As an aspiring graduate student, I had started exploring my options to study more about Renewable Energy.

With no template in my hands, I had to explore all my options. All universities offer tons of degrees for energy: Masters of Sciences in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Energy Resource Engineering, etc. My confusion is best captured by Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken”. I was terribly confused and finally chose to take the known route through Mechanical Engineering.

I applied to some of the best universities. My application itself was above the general average. I applied for an MS in Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in Renewable Energy. It was a risk. Research in the Mechanical Department does not always revolve around renewables. It actually quite rare to find someone pursuing research in renewables through the Mechanical Department.

While I chose Mechanical Engineering as it was the known route to MS, it came to my mind later that probably an MS in Energy Resources could have been better. But, mechanical engineering was ideal to study everything related to thermodynamics, a very important topic for understanding efficiencies of an energy-producing system.

Now that I have formally completed the process for admissions at University of California Los Angeles, I think “it will make all the difference.”