
Member • Oct 8, 2011
In need of advice and help! I feel demotivated!
I'm sort of new here and this is my first post/thread. I want to introduce myself first: My name is Ajit Krisshna, and I'm a 3rd year engineering student in MSRIT, Bangalore, studying Electronics and Communication engineering, Recently, I have been thinking a lot about my future and career. My academics have always been really good. FOr instance, in 10th, I scored 91% in ICSE and in 12th, 95% in ISC. In fact I was placed 2nd in all of Bangalore for my performance in the ISC exams. Also, my CGPA is 9.5/10. Summer of 2011, I interned at Technophilia systems in the robotics field for 2 weeks and soon after I undertook a German language course for 1 month. It was then that I began to think about further studies and my achievements so far. I haven't really accomplished anything in the non-academic area. I'm currently working on a project in IISC, which is to do with unmanned aerial vehicles. I also started preparing for GRE just a week ago.
My plan is to apply to the top 20 universities in the world for electrical and computer science engineering. What I'm not sure about is whether I'm worthy enough to apply to these universities with my current achievements, or my resume'. I'm not trying to think pessimistically but I'm trying to look at it realistically because I have absolutely no research experience. I know for a fact that universities hold factors like research, work experience, LORs, SOPs with a high value. Perhaps even higher than academic accolades and achievements.
Today, I stumbled upon various blogs about many IITians and NITians who have numerous lists of academic and research achievements and my heart sank deeper and deeper after reading every blog. Yes, I know what you're going to say "You should have joined an IIT!!". The fact remains, however, that I was never really thrilled about IITs and I failed to see the credibility that underlays the prestigious institution. Anyway, what's done is done. I didn't bother studying to get into any of the IITs or NITs.
A few weeks ago, I spoke to a professor in my department, who is currently doing research on Image Processing. He's been guiding me ever since. According to him, colleges like MSRIT ( which is the 3rd best in Bangalore), although renowned, are not places of ongoing research (any research for that matter). When I asked him about my chances of getting into an 'IVY league' school for M.S/M.Tech, he immediately shunned the idea and suggested that I aim for a Masters in IIT. He goes on to say that admission into PhD programs in IVY league schools would be more possible with an IIT degree. Am I ready to study for a min. of 5 years more? I don't know and frankly the idea of that doesn't thrill me too much. I digress. He usually picks about 10 of the brightest students of 6th semester ECE students to work on a research paper and submit it at an international conference.
So, what do I need to do in this year and the next, for me to gain some credibility and hopefully get admitted in a Top 20 university??? Oh, and you can be assured that I will do well in GRE and TOEFL.
My question is, can a guy like me from such an Institution still do what it takes to get into the top 20 universities? Or does it always come down to IITs and NITs? Is it possible for me to get into lets say UPenn or Georgia Tech (I'm not going to say MIT and Stanford), with just good marks ( good GRE, TOEFL, CGPA etc), and decent LORs and SOPs. Does coming from IITs make such a big bleeding difference as far as admissions are concerned?