advice for Grad school for Electrical Engineering

cosmicfish
Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:32:38 +0000

1. declare EE as my major

This is a bad question to ask on here. Procedures change, and you are going to a school with advisors who can answer this exact question better than anyone. And it requires no advance preparation. So ask when you get there.



2. Go to a very good grad school

Getting WAAAAAAY ahead of yourself!



To give you a feel of how smart I am i got a 4.11 gpa and 2110 sat (2200 superscore)

Don’t ever tell people how smart you are unless you have a Nobel prize. It doesn’t sit well. Plus, sooner or later you will meet people who beat your numbers, and that doesn’t feel great either.

All right, here is some honest advice:

Don’t worry about grad school yet. Your plans may well change, your major may change, so focus on the fundamentals.

In your first year, worry about your GPA. Get used to the classes, get used to the pace, and make learning the material and getting good grades your top priority. Have fun, meet girls or boys or whatevers, go to parties… but only to the extent that you are acing the academics. Do the homework early, early, early, and study for the exams before you think you need to. Being ahead of the game insulates you from the pitfalls that trap so many.

Investigate the academic resources for your university, college, department, and classes. Go to office hours already having worked the problems so you can ask smart questions well ahead of due dates. Talk to the professors and the TA’s, and ask questions in or after class if there are things you do not understand. Investigate tutoring for any classes where you are struggling - many departments and honor societies offer it for free.

Get involved with some clubs or societies, it will show you if you really like this sort of thing better than the classes will. Also, it may open some other doors - remember that they are advised by professors.

Starting in your second or third year, find some research opportunities. They may be at other colleges (see the REU program) or at your own. Try to get a spot in some professor’s research lab. By the fall of your senior year you will want a year in a lab under your belt. Publications are nice, but more important is showing your research advisor that you are a strong researcher with a good foundation.

I will not make recommendations for the GRE here - it is the smallest concern. I will recommend that you try and read recreationally throughout college - I feel there is no better study method for the GRE than reading.

You apply for grad programs in the fall of your senior year. By that time you will need a high GPA, research experience, 3 strong letters of recommendation from professors who know you (best - research, 2nd - professional clubs/ societies, 3rd - instructors), and at least passable GRE’s.