Got questions?

[getitnow]

Hi Guys,
Iam planning to apply for some courses like Management Science and engineering in Stanford, engineering Mngt Sciences in Columbia and the likes. More specifically, I wanted to do concentration on SCM. Im a Mech graduate with 3.4 GPA and have work exp of 2 years now in top product dev company working in SCM domain.
I want to apply for Fall 2007, by then i'll be having exp of 3 years.

My concern is that I have a low GRE ( 800q + 440v).
Should I retake GRE. I have very good recos and decent project work.

Please advice considering the fact that my GRE is quite low for such top tier schools. Wil my professional experience help in overcoming the low scores?

[peiann]

LostInLa,

I think you have a great chance at getting into any school on that list besides CMU and Stanford. I think you're qualified at CMU and Stanford but those schools are always picky. I would not say those are long shots. In fact I would say you had as much chance as another upper tier applicant for those schools. GPAs are nice, MS is cool, research experience is good. At this point of the game it would be nice to have publications but even if you don't make sure to write about your research in your statement of purpose. Since your getting people that you worked for to write your recs, make sure they talk about your ability to do research. Some other top schools i think to think of.. UMCP, Berkeley, UCLA (even though you're a trojan.. I am too. haha fight on), University of Washington, University of Texas- Austin

Good Luck!


getitnow,

are you going for an MS or PHD? Most engineering programs don't care about the verbal portion of the GRE. Your combined score is like 1240..which should be above the cutoff..800 math is good.

[dkondru]

Hi peiann,
This is Dinakar. My profile:
Edu/Research: MSEE from Clemson University, Clemson, SC.(gpa: 3.5/4.0)
BSEE from Andhra University, India.(gpa: 3.9/4.0)
I've 2 recent IEEE publications besides my masters thesis/research.
Test Scores: GRE V-600, Q-790 and A- 750 (Old GRE Pattern)
I'm applying for PhD in EE for fall 2007.
Schools I'm interested: UCSD and UC-Irvine. Do I stand a chance? Is retaking GRE to better my previous scores a good idea?
Are there any other schools you would suggest? [I'm considering schools only in Southern Cal/SF Bay Area as I've my family in San Diego,CA]

Thanks and Regards,
Dinakar.

[Ivo]

Originally Posted by peiann

LostInLa,

I think you have a great chance at getting into any school on that list besides CMU and Stanford. I think you're qualified at CMU and Stanford but those schools are always picky. I would not say those are long shots. In fact I would say you had as much chance as another upper tier applicant for those schools. GPAs are nice, MS is cool, research experience is good. At this point of the game it would be nice to have publications but even if you don't make sure to write about your research in your statement of purpose. Since your getting people that you worked for to write your recs, make sure they talk about your ability to do research. Some other top schools i think to think of.. UMCP, Berkeley, UCLA (even though you're a trojan.. I am too. haha fight on), University of Washington, University of Texas- Austin

I totally second that. Even CMU and Stanford are reachable with the profile of yours. Make sure that you get excellent recommendation letters and write a superb statement of purpose (tailor it to the top schools). As Peiann suggested, I would also expand the list with other top-notch universities. In my opinion, you have a great shot on one of them for sure. Now if luck is on your side, next year by this time you'll be preparing yourself for one of them.

[peiann]

dkondru,

Are you applying as an international student? I'm not sure how international student works but with those statistics I think you're a shoe in for those programs. Your GREs are fine - you don't need to take them again.

Other schools you can apply to in So Cal with good EE programs:
Cal Tech
UCLA
USC
probably a safety at UCSB

Good Luck!

[LostInLA]

Ivo, Peiann:

Thanks for the Reply.

I'll go check out the schools you suggested.

Also, what school is UMCP?

[dkondru]

Hi Peiann,
Thanks for the reply. I've done my masters at a US institution (Clemson in South Carolina) and I've been in the US eversince my graduation. Still I'll be considered an international student because of my visa status. However, I don't need a TOEFL score.
I've one more ques. What's the criteria for funding a PhD applicant?
Thanks dude.
-Dinakar.

[peiann]

LostInLA,

UMCP = University of Maryland College Park

dkondru,

different programs fund their phd students differently. For example, my program funds phd students through NIH training grants. This means that those grands can only be used for citizens - hence the difficulty of international students to get into the program. I'm not sure, perhaps Ivo can correct me on this, but it's more difficult for international students to get PhD funding in the form of national grants. Of course there are always TAships or RAships but that depends on your program. In your field, EE I think some schools don't fund PhD candidates until you pass quals... I'm not 100% sure on that but I think I've heard that somewhere. I believe, and Ivo, correct me if I'm wrong, that if you are a PhD candidate you will get funding via different avenues. It's much easier in the hard sciences than the liberal arts for sure.

[dkondru]

Hi peiann,
Thanks for the information. I'll apply to the schools and see what happens.
Thanks again
-Dinakar

[getitnow]

Originally Posted by peiann

getitnow,

are you going for an MS or PHD? Most engineering programs don't care about the verbal portion of the GRE. Your combined score is like 1240..which should be above the cutoff..800 math is good.

Thanks Peiann for the response.
I wanted to apply for the MS program not PhD. I was worried with the top tier schools like Stanford, Columbia etc as my GRE is quite low for them.
My LORs and statement of purpose would be quite good I guess. And I have quite good Brand value both in terms of college (one of the premier institutes in India) and the company I work in ( one of the best product development company in the world). Will this be a plus point for me?