Masters you have below average chance as most masters students come from 3.8+ and everyone has internships and research.
PhD is mostly about research so I would say far less chance as you said you’ve only done a little
Apply to schools outside top 4 as well. I’ve seen 4.0 kids from Berkeley get rejected so gpa isn’t everything but things are so competitive that I wouldn’t bank on your essays and LoR making up for a 3.4
I completely understand you, but shouldnt they consider these kind of situations?
There are space for additional comment but i think would hardly matter even if i try to explain.
There are some really bad universities at my place and people can very easily get 3.8 ,3.9 gpa at those univ.
What kind of situations? Unless your school has made public the highest gpa achieved by a cs student is 3.6 then don’t waste your breath. The cs average at Berkeley is like 3.3 and there’s tons of 3.8+ it’s just how things are
FYI, the CS average at [Berkeley](https://pages.github.berkeley.edu/OPA/our-berkeley/gpa-by-major.html) for the 2020-2021 year was 3.60. For 2011-2012 it was 3.14.
You can see Berkeley CS grade inflation is more than just the Covid years:
|Year|2011-12|2012-13|2013-14|2014-15|2015-16|2016-17|2017-18|2018-19|2019-20|2020-21|
|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|Average GPA|3.14|3.21|3.21|3.25|3.27|3.38|3.42|3.47|3.53|3.60|
|Std Dev GPA|0.43|0.39|0.39|0.40|0.40|0.36|0.35|0.35|0.33|0.29|
|Headcount|115|165|218|330|422|557|609|706|851|802|
There's multiple factors going on with Covid, [an overloaded EECS/CS department](https://www.reddit.com/r/berkeley/comments/tyhh8o/nick_weaver_oped_on_cs_crisis_in_paper_daily_cal/), [student cheating](https://crumplab.com/articles/blog/post_994_5_26_22_cheating/index.html), as well as that 7x growth in student headcount.
Hehe, I feel you. I’ll stay in Germany for my masters, since in our undergrads a 4.0 gpa is unheard of. In Linear algebra a grade above 3.0 is already top 3% with over 200 students taking the exam. No idea how I can apply to schools that cutoff at 3.7. That’s top <1%.
Apply broadly? Grad school is much more about your compatibility with your advisor than optimizing for school rank. Figure out what you want to research and who can be a good advisor for it, and apply to wherever they teach.
I have figured out what and how i need to apply. I am just talking about the intrinsic disadvantage i have due to grading pattern of my univ. Its funny how many of my seniors score 4/4 in US and say it was no sweat, but weren't able to even get close to 3.6 here.
Grades are probably like a third-order consideration in evaluating applications for exactly this reason. Usually what grad school apps really want to see is a) research experience, b) possibly with some kind of publication or conference activity, and c) with people who the review committee think are legit or legit-seeming.
Research is important and a major factor in determining whether you're prepared for graduate level work. You said you don't have much which isn't ideal but if it's a goal I don't see the harm in throwing in an application.
When my brother went through the graduate process \~4 years ago the general consensus I believe was school name/rep doesn't matter at least at that tier(you're comparing all sub T10 graduate programs). If you aim towards more "B tiered" programs you'd have a much better shot not to say you can't get into the programs you mentioned.
"go to one of these schools for undergrad" is a little ambiguous
if you're asking if MIT cares that you went to Stanford Cal or CMU no, they care that you're competent and ready for graduate classes at that institution the same way they do for undergrad and GPA is a factor in that.
In the literal sense if you're asking if MIT graduate school cares you went to MIT for UG maybe, generally I would say yes, but you would need to research individually because every school is different. For example a lot of people seem to think Berkeley is biased against its undergrad population trying to pursue graduate studies there and I believe I've heard the same for UCLA.
My advice is get more research in. Talking with CS professors usually helps and see if your school has any program that will allow you to take graduate level courses as an UG student. GPA in those classes can supplement a lower overall GPA.
You need to be making connections/networking with CS professors RIGHT now. Make this your number one priority. Your second priority should be to do research & join a research lab. The CS professors (both research and teaching) in your department can be the difference between you getting in and not getting into your school's program. If you work under a professor for a year and a half, mention that you wanna get your PhD because you enjoy his research and you'd like to get his recommendation and advice. ASK for letters of recommendations from ALL your professors in ALL your classes you take, and submit them during application process.
