Snapshots
Name : Yuvek Mehta
Graduation College : DJ Sanghvi College of Engineering (Mumbai University)
Graduation Stream : B.E. in Electronics & Telecommunications
Graduation Aggregate : 77.7%
GRE Score : 1240 (First attempt) & 1380 (Second Attempt)
TOEFL Score: 110
University for Masters: Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)
Course Details : Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)
Applications & Admits
Universities & Courses applied to :
- Georgia Institute of Technology (GTech) – EE, Telecommunications
- Carnegie Melon University (CMU)—ECE
- University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)—Electrical Engineering
- University of Colorado at Boulder - Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program (ITP)
- University of Pennsylvania- Telecommunications & Networking (TCOM)
- Columbia University, New York-EE
- Purdue University--EE
- University of Maryland – ENTS
- University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) – EE
- University of Southern California (USC)– EE
Admits from (Universities & Courses) :
- Georgia Institute of Technology (GTech) – EE, Telecommunications
- Carnegie Melon University (CMU)—ECE
- University of Colorado at Boulder - Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program (ITP)
- University of Pennsylvania- Telecommunications & Networking (TCOM)
- University of Maryland – ENTS
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey – ECE
- University of Southern California (USC)– EE
Minutia
Final Year Project : Wireless notice board using zigbee module
Technical Papers : None
Letter of Recommendations : Project guide, HOD, Senior Professor
Extracurriculars: None
Work Experience/Internship: One Month Internship in LnT
Financial Aid : None
Preparation
I started my GRE preparation in September 2009. I started doing words at a slow pace around 30 words a day or so. I continued till mid October then got busy with submissions so had to take break. I finished 7 boxes in this span. I continued my GRE preparations in January 2010 and took a date of 30th March. I finished all boxes by Feb end then started solving BigBook, Kaplan and other tests along with revision of vocabulary.
I took the GRE twice first on 30th March 2010 (got an unexpected 1240) and again on 7th April 2010.
I think 6th sem (march) is the ideal time to give GRE as engineering load is less and if by chance you don’t do well there is still time for another shot.
My take on the counselling: I had taken counselling. He did prepare my SOP initially but I wasn’t too happy with it so I went upto him with certain changes which he didn’t appreciate. So I made a lot of changes to his SOP and wrote my own with help from a few relatives who had prior experience in writing the same.
Advice to Juniors
Work hard right from the start. Academics do matter a lot (supposedly the most important aspect in getting an admit or reject). Apply to a lot of ambitious schools and a few moderates and safes. All the best!