<p>So I have a pretty low GPA (2.9) and a semi-decent GRE score (780Q), but to my surprise, my PI suggested I apply to 2 top 10 and 2 top 25 schools in mechanical engineering. Do PI really know the weight of their LOR or something because I could have sworn my scores are no where near top 10 equivalence.</p>
<p>one of my professors told me the same thing. I think some of these folks have been in academia a little too long, and don’t really have a clear picture of how things work in the real world nowadays. Maybe they remember the admission process to be easy, in a time when acceptance rate was probably a lot higher, because even a BS degree was relatively scarce back then. I would talk to more professors.</p>
<p>I had a similar experience, my PI recommended about 10 schools, half in the top 10, the rest were more reasonable. I am using some of his mid-tier suggestions. I think he is a little out of touch, he mentioned he rarely gets students in his lab applying to grad school, mostly pre-med. (biology lab)</p>
<p>Me too. My local options (for which I have a chance) are well-regarded schools in physics (U Montreal and McGill), for which I can trust my professors’ assessments of chances there, alongside McGill profs, and I was recommended - without research experience - the following schools in the US:</p>
<p>Tufts (even if further research about that school indicates Tufts is near-unreachable for me even with a 3.67 or 3.61, if A+s are worth respectively 4.3 or 4.0 to you, with people who have that kind of undergraduate GPAs and far more research experience getting rejected from there, all the while despite the fact that Tufts is not that great in physics)
Brown (same here)
BU
Rutgers
PSU</p>
<p>apply. Honestly, too many people weed themselves out of top programs. I know several 3+ people who have <3.0 GPA’s at a top institution (where I go to grad school now). Your GPA and GRE scores really don’t matter much - the quality of your research, publications, posters, and LOR carry the most weight.</p>
<p>do you really think that they would be THAT out of sync with admissions procedures as to suggest those schools way out of my league? My PI is pretty old, but he’s still I hope knows what he’s talking about.</p>
<p>@dapil2345 what institution? and what field?</p>
<p>any funding and field? @dapil2345?</p>
<p>anyone have experiences with being suggested top schools and got in?</p>