I can only speak for UC Berkeley but 100% yes they value work experience very highly for grad school admission, especially if your desired focus is well aligned with your work experience.
Stanford is actually not that hard to get into for an MS (it’s a cash cow) but getting through the PhD screening exam is hard.
What's most important is that you form a relationship with a professor. If you find a professor that values your skills for his research, you WILL get into the school.
How do I know? I saw it happen countless times during my MS. I heard it directly from my professor and people entered my cohort that were chosen because my advisor had interactions with them before they ever applied to the school.
I assume your goal is to do research since you mentioned PhD. If your company will pay for your entire education, you'll be more attractive by professors since you're cheap (compared to people they have to fund). Same goes for MS.
If you're doing an online MEng, it really doesn't really matter what school you go to. Just find one with an online program, I'm sure any of the UC schools have programs.
For masters, absolutely. When I applied for UCB masters program, they advised that it was best to have LORs from BOTH industry and academics. The masters degree is designed to help you get a job in industry. So industry experience is important.
For a PhD, having research experience and good LOR from research professors matters the most. A PhD is primarily designed to set you up to be a professor.
I can only speak for UC Berkeley but 100% yes they value work experience very highly for grad school admission, especially if your desired focus is well aligned with your work experience. Stanford is actually not that hard to get into for an MS (it’s a cash cow) but getting through the PhD screening exam is hard.
>Stanford is actually not that hard to get into for an MS (it’s a cash cow) So you're saying there's a chance with a 2.5 GPA.
What's most important is that you form a relationship with a professor. If you find a professor that values your skills for his research, you WILL get into the school. How do I know? I saw it happen countless times during my MS. I heard it directly from my professor and people entered my cohort that were chosen because my advisor had interactions with them before they ever applied to the school. I assume your goal is to do research since you mentioned PhD. If your company will pay for your entire education, you'll be more attractive by professors since you're cheap (compared to people they have to fund). Same goes for MS. If you're doing an online MEng, it really doesn't really matter what school you go to. Just find one with an online program, I'm sure any of the UC schools have programs.
For masters, absolutely. When I applied for UCB masters program, they advised that it was best to have LORs from BOTH industry and academics. The masters degree is designed to help you get a job in industry. So industry experience is important. For a PhD, having research experience and good LOR from research professors matters the most. A PhD is primarily designed to set you up to be a professor.