Credits - Shubhranil Chatterjee, B.Tech, Mechanical Engineering, 2025

University

ETH Zurich

Programs and Countries applied to

US 1) MS in Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University 2) MS in Mechanical Engineering, MIT 3) MS in Mechanical Engineering, UCLA

Netherlands 1) MSc in Mechanical Engineering, TU Delft

Switzerland 1) MSc in Mechanical Engineering, ETH Zurich 2) MSc in Mechanical Engineering, EPFL

Application Timeline

I shortlisted universities and programs during July and August. I took the GRE and TOEFL exams between August and September. From October to December, I requested letters of recommendation from professors and worked on my statements of purpose. The submission of applications took place between November and December.

Application Strengths

In my application, I emphasized my strong academic record, focused interest in fluid mechanics, relevant research experience, and clear ambition to pursue a research-oriented career.

SOPs, LORs, Resume

For my resume, I referred to those of seniors to understand the format and content, then prepared my own and got feedback from a few seniors. For SOPs, I wrote the first draft independently after reviewing several online resources for structure and tone. I shared it with seniors and professors for feedback, incorporated a few suggestions, but the core content remained largely unchanged. For LORs, I approached professors who had mentored me during research projects or taught courses relevant to my field where I had performed well.

Resources Used

These resources were shared with me by Arpit Dwivedi, an alumnus of our department, and they proved to be sufficient throughout the entire application process.

Grad School Resources

1) https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~harchol/gradschooltalk.pdf

2) https://streaklinks.com/BkztlIAJiW5BceuWyAaSuOC0/https%3A%2F%2Fcs.stanford.edu%2Fpeople%2Frkarthik%2FDAGAP.pdf

3) https://stanford.edu/~sfh/advice.pdf

4) https://github.com/jbhuang0604/awesome-tips#career

SoP Resources

1) https://twitter.com/ericaxweng/status/1597036979828375554?s=20&t=1rKfsxCWoIP_W7r2Kb_LVA

2) https://youtu.be/CFE4_OkcNjY

3) https://mitcommlab.mit.edu/eecs/commkit/graduate-school-personal-statement/

4) https://www.cmu.edu/student-success/other-resources/handouts/comm-supp-pdfs/grad-app-sop.pdf

5) https://krrish94.github.io/blog/gradschool-sop/

LoR Resources

1) https://twitter.com/fadeladib/status/1465354271994494976?t=ULM2bnfHG8lUe3gMZoZ4rA&s=19

2) https://krrish94.github.io/blog/gradschool-letters/

3) https://streaklinks.com/BkztlIMBwVSEKsMEzARhuFRl/https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2Fdocument%2Fd%2F1RNqrcUPY08jR-eZPwidQQU7zazjNE6m-%2Fedit%3Fusp%3Ddrivesdk%26ouid%3D102079621049487951980%26rtpof%3Dtrue%26sd%3Dtrue

College Selection Resources

1) https://krrish94.github.io/blog/gradschool-pick-school/

Reflections & Advice

Looking back, starting early made a big difference—the graduate application process is a long journey and can’t be completed overnight or even in a week. It’s important to choose programs based on your own interests, goals, and financial considerations, rather than simply following where others are applying. Also, don’t hesitate to reach out to seniors and professors for guidance—their experience can be incredibly helpful and save you a lot of time and confusion.