My son is a senior in college and is now considering grad school. He had a bad first year at school with a D and a F and at the time and we never thought he would even make it through college Now that he is a senior and only needs this semester and 2 spring classes he will be graduating!! Yay but now he is considering grad school in computer science. Problem is he has a 2.68 GPA and in his last two years of coursework he has a 2.85. I have noticed most schools require 3.0. He just signed up for the GRE for October.
Does anyone have any suggestions or schools that they think will work? I am trying to research as much as possible but without a 3.0 looking pretty bleak. Any suggestions appreciated
Most good CS programs will want to see higher than a 3.0. I would think very hard about whether his better option is to get a job after graduation. If he absolutely wants to go to grad school, he might consider an additional year of undergrad to increase his gpa.
I would ask why he wants to go to grad school in CS. Is there a specific subfield he wants to get stronger in or do research in? What’s the end goal?
@PurpleTitan I am not really sure why all of a sudden he is considering it. I think having a MS he is thinking he can teach down the line if he wants to in computer science. I do know he does not want research. He is signed up for the GRE at the beginning of October. He if nails it then he might be good in sending out some applications and see what he lands. If he does not do well, I am going to encourage him to not pursue and look for a job. I am just thinking he is realizing he will truly be an adult in May when he graduates.
@roethlisburger - that would not be possible. He goes to UNC-Chapel Hill and they do not allow you to stay longer than your degree. So he would be done in May and he would have to graduate. The only way you are allowed to stay longer is if you don’t meet graduation requirements and then you need approval from a committee…
@annamon His major is Computer Science with a math minor. That is why is GPA is low as those are all hard classes he had to take. Plus the F and D first year didn’t help. Other than then those two bad grades he has maintained C or higher in all his courses as were hard. So his GPA beginning of sophomore was 2.1 now it 2.68. He takes 15 - 18 credits each semester as well as working for housing for the last 3 years. He really busted his tush to get it up but once the GPA is low it’s very hard to get up
If he wants to teach in grades 9-12 then an M.Ed might be better. If he’s focusing on higher ed then he will likely need to go all the way and his middling grades might be an issue. Has he had any internships in the last three years? If not, that should be his focus this year and not housing, unless he wants to end up working in student affairs. You haven’t mentioned focus area in CS and the field is so big. My two cents Is that a job is best for him where he can discover his thing and then let an employer subsidize grad school. An internship, and soon, is key to his success.
@MAandMEmom - I am not 100% sure but he talked about cybersecurity a bunch. He did not have an internship as I think he got discouraged. He was a runner-up for Bank of America and when that fell through he got discouraged. He does work for BEAM which is a maker space and is a program assistant this year. He worked for them last year as well and now does their website updates and is creating applications for the website as well as RA in housing. He also made an application in a class last semester so that was a good experience for him. I do think a job would work better. He wants to move out West like Portland/Seattle area when all said and done. He has so many ideas running through his head it is hard to keep track. I really do need to sit with him next time I visit him and really find out what he is looking at. I guess we’ll see what the GRE test produces. I really never thought he would even entertain a Masters Degree as I am just happy to see him graduate with a BS as he had such a rocky freshman year
@Nurse001 does he have a favorite faculty member who he can lean on for some assistance in finding an internship? The faculty where I work are key in helping students find these opportunities. Even if it’s not paid, he should find something related to his interest. I’d say cybersecurity could be a good focus at the right school. If he decides to pursue an MS and definitely wants a career in the field, he should focus on a specialty and pick a location, like DMV, where there will be lots of internship and job opportunities.
is it possible to retake courses that he had F and D to replace the score? or not taking the require courses to fulfill the graduation requirement?
I agree with @PurpleTitan on finding what his end goal is.
If he thinks that he had not learned much in the past few years (as indicated in his grades), say he can’t write a complicated program, he wants to use a graduate program to relearn what he missed, but then what type of colleges will he get into? Not all programs are created equal, some do not design to provide better job opportunity and some may even be easier than his undergraduate program (It may help with getting a higher GPA, but not the actual learning) Which state are you from? In general, I do not recommend a CS major to complete a master in CS, but if he wants to do a master degree, I suggest a major with some specialization, for example digital arts and multimedia.
