<p>I am currently a Senior in CS at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor and am preparing to apply for grad school. However I realize I am not a very strong candidate compared to a lot of my peers here so I'm asking for some advice in terms of school choice. Here are some stats:</p>
<p>GPA (cumm): 3.5-3.6
GPA (major): 3.0</p>
<p>welp. After looking around it seems that my GPA is very low for someone who is applying for grad school. However I think I have an excuse but am not sure how to convey in an application. I came in with lots of AP credits and originally planned to graduate in 3 years. Because of this plan I overloaded too many classes that one, I didn't work hard enough in, and two, was not prepared for. Ironically I then switched to 3 and a 1/2 years so that I could be a parttime student starting Junior year in order to take less classes per semester and focus more on them. I didn't realize that most of the schools I was applying to did not accept for their CS program for the winter semester. Now I am stuck with 4 years but with 1.5 years of part time student status and my last semester of no worthwhile classes to take (will try to boost gpa and focus more on research). In my transcript it should be obvious that the 3.0 reflects my academic status more realistically because my overall GPA is boosted by multiple econ courses. </p>
<p>GRE: 800 math 600 verbal 4.5 writing</p>
<p>I don't care too much here but am taking it again just in case and hopefully I can bring my verbal up.</p>
<p>Research/LOR:<br>
1) In my sophmore year I was in a undergrad research program so I worked with a lab. This is one of my LORs but since this was so long ago I am worried that my supervisor won't be able to write a strong letter.<br>
2) My second LOR is from a professor who I took a class with and then was a grader for. However, only after I asked for this LOR did I realize he was not a full professor and only taught one class a semester while maintaining a separate full time job. This is compounded by the fact that I get the feeling he was not very pleased with how the grading position went.
3) My third LOR is one I'm much more confident in. I worked all of junior year with a professor who I then spent an entire summer working for as well. I will also be coming back to help out for the following year. Although the research has been a bumpy ride, I feel that I can count on her for a strong LOR.</p>
<p>Schools:
Carnegie Mellon
MIT (hahahahhaahahaha)
Stanford
Berkeley
University of Washington
Caltech
Umich</p>
<p>My everlasting regret is rejecting an offer from Carnegie's school of computer science for undergrad. So my first choice is Carnegie and I am very passionate about going there after speaking with friends who are current students. A lot of people advise to pick based on professors and match but I come from a family that believes 100% in rankings so the number one concern is program ranking. I realize that these programs are top in this field and are very competitive but I don't see the point in moving down for grad school. </p>
<p>My question is two-fold. Are my school choices merely a pipe dream and I should aim lower? I am applying by the end of this year but is there anything I can do to improve my situation?</p>
You already answered your own question. If you don’t want to invest time and money into a lower-ranked program, then don’t.</p>
<p>Are you applying for a Master’s or PhD, by the way?</p>
<p>
You’ll probably want more than one strong letter of recommendation to make up for the below-average grades in your major. Below-average grades <em>and</em> below-average recommendations don’t make a good combination…</p>
<p>If you could do well on the CS Subject GRE, consider taking it. A strong score might help adcoms look beyond your so-so grades.</p>
<p>I made a mistake in my GPA because I went off my memory but had a chance to check it officially today. My Cumulative is indeed a 3.5 but my Major is 3.2. My GPA for only upper level CS courses is a 3.35. This major GPA is from 42 credits worth of courses but I am taking 9 (4 of which are from a grad course) more this Fall. My GPA is still low but does this change my situation at all? I have no required courses left after this semester so I was considering taking lots of sophomore level CS/EE courses to boost my GPA however I have two concerns here. I am worried that schools will neither see nor care what my winter semester winter grades were and it will be VERY apparent what my goal is if after 2 years of upper levels I end up taking lots of unrelated lower levels.</p>
<p>Either way I have to go to grad school so it’s mostly a matter of where. I know PhD is impossible with my current scores so I’m looking for a masters first. </p>
<p>I would really hate to come back to Michigan but if my list of schools is too lofty can someone give me an example of the level of school I should apply for?</p>
That’s not the approach I would have taken. Why not take advanced graduate courses instead? The message you are really trying to convey is, “Despite of my academic performance early in college, I am motivated and capable of succeeding in graduate school.” Doing well in advanced courses will be much more convincing than re-living your first year in college.</p>
<p>
They will pay attention to them if the grades are in your file when your application is being read. Especially if your most recent grades are much higher than your grades in the past. However, there’s no way to guarantee that the timing will work out.</p>
<p>Have you considered working for a year or two before you apply to grad school? Not only would graduate schools see your full academic record then (and hopefully your final year grades will be As in advanced courses!), you’d have more time to secure stronger letters of recommendation either from professors or supervisors at work. And the longer you’re in the workforce, the more heavily your professional achievements will be weighed over your academic record. For you, that might be a good thing.</p>
<p>I don’t think working is an option for due to family circumstances. This is a great suggestion but not one available to me unless I’m looking to get ostracized by my parents.</p>
<p>I think my grades for the fall semester will be available by then but probably not winter. My main concern for winter is not only grades won’t be shown but even what courses are being taken. After reading over your comments I guess this semester is very important in terms of doing well and showing that I am more serious now. In addition I will try to touch base with the two weaker recommendations and hopefully change their opinion of me. </p>
<p>Regarding my other question, could you give me some example schools other than Michigan which I should consider around?</p>
If you don’t want to work, it’s even more important that you apply to lower-ranked programs. You don’t seem like a good candidate for the top candidates right now.</p>
<p>I am not in the best position to give you admissions advice though. Why don’t you ask your references for suggestions? They know you and probably have experience with other students from your department applying to graduate school.</p>
<p>Alright, thanks again for all the advice. Once school starts up I’ll definitely make sure to consult my professors/advisers. Consider this topic resolved.</p>