<p>Unless you want to end up with zero admits you would do well to put in some safer schools. Your list is ridiculously top heavy.</p>
<p>Yeah…any suggestions…? Actually…im juggling with Virginia Tech, Stony Brook and the One left… for some safe colleges. Any idea what kind of college would seem a safe bet???</p>
<p>@arronie… Where all are you applying at mate?</p>
<p>I’m currently clocking in at 1 page with size 11 font (Latex default font) and 1.5 line spacing. Is that pretty normal?</p>
<p>Are you applying for Master’s or PhD? If it’s a PhD your past research experience is the most important factor in admissions; it should comprise the biggest section, if not an outright majority.</p>
<p>With six publications, you should have a more to say about your research than 242 words. My successful SoP to Stanford last year was 1250 words, of which 700 was about research (including citations of my 2 publications). Each discipline is a bit different, but I think your research, internship, and startup should comprise at least half your essay, preferably closer to 60%, with research comprising the majority of that section.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for stuff to cut, I would say limit anything you did before undergraduate, including your family’s struggles, to 3 sentences or less (I apologize if I’m being insensitive since I don’t really know what these struggles are). Leave out all but the most significant extracurriculars, and that’s only if those activities relate to computer science and show leadership potential. </p>
<p>Another way is to treat the SoP as a cover letter for a job application for being a research assistant: if you won’t talk about it when applying for a job, then it shouldn’t belong in the SoP. You want to spend most of it talking about your qualifications.</p>
<p>Its a masters degree… Well…I’m actually still searching for the correct “hook” to start my SOP. I’m actually incorporating a story from my recent life that got me hooked onto computers especially AI… But then, I find it too melodramatic…!! </p>
<p>How have you expanded on your research work…? I mean…iv stated a bit about my first paper… thing is, my remaining work happened rather concurrently… and is sort of on the same topic…though using disparate paradigms. </p>
<p>@GiftofGab…loved your work in DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing…</p>
<p>Talk about the purpose of the project(s), your role in the project, the results, and what you learned. You can also talk about attending conferences, exposing you to scientists and other research, etc. But if it’s a master’s maybe the criteria is different.</p>
<p>I think your list is fine, assuming the schools you listed offer master’s degrees in CS…your publication records makes me think a PhD wouldn’t be a reach at most of these schools (assuming you articulate them well in your SoP). However, don’t count on getting funding as a master’s student.</p>
<p>Actually, i dont need funding… Well, do u think a masters at these colleges is within my reach?</p>
<p>Only thing that might concern me is the 65% acads, mostly because I’m not familiar with it. Do you know what percentile that is in your class? How would that convert to GPA?</p>
<p>Well, im not really in the top cream of my class. I’m somewhere in the top of the middle middle i guess…</p>
<p>In my university…these are the levels</p>
<p><40 failed
<50 Pass Class
<60 Second Class</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>n thats it…nothing above first class… </p>
<p>Should i get my GPA checked?</p>
<p>65% is solidly average for MU. Mine is almost the same.</p>
<p>Yeah… That’s exactly the biggest turd in my punchbowl. Though well, my college is known not to give a lot of marks… Maybe that could help… Is there any way I can offset that, like in my SOP or any other way at all?</p>
<p>@arronnie… dude did u get ur GPA checked ever?</p>
<p>Just yesterday. A 3.49 according to the good folks at WES. I have a 64%.</p>
<p>But WES inflates GPAs, remember that. Mine and yours are more likely to be in the 3.25-3.3 range.</p>
<p>Well, i dunno… I actually think thats kinda right. I have a friend…lady with really nothin on her profile who got into CMU CS school…which is considered equivalent to eating an elephant in for MU. Now, she had a 68% n the WES people gave her a 3.8 gpa. Another friend with 66% got a 3.8 GPA conversion as well. Funny thing is, at the university…they gave them the same thing… </p>
<p>Hey arronnie…man can u please help me out n tell me…how long does the WES GPA conversion take n how much does it cost? Damn things been rackin my brains for a long time. Can I get it done somewhere else? THe university takes a hell lotta time!</p>
<p>Takes 10 minutes and 5$. Use WES iGPA, not WES iCAP.</p>
<p>ohh! Well…did u punch in ur pracs…termwork and written papers marks all together or seperately? Besides, i heard thats kinda useless.</p>
<p>To do the real thing, u need to do the iCAP thing using ur transcript. N then like the ets ppl they send it over to all the colleges…but its a damn bomb! Costs like a 1000$ to get it all through!!!</p>
<p>Costs precisely $240 for me.</p>
<p>I’m still debating getting it done.</p>
<p>But ur sending it across??? To the colleges? I need to know, did u fill in each value in ur transcript or did u club marks together for the practicals, termwork n written papers?</p>
<p>Well, on the WES thing I got an iGPA of 3.81…! Man this is weird!..</p>