Advice on graduate school

Neil Gupta

A bit about me

• Graduated from NU in 2007 with bachelor’s in ECE

• Co-Ops:– COGNEX– Ametek Aerospace– Raytheon– Draper Labs

• Currently pursuing M.S. at Stanford (June 09)– EE courses in renewable energy, analog IC design, statistical

signal processing– Concentration in Management Science

What I’m going to talk about

• What to do each year– Preparing for and applying to grad school– How to pick what schools to apply to

• How to decide if grad school is right for you• Differences between grad and undergrad• What I wish I did differently at NU• A word on co-op

Freshmen

• GPA is extremely important– Learning should come hand in hand– Determines salary– Gives you the ability to explore other career options

• Keep ORGANIZED– You will need all of your notes from every class you

take– Write a review of each class for yourself in which you

summarize what you learned in the class• Research research• Get involved with a few organizations

Sophomores

• Your co-ops are extremely important– Money does not matter. Nor does time-off, 401k, etc– Think about what you will learn from this job

• How will you be able to talk about it to other people

– Consider doing research– Be open-minded

• Maintain a good GPA or step it up if you need to• Again, stay organized.

Middlers

• Try to get involved with research– Worst case scenario is that you don’t enjoy it

• Start looking at schools– This is an incredibly lengthy process

• Begin preparing for the GRE– This too is an incredibly lengthy process

• Have recommendations in mind– These will make or break your admittance to a good

school

• Keep up the GPA

Juniors• Talk with professors at NU

– All professors here are from top universities and are extremely accomplished

– They know you by now and have great advice about other schools• Visit schools if you can• Take the GRE

– In March so you have time to retake it if necessary– All your scores are sent to schools

• Start your statement of purpose– This will get you thinking about what you want out of the grad school

experience• Really ask yourself what do you want in a grad school

– Tech-heavy school (MIT, Georgia Tech)– A school that encourages entrepreneurship (Stanford, Georgia Tech,

NU)– A school with lots of well-known colleges (M.D., J.D., Engineering,

Liberal Arts)• Don’t slack on your GPA now

Taking the GRE

• CAT Test• 3 sections

– Math: out of 800– Verbal: out of 800– Analytical Writing: out of 6 with .5 increments

• Improve your vocab• Plan on taking it a few times

– If nothing else it reduces stress– Remember that all scores get sent

• Take practice exams

Writing a Statement of Purpose

• One of the most important parts of your application

• Different for each school• Requires doing a lot of research and knowing

why you actually want to attend the specific university

• Requires knowing why you are going for your Ph.D. or M.S.

• Takes months to write and rewrite• Ask professors to read it for you

Seniors

• By now you should know what schools you want to apply to

• Actually apply– Takes time, money

• MIT asks for a list of every textbook you ever used– Most applications are due between December and

January• Contact professors at the schools you will apply

to– Talk to NU professors who either attended or are

doing research with someone at that school• Visit schools you get accepted to

Is grad school right for you?

• I can’t tell you this.• Ask yourself why you want to go and be honest.

– Write this down so you can read it on Sundays when all of your other friends are watching football and cashing their checks

• There is nothing wrong with working for a year if you are unsure– Make sure you work somewhere that your experience will help

you decide– Hard to give up the paychecks and weekends for homework and

research• Determine Ph.D. or M.S.

– Quals• Undergrad class notes come in handy

– Be open-minded

Differences between grad and undergrad

• Graduate school is not just a continuation of undergraduate

• You are required to learn a lot on your own– Professors will not necessarily review with you– TAs will not necessarily review with you– This is when having organized notes from your undergrad will be

very helpful• A lot more time on assignments

– You will not always find relevant examples/formulas in the textbook

– TAs are less helpful. They tend to answer specific questions and not give you advice on how to approach the problem.

– You are expected to have a full working knowledge of MATLAB, Hspice (or some circuit simulation tool), and UNIX to some degree as well

• You cannot procrastinate.

What I wish I did differently at NU

• Business minor– At least take engineering economy

• Followed the advice I gave you on co-ops– Speak up if you don’t think you are getting valuable experience

• Done a co-op that wasn’t strictly engineering• Done a co-op outside of Boston• Stayed more organized• Done research• Learned more about the types of research my professors

were doing• Been involved in more activities

– jazz band, improv, etc• Built up credit

What I am glad I did at NU• IEEE• Pursued a 4th co-op• Semester abroad in Spain• Spring Break• Intramurals• Attended almost every sport at least once

– Both NU sports and Boston sports• Did all the touristy stuff in Boston• Attended homecoming and springfest• Bought a camera my freshman year• Had a bike• Enjoyed the gym

– Classes, racquet ball• Started an IRA• Traveled a lot

A word on co-op

• $ < experience• Try to work for different kinds of companies

– Big, small, startup, defense, research lab, etc

• Look for a job where you will have exposure to other business units as well– Business majors are not stupid

• Look into working outside of Boston• Recognize that you will likely get an offer from

your final co-op, and a lot of places have programs in place to pay for grad school

Questions?