<p>(My apologies in advance for the lengthy post, but I really need some advice and feel I have to give relevant details.)</p>
<p>I am an International Student, and I am currently finishing a double major in Psychology/Computer Science in UH, Houston, TX . I originally started with a Psychology Degree but when I was a semester away from graduation, I became disillusioned with my major and decided to add Computer Science (which I genuinely liked all my life but felt unable to pursue it due to feeling incompetent in Math) as a second major. My first semester in Computer Science was a disaster. The combination of pure Math/Cosc classes with no room (or need) for electives, added to my problems dealing with Depression and Adult ADHD, and my relative lack of study skills and discipline just destroyed my GPA (it wasnt high, just 3.1, but it wasnt low either). When I was studying Psychology, most of my classes were driven by a lot of reading and writing, which made them a lot easier for me because Ive always felt an affinity for language.</p>
<p>Almost two years later, I am taking junior and senior-level computer science classes, and have been doing generally well with programming-oriented courses (most hardware-oriented courses have been tougher for me, although my grades have not been that bad). My classes are just getting harder and harder, and I feel I am in the right career, but a few bad grades in a couple of math classes (two Ds) plus an F in Physics (which I took but no longer need with my new focus in software development) have made my overall GPA terrible, which is barely floating above 2.5 . I feel my programming skills are at a good level, and now I have been able to do simple applications in a lot of high-level programming languages like Ruby, Scala, Lua, php and Groovy among others, which are beyond the usual scope of the C++/C#/Java repertoire that is assumed to be understood as a Computer Science Major. I have a good understanding of the mathematical concepts that are required to be a successful programmer too, and also proficient in the general software development models used.</p>
<p>The point is that I feel competent in what I want to pursue, even if a lot of my grades dont reflect my overall aptitude to learn. But there is this wall I just cant seem to overcome because of my low GPA, and as an International Student, I already have to overcome the fact that not every employer is willing to sponsor me. This inability to get internships/jobs is just fueling my depression to new heights and I just dont know what to do. I am already planning on learning to publish software by myself which is extremely difficult, even more so for an inexperienced undergrad.</p>
<p>More than advice, I really need to hear about the experiences of people who had to overcome similar handicaps, or thoughts of authority in the matter regarding employment and sponsorship when low GPA is an issue. I want to be able to gauge my options and maybe conjure some encouragement to finish my degree, which is just two semester away from being completed.</p>