I am a computer science undergrad senior with a 3.00 GPA. I’ve published machine learning research, have a good score on the GRE (VERBAL: 162, QUANTITATIVE: 170,
WRITING: 5.0) and am the president of an academic club. My top picks for grad school (machine learning major) would be UC Berkley, U of Toronto, NYU, and U of Montreal. What are my chances to get into any of these schools? If none are likely, what schools would be a better fit?
I would throw in a couple of schools that are easier to get accepted to.
Are you Canadian? Are you fluently bilingual (French and English)?
Can you tell us where you are doing your undergrad?
I am not Canadian and only speak English. I go to Texas A&M.
I like UoToronto and UoMontreal because they have 2 of the foremost experts in machine learning as professors.
“only speak English”
I see on the University of Montreal web site that they do not require fluency in French for graduate programs in computer science. This was a surprise to me since U. de Montreal is a French language university. Have you talked to them about the feasibility of studying there without any proficiency in French?
GPA would preclude Berk(e)ley and NYU.
This may sound facetious, but if you’re applying to the flagship UC, make sure you spell the name of the school correctly.
@Hamurtle Fair enough. Where should I apply to instead. I decided I will apply to 5 universities. P.S. what does UC stand for?
@DadTwoGirls Yeah I checked and apparently the Montreal CS doctorate doesn’t require french proficiency. So I think I’m okay there.
UC refers to the University of California.
You really should take intensive French if you plan on going to UdeM - even if the classes aren’t in French, most classmates will speak French with one another and you’ll want to socialize.
Any chance you can improve your GPA a bit?
What about UEdinburgh since you’re not afraid of going far?
Université de Montréal is a French language insttution. For certain graduate programs they do not require fluency in French but most classes will be conducted in French. A functional knowledge of French would be required.
Are you thinking of an MS or a PhD? With that GPA, it is highly unlikely that you would be accepted into Berkeley, NYU, or Toronto, even for an MS program. For example, Berkeley accepts less than 15% of their applicants to graduate school.
Also, what else have you done? Internships, presentations/publications in peer-reviewed conferences and journals? Being accepted to grad school is usually about more than GPAs and standardized testing. Unless you will be doing a non-thesis MS, you need to demonstrate that you have the capability for research as well.
What were your grades in your major classes? If your 3.0 is the result of bad grades in non-major courses, but you have a very high GPA for you CS and math classes, you may have a better chance.
Remember that you are competing against students with similar GRE scores who have GPAs that are above 3.9.
However, there are colleges with solid CS graduate schools which may consider you for their MS programs.
I would ask your college professors for ideas. They would have to write references and would likely have some ideas about where you would fit - especially the professor you did research with.
Would there be an option to do 5th year masters where you are to show you can handle graduate work? And if you’re known and liked by the department might have a shot at some kind of assistantship - masters funding is harder to come by.
You can use a combination of the CSRankings website (turn all areas to off and then turn on just machine learning) and the Grad Cafe website to pick a school with machine learning faculty that accepts those with a 3.0 GPA (by hovering over the red diamonds to see GPAs of CS students who posted acceptances on Grad Cafe.) For example, by doing this it appears that University of Central Florida might be a match for you. By clicking on icons on the CSRankings website you can see the lists of papers published by machine learning faculty at the universities you select.
I second the idea of a 5th year Master at your current institution, if it’s doable.