<p>I’m a freshman at the University of Michigan AA looking to major in Materials Science and Engineering. I want to go to graduate school (preferably a good one) in the same field. So my question to you is: if you could do it again what would you change? what worked? I’m mostly looking for advice while there’s still time to make adjustments and improve my chances, but if you think that you worked too hard as a UG I want to hear that too. All input is appreciated.</p>
<p>I was a Mat Sci and Eng undergrad and I loved it. Didn’t do grad school in the same field, though. If I were to do it again, I might change that :-)</p>
<p>Find out what the MS&E professors are researching, and if you find a professor whose research interests align with yours, introduce yourself to that professor. Let him (or her, but usually him) know that you are interested in being an undergraduate research assistant, as soon as you’ve completed any necessary prerequisites for the job.</p>
<p>It may take you longer to graduate, but if you can afford it, it would give you an opportunity to gain experience in the field and make connections. If you can’t afford to stay past four years, and you’re overwhelmed with the workload as is, skip what I just said.</p>
<p>Take linear algebra before going to grad school. Man that course would have been useful. :(</p>
<p>Most of my “if I could do it again” are unrelated to graduate school.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I’d have taken Spanish and studied abroad in a Spanish-speaking country. I’m in health and my research has me working with Latino folks often; Spanish would’ve been very useful. I still want to learn it, but I wish I had taken that opportunity in college.</p></li>
<li><p>I would’ve minored in math. I originally planned to, and dropped it because I didn’t want to do the homework. Now I’m really interested in statistics as it relates to my research, and while my math background is semi-decent, it really needs to be stronger if I want to pursue the statistics seriously (which I do). Even if I just wanted to pick up an applied statistics degree after my PhD, I’d need 2-3 more math courses.</p></li>
<li><p>I would’ve taken time off before I started my PhD. I would’ve traveled, taught abroad, seen the world a little bit and discovered myself some more. Even just working stateside for a couple of years would’ve been fine, too. Growing into adulthood (I was 22 when I started here) without the pressures of being in a stressful graduate program would’ve been so much better for me, and I think I would’ve been in a better place mentally.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Honestly, although I do not regret my PhD and do not plan to leave, I think had I done those three things I probably wouldn’t have gone for a PhD at all - at least not right away. I have a friend who did an MPH/MPA and I probably would’ve done that if I knew anything at all about it at the time. She just started working as a health policy consultant and, surprise, I want to do health policy and services work. However, I do think that my PhD will be useful, in that I love research and I want to bring the research into the policy.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. @racinreaver I understand that you’re in a PhD program in MSE at UC Berkeley. Is linear algebra a course you have to take there as a grad student or just useful math for the research you’re doing? And @Juillet it’s interesting that you mention minoring in math or statistics. I was already seriously considering minoring in statistics so it’s good to hear that it may be a useful degree to pursue.</p>
<p>I’m a PhD student at Caltech. Linear algebra would have been useful for all the quantum classes I’ve had to take here, and it would have really helped out if I took some graduate continuum mechanics or those sorts of classes. I didn’t have to take it as a grad student (though I did take a year’s worth of math, probably all of it less useful than any other combo of classes I could have taken).</p>