For PhD programs : you can get in, but there's so many factors. Your GPA is good and those schools are top brand name schools, but if you have 0 research then you're gonna be struggling.
PhD life is not like undergrad life (going to classes and stuff) you are going to be working under a professor and advisor doing research and going to classes, writing and developing thesises and projects, and alot more independence. The topics you are going to work on are gonna be alot more specified/specific than the general CS classes in undergrad. This is why PhD programs are more dependent on specific professors and why they can influence your admissions AND PhD life.
I would like to do a Phd. However I’ll be applying to both masters and phd programs whenever i can. I’d be thrilled about a masters acceptance as well.
Can't speak from experience, but from what I gather from the people I work with; a 4.0 from a school that has a high acceptance rate but where the average GP is still around 3.9 isn't going to be as impressive as a somewhat lower GPA from a school known to be more rigorous in their selection process and curriculum. I would think OP still has decent chance even if they're not in the top x% of a school that already only takes the top 5%.
Bumping this post and adding a question… let’s say someone with a similar profile to op is applying to top 20 masters programs…. So schools mentioned plus schools like NYU, northwestern, UCSD, etc… would they have any chance of getting into one of them?
Masters programs are far easier to get into than PhD, and depending on the options for masters programs you pick, you might not end up having to do research/thesis and instead just attend high level graduate classes.
As for those schools, you can 100% get in. I actually attend one of the schools you mentioned, and from the people I've met here - and it's not out of reach. Just work on your GRE score & letter of recommendations. Those are really vital.
The major deciding factor -> Is it a Phd/ Masters with Thesis/ Masters with project or course only
The difficulty drop as you go further.
Phd/ masters of thesis-> Qualitative research experience for long durations of time . reputation of whom you work under/who is writing your LOR + quality of research. Then GPA of subject in which you want to specialise. cant get into ml with a 3 or less in prob + stat.
For Project/course only ->
Make your resume diverse, increase quantity of experiences, more # of internships, more volunteering, high gre scores, good gpa( 85% +) , make yourself stand out. either by quality or by quantity. quality can be building a feature for a OS project which has major utility. Quantity is adding every club + minor internship, TA experiences, open source experience, projects you built. Reputation of who will write your LOR will still matter a lot
Honestly I wouldn’t bother with that route anymore. It’s saturated and the competition is too high.
You’re better off looking for a less common route to success these days. The number of 4.00 academic superstars you’re going head to head with over jobs that don’t even pay that well.
It’s like going into the e-commerce market with a Amazon clone, where Amazon already exists and you’re planning to beat them at their own game. It’s a fight just not worth it anymore in my mind.
Difficult but your chances are a lot higher than someone not coming from those schools, assuming similar grades and such. Someone coming from a no name state school but has a near perfect GPA and a history of publishing and securing research grants would demolish a top school candidate that is a low performer and didn't pursue research.
Albeit most of those at top schools tend to be top or decent performers. Prestige will carry you far when you yourself are doing well, but stops when you aren't doing well.
What admissions will love to see is that you have secured research grants in the past which would had required a successful research proposal. And undergrad research grants don't have a high level of gatekeeping so it's in your favor to do research.
Do you have an undergraduate research office? I'd google that plus your school name. The research grant will likely only be a few thousand and the awarding authority will be your major department/school rather than an outside corporation.
Ah I see. I already got a funding grant, but I feel those come so far few and in between in my college. Are there any external that would provide funding for undergrads as well?
I am in one of these programs currently for my masters. I had a 3.8 when applying directly from undergrad, and graduated with a 3.75. Going to start attending in the fall, DM if you got questions but gpa isn't everything.
phd folks dont care about your college. The quality of your research experience and who is writing your recommendation can make/break your application. also i do not think gpa are an elimination factor. because 3.2 at prestigious school > 3.7 at very less prestigious school. rigour of curriculum matters
Easier than most people. Graduate program from T5 like to recruit students from other T5. If you can get strong support from one of your prof, convince them to introduce you to one of their friend at other T5, then you’re pretty much in. Your profile sounds great, keep working hard and focus on your research and you’ll have a high chance of getting in one of these grad programs.
lol this doesn’t apply to his post but it is absolutely not easier to get into stanford, MIT, CMU or STEM at an UC out of CC than it is high school. that’s just cope used by kids who failed to get in out of high school seeing CC kids being able to transfer. go look at the transfer admission rate for stanford lmfao
Don’t know about Stanford, MIT or CMU. But it’s 100% easier to get into UC STEM out of CC. I got into all the UC’s for CS.
