<p>Ok here's the thing:
I didn't do so hot in HS mainly because education wasn't important to me. Now that I am out of HS (as of June 2010) I realize without education I wont really be happy with my life/career. So now Ive deiced to get serious about school. I currently attend a local CC in Va, my adviser told me that I am on track to transfer to VCU by the spring of 2012. But I am already worried about Graduate school. I really want to work for a big tech company such as: Google,IBM,Amazon,Ebay,Microsoft,Oracle,Adobe or even the CIA. I know that these places only want the best of the best so I really would like to get into one of the top 10 graduate schools in the USA.. Right now I really love UCB and Stanford, but I will settle for a school like GA or CA Institute of Technology or even Cornell. Anything less then a top 15 would really disappoint me.
So heres the question:
I plan to get a B.E. in Computer Engineering with a Minor in Computer Science and a M.S in Computer Science from my graduate school. So what do you guys suggest I do while I still have plenty of time? I am shooting for a 3.5 or 6ish GPA and I know UCB and Staford's GRE is in the 750-800 range in the Quantitative section and above 500-550 in the Verbal section. What extracurricular activities do you all suggest? Also any other suggestions will GREATLY be appreciated</p>
<p>Research experience is the most important specific activity you can do.</p>
<p>Nobody “settles” for schools on the level of Caltech and Cornell, and not being happy anywhere outside the “top 15” is setting yourself up for disappointment.</p>
<p>You need to get your head out of the “rankings” ******** game and think about developing a specific research interest, then figure out which professors at which schools have labs conducting research in your direction. The most important part of your graduate education is finding an advisor who is supportive, interested and committed.</p>
<p>lol community school kid wants to settle for Cornell. I’d be ecstatic if i got into Cornell.</p>
<p>Some guy posted on Gradcafe today, rejected from Cornell CS with a 3.89 GPA, 800/540 GRE.</p>
<p>That said, starting one’s academic career at a community college is not at all a bar to being admitted to a top-notch graduate school.</p>
<p>lol idk what to say</p>
<p>GoogleME,</p>
<p>My first suggestion would be don’t worry so much right now about going to the highest-ranked graduate schools and working at the most prestigious companies. I’m not at all saying you can’t, but focus on where you’re at first and worry about that when the time comes. If you’re consumed by the unknowable future now, you’ll not only hate your undergrad experience but it may even hurt your credentials. You’re a freshman-- long way to go 
Don’t sweat it yet!</p>
<p>I also want to echo polarscribe’s sentiment about CC. I’m a personal testament to that-- I slacked in HS as well, and blew off CC, resulting in a ~2.8 GPA after the two years. Pretty crappy! However, I worked hard at University of Colorado, built solid relationships with professors, got the grades, did the ECs, joined the clubs, studies a** off for GRE, and now am in a funded grad program at UT-Austin. You’re off to an even better start, and it sounds like you have the abilities and confidence, so you’ll be fine, but now is not the time to bug out about grad school, so chill out :)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
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<p>Shoot higher.</p>
<p>Also, many top grad schools don’t take terminal MS students, so you may have to revise your list a bit.</p>
<p>You don’t need to go to graduate school to work for ANY of those companies.
Why do you even want to go to graduate school?</p>
<p>If your ultimate goal is to get a tech job in the Silicon Valley, you might consider applying for your Computer Science MS degree at San Jose State University or Santa Clara University. While they don’t hold as much prestige as Stanford or Berkeley, they are much easier to get into, and they are cheaper (considering you’re out-of-state). Plus, they have excellent connections to Silicon Valley employers, so if you are looking to get in the back door, this might be an option.</p>
<p>biggest thing is that you need to aim for a higher gpa (like 3.85+) and try and get some research experience.</p>