Chances of getting into a Top 10 EE Grad School?

Graduate School
1

Hey there!

Thanks for taking the time to read my post. I hope to obtain some realistic feedback with respect to my current situation. Therefore, I’ll gladly appreciate any form of advice or input from the CC community.

Background:

I’m a U.S. Army infantry veteran who conducted high-profile missions for the former President of the U.S. and also served as a Sentinel for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier located in Arlington National Cemetery.

After Service:

My mother passed away when I was a child and my father died a few weeks before my term of enlistment was completed. I returned to a foreclosed house and eventually became homeless. I lived in parks for a year and a military homeless shelter for an additional year. During my period of homelessness, I was sporadically attending classes at a state university to benefit from a monthly allowance for utilizing my GI Bill benefits. Honestly, I didn’t want to go to school at the time, but it was my only guaranteed source of income. I was eventually academically suspended due to my 1.5 GPA.

After Suspension:

During my initial stay at the military homeless shelter, I was recommended to meet weekly with several mental health professionals and assigned a social worker, but skipped most of my appointments. After my suspension, I began to focus on fixing myself with the help of the previously stated medical healthcare professionals. At the end of a year hiatus from school and hundreds of hours of therapy, I started to regain the confidence I had when I was working in DC. I decided I wanted to give school another shot.

3 Years Later:

I was later admitted to another school in a different state and chose to study Electrical Engineering with a focus on Digital Signal Processing. As of now, I have a 4.0 GPA. My lowest grade in the previous 1.5 years was a 96%. I’m at the point where I’ve finally decided I want to pursue a M.S. in Electrical Engineering.

Current Doubts: Opinions?

Due to my first attempt at school during my period of homelessness, I obtained a 1.5 GPA. In combination with my current 4.0 GPA, my CGPA is a 3.81. Unfortunately, I feel as though my past will negatively impact my chances to pursue an advanced degree at most reputable graduate schools. That being said, what are my chances at being accepted to a Top 10 Electrical Engineering Graduate Program? Ex: Caltech, UC Berkeley, GA Tech, Purdue, UT Austin, etc. Do you think I’m overthinking the probability of acceptance or do you think my thoughts are aligned with reality?

I apologize for this lengthy post and look forward to receiving your feedback.

2

Hi there!

First, thank you for your service. Grad admissions are not like undergrad, so your service will be considered very much on an individual basis by admissions committees and prospective advisors, but I think it unlikely that it will be considered anything but a point in your favor, even in light of your later struggles.

Second, your chances are reasonable provided you continue performing at a high level and taker the appropriate steps. Most departments (grad admissions is handled at the department level) will not have an issue with an early period of poor performance, especially when it is for reasons such as you describe and when it is followed with exceptional performance.

Your biggest challenge will simply be the highly competitive nature of admissions at these programs. These programs typically reject 10-20x as many as they accept, and your GPA (perfectly acceptable at any of these programs, even with the first attempt) will not be enough to get you in. Grad school is about research, and they will want to see a quality record of research in your letters of recommendation and, if possible, your presentation and publication history. You did not indicate where you are in your studies, but the numbers you posted suggest you are well along. If you have not already done so, talk to your professors about research opportunities and see where you can get involved as soon as possible. Your research does not need to be ground-breaking nor does it even need to be in the same exact area in which you will study in grad school, but it should be a significant effort where you have a defined role and the opportunity to pursue something new.

And yes, it absolutely can be done. I bounced back from a long and bad academic record received without your mitigating circumstances, and received admission to two grad programs in the top 10.

One last thing - don’t rely too much on department rankings in picking grad programs. They are often arbitrary and capricious, and the talent and reputation of your actual advisor will be far more important. Rankings also do not reflect the specialties available at different departments - I rejected a number of programs on your list simply because they were not pursuing things I wanted to pursue, and applied to a number of much lower-ranked programs because they were doing great, innovative work in my areas. So keep an open mind. The only people hiring you off department rankings are hiring for jobs not in engineering.

3

@twl5305

Let me ask you this: what are the purposes of you obtaining an MS degree vs a BS degree?

If your goal is to find a decent job in the industry, IMHO, an MS degree does not really help much. I work in hardware design for about 15 years, and in software development for about 20 years. As a hiring manager, I treat candidates with MS degree the same as I do those with BS/BA degree. Whoever can do the job best gets the offer.

I think it’s best to get a job, then get the MS (part-time) on the employer’s dimes. That of course requires a lot of work, but I think you can do it.

4

@twl5305 - Welcome to the Forum! You have a very compelling story and your poor GPA at the first institution should have no effect on your ability to get into a graduate program. However, as an engineer, you will have plenty of job opportunities when you finish your B.S. and you should take one of them an d see , after a couple of years, whether an M.S. is necessary for you to achieve your career goals. You might find your thinking changed after a time in industry.