Admissions as an Ex-Child Prodigy for MSc in Computer Science

Hey, so when I was 14 I started a double major in physics and CS, graduated at 19, and then “wasted” 3 years working as a software engineer in industry (I just turned 22). My grades back in my undergraduate were high (summa cum laude), but other than that I have nothing going for me. I doubt the few faculty I talked to at university remember me enough to write a recommendation letter, I didn’t publish, I didn’t TA, and my university was the only one in the city where my parents lived so it’s barely in the top 200 worldwide.

I’ve decided I want to try and do research in ML, but I’m wondering what’s the best I can do in terms of acceptance. It seems like all schools need multiple recommendation letters, and many explicitly mention TA or grading experience as a requirement.

Thanks!

PhD or terminal MS?

If the former, you need to identify not where per se, but who you’re interested in working with. Once you’ve compiled a list, contact them directly and explain your situation. They’ll probably want recommendations from your employer. Also, don’t discount instructors remembering you even after this many years. They remember top students, and you are extra memorable because of your youth at the time.

Good luck.

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I know multiple people who have been quite successful. As far as I can tell, none of them took the shortest path to get from wherever they started to wherever they are now. They all tried a bit of this and a bit of that. Some partial failures or dead ends are just part of the road to success.

I doubt that you wasted three years working. I think that you learned more about the world and the high tech industry and also learned more about what you want to do. Your current plan to get a master’s degree in CS sounds like a very reasonable plan based on what you have done up to now.

For machine learning I hope that you got a strong background in mathematics. With a combined physics / CS degree this does sound likely.

I got my master’s degree at Stanford. The other students in the same program had come from a very, very wide range of undergraduate universities. It was rare to find two people who had come from the same undergraduate school (the only exception that I found was probably a coincidence, and was NOT a “top 50 in the US” university). “Barely top 200 worldwide” is still quite a good university, and graduating Summa Cum Laude should help also.

You will need recommendation letters. When I applied to graduate schools my recommendation letters were from more senior employees were I worked. One daughter is currently applying to graduate schools and one reference is from her thesis advisor from her bachelor’s degree, but the other two are from more senior employees where she works. Yes, this does mean that you need to tell your boss that you are considering returning to graduate school. Hopefully they will be supportive.

If you are three years out of university, you might want to contact your faculty advisor and/or a few professors that you happened to know when you were in university and see whether they will feel qualified to write a recommendation letter. They might want to see a current resume or a list of “what you have done since graduating”.

You might be running up against application deadlines (for starting in September 2024). I am not sure which schools are already past the deadlines and which are not. However, it would not be a bad idea to take some time to figure out where you want to apply, and you are way ahead for starting in September 2025.

And you might want to apply to a range of universities. Given what you said, it might be worth including a few top schools on the list, possibly including Stanford.

And a lot of students are 22 when the graduate university with no work experience or with only an internship over the summer. Life is not a race, but if it were you would still be ahead of most of the pack. To me it sounds like you are doing well.

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First - I agree with everything that @DadTwoGirls wrote.

At the risk of repeating some of it: it’s only been three years, and I’m pretty sure that at least some of the faculty of the advanced courses that you took remember you. You may have to remind them, but we do remember the students who got As, even if they were quiet. Your present bosses are also good for letters of recommendation.

Most programs like grad students who have spent a few years in industry, and you are hardly the only person who worked for a few years before they went back to grad school. In fact, you probably have an advantage over students who just graduated from college.

The first step you should take is to reach out to faculty at the universities at which you would like to do a masters, and meet with them to talk. Meet with their grad students as well. You can make those connections now. They will also provide advice on how to proceed. While we can give you general advice, they can give you specific advice about their program.

Grad school is all about connections, and the great thing about connections is that you can always make them.

Many universities will also allow you to register as a non-degree student in their grad schools, which would allow you to spend time in labs, maybe do some research on your own, and make connections with faculty at an academic lab at the university.

As I wrote above - you have three years of industry experience. That is a huge advantage over students who have just been at university and may have a couple of internships.

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To @eyemgh - I do plan to start with a terminal MSc, I’m not confident enough to immediately commit to a PhD.

Second, thanks @MWolf and @DadTwoGirls, you’ve reassured me, I will attempt to get recommendation letters, and apply to at least one top school (I think Oxford) in addition to some slightly lower-ranked ones (I’m thinking UWaterloo, Georgia Institute of Technology). While Stanford would be a dream, their deadline did pass, and while I know that life isn’t a race, I can’t quite swallow delaying studying for an MSc by another year so I can apply, especially when I do still think it is unlikely I would get accepted.

I have a very different question - it seems the university I did my undergraduate at would accept me immediately to start an MSc this year. Since tuition in my country is practically free and I have money saved up from my three years of working, I’m thinking it would be nice to spend the year doing courses (maybe part-time) so I can feel brushed up on the mathematics from my undergraduate, and also if I fail to get accepted for next year, I’ll be halfway through to an MSc here and could apply to a better program abroad for a PhD (since I assume after a year here I would have an easier time to get recommendation letters, and I’d get TA experience).

I remember seeing on one of the university’s websites that they do not accept students who have started an MSc elsewhere, is this common? Are they likely to contact my university to ask such a thing? I want to make sure I’m not making a mistake, even though it sounds appealing.

Thanks again!

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One issue is whether you could be accepted to a master’s at one university when you are half way through a master’s at a different university. Another question is whether you would be starting all over from scratch if you did this (which seems likely).

U.Waterloo and Georgia Tech are certainly very strong universities. If there is still time to apply they might both be worth an application (as might Oxford). I did notice that Stanford’s deadline was past (except for students who are currently in their senior year as an undergraduate student at Stanford).

It seems to me that if you start a master’s somewhere, find it is the right program for you, and get half way through, I would be inclined to complete the master’s at the same school before looking to get a PhD either at the same school or elsewhere. Of course you can apply to PhD programs while you in the last year of the master’s degree.

Can you tell us which university you got your bachelor’s from? Also, are you a US citizen and if not then what country are you from?