<p>*Accepted at:
*Undergrad School:
*UGPA:
*GRE:
*Years of research:</p>
<p>Please post your results here... It would be greatly encouraging for those applying to grad school next fall.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>No one? :(</p>
<p>Jeez Im hoping this is just becuz every single person here is just crazy with a 3.9 :P.</p>
<p>I hesitate to post, because I think the “every single person here is just crazy with a 3.9” statement is somewhat true. You mostly see threads asking for top 15 programs, which is fine, but it’s not necessarily the healthiest. You asked for some encouragement? Archimedes didn’t go to Stanford or MIT. ;)</p>
<p>Accepted at: UMiami (funded PhD), CMU (MS in MET), UChicago (MS)
Undergrad: UMiami
UGPA: 3.49 (it’s under 3.5!)
GRE: 750Q / 530V
Research: summer-fall 2008 on social robotics (received an award for this); currently working on graphics & online sports simulations
Projects: had a few other large projects including a game and a virtual environment simulator</p>
<p>I accepted Miami because funding is important and I know work is being done in my areas of interest. I figured the MET degree was iffy, because I’ve already been doing “creative projects” similar to what they focus on.</p>
<p>Are you a going to be a senior next year, or did you already graduate? I can only offer my own opinion/advice on what to focus on with your remaining time:</p>
<p>As far as GPA/GRE:
I didn’t waste a minute of my time studying for the GRE because I don’t consider memorizing vocabulary to be productive or enlightening. The math is also ancient… I must have made a mistake doing long division or something. Honestly, I don’t see the purpose of this exam other than to weed out people who are vastly under-qualified. I don’t think most grad programs care too much about GRE scores either.</p>
<p>Grades… well, GPA is an okay measurement of effort. I won’t lie, there are some classes I was a ghost in for the entire semester. I suppose the primary reason this is used for grad admissions is to determine if the student is motivated enough (as opposed to smart enough).</p>
<p>Research/Internships:
I believe having solid project and research work will help you the most. Getting a 4.0 GPA takes discipline; doing stellar research requires intellect and creativity. Since grad school is more about creating knowledge than absorbing it, discipline alone might not make you the best grad student (to the dismay of many!). Whether nor not admissions committees share this opinion… I’m not sure. You probably can’t raise your GPA too much, but all it takes is one research opportunity to make you stand out.</p>
<p>While I wasn’t below a 3.5 and am not in CS, I still did pretty respectable.</p>
<p>*Accepted at: Cornell, UCSB, Caltech
*Undergrad School: Carnegie Mellon
*UGPA: ~3.65
*GRE: 730M/620V/5.5W
*Years of research: 3 summers and 2 semesters.</p>
<p>I should also say I didn’t get in to four of the schools I applied, but I imagine some were due to fit with advisors and some were due to them being very numbers-based admissions.</p>
<p>Looking back I should have diversified to by applying to more programs. I went mostly with top-10 programs since those were the ones the professors I worked for recommended, but I should have read more literature outside of what I was currently working on to see where solid research was being done. Also, most of my professors seemed genuinely surprised when I didn’t get into Stanford, Berkeley, or Northwestern. Then again, I think most of them thought I was closer to a 3.9 student. :p</p>
<p>Wow, amazing stats!</p>