Applying to Competitive Graduate Degree Program with Border-Sub 3.0 GPA + Heavy Research Experience

Graduate School
1

Recently, I have become interested in PhD programs for places like UCB and Stanford for Computer Science (AI related research), but I am worried that my Sub-3.0 GPA is a major drawback on my applications. However, I am not sure if some of the circumstances listed below will help me with my application…

I have recently graduated from my undergraduate degree, however with a Sub 3.0 GPA (~2.96). In my case, most of my later courses, especially major courses were all A’s, and had very good standings with the department for my major. In particular, one of the major reasons for the sub 3.0 GPA was due to doing a lot of research work outside of classes. As a result of this, I was able to land a job as a researcher at IBM Research (one of the most top industrial research institutions in the area of AI) with some papers and patents already under my belt - which makes this a very unique situation because the majority of people that work here already has either a Masters or PhD (making me one of the few undergraduates in this lab). I have many professors (almost all), who I have taken my major courses from that are willing to write very strong LoRs for me - especially some of the professors that I have worked under as a research assistant (and has alumni associations to said institutions above). I have not yet taken the GREs yet, but am planning to study hard to get high scores.

Do you think I have a strong enough case for being accepted into a graduate degree program at these institutions? Or would it be perhaps better to go for masters instead prior to getting a PhD? My company is also willing to support for any financial needs as well to fund my education.

2

Maybe. There’s no right or wrong answer here - it depends a lot on luck and the circumstances of the year you apply. There are some professors who would look at your GPA and be unswayed; there are others who would look at the rest of your application and feel it is outstanding enough that it outweighs the low cumulative GPA.

What is your major GPA? Do you have strong grades in your CS classes, and most of your low grades are from unrelated classes? Do you have lower grades freshman and sophomore year but better grades junior and senior year? Either of these situations can mitigate a low GPA.

You can’t really use doing research outside of class as a reason for the low GPA with n admissions committee. The easy argument back is that there are lots of top students who have done research and still managed to keep a 3.0+ GPA (and, in many cases, a 3.5+ GPA). Doing research at IBM is of course outstanding…but for programs like Stanford and Berkeley, you will be competing with lots of other outstanding candidates.

What I would do if I were you is split the difference and apply to both PhD programs and master’s programs. I’d apply to a number (maybe around 7) of my favorite, best-match PhD programs and then apply to ~5 great to excellent master’s programs. See where you get in. CS MS programs sometimes provide funding, depending on circumstances.