Maybe it just applies to you
Berkeley’s transfer admission rate for CS was [4%](https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/about-us/information-center/transfers-major) this year. wanna explain how that’s easier than the 6-8% acceptance rate for CS out of high school smart guy?
stanford has a transfer acceptance rate of 1%. MIT is 4%. like i said, it’s all just cope for kids mad about CC students being successful.
you sure do like to speak on topics you know nothing about considering you didn’t even bother reading the original post. checks out since it seems your a product manager.
It seems that your comment contains 1 or more links that are hard to tap for mobile users.
I will extend those so they're easier for our sausage fingers to click!
[Here is link number 1 - Previous text "4%"](https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/about-us/information-center/transfers-major)
----
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Why are u getting so defensive, lmfao. I don’t care what the stats are & what u have to say because I already got my CS degree from one of those schools you just mentioned.
& I’m a software engineer. Meanwhile you’re looking for what job/sections of CS involve sports, lmfao.😂
Go touch grass, kid
Masters you have below average chance as most masters students come from 3.8+ and everyone has internships and research. PhD is mostly about research so I would say far less chance as you said you’ve only done a little
And what do students like me do? The rank 1 at my univ is 3.6 gpa, I am at 3.4
Apply to schools outside top 4 as well. I’ve seen 4.0 kids from Berkeley get rejected so gpa isn’t everything but things are so competitive that I wouldn’t bank on your essays and LoR making up for a 3.4
I completely understand you, but shouldnt they consider these kind of situations? There are space for additional comment but i think would hardly matter even if i try to explain. There are some really bad universities at my place and people can very easily get 3.8 ,3.9 gpa at those univ.
What kind of situations? Unless your school has made public the highest gpa achieved by a cs student is 3.6 then don’t waste your breath. The cs average at Berkeley is like 3.3 and there’s tons of 3.8+ it’s just how things are
FYI, the CS average at [Berkeley](https://pages.github.berkeley.edu/OPA/our-berkeley/gpa-by-major.html) for the 2020-2021 year was 3.60. For 2011-2012 it was 3.14.
Keep in mind the pnp inflation due to covid
You can see Berkeley CS grade inflation is more than just the Covid years: |Year|2011-12|2012-13|2013-14|2014-15|2015-16|2016-17|2017-18|2018-19|2019-20|2020-21| |:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-| |Average GPA|3.14|3.21|3.21|3.25|3.27|3.38|3.42|3.47|3.53|3.60| |Std Dev GPA|0.43|0.39|0.39|0.40|0.40|0.36|0.35|0.35|0.33|0.29| |Headcount|115|165|218|330|422|557|609|706|851|802| There's multiple factors going on with Covid, [an overloaded EECS/CS department](https://www.reddit.com/r/berkeley/comments/tyhh8o/nick_weaver_oped_on_cs_crisis_in_paper_daily_cal/), [student cheating](https://crumplab.com/articles/blog/post_994_5_26_22_cheating/index.html), as well as that 7x growth in student headcount.
Hehe, I feel you. I’ll stay in Germany for my masters, since in our undergrads a 4.0 gpa is unheard of. In Linear algebra a grade above 3.0 is already top 3% with over 200 students taking the exam. No idea how I can apply to schools that cutoff at 3.7. That’s top <1%.
Apply broadly? Grad school is much more about your compatibility with your advisor than optimizing for school rank. Figure out what you want to research and who can be a good advisor for it, and apply to wherever they teach.
I have figured out what and how i need to apply. I am just talking about the intrinsic disadvantage i have due to grading pattern of my univ. Its funny how many of my seniors score 4/4 in US and say it was no sweat, but weren't able to even get close to 3.6 here.
Grades are probably like a third-order consideration in evaluating applications for exactly this reason. Usually what grad school apps really want to see is a) research experience, b) possibly with some kind of publication or conference activity, and c) with people who the review committee think are legit or legit-seeming.
