Admissions Will this hurt my graduate admissions chances?

AI Thread Summary
In the discussion, a student pursuing electrical engineering expresses concern about not being able to take an essential electromagnetics course until their senior year, which may impact their applications to graduate schools, particularly in antenna engineering. The student highlights a strong academic record, potentially achieving a 4.0 GPA, along with research experience and strong letters of recommendation. Concerns are raised about the implications of taking a critical course late, but responses suggest that a solid GPA, relevant coursework, and research experience can mitigate potential disadvantages. The importance of a compelling admission essay and interview performance is emphasized, indicating that overall presentation and knowledge are crucial for graduate school applications.
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I'm in electrical engineering, and my current strongest interest right now is in antenna engineering (after much electromagnetics self study). The problem is, due to the way the courses are scheduled at my school, it is entirely possible that I won't be able to take our engineering electromagnetics course until the spring of my senior year (I'm going into junior year right now). Clearly, electromagnetics is incredibly important for antenna engineering. I feel it will put me at a disadvantage applying to grad schools (especially top-tier schools) if I haven't taken a class that's so important for my area of interest by the time I put in my application. Is this something that will have a big negative effect on my application (for a masters program)?

My GPA will potentially be a 4.0, I have research experience, and I'll have great letters of recommendation, so those aren't an issue. I'm just concerned about how detrimental not taking this class early enough will be. I will take it before I graduate, just possibly not before applying to grad schools.
 
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I am neither a EE nor an Admissions officer, so take my response for what it's worth. Here's what I'd be looking for: a GPA of 3.6 or higher; 3 or 4 courses in calculus; 3 courses in basic Physics (mechanics, electricity/magnetism , and waves); basic electric circuit science; and good grades in advanced EE topics in your junior and senior years. Surely there are other senior year courses besides electromagnetic that you will have not yet taken until your final semester, and with a 4. 0 GPA, I'd assume you would do well in those final semester courses provided that your good grades in courses already taken were relevant courses and not just 'gut 'courses. Research would be a plus. Your admission essay would be important if required. And perhaps most important of all would be the interview. If you come across as a know-it-all, I don't want you. Best of Luck!
 
Hey, I am Andreas from Germany. I am currently 35 years old and I want to relearn math and physics. This is not one of these regular questions when it comes to this matter. So... I am very realistic about it. I know that there are severe contraints when it comes to selfstudy compared to a regular school and/or university (structure, peers, teachers, learning groups, tests, access to papers and so on) . I will never get a job in this field and I will never be taken serious by "real"...
Yesterday, 9/5/2025, when I was surfing, I found an article The Schwarzschild solution contains three problems, which can be easily solved - Journal of King Saud University - Science ABUNDANCE ESTIMATION IN AN ARID ENVIRONMENT https://jksus.org/the-schwarzschild-solution-contains-three-problems-which-can-be-easily-solved/ that has the derivation of a line element as a corrected version of the Schwarzschild solution to Einstein’s field equation. This article's date received is 2022-11-15...

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