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[kai_dranzer]

Hi everybody

Comments

[lacrimaeveneris]

Yes, it is fine to email professors, and some places expect it.

I'm not sure about the AW, so I'll let someone who knows answer that one.

(lacrimaeveneris)

[kai_dranzer]

Sure, I shall mail the profs. But I thought I would start by asking the grad students themselves.

[anese]

I also wanted to know if it is ok to mail the profs directly specifying interest to work with them.This is fine to do and generally a very good idea considering how many people are applying. You might want to include your resume or a summary of your thesis. However, don't panic too much if they don't respond--they tend to get a great deal of interest from perspectives. Another good idea would be to discuss some recent work they did, "I see you are working on x and studying y, I am also studying x and wrote my thesis on y--will you be taking on anymore graduate students next year

SavingRain (anese)

[kai_dranzer]

Those were great pointers indeed. Thanks. In fact I will be following that regime of contacting the profs.
And regarding asking the grad office about my chances directly, some places almost condemn it I guess, if not explicit. Sure I shall give a shot.
Coming to CMU, I had it on my list during phase zero, but then CMU is not in the top 15 in mechanical engineering, but extremely difficult to get into. I have been planning to try MIT. A wild card option, that is. And Cornell and UT Austin too. I can't afford to try any more top schools I thought.
I am studying at a college which is ranked between 20 and 25 in the state,I guess. Basedon my credentials, I was selected for a fellowship at IIT, which is obviously the top ranked one.
And regarding asking ETS, wont it be late to try to take AWA alone?

Re: SavingRain (anese)

[anese]

Coming to CMU, I had it on my list during phase zero, but then CMU is not in the top 15 in mechanical engineering, but extremely difficult to get into. I have been planning to try MIT. A wild card option, that is. And Cornell and UT Austin too. I can't afford to try any more top schools I thought. I think CMU makes it so rough because of the intense involvement with the Robotics Lab. Mech-E's also do lots of work in other departments: CS, ECE, Civ-E... MIT has amazing mech-e labs...in fact, I think the problem with CMU is that their study of robotics is largely grounded in CS

[adequaticus]

Are you one of the top 3 students at an IIT? If so, apply to more than 3 of the top 10 schools. You'll be extremely competitive. Top US schools love to snatch up the best IIT students.

I doubt your low writing score will hurt your application much as long as your TOEFL is strong (I don't know how to interpret 108/120).

[anese]

that info about IIT is awesome and good to know...I wish the OP luck!

adequaticus (adequaticus)

[kai_dranzer]

Well, I am sorry you have misinterpreted that. I am not from IIT. I study at Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, which is ranked in the top 100 colleges in India.I did a Summer Fellowship at IIT ; for I was selected based on my credentials. Hence I am limiting myself to a max of 3 in the top 10 univs.

Re: adequaticus (adequaticus)

[adequaticus]

I didn't misinterpret anything. I know you said you did a summer fellowship at IITM, but that doesn't mean you don't go to another IIT. I simply asked.

[chaostheory635]

From what I've heard, the verbal section matters a lot more than the AW for STEM-like fields. You should be fine! (How much research experience do you have?)
I'd go ahead and start emailing profs. It can be useful to know who's taking students and who isn't. Besides which, the majority of the responses I've received have been overwhelmingly positive and encouraging.

jes (chaostheory635)

[kai_dranzer]

Thanks a lot. I have research experience of 2 to 3 months to put on paper; i.e. I have done a fellowship project. But I keep doing research these days and am trying to get something publishable out of it.