<p>I keep hearing that Stanford's MSCS is easy to get into because they generate Big dollars and Stanford likes the money.</p>
<p>I am a so so student and I applied to many graduate schools but not Stanford. When I told my bro the list of schools I am applying to he replied to me "No Stanford?" I said "No, its impossible" then my bro says "Sigh.. Idiot" because apparently he had tons of friends who get to Stanford with slightly 3.0 GPA - 3.20 GPA, I actually know some of these people. The only thing they share in commons are the program and the fact they are filthy rich. </p>
<p>So is this Myth true?</p>
<p>If you are one of those low GPA that got into Stanford please share with us if such thing is true. Financial wise I think I could go to Stanford without FA probably have to do some private loan a little.</p>
<p>By MSCS do you mean the Masters of Science in Computer Science program? That is a graduate program and has nothing do to with undergraduate admissions. </p>
<p>Of course, if one's parents/relative are really rich and have donated say $2-3 million to Stanford and have indicated that they will donate more in the future, it is one thing, but in general I don't think the MSCS program is so easy to get in either - remember, Stanford's CS program is ranked one of the top 2 or 3 in the nation at both undergraduate and graduate levels and they will want to protect that reputation.</p>
<p>Ty for your respond Frank</p>
<p>Yeah you are right MSCS is master of science in computer science. Only one of my bro's friends donated(large amount about 1million, yikes), the rest just apply and got in.. it is really weird.</p>
<p>I also heard that it is easier for you to enter good school like Stanford / Berkeley if many of your family members went there. Is this true? anyone</p>
<p>For undergraduate it is true legacy will give you a boost at Stanford (I don't think it does at Berkeley since it is a public school), but I am not sure whether it is the same for graduate admissions because that is dependent on each department.</p>
<p>From what I understand, sometimes really high GRE scores can help offset a low GPA in graduate admissions, but that's just hearsay.</p>
<p>I am at Berkeley and yes Stanford MSCS has relatively easier admissions standards; I heard this from many professors + friends at stanford. When I told my professor that I'm applying to stanford he said "why, it is just a 'you pay, you go there, then leave' sort of program" - meaning their master students don't get a whole lot of attention or research opportunity from professors. Also, almost everyone I know here whos applying to grad school in CS also apply to stanford MSCS as a backup, and in fact I don't know anyone who had to resort to their last choice of going to stanford MSCS. Nevertheless, I'm also applying to stanford MSCS as a backup; I heard that they are going to admit even more people for next year because of the current economy</p>
<p>Note also that this is not the case for PhD CS at stanford; it is just as competitive as mit, berkeley, cmu (the big four).</p>
<p>Well I think MS programs everywhere in general are money-makers (since colleges typically don't offer financial support to Masters students). Compared to other places, Stanford MSCS is actually not that expensive. In terms of selectivity, Stanford MSCS may actually be highly selective as compared to MS programs in other universities (not to Ph.D. programs though - they are a different category).</p>