So I was a student at a Top15 school (e.g. Washington University in Saint Louis, Vanderbilt, Tufts, Emory…etc)
The Bad:
I was a really bad student. I have talent for computer science and software engineer, but never took my classes seriously and also fell into depression the cause me to get an F. I had a lot of C’s and Ws. I even lost an opportunity at a Software Engineering Internship at Google, because I passed all the technicals but my GPA was really low. When COVID his I took a sabbatical from school and had a GPA of 2.4.
The Ugly:
I have two academic-integrity infractions on my resume and lot’s of W’s on my transcript, so I am in a pretty bad situation.
The Good:
So during my time, I took off school for the past year and a half I’ve been interning as a software engineer at “elite tech” companies Like Linkedin, Microsoft, Twilio, Twitch, Zillow, Pinterest, Facebook…etc. Also I’ve been accepted to a prestigious fellowships (e.g. Kleiner Perkins, Bessemer, 8VC, Contrary Capital)…etc
The Case:
I want to return back to school but I burned a lot of bridges at my previous institutions; plus I just want to start over to be honest. I most likely am going to start work for full-time in the next year. I am just wondering what should be done so I can be admitted to a Comp Eng/Comp Sci program that I can finish part time while I am working full time. I was thinking going back to community college and getting an associate’s and applying to resumed education programs for students with unorthodox backgrounds such as Yale’s Eli Whitney and Brown’s RUE.
Thought, advice, data points, information…all is appreciated thanks.
Yale and Brown? Get a grip dude. Whitney and RUE are not aimed at kids who screwed up and took 1.5 years off. Also, Whitney is a full time program - not part time.
Plenty of top software folks dropped out for one reason or another. Having the chops is more important than having a degree.
That being said if you want a T25 degree undergrad your only choice is: apply for readmission to the school you dropped out of.
Alternately, apply to a much, much lower ranked school, do great and apply to a T25 masters program.
Otherwise, with your record, T25 programs aren’t happening.
So I was thinking of getting a fulltime job which is very much plausible and going to CC get an associates in engineering with a 3.9+ GPA. Then reapplying to Brown RUE and Yale’s Eli Whitney program!
Also, off of the Yale Eli Whitney’s program website:
The Eli Whitney Students Program offers a flexible path to fulfill the standard requirements of a Yale College bachelor’s degree. All students complete 36 course credits; most semester courses at Yale carry one credit. Eli Whitney students may earn these credits through full- or part-time enrollment, and may take up to seven years to complete a degree.
[https://admissions.yale.edu/eli-whitney-students-program-details]
While the programs you cited at Yale and Brown are fine, they are highly competitive. So your plan to go to a CC for 2 years would be somewhat wasteful if you dont get in to these types of elite programs. Cc’s usually do not have the CS courses needed for a bachelor’s degree, even for the first two years worth.
As already mentioned, best bet is to restart at a regional university with a CS department and finish there. Since you have work experience and contacts, and can pass the technical interviews, the job part will be okay. I do know of someone in your situation who “reverse transferred” from a prestigious university to our regional uni. ,finished the degree and got a job at a FAANG.
Nice idea but… Eli Whitney program: typical educational interruption of five or move years…
Completing the AA and applying would put your application in the transfer category, not EW. Typical transfer GPA (with an under 2% accept rate) is >4.0 which is out of reach given your current 2.4 which would be calculated into your GPA as a transfer applicant.
I was unaware that Yale allows any PT undergrad. Thanks for the info. Took a look at the latest CDS and there were a total of 7 PT undergrads enrolled.
Going back to school for an AA then applying for transfer admissions to a higher ranked 4 year program is a good idea.
It is extremely unlikely to get you into any of the programs with single digit acceptance rates.
I understand the competitive nature of these programs. In addition, I could always apply to UC Schools(I’m from California and the CC I plan to attend is in California) and attend part-time. There’s also other schools that I plan to apply to which has a less rigorous application process.
I already have a FANG job and a really robust network. Also, I am interested Computer Engineering due to the curriculum having hardware and software, as well. Thus, I believe the best route would be getting an associate’s in engineering than transferring!
Last point, I am mainly interested in Brown’s program, because of the nature of the education at the school: Open Curriculum
Hey OP, best bet is a CC to UC transfer if you end up getting a great GPA at CC. Not sure how your prior academic history will impact the transfer. I’m particularly concerned about past GPA and academic infractions. These will follow you but maybe some more experienced community members will have more info on that. Another thing that concerns me is that you are focused on elite institutions and have not shown yourself to be an elite student. You might be a great programmer but that is not the same as a great student. How do you see yourself improving your studying skills? Good luck with everything!
You are fortunate that a CS degree can be obtained a lots of places - your academic integrity issues (more than one on your record, wow) would be a real turn off to a selective place. You can show by your actions that you have changed from lazy to hard working but how would you convince anyone at a top school that you are no longer dishonest?
You’re correct I made a lot drastic mistakes in the past that I want to remediate. I am not sure how to signal to universities that I have change, but I have.
CA has a fairly robust cc transfer program to UCs and CSUs. Even so, with 2 years