Applying for M.S. in Nuclear Engineering

peglegjeff
Thu, 08 Nov 2007 18:41:37 +0000

Well guys, I’m a little new to this community, but I’d like to get your advice and opinions on some potential grad schools. I’m getting a head start on the college search and application process, and I’d like to see realistically where I stand before I get my heart set on any one school.

Just a little about me (at least academically), I’m currently a junior at top ten engineering college pursuing my BS in Mechanical Engineering. At the current time, I have a GPA around 3.84, and I have no intention of letting that drop below a 3.80. I’ve a year of research under my belt thus far, and will be looking for another 1.5 years before I graduate. I’ve done both research within the ME department and with outside labs, and if I play my cards right, I will have a position at a national lab for this summer. I am also working towards an optional undergraduate thesis for honors recognition upon graduation. Unfortunately I have no publications, though I hope to change that in the next year. I’ll be taking the GRE either this summer or early next fall, and I have high expectations for how that will turn out.

My professional plan is to continue my education through a PhD, do research (likely with a national lab), and perhaps one day try to find a position with a good nuclear university as a professor. Perhaps. I’m currently intending to study fission reactors and technology, though I must admit the idea of research in fusion is pretty tempting. But I have a year to decide on that matter.

I’ve put together a list of nuclear programs I’m interested in after some research into each school, location, etc. though I am very open to any other suggestions you may have. These are largely in order of desire to attend.

MIT, U. of Illinois-Urbana, Penn State, U. Texas, Georgia Tech

MIT is by far my top choice, though I certainly would not be upset going to any of those schools.

I guess my main concern is my lack of any published papers. How much of an impact do y’all think this will have on my applications? Basically, how hard should I be pushing my employer and professors for a project that could lead to publication? Also, I will have the option of taking graduate level classes in nuclear engineering my senior year. I don’t expect them to transfer (though it would be nice if they did). Do you think grad classes on my transcript would be worth the risk of lowering my GPA by taking a harder course load?

Thanks in advance for any comments or advice. If there’s anything else you’d like to know about me (at least concerning my applications) please feel free to ask. I’m looking forward to hearing from y’all.