What Are My Chances of Grad School Admission and Financial Aid?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the chances of admission and financial aid for a graduate program in Electrical Engineering or Computer Science, specifically for an international student with a low GPA but decent GRE scores. The scope includes admissions criteria, competitiveness of various schools, and personal experiences related to graduate school applications.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant shares their academic background, including a GPA of 2.8 and GRE scores of 600/760/4.0, and seeks advice on their chances of admission to M.S. programs at Texas A&M and UT Austin.
  • Another participant provides links to rankings of universities, noting that both Texas A&M and UT Austin are considered top 25 schools for Electrical Engineering.
  • A participant comments on the competitiveness of admissions to top 25 schools, suggesting that while it is less competitive than top 10 schools, it remains challenging.
  • One participant argues that the quality of education at top 25 schools can be comparable to that of top 10 schools, depending on specific subfields.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the competitiveness of admissions to top 25 versus top 10 schools, with some suggesting that the difference may not be significant, while others emphasize the challenges of gaining admission to any top-ranked program.

Contextual Notes

Participants have not reached a consensus on the impact of GPA on admission chances or the specifics of financial aid availability, and there are varying opinions on the relative quality of education at different tiers of schools.

Who May Find This Useful

International students considering graduate school applications in engineering fields, particularly those concerned about GPA and admissions competitiveness.

mn446kon
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Hello. I'm an international student studying Computer Engineering at University of Wyoming. I'm graduating in December 2009 and I hoped to get some advice regarding the admission of a grad school based on my standing.

I've already took the GRE, and I got 600/760/4.0 for Verbal, Quantitative, and writing respectively so I think I did O.K. in it. Problem lies on my current GPA, as it is at 2.8, but that is because I failed couple of classes and I plan to retake them before I graduate. I expect the GPA to be raised at least above 3.1 by then.

So the question I wanted to ask is, if I wanted to apply for M.S degree in either Electrical Engineering or Computer Science at schools such as Texas A&M and UT at Austin (I ruled out Tier 1 schools to begin with due to my GPA), what do you think my odds of getting in will be? If I DO get in, what about the odds of receiving a financial aid?

I know this is an absurd question to ask, but I'd seriously appreciate your honest opinions on this matter. This issue has been troubling me for quite a while. Thank you.
 
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Ah yes.. that's practically what I meant, but Austin was kind of an exception in the case I guess.

Anyways, any thoughts on my odds?
 
Admissions to top 25 schools is still very very competitive. It might be a notch below top 10 admissions, but it is still very difficult. You should contact the department you are interested in and gauge what your chances are. But there is not a significant dropoff in terms of competitiveness when you go from top 10 to top 25.
 
I might even argue that the quality of a Top 25 school is often the same or better than a Top 10 school: just not in all subfields.
 

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