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<p>Go to a school you like and can afford for undergrad. The more you can do without taking out loans, the better. Try to get into research early on, and maintain a position in research throughout your undergrad career. Maintain a good relationship with 2-3 professors that would be able to write you great rec letters for grad school. Maintain a good-great GPA (min >3.0, best if >3.5). Starting around junior year, start looking into schools well known for their masters/phd programs in civil engineering. Your advisor will help you with picking good schools that are a good fit for you. </p>
<p>Study for and take your GREs (I really recommend you take them by the summer before senior year). Based on your scores at that point, you can narrow down what schools to apply to. Write your personal statement in the summer or early fall of senior year. Contact those professors from whom you want rec letters. Send in everything to the schools as EARLY as possible. The great thing about engineering grad school is that, if you’ve done everything correctly, you shouldn’t have to pay to attend it. Most grad students who attend are going with scholarships and fellowship/TA money (that is, the school will pay their tuition/pay the student if the student agrees to TA or teach or do some additional research).</p>