Suggest me Universites for MS in EE.

[I_am_learning]

I want to enroll for MS in Electrical Engineering in a 'good' University in US.
I completed my undergraduate in Electrical Engineering from the topmost college in Nepal, with an average of 81.5 %.
I took General GRE and scored 336. (170 in Quantitative Section and 166 in Verbal Section)
I worked (am working) as a team member in a research project (related to rural electrification) that has won a major funding from a national body. A research paper on this project, having my co-authorship, is selected in an IEEE regional conference.
During my undergraduate period I worked on several independent and group projects. One of my notable project was making an autonomous chess playing robot. Another one was making a arcade type tank game with computer opponents having AI.
I have good command in programming and MATLAB simulations.
I have very good relations with my professors and they regard me highly.

What chance do I have to get admited and to be considered for financial aids such as research assitantship? I want to specialize in research on micro-grids. Any universities do you suggest (getting some sort of financial aid is a must for me)?

 

[I_am_learning]

Ok, here is a more generic question. I hope at least it will be answerable. :)
In general, how does the admission committee in US universities look upon students, like myself, for not-known university in lesser-known countries? Do they think we might be incapable and be reluctant to accept (and take risks) ?

 

[carlgrace]

Ok, here is a more generic question. I hope at least it will be answerable. :)
In general, how does the admission committee in US universities look upon students, like myself, for not-known university in lesser-known countries? Do they think we might be incapable and be reluctant to accept (and take risks) ?

I had classmates from all over the world in graduate school. Many were from smaller institutions and from smaller countries. I think you have a chance to get in.

 

[ZapperZ]

I want to enroll for MS in Electrical Engineering in a 'good' University in US.
I completed my undergraduate in Electrical Engineering from the topmost college in Nepal, with an average of 81.5 %.
I took General GRE and scored 336. (170 in Quantitative Section and 166 in Verbal Section)
I worked (am working) as a team member in a research project (related to rural electrification) that has won a major funding from a national body. A research paper on this project, having my co-authorship, is selected in an IEEE regional conference.
During my undergraduate period I worked on several independent and group projects. One of my notable project was making an autonomous chess playing robot. Another one was making a arcade type tank game with computer opponents having AI.
I have good command in programming and MATLAB simulations.
I have very good relations with my professors and they regard me highly.

What chance do I have to get admited and to be considered for financial aids such as research assitantship? I want to specialize in research on micro-grids. Any universities do you suggest (getting some sort of financial aid is a must for me)?

Is getting a MS degree your terminal goal?

A lot of international students do not realize that, in the US, you can apply for a PhD degree using your undergraduate Bachelors degree. Unlike other parts of the world, you do NOT have to first get a M.Sc degree and then apply for a PhD degree.

If getting just a MS degree is your goal, then that's fine. But if you are aiming for a PhD, you need to apply right away for a PhD program.

Zz.

 

[I_am_learning]

Is getting a MS degree your terminal goal?

A lot of international students do not realize that, in the US, you can apply for a PhD degree using your undergraduate Bachelors degree. Unlike other parts of the world, you do NOT have to first get a M.Sc degree and then apply for a PhD degree.

If getting just a MS degree is your goal, then that's fine. But if you are aiming for a PhD, you need to apply right away for a PhD program.

Zz.

Thanks Zz for the info.
I indeed want to get upto PhD degree. However, most of the university website I visited state that only exceptionally good students are directly admitted to the PhD. So, I think, the safer path for me is to apply for MS only, and express my intention in my statement of purpose. What do you think?

 

[ZapperZ]

Thanks Zz for the info.
I indeed want to get upto PhD degree. However, most of the university website I visited state that only exceptionally good students are directly admitted to the PhD. So, I think, the safer path for me is to apply for MS only, and express my intention in my statement of purpose. What do you think?

I don't know where you are applying to. Maybe engineering criteria for admission is different than in the sciences, but I haven't seen it.

Most students who intend to do a Ph.D in the US will apply directly to it from a Bachelors degree. A M.Sc degree is seldom (or never) a requirement to apply for a PhD in the US.

As an international student, you have another issue, which I've stated in Part VII of "So You Want To Be A Physicist". This applies to all international students requiring a visa into the US:

This can actually create additional annoying problems, because one sometime has to REAPPLY for enrollment into the Ph.D program (this means you may have to pay again the application fee, fill in application forms, etc...) They also must apply for a change of status on their visas, because they are now pursuing a different degree... In other words, these are all messes and annoyances that could have been avoided had one understood the graduate school system.

With more careful control of international students in the US, you will have to deal with the necessary paperwork to change your degree status, something you don't have to deal with had you simply apply for a PhD degree in the first place.

Zz.

 

[yungman]

Since you are out of state, I have no idea which college is good for you. Look at the curriculum of the major. At least find one that requires advanced electromagnetics, and a few classes of Applied math. I have seen some not so good colleges like San Jose State that does not require any of these. I don't see you can go far with that particular if you change your mind to go for the PhD program later.