NEED HELP & ADVICE!!!! Anxious about my grades...

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi everyone,
I just graduated from Cal (Berkeley) this May, with computer science major. Right now I have a full-time job in a small tech company. Recently, I decided to apply to grad school probably this year or the next.</p>

<p>I wanna apply to: UW-Seattle, UIUC, NYU, UCLA, or GaTech some other good CS programs..
-------My background --------
(1) [GPA & Coursework]
My overall GPAs from semester to semester are:
Freshman: 3.4 / 3.2
Sophomore: 3.0 / 3.1
Junior: 3.2 / 3.3 (taken three grad school courses)
Senior: Study abroad / 3.4 (taken two grad school courses)</p>

<p>~The average GPA of UCBerkeley CS department is about 2.8-3.0~</p>

<p>(2) [GRE]
My GRE score is 670/800...</p>

<p>(3) [Rec]
I got three letters of recommendation, one from EECS professor, one from Berkeley iSchool professor and one from my company supervisor.</p>

<p>(4) [Experiences]
So far, I have done six internships/jobs related to CS/IT, ranging from investment banking, startups, to big tech firms... I will have done more than one year (or maybe two years) full-time jobs before applying.</p>

<p>(!!) [However!]
I got some bad grades in my undergrad...</p>

<br>


<br>

<p>Do you think will the above bad grades seriously harm my chances of getting into those programs? </p>

<p>Thanks a lot guys. I really really need your advice and comments.</p>

2

<p>Your GPA by semester isn’t the most helpful…what is your cumulative GPA? Looks like it’s around a 3.2-3.3.</p>

<p>The average of your department is important. If the average graduate from Berkeley has a 3.0 and you have a 3.3, that means you have done well above average. Berkeley has a competitive CS department, and CS programs will know that your GPA is actually quite good for Berkeley. It’s not just about the raw grades but where they are coming from that is important.</p>

<p>Your GRE score is 670…is that in quant? I know the new scoring table is different. If that’s a quant score, you need to get it up. I think most mathematically-based programs wanted at least a 700 (and more commonly, a 750+) on the quantitative portion of the old GRE score. If you think about it, I scored a 740 and that was only the 82nd percentile, and I am in a quantitative but not mathematically-based field.</p>

<p>There’s no way to know for sure, so you should just apply and hope for the best.</p>

3

<p>Oh, that GPA is definitely cumulative, which means my final GPA is 3.4</p>

<p>For my GRE, 670 is verbal and 800 is quant.</p>

<p>After the above supplementary information, what do you think of my chance?</p>

<p>What do you think of those of my “bad grades”?</p>

4

<p>Nobody knows what your “chances” are. You are likely a competitive candidate, but we don’t know what the gradcoms are looking for, what their budgets are like, etc.</p>

<p>“Chances” for undergraduate admissions are nonsense. “Chances” for graduate admissions are hot buttered nonsense.</p>

5

<p>Thanks Polarscribe. I know talking about chances does not make much sense. But can you tell how do you think those six bad grades will harm my application?</p>

6

<p>Are you applying for PhD or MS? I personally don’t think those will hurt you but no one can say. I’m sure each school views non-major classes differently, but likely not focused on that. C’s in intro classes aren’t such a big deal when you did well in your upper division classes. Alot of chances depends of who else is applying and how you stack up against them. Many CS depts are seeing record numbers of applicants.</p>

7

<p>Thanks, BrownParent,
I wanna apply to Master program only. Actually I got C for my first intro class and then A- for the second intro one, so will it mean that the admissions will see my progress and look lightly on that C?</p>

8

<p>I did my CS/Math undergrad degree at Michigan and am currently in an top IR program. My cummulative GPA was a bit lower than yours at a 3.2. Although I can’t speak for the various adcoms of the CS grad schools you’re applying to, here’s my opinion. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>They won’t know **** about your departments average, and even if they did, it’s extremely hard to factor in all the various variables(difficulty, professor, grade deflation/inflation, goddamn earthquake that hit the library in the middle of the semester). There’s a reason why GPA is only one factor of your application. Live with it. </p></li>
<li><p>The fact that there is no upward trend tells them that you’re definitely a 3.4 student, kids with upward trends give the impression that they have the “ability to grow and succeed” in the grad scene. Probably not a big point, but something to think about nevertheless. </p></li>
<li><p>The 670 in verbal? Don’t even worry about it, the CS adcoms will not care about your verbal score. </p></li>
<li><p>All your C’s, fails and incompletes will have the adcoms doubting your ability to succeed in a masters program. The fact that you got an A- in another intro class doesn’t mean anything to them. If you got a C in an intro to programming class than got an A in the hardest AI or advanced discrete mathematics class, that shows promise and growth. </p></li>
<li><p>If it was me, I would ask if you can send in a portfolio or sample of your work. I’m not sure if that’s the norm or not. If they say yes, send in your final projects(Python, Java) Don’t send a obscure piece of code written in basic or fortran, that won’t get your point across. Send a piece of code that’s elegant and practical, preferably something that shows that that you have an unconventional way of thinking and that it “might” have something to do with your low grades.</p></li>
</ol>

9

<p>670/800 is excellent GRE, that is a very high score percentage-wise in the verbal.</p>