<p>Hi, I'm an CS undergrad possibly interested in getting a masters after graduation or after a few years of work, but I don't know much about how competitive the admissions process is for top programs (I'm really interested in Stanford, but also Illinois, CMU, etc). I'm having trouble finding info online about what sort of "numbers" you need for these programs. I know its all relative, but are there any ranges that make you competitive like there were for undergrad admissions (like GPA, GRE...at what point do you know your stats make you uncompetitive for this level and you need to start looking at other programs)? </p>
<p>Also, I know that having impressive research is super important for PhD programs, but is it true as well for masters? And does being female help at all (since we're kind of a minority?) or do these demographic/URM things stop mattering at this level of study?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Many of these schools report the average undergrad GPAs and GRE scores for their phd and ms admits. I just looked up UIUC’s computer science department’s website and it says that the average undergrad GPA for their graduate school admits is 3.7. I’m guessing CMU and Stanford’s average GPAs are comparable.</p>
<p>Most of the top ranked CS programs have near perfect average GRE scores for the quantitative section. Anecdotally, I’ve heard that they don’t care as much about your GRE verbal scores – otherwise, they couldn’t admit so many foreign students.</p>
<p>Having research experience definitely helps, but I don’t think it’s required. I’m not sure about gender – but being female probably helps as well. If you earned your undergrad degree from a good school and your GPA and GRE scores are comparable to those averages, I think you have a decent shot. If you want to improve your chances, you can take the GRE subject score and do really well on it. Ultimately, it’s difficult to tell how competitive you are until you apply and hear back from the schools, so you should just apply to all of em. I didn’t think I was a competitive applicant when I applied to a bunch of schools, but I got accepted into all of them.</p>