<p>I'm a rising senior at a state school here in Ireland, and I'm starting to look at my grad school options. I'm looking at options both here and abroad - however I think parts of my academic record may end up holding me here. My major is Computer Science - we don't have minors here, but I was declared as a math major for my first 3 years in college, and due to the changed major I will be a 6th year senior come the start of term.</p>
<p>In terms of my stats - my school has only just moved from a more traditional European grading system to a North American-style GPA-based system. As I entered under the old system then took a leave of absence my final degree GPA will be calculated solely on the basis of my final year results. I have had a relatively chequered academic record due to some personal issues (in my good semesters my grades would convert to a GPA of approximately 3.4-3.5 under our system, but I have one semester completely withdrawn and another semester where I failed 3 of the 6 classes I took). Assuming things go according to plan this year, I am shooting for a 3.5-3.6 year GPA, and I am giving myself the best possible opportunity to focus entirely on studies (I have moved back home which is 8 miles from campus, I will not be working part-time and I will have grant money as, at 24, I am now assessed as an independent mature student). </p>
<p>Basically, what I'm asking is - would any school in the US be willing to take a chance on someone like me? I am looking at Ireland, the UK, the US, Canada and Australia for my grad school options, but I fear that my record would absolutely destroy any chance of getting into any school outside Ireland. I'm currently looking at MSc taught programs in bioinformatics, mathematical computing and healthcare informatics here, or getting into similar scientific computing areas through research. I'm not necessarily looking for an absolute top-end school, I know I won't be competitive at one - but these are the areas that interest me and I would like to pursue my interests.</p>