I’m currently a senior in college. I am an only child, raised by my mother. The fall semester of my Jr. year, my mother died, leaving me, for lack of a better term, orphaned.
My mother was so proud of me, I only took 2 weeks off of school when she died so I could still finish on time and make her proud, but it was the wrong choice. I spiraled, and my grades suffered for two semesters. Even with retakes, my GPA will probably be about a 3.5 or 3.4.
I have two instances of undergraduate research, one of which will be published by the time I apply. I have done everything I can to make up for the GPA, and am doing my best now, after therapy, to keep all A’s, but the C’s I dropped after she died still pull my gpa down.
Am I doomed? Even if I can get in, what are my chances of being funded for a phd? I’m in Computer Science, if it matters.
Your advisor, research supervisors, and the faculty in your department are the ones who can best evaluate your potential for grad school, and help you with a list of good places to apply. Talk with them. They are the experts.
Your GPA is fine for getting into graduate school. I’m just curious why you’re looking for a PhD program in computer science directly from undergraduate. It’s complete overkill, and as a programmer myself, I don’t recommend it, at least not without a few years of work experience to back it up. In the tech industry, unless you’re planning to go into academia, a PhD is going to be more of a liability than an asset. It tends to “pigeon-hole” you into high-end jobs. That’s all good, except you need experience to get these high-end jobs. To gain experience, you need a lower-end job for a little while, and a PhD is going to make you look VERY overqualified.
You might want to consider going into a masters program instead, then decide on a PhD after you have your foot in the door and gain some work experience. A PhD would then enhance your existing experience and get your foot in the door for the high-end positions you’re probably seeking.