Suggestions for getting into a top 20 mechanical/aerospace engineering program

Hello, i’m a mechanical engineering senior who aspires to get into a top 20 mechanical or aerospace engineering masters program and would like to ask for suggestions to up my seemingly poor odds. My credentials include:

Experience:

  • Actively engage in different small projects, like making a catapult or working on arduino’s. Whether inside or outside university courses/classes.
  • Worked on re-designing and fabricating a patented gastular medical tube with the help of an associate professor, the head of pediatrics and a huge petrochemicals company.
  • Collaborated with colleagues to develop a 3D printed model of a new home grey water purification system that uses almost zero net energy from the grid. This was part of a university course.
  • Chosen to represent the University to be a temporary Student team leader for the Solar Decathlon 2018 (SDME) for my abilities in speech, technical understanding, and communication. I was later assigned to be the control team coordinator.
  • Currently working with an associate professor that’s doing an analytical dynamic based analysis on car tows to check whether the given standards by the vendor are valid or not. This is conducted for a government quality control institute.
  • Currently working on designing and controlling a mechanism for a patented UAV with Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) propulsion system with a team of colleagues as a senior project.
  • Have led teams with strong communication and presentation skills
  • The ability to coordinate with fellow colleagues, management, and vendors to maximize results
  • Volunteered to do a one class introductory course on thermodynamics for new ME students.
  • Currently working on a solid-state cooling system (details on this are very confidential).

Skills and certificates:

Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)
Other college based certificates that include Matlab and 3D printing.
Lean six sigma black belt.

-Software technical proficiencies include AutoCAD, MATLAB, Solidworks and MS Office.
-Research and design proficiencies include computational fluid dynamics, Project/Quantification Planning, minor experience in ISO & Safety Compliance, dynamic and static Test Development, Design validation.
-Active listening and critical thinking skills for determining clients’ needs and implementing plans to make them a reality. -Excels in teamwork environments where engineers culminate their efforts, gather information, problem solve, and implement a strategy.
-Affinity for identifying the underlying principles affecting situations, which leads to less time brainstorming and more time actively building workable solutions.

GRE: still not taken.
Toefl: still not taken.
GPA: 3.5/4

Any suggestions are welcome, thank you in advance and hope the most amount of people would benefit from this post.

Why do you think your odds are poor?

Well my GPA isn’t really that competitive for the top programs, also i’m an international student so i assume it’s a bit harder right? Even though i’d be fully funded

Please i’d really appreciate helpful feedback, Especially since it’s been on my mind for a while and i feel very uneasy towards applying.

Your GPA is okay. It’s not great but it’s not bad either. Your international status usually won’t matter unless you want to go into a field that actually requires citizenship, and even then, it may not matter for the school portion of that career path. You seem to have research experience and will have at least one nice reference letter from the professor running the lab you’re in. I don’t see what all the hand-wringing is about.

Honestly seeing average acceptance GPA’s for some universities (purdue 3.7, maryland 3.6 and texes 3.74) which are all in the top 20 but not as competitive as UCB, Stanford and MIT makes me really question on whether i should apply or drastically lower my standards. Even going to great universities like Georgia tech, Carnegie mellon and cornell seem like a stretch to me.

That’s why i’d like to listen to someone else’s opinion on the matter.

Let’s put it this way, I graduated with my BS with a 3.4 GPA and ended up in a top 10 PhD program in my field (which happens to be aerospace). Graduate admissions are not nearly as formulaic as undergraduate admissions.

Wow! And how was you research experience and other credentials?

I worked for 4 semesters or so in two different labs, no publications, probably had good reference letters (but who knows), and my GRE was good. Graduate admissions are far more unpredictable. I got into several programs that were rated higher than several that rejected me.