GenericName123

I am an EE undergrad and will be starting my final year at UW(Washington) in a week. I have been thinking about applying to graduate school (MS) but don't want to waste my time studying for/taking the GRE and having to write applications if I really don't have a chance of getting into any. My overall GPA is 3.50 (I bombed my first quarter but have made deans list each quarter ever since) while my major GPA is 3.78. I have no research experience. I will be finishing up a 3 month summer internship in a week. There is one faculty member I could ask for a letter of recommendation and maybe my old physics prof. By the time I apply, I would have enough money saved up to pay for all of grad school ($40k-$50k) with no debt from my undergrad career. Does having money increase your chances of getting in?

I'm not very particular about which grad school I get into but I would at least like to get into a top 50 EE grad program. I would like to get accepted into UW, UCSD, UCSB, UCD, UCI, UCSC or UofArizona.

The main thing I'm worried about is not having any research experience. Should I bother applying? What schools would I have a realistic chance of getting into?

Thanks

GenericName123

Does anyone have any idea?

hesdjjim

I got into a number of grad schools with no research experience and an engineering GPA of 3.3. Yes it's possible. You need three letters of recommendation, though. Also, even if you think you can afford to pay for graduate school, try to get a research/teaching assistantship from a school before you accept their offer.

GenericName123

Ok thanks for the advice.