If the goal were to get a job, it may be better for him to begin looking for some practical experience with CS. Say instead of working for housing, try to get a job in web development with housing, or volunteer something related to CS in a club.
@MAandMEmom I think cybersecurity would be perfect for him. I do know he mentioned it a bunch so I will really need to sit with him and have him tell me what he is thinking. Very hard to pin down a senior a few hours away. It is too late for an internship now as he is in 15 credit classes and 2 jobs. The one job is a computer-related position so that will look good on his resume hopefully.
@annamom - unfortunately his school does not do grade replacement. We tried everything including getting that grade removed but it is added on your transcript. If you repeat the class which he did for the D - then went to a B they both show up on in transcript and in his GPA. He is kicking himself now for the F but when they are freshman you cannot tell them differently. I do think he should pick a specialization like you both said. The reason he does housing RA as it pays him but more importantly his room is free (6,000 a semester). He does do CS club as well as working in BEAM which is a maker space as they do all kinds of computer making with lasers and taught classes there as well. He is the first to graduate so really was not thinking of graduate schools as he never mentioned he wanted to go. My daughter is a sophomore in college as well but she learned from her brother and she has a gpa 3.82
@Nurse001 Do you know if your son has gone to the career center at UNC and if he has actively looked for a job? I am not sure how it works in CS but it always seems like it is easier to find employment while you are still at the university than after you have graduated and left campus. I would hope that UNC has many potential employers coming to the campus looking for kids that are graduating.
At least in CS, GRE scores are far down the list of what schools care about. Schools will have minimum requirements, but admissions decisions depend much more heavily on GPA and demonstrating some capacity for research.
@PurpleTitan Oh I totally agree. That is why I need to pin him down and get his thoughts and ideas. He does know the Master’s program is on his money and he really needs to think long and hard before he proceeds.
@yearstogo - They do have a career center but I do not believe he has utilized it. They do have fairs coming to UNC. I think one is coming next week so he needs to put the suit on and go. He have everything he needs to succeed and I do believe if he is in front of a crowd he will stand out. He is very talkative, great presence (Eagle Scout) so he knows how to be a leader. With that said I can only keep encouraging so many times to attend these events. They do have some really good companies that come to these events so hoping he will go
@roethlisburger I have been researching and while most schools require 3.0 I was quite suprised to see many school alumuniate on what they were looking for on the GRE scores. He will certainly have no problem with the math portion on the GRE. Perfect score on the ACT portion of math and is has a math minor. What will get him is the verbal/english section as he was always better at math then english. I told him to really study that section. He is really bright with computers and programing. It is sadly not reflected in his grades as I think he tries to tackle too many things at once. We tried to go to dean of student services to get the F waived, he even did an appeal and it was a no go on getting that grade removed I even put my two cents in and that did not work. So basically that grade remains
You said he wanted to teach, will he consider teaching Math? Anyway, your initial question was on what school. Have your son looked at Kean University (NJ). They have a Science and Technology (Education). BTW, I am not saying I know the school is good (or bad. I do not know) . As I wrote earlier, a student may learn less in some graduate programs than in their undergraduate program… Without going to the specifics, I think they may accept your son, however, I am not sure how much your son will learn, it goes back to my earlier post on what does your son want to get out of the program. Also how do you know whatever affected your son’s GPA in the past few years will not happen in the next year? I knew the F and the D were low, but I think you mentioned Cs as well.
Regarding the GRE, your son should contact some colleges and asked for their requirement.
BTW, what is your son GPA for CS courses only? What was the yearly GPA for sophomore, junior years? (I think you posted the cumulative GPA). Just want to get a sense of how he did in terms of CS courses, and he can put the GPA for his major in the resume.
In my opinion, masters degrees in computer science are a waste of time and money. Exceptions could include if you are trying to immigrate to the US and having a masters will improve your application, if you are trying to apply to PhD programs and need to improve your resume. From what I have seen, master programs are used mostly as a cash cows, the teaching is poor, and the rigor can be worse than the undergrad programs in the same college.
Now that he is a senior and only needs this semester and 2 spring classes he will be graduating!! Yay but now he is considering grad school in computer science. Problem is he has a 2.68 GPA and in his last two years of coursework he has a 2.85. I have noticed most schools require 3.0. He just signed up for the GRE for October.