MS Robotics and Electrical Engineering Admits at Top-50 US Universities with Average GPA

Electrical engineering is one of the popular choices after 12th in India. However, due to the problems of core engineering jobs in India, a good majority of Indian B.Tech graduates either switch to software/IT jobs or opt to study abroad. Without any doubt, the US offers a wide variety of choices in terms of universities and specializations at the graduate level along with cutting-edge research opportunities and job prospects after graduation. When it comes to admissions in the USA, GPA is unarguably one of the most critical factors. In this post, we will look at Harish’s story of getting MS admits from four top-50 engineering schools in the US despite an average GPA.

Harish’s Background

MS Robotics / Electrical in USA Admit with Average GPA
Harish

Harish had a pretty decent GRE score of 319 (Q – 165, V – 154, AWA – 3.5). But, his GPA was 7.6 (till 6th semester; at the time of application), which was a kind of average; and he is not from an IIT or NIT. However, he attended the College of Engineering (Guindy), Anna University, which falls among the top private universities in India.

He wanted to pursue a graduate program in the USA at the interface of Electrical and Computer Science engineering and his areas of interest were Robotics, IoT, AI, Embedded Systems, and Computational Intelligence.

Artificial intelligence (AI), IoT and automation are arguably the most exciting and complex areas in the applied field of robotics. So, getting into such a competitive field is not a mean feat at all.

Harish was pretty strong at coding. He had undergone two internships, including one international one in Taiwan. He had completed quite a few relevant online courses and projects as well. All he needed were a few external perspectives to present his application in a better manner.

Harish had initially opted for a one-on-one (online) counselling session with Ramdas Sunder in September 2019. Later, he signed up for a personalized university shortlisting package and eventually upgraded to our end-to-end guidance package for 5 universities.

Harish worked with me on his MS applications – CV, LoR and SoP reviews/editing; and received admits from Arizona State University (Robotics), North Carolina State University (Electrical & Computer Science Engineering), the University of Texas at Dallas (Computer Engineering), and Northeastern University (Electrical-Computer Engineering); he had one rejection from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Here is Harish’s feedback on Stoodnt’s MS admissions consulting services.

MS Electrical Engineering Admits at ASU, NCSU, UTD, NEU with Average GPA

Feedback by Harish KP on MS Admissions Counselling Services

1. What made you contact Stoodnt in the first place (for a 1:1 session)? How was your experience with Ramdas Sunder during the 1:1 session?

I got to know bout Stoodtnt through My father. First, my father had a small discussion with Ramdas Sir by forwarding my profile and resume and he had provided good constructive feedback on the necessary steps that had to be taken care of regarding the MS admission process. He then suggested to contact you.

2. How did the 1:1 session help you to make a decision for the next steps?

The one on one session was really helpful for taking the next decisions regarding steps related to MS applications. Initially, we discussed the areas of interest in the field of electrical engineering. He guided on how to proceed and also provided necessary details such as GRE, TOEFL, and GPA.

3. What’s your feedback on the Personalized University List? 

The university feedback list was quite accurate to the field of study that I wanted to pursue at the graduate level. It was a pretty balanced list of universities. It made my job easier to gauge the ambitious types of universities to apply and safe universities as well. I picked a few universities from the list provided. Finally, I worked with Tanmoy to finalize the list.

4. Could you please tell us a little bit about your GRE preparation? Would you like to share any advice for future GRE takers?

I signed up for online test portals and bought study materials for both verbal and quants. Initially, I began my GRE prep with mastering skills and vocabularies in quant and verbal. Once I started to get better, I started to give small drills and portals and subsequently mock tests.
I tried to mimic the exam atmosphere while giving mock exams and give as many as you can and have a quality analysis session of your mistakes after each exam, which I feel is the most important.

5. You could have worked on SoP/applications on your own. Why did you think that you need professional SOP services?

Since MS application has a lot of options and at times, that can mislead us. It’s always better to have a professional opinion on something as important as choosing the right program at the right college because of the past experiences in helping students and knowledge-base that they possess, it makes the job of an aspirant one step easier in the decision-making process.

6. How did you find the SoP services (brainstorming process, reviews & editing)?

The brainstorming session helped me a lot in making my first draft, which consisted of almost everything that I felt would be useful in drafting the SOP. After the first draft was made, the subsequent reviews were carried out and necessary editings were made depending on the college or program.

7. We didn’t write your SoP, LoR or CV. We helped you with the draft and helped you to present your application in a better way. Did you find the process useful?

Yes, this process was really helpful. It made the SOP feel authentic because it was drafted with my own words, with positive suggestions and editing from Team Stoodnt.

8. Stoodnt’s admissions consulting fee is not among the most expensive ones in the market, but not too cheap as well. Did you find worth it?

Yes, it was worth it, I have applied for the end to end MS counselling services for 5 universities and  I have got admits to almost all universities that I had applied. So, in the end, the fee was worth it. In fact, it seemed cheaper than most of the other companies’ premium counselling services.

9. Quite often MS applicants are students or working professionals and busy with their normal activities (studies, exams or jobs). So, they need flexibility (from the consultant) to work on their applications. How was your experience with Stoodnt?

Yes, I was provided with an ample amount of time to work on my MS applications, I didn’t feel rushed. At the same time, I was made sure that I finished the work before it becomes too late, so the time management part was well handled.

10. According to you, what’s the advantage of working with independent admission consultants (like Ramdas or myself) over traditional study abroad agencies (or agents)?

The biggest advantage is that you get unbiased and more personalized attention. You can enquire about doubts anytime you want, which I feel is absent in the case of traditional study-abroad agencies. Besides, I feel the study-abroad agencies (and traditional counselors) do the work for you (or on behalf of you), instead of guiding the students through the process. That is not the case while working with independent admissions consultants.

The main advantages of working with independent and professional admissions consultants are having trust and transparency, which are not always there with the traditional study-abroad agents. More often than not, they work in favor of the universities and don’t work in the best interest of the students.

11. The whole process has been delivered remotely? There was no face-to-face interaction. Did you face any problem? How was the overall experience with the remote admissions consulting service?

No, I haven’t faced any difficulties because of no face-to-face interaction. The telephonic sessions and email communications were good enough. I could mail my doubts anytime and I did get the replies quite soon as well.

12. Any advice that you would like to share with the future applicants; especially the folks who might be confused – whether to work with an admission consultant or not?

I would suggest them to go for it if you are not sure of doing everything on your own and if you don’t have anyone else to guide you through the process. If the budget is a constraint, you can always opt for bite-size services like 1:1 counselling, university shortlisting or SoP review for a couple of universities.
It’s always good to have external opinions from experts. It’s not a bad idea to spend on professional and personalized services because, at the end of the day, we are spending on education only. It’s not necessary to opt for end-to-end guidance services. But, a few suggestions and services would help in making the application process smoother.

Featured Image Source: HowStuffWorks

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