<p>I’m a sophomore at UT austin the ECE department and I’m thinking about potential graduate schools I would hope to attend. On the top of my list is Carnegie Mellon, but am unsure about my prospects of getting in the the masters or phD program. As I’m looking at it now, I’ll probably graduate in two years with a 3.8 to 3.9 and at least one internship at one of the many tech firms in Austin such as IBM or Qualcomm. Does anyone know what the chances of me getting into Carnegie Mellon are? And if this isn’t enough information to do so, what are some of the things I should strive to do while I’m in undergraduate?</p>
<p>At top graduate programs, if your GPA and GRE scores are above a certain threshold (~160 quant, 3.5 GPA), you will pass their first filter. </p>
<p>From what I recall from a description that an admissions officer for CS at a top 5 school gave, past the preliminary filter, high GPA is important, but research experience is 10 times as important. Specifically, they are looking for first author papers in well known conferences/journals > co-authored papers in well known conferences/journals > first author papers in unknown conferences/journals > letter of recommendations suggest you can do good research > REUs/unpublished research > work experience in the intended discipline > statement of purpose shows you can do good research (self proclaimed) > GPA > how the admissions officer feels that day > GRE scores.</p>
<p>My advice is that you join a research group/lab at your school and get to know 2-3 professors very well and make a good impression by doing hard work for them. If you can get some publications before you graduate, that is the most effective way to look good to the admissions committee. At Carnegie Mellon, they would much rather admit a 3.5 student with research experience and recommenders to vouch for it than a 4.0 student with none.</p>
<p>Try to get 3 professors who went to well known schools and are active in their research to recommend you based on the research you did for them, and not for the fact that you got an A in their class.</p>
<p>How would you suggest joining a research group? Should I just find a professor and email them, express interest in their work, and hope they need a research assistant?</p>
<p>That’s exactly right. Look over the professors at your school and email the ones with interesting research and ask if they are taking undergrads. I had to ask 3 or 4 before I found someone with room for me.</p>
<p>how are GPA evaluated after they pass the initial cut off?</p>
<p>Yoconman, that’s a good way to do it. I got lucky, as I applied to a quarter-long research trip to another country and got all of my publications/recommendations from that and what followed. Most people I know find a professor they like who has research posted on their website, and e-mail asking about their process for admitting students to their group. Most professors will like you if you have a high GPA, in which case you will send your stats/inquire about projects and get to work.</p>
<p>As a side note, Carnegie Mellon in particular likes seeing that you have tutoring/study session/TA experience, as it is correlated with being a good researcher. If you can get these on the side, all the better.</p>
<p>How long should you work for one professor?</p>