Eng/Math Grad School Chances? (With Possible Major Change)

DoubleD
Sun, 24 Nov 2013 02:57:26 +0000

Have you considered staying at your undergrad for the MS? It is likely to be faster and easier to get funding than going elsewher.e

Applied math is certainly a possibility. I think of engineering as an application of physics and math (i.e., applied physics+applied math). I don’t know what particular area in applied math you are interested in, but if you want to stay in engineering, you can still pursue that area.
Computational methods involves a lot of applied math (e.g., numerical methods). Nonlinear&linear dynamic systems are commonly found in controls research, which seems more appropriate for your math background.

Overall, your application looks pretty good to me.

Within the top 10 schools, you will find gaps in selectivity with Caltech at the top and public schools at the bottom. MS programs that provide full financial support (e.g., MIT and Princeton) are often more selective than their PhD programs, whereas MS programs that do not provide financial support (e.g., Stanford and UMich) are not very difficult to get into.