<p>Hi,
So I am just a freshman majoring in Aerospace Engineering. My goal is to graduate and go on to grad school to obtain a Masters from a top dog Aerospace Grad School. My question to you is what EXACTLY does an Aerospace Grad School look for from an undergrad applicant? GPA? Clubs? Sports? Anything in particular?? I know it isnt exactly to be well-rounded any more but are there any specific things that I should do to have the best chance of getting in?</p>
<p>Also, if you have any opinion on Frats in this picture I would love to hear. I would like to join next semester and I am pretty adamant on this. Please let me know.</p>
<p>Thanks!!!</p>
<p>Clubs, sports and frats have absolutely nothing to do with graduate school admissions.</p>
<p>What matters are your grades, research experiences and professional work.</p>
<p>A lot of the “top” graduate schools admit only “MS-Phd” students. Meaning, you are all treated as future PhD students. Admission is very competitive and unpredictable. All admits are funded (tuition waved + stipend).<br>
Research experience is king. </p>
<p>There are indeed a few top schools who have a separate (less competitive) “MS only” track, in which GPA is king. If you are willing to pay the $ and have the numbers you’re in. Of course, these schools also have the “super competitive” PhD track also if you want to be funded. </p>
<p>For example (Based on my field), schools like UIUC, MIT were from the former group. Stanford, Georgia Tech were in the latter camp.</p>
<p>In both cases, Frats, clubs, sports have no weight in gaining admission. The only other thing that can help admission is work experience/internships, and even this is not as important as research experience and gpa.</p>