<p>Next June I will graduate with a CS Degree from Suny Buffalo. Not a great school i know, but ive gotten a pretty decent education.</p>
<p>anyway Id like to further my education and study CS, EE or maybe even a MBA in graduate school. </p>
<p>But my problem comes that my gpa is around a 2.7. So should I even try Grad School or am I wasting my time. </p>
<p>Its not an excuse really but my gpa suffers as I have a learning disability, and no matter what services the school can offer, i really cant do better. just a slow learner with dyslexia.</p>
<p>Thanks all.</p>
<p>The first question you should ask yourself is what you want to go to grad school for. MBA programs typically will require you to have a few years of work experience out of undergrad before you even apply. CS or EE programs don't. Since your background is CS, it might be easier to get into a CS graduate program.</p>
<p>Another question is what you want to do after grad school. Teach and do research? Get a company job? This matters because a PhD is necessary to go into academia whereas an MS will already open many doors for you in industry. Because your GPA is on the low side, it may help to get an MS before you apply for the PhD to boost your credentials.</p>
<p>Especially for PhD admissions, it is important to have research experience. In some cases, having great research credentials and an outstading LOR from your PI can even trump a lower GPA. If you are lacking in this area, you should start looking for an independent study immediately or consider getting a job as a lab tech before you apply to grad school to boost your credentials. I also know someone, in a different field, who is doing some post-bac courses to boost his GPA for when he applies to grad school.</p>
<p>There are definitely options still available to you so you shouldn't give up. Talk to some of the professors that you know better and your advisor at Buffalo to get their opinions. Good luck!</p>
<p>well i talked to a few professors here and they are all like get a 3.2 or dont even try. Real *******s.</p>
<p>The Reason I want to go to Grad school is to do some sort either Security(Information Assurance, Cryptography, etc) or Language and Compiler design and Implementation.</p>
<p>As for what I want to do, well I want to either start my own company or do some sort of IT security Consulting, or well just do IT for a company(possibly management)</p>
<p>As for a PHd, well maybe, not sure, but I love solving problems and have books upon books of ideas and inventions on how to make things better. so a PHd is a Possibility.</p>
<p>As for Independent Study, does that really count as research? and what does PI mean, sorry I am new here and not familiar with the Lingo.</p>
<p>Also if I graduate in June and then go to work, but take classes on the side, then when I apply can I use the transcript after I graduated or am I locked to use my graduating Transcript.</p>
<p>Also, what type of schools should I be looking at, in the top 50 as per usnews rankings or below that. Just don't want to waste time and money for unrealistic dreams.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response.</p>
<p>Dr.Horse - Let me preface my response by saying that CS is not my area of study so what I say may not be completely relevant to your situation. It would be great if others more familiar with the field can comment.</p>
<p>Graduate school is really all about research. I won't delve into the MBA area cause I really know nothing about it. If you are going for your MS, that is 1-3 years of classes + research for a thesis. For a PhD, you are looking at 4-8 years of classes + research for a dissertation. That is a lot of years of doing research so make sure that is what you want be doing. Look around and see if the jobs you are aiming for even require training beyond the bachelors degree. Also keep in mind that although you will get to choose the professor you want to work with in graduate school, you will be doing work that interests him/her, not work that interests you, per se. Getting the PhD means that one day, you too may be able to start a research program with work that interests you!</p>
<p>Yes, independent study = research! It is a meaningful way to get experience applying what you have learned in your classes on a real problem. PI = principle investigator, i.e. the professor with whom you are working.</p>
<p>Any classes you take, even after you graduate, will be seen by graduate committees when they review your application. You will be asked to submit transcripts from all institutions attended, regardless of where you received your bachelors degree.</p>
<p>As for target schools, I'll leave that to others to comment who know more about the field. I would say that from talking to people myself, you really should have a 3.0+ GPA to stand a competitive chance at admission. Many graduate schools will stipulate that as a minimum to even qualify for application. That is not to say you are doomed, but you will need to take a more indirect route to grad school if that is what your goal is, e.g. maybe postponing graduating to bring up your GPA or taking some post-bac courses after graduation. You also need to get some research experience if you haven't already. If you're a student, an independent study is the way to go. I'm not too sure what your options are after graduation. I am in the basic sciences, so lab tech positions are common, but for CS I don't know if there is an equivalent.</p>
<p>Hope that helps!</p>
<p>As things stand now, your GPA is a deal breaker - you may not like it, but your professors are telling you the truth. The collapsing economy is making grad school even more competitive so by next year that 3.2 may be more like a 3.5. Don't waste your time and money applying this year - in most cases your application won't even make the first cut.</p>
<p>So, what to do? First, take a look at your GPA in major and GPA for the last two years of school. Both those will have a positive impact if they are significantly higher than the 3.0 minimum. If you don't have a much higher "in major" GPA, you need to honestly ask yourself if you can handle graduate level work. </p>
<p>Next, take a serious look at what you can do to mitigate your LD. Grad school is <em>much</em> faster moving than undergrad and in most programs you must maintain AT LEAST a 3.0 average. Slip below it and you're out. Graduate school can be a very unforgiving environment and while it is not impossible for LD students to succeed, it is very difficult. </p>
<p>Meanwhile... make "paid tuition" one of your job search criteria. Virtually all universities that offer graduate degrees in CS also have programs for working adults. You can work on your MS (slowly), get your employer to pay, and avoid the starving grad student syndrome. Another advantage of these programs is that you often don't have to take the GRE.</p>
<p>Recovering from that GPA will be a long process, but it can be done. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I’m going to comment on infosec, since I finished my app cycle looking to get an MS in security. </p>
<p>Look at the NSA Centers of Excellence. Some may consider your application. For example, I believe that the cutoff for UNC - Charlotte’s info security program is around 2.7. Some people on the “seclists” website have posted positive comments about some online programs that are NSA certified - maybe you could look into those. (google Capitol College for one example) Also, on the NSA list, a lot of the schools are not super selective. One example, Marymount, is located in the DC area…presumably near where a lot of the government InfoSec jobs are.</p>
<p>here is the seclists thread: <a href=“SecLists.Org Security Mailing List Archive”>SecLists.Org Security Mailing List Archive;
<p>Also some schools will admit you on a “preliminary” basis and will only let you fully matriculate if you get above a certain GPA in your first semester or so. The situation may not be quite as bleak as they paint it in this thread. I know this is a late comment but hey some programs have April 15 deadlines, and some also have deadlines in June/July/August believe it or not (though these may be rolling admit)</p>
<p>Another comment - you could also look at Certificate programs. Some schools offer certificates in InfoSec, usually about 3-5 courses to get one…if you were to pursue one you might be able to transfer into the full MS program later…I don’t know if this would work, but it might be worth asking admissions if you got a certificate and got A’s if they would consider it.</p>
<p>Just something to consider. Being a CS major you may be looking to get an MS in CS with a concentration in Security but I can’t really comment on that since I was focused on MS InfoSec programs.</p>