to overcome my shoddy beginnings and build a strong resume.  I didn't really get a vision for the research I wanted to pursue until about year 9.  Even then I still refined it hugely over the next few years.

 I certainly took the long way around, but I got into one of the top programs in the nation and will start working on a phd this fall.  All that to say, diverse real world experience is powerful (certainly doesn't need to be as extensive as mine).  The strong academic background you're building coupled with great work experience should make you a very strong candidate.

Edited April 25, 2016 by Denominator