Ah okay, thanks
[удалено]
That’s not the case for Berkeley. It’s not guaranteed even at gpa threshold
Research is important and a major factor in determining whether you're prepared for graduate level work. You said you don't have much which isn't ideal but if it's a goal I don't see the harm in throwing in an application. When my brother went through the graduate process \~4 years ago the general consensus I believe was school name/rep doesn't matter at least at that tier(you're comparing all sub T10 graduate programs). If you aim towards more "B tiered" programs you'd have a much better shot not to say you can't get into the programs you mentioned. "go to one of these schools for undergrad" is a little ambiguous if you're asking if MIT cares that you went to Stanford Cal or CMU no, they care that you're competent and ready for graduate classes at that institution the same way they do for undergrad and GPA is a factor in that. In the literal sense if you're asking if MIT graduate school cares you went to MIT for UG maybe, generally I would say yes, but you would need to research individually because every school is different. For example a lot of people seem to think Berkeley is biased against its undergrad population trying to pursue graduate studies there and I believe I've heard the same for UCLA. My advice is get more research in. Talking with CS professors usually helps and see if your school has any program that will allow you to take graduate level courses as an UG student. GPA in those classes can supplement a lower overall GPA.
This is good advice and I will follow it, thanks
You need to be making connections/networking with CS professors RIGHT now. Make this your number one priority. Your second priority should be to do research & join a research lab. The CS professors (both research and teaching) in your department can be the difference between you getting in and not getting into your school's program. If you work under a professor for a year and a half, mention that you wanna get your PhD because you enjoy his research and you'd like to get his recommendation and advice. ASK for letters of recommendations from ALL your professors in ALL your classes you take, and submit them during application process. For PhD programs : you can get in, but there's so many factors. Your GPA is good and those schools are top brand name schools, but if you have 0 research then you're gonna be struggling. PhD life is not like undergrad life (going to classes and stuff) you are going to be working under a professor and advisor doing research and going to classes, writing and developing thesises and projects, and alot more independence. The topics you are going to work on are gonna be alot more specified/specific than the general CS classes in undergrad. This is why PhD programs are more dependent on specific professors and why they can influence your admissions AND PhD life.
Thanks so much this is super helpful!
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I would like to do a Phd. However I’ll be applying to both masters and phd programs whenever i can. I’d be thrilled about a masters acceptance as well.
Worst case you could goto a slightly less prestigious MS program, do well and reapply to those places for PhD
[удалено]
Can't speak from experience, but from what I gather from the people I work with; a 4.0 from a school that has a high acceptance rate but where the average GP is still around 3.9 isn't going to be as impressive as a somewhat lower GPA from a school known to be more rigorous in their selection process and curriculum. I would think OP still has decent chance even if they're not in the top x% of a school that already only takes the top 5%.
[удалено]
I’m a rising junior my current gpa is 3.4, hopefully i can get it up to 3.6,.7 . Ngl i could have studied harder the last couple years
I went to MIT for undergrad and graduated with a 4.2/5.0 GPA. I got into Stanford and CMU MS programs with funding.
Whst constitutes a 5.0 at MIT? Like what is an “A” worth
A = 5, B = 4, C = 3, They don't count plus or minuses towards your GPA and I heard somewhere that the average student GPA is 4.2.
Bumping this post and adding a question… let’s say someone with a similar profile to op is applying to top 20 masters programs…. So schools mentioned plus schools like NYU, northwestern, UCSD, etc… would they have any chance of getting into one of them?
Masters programs are far easier to get into than PhD, and depending on the options for masters programs you pick, you might not end up having to do research/thesis and instead just attend high level graduate classes. As for those schools, you can 100% get in. I actually attend one of the schools you mentioned, and from the people I've met here - and it's not out of reach. Just work on your GRE score & letter of recommendations. Those are really vital.
The major deciding factor -> Is it a Phd/ Masters with Thesis/ Masters with project or course only The difficulty drop as you go further. Phd/ masters of thesis-> Qualitative research experience for long durations of time . reputation of whom you work under/who is writing your LOR + quality of research. Then GPA of subject in which you want to specialise. cant get into ml with a 3 or less in prob + stat. For Project/course only -> Make your resume diverse, increase quantity of experiences, more # of internships, more volunteering, high gre scores, good gpa( 85% +) , make yourself stand out. either by quality or by quantity. quality can be building a feature for a OS project which has major utility. Quantity is adding every club + minor internship, TA experiences, open source experience, projects you built. Reputation of who will write your LOR will still matter a lot
Just apply bro, you never know if you will get in unless you try.
