
So I am applying to graduate school and will take the PGRE for the first time this Saturday. I am hopeful that I will do well as I have been studying for two months straight. I really need this to offset my GPA, even though it is from 5 years ago. I have no idea what my chances are for getting accepted to programs and wanted to ask you all if my sights are too low or too high? Here is my information:
GPA: 2.9, strong programming skills and solid math/physics (spent one year in Computer Science and then changed majors to Electrical Engineering)
GRE: 156/159/3.5 (I had expected to get something like 160/164/?... but I was sorta stressing during the exam. I could take it for the second time the week after the PGRE?)
I worked for three years with a physicist at his company(president) working on engineering projects as a signal integrity engineer. Then I moved to Germany to join a €600M/year company with a global footprint. Their R&D program gets about €90M/year in funds, and work in a team there as a SI development engineer. I have experience working with TDR, VNA, SEM, X-ray machine, anecobic chamber, etc. Primarily, my work is in micron-scale interconnects but I am also involved in designing products that work at very high frequency (10-100 GHz). I plan to move back to the States and seek a PhD in Condensed Matter focusing on the industrial applications of graphene nanocomposites.
Current List:
Uni. Illinois
Uni. Texas @ Austin
Uni. Boulder @ Boulder
(my undergrad school)
Recommendations:
CTO of current company
project leader for current company (micron-interconnects)
physicist from previous company
My basic concern is that I won't be accepted anywhere, even my undergrad school which isn't ranked highly
