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?"
You might want to contact a graduate office and see if there is a way that you can compute your grade according to the American system, as this will be easier for admissions committees to understand.
Also, contact the graduate programs and ask if a high TOEFL but low analytical writing score with high math and verbal would seriously hurt your chances of admission/funding. If they say yes, then there is something you can do.
The analytical writing score looks bad--but your TOEFL looks high enough. I would see if it is possible for you to retake just the analytical writing portion of the exam, since your math and verbal scores are so high. There is a general formula to perform well on that portion of the test, and you might be able to squeeze a 4.5-5 out of that 3. Call ETS and ask if this would be possible.
Hope that helps. Also...are you looking at CMU? CMU loves international students...though I have heard that funding them is another story.
SavingRain (anese)kai_dranzerSeptember 5 2008, 04:44:20 UTC
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)aneseSeptember 5 2008, 13:53:44 UTC
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.
Anyway, all of the CMU stuff is irrelevant, make sure you are focusing your search on the best professors to suit your research interests. Not just on what are the top schools. You'll shoot yourself in the foot in most cases because the professors are not just looking for the stellar candidate on paper, but someone with a lively interest in what they are doing who can fit into their labs. I see that you are on the right direction with this already by contacting beforehand.
And regarding asking ETS, wont it be late to try to take AWA alone?
I don't think so, but the standards might be different for internationals? If you can't, I agree with other posters that you still stand an excellent chance without it.
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?"
You might want to contact a graduate office and see if there is a way that you can compute your grade according to the American system, as this will be easier for admissions committees to understand.
Also, contact the graduate programs and ask if a high TOEFL but low analytical writing score with high math and verbal would seriously hurt your chances of admission/funding. If they say yes, then there is something you can do.
The analytical writing score looks bad--but your TOEFL looks high enough. I would see if it is possible for you to retake just the analytical writing portion of the exam, since your math and verbal scores are so high. There is a general formula to perform well on that portion of the test, and you might be able to squeeze a 4.5-5 out of that 3. Call ETS and ask if this would be possible.
Hope that helps. Also...are you looking at CMU? CMU loves international students...though I have heard that funding them is another story.
Reply
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?
Reply
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.
Anyway, all of the CMU stuff is irrelevant, make sure you are focusing your search on the best professors to suit your research interests. Not just on what are the top schools. You'll shoot yourself in the foot in most cases because the professors are not just looking for the stellar candidate on paper, but someone with a lively interest in what they are doing who can fit into their labs. I see that you are on the right direction with this already by contacting beforehand.
And regarding asking ETS, wont it be late to try to take AWA alone?
I don't think so, but the standards might be different for internationals? If you can't, I agree with other posters that you still stand an excellent chance without it.
Reply
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