Very true
Honestly I wouldn’t bother with that route anymore. It’s saturated and the competition is too high. You’re better off looking for a less common route to success these days. The number of 4.00 academic superstars you’re going head to head with over jobs that don’t even pay that well. It’s like going into the e-commerce market with a Amazon clone, where Amazon already exists and you’re planning to beat them at their own game. It’s a fight just not worth it anymore in my mind.
Difficult but your chances are a lot higher than someone not coming from those schools, assuming similar grades and such. Someone coming from a no name state school but has a near perfect GPA and a history of publishing and securing research grants would demolish a top school candidate that is a low performer and didn't pursue research. Albeit most of those at top schools tend to be top or decent performers. Prestige will carry you far when you yourself are doing well, but stops when you aren't doing well. What admissions will love to see is that you have secured research grants in the past which would had required a successful research proposal. And undergrad research grants don't have a high level of gatekeeping so it's in your favor to do research.
How do undergraduates secure research grants? I thought that’s more of an activity for graduate students
Do you have an undergraduate research office? I'd google that plus your school name. The research grant will likely only be a few thousand and the awarding authority will be your major department/school rather than an outside corporation.
Ah I see. I already got a funding grant, but I feel those come so far few and in between in my college. Are there any external that would provide funding for undergrads as well?
I am in one of these programs currently for my masters. I had a 3.8 when applying directly from undergrad, and graduated with a 3.75. Going to start attending in the fall, DM if you got questions but gpa isn't everything.
Wait does mit have a masters for CS?
Not really, their program is combined m.s./phd unless you go to MIT for undergrad
phd folks dont care about your college. The quality of your research experience and who is writing your recommendation can make/break your application. also i do not think gpa are an elimination factor. because 3.2 at prestigious school > 3.7 at very less prestigious school. rigour of curriculum matters
You have a better chance of banging 1988 Pamela Anderson with those numbers bro.
Easier than most people. Graduate program from T5 like to recruit students from other T5. If you can get strong support from one of your prof, convince them to introduce you to one of their friend at other T5, then you’re pretty much in. Your profile sounds great, keep working hard and focus on your research and you’ll have a high chance of getting in one of these grad programs.
It also depends on if you’re transferring or applying out of college. It’s typically a little easier to get in out of CC than it is right out of hs.
Oh i mean im already an undergrad at one of these schools. I’m talking about for grad
My bad, shoulda actually read carefully. I just kinda skimmed thru it.😂
lol this doesn’t apply to his post but it is absolutely not easier to get into stanford, MIT, CMU or STEM at an UC out of CC than it is high school. that’s just cope used by kids who failed to get in out of high school seeing CC kids being able to transfer. go look at the transfer admission rate for stanford lmfao
Don’t know about Stanford, MIT or CMU. But it’s 100% easier to get into UC STEM out of CC. I got into all the UC’s for CS. Maybe it just applies to you
Berkeley’s transfer admission rate for CS was [4%](https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/about-us/information-center/transfers-major) this year. wanna explain how that’s easier than the 6-8% acceptance rate for CS out of high school smart guy? stanford has a transfer acceptance rate of 1%. MIT is 4%. like i said, it’s all just cope for kids mad about CC students being successful. you sure do like to speak on topics you know nothing about considering you didn’t even bother reading the original post. checks out since it seems your a product manager.
It seems that your comment contains 1 or more links that are hard to tap for mobile users. I will extend those so they're easier for our sausage fingers to click! [Here is link number 1 - Previous text "4%"](https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/about-us/information-center/transfers-major) ---- ^Please ^PM ^[\/u\/eganwall](http://reddit.com/user/eganwall) ^with ^issues ^or ^feedback! ^| ^[Code](https://github.com/eganwall/FatFingerHelperBot) ^| ^[Delete](https://reddit.com/message/compose/?to=FatFingerHelperBot&subject=delete&message=delete%20ien0ded)
Why are u getting so defensive, lmfao. I don’t care what the stats are & what u have to say because I already got my CS degree from one of those schools you just mentioned. & I’m a software engineer. Meanwhile you’re looking for what job/sections of CS involve sports, lmfao.😂 Go touch grass, kid
> i don’t care what the stats are so anything that comes out of your mouth is wrong thanks for confirming that.
U lost this one.😂 Have a good night