Schools EE undergrad looking for grad school advice

AI Thread Summary
An undergraduate electrical engineering student expresses concern about gaining admission to a quality graduate program due to a current GPA of 3.08, which includes a poor freshman year and a challenging junior year. However, the student has shown significant improvement, achieving a 3.3 GPA in the fall and a 3.9 in the spring of upper-level courses. They are confident in scoring in the 90th percentile on the GRE and are gaining relevant experience through an internship. Responses from others highlight that an upward trend in GPA can positively impact graduate school applications, with one individual sharing their own successful admission experience with a similar GPA. Encouragement is offered to continue hard work and maintain focus on academic performance.
hugheyst
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Hello PF,

I'm currently an undergrad electrical engineering student at a large state university. I am hoping very much to go to graduate school, either for further development of my EE skills, or for something different such as economics.

My situation is this: I will be a fifth-year senior this fall. I have a 3.08 GPA after having a 2.6 freshman year as a journalism major (partied far too much), and junior year I had a very poor fall in my first semester taking basic circuits, diffeq, etc. (2.5 semester GPA; I was distracted). I have since undergone much maturation and I've applied myself to the tune of a 3.3 last fall and a 3.9 in the spring in upper-level ECE courses. I am very confident that I will score in >= 90th percentile on the GRE, both quantitative and verbal. I am currently working on an internship, and I'm hoping to parlay my experience into a research position this fall.

I'm worried that I will not be able to gain admission to a good-quality graduate program with my resume. I would greatly appreciate advice from those experienced in graduate education or with anecdotal advice from a friend or colleague.
 
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With a 3.08 overall and a recent upward trend, you should be fine. Especially consider your current university - they would probably be happy to keep you for graduate school

I graduated in engineering with about a 3.20 overall with an upward trend my junior and senior years. I was admitted to graduate school at three major universities with full funding.
 
Thank you for your reply. That is very encouraging! I will continue to work hard in school and hopefully I will be able to replicate your success.
 
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