<p>I'm a sophomore in CS at a small liberal arts college. Does anyone have an advice for getting accepted to a PhD program?</p>
<p>I have a 2.8GPA, I have been a TA for two CS courses and I tutor. I'm currently doing research with a professor this term and all this summer. Next year I'm not sure what jobs I'll have during the year, but during the summer I'm hoping to do a REU or my own research.</p>
<p>Any tips/advice/stories/etc would be helpful.</p>
<p>Thanks! :)</p>
<p>seems highly unlikely to get into a good school for a PHD with a 2.8(especially from a small liberal arts college), no matter how much research or TAing you have done. Personally, I would try a masters program first, then go to a PHD program.</p>
<p>If you apply some of the good grad schools, they probably have a cut off level for GPA. So I would suggest you work on increasing grade first. Anyway, master will be a good start for pursuing a PhD.</p>
<p>Don’t let your low GPA necessarily discourage you. You still have another year so work hard to improve your GPA and get your cumulative above a 3.0. You may not be able to apply to phd programs this coming fall but you can take a year or two off to do research. In the mean time you can enroll in graduate classes as a non-degree student. Just remember that self motivation and ability to do GREAT research is a key factor in phd admissions, so make strong connections with your research advisors. Go above and beyond in your research lab; get a publication or two; present at a conference… all these things will help take some focus away from your GPA. I’m also assuming your schools of choice are not MIT or CMU because then I would say you’re setting your goals extremely high.</p>
<p>Get your grades up! Aim for 3.2-3.4. If you can afford a masters you’ll have a good chance at T40 masters and even some T20 masters (i.e USC). </p>
<p>If you have a great upward trend with lots of A’s + good research and letters of rec, you still have a chance at T20 PhD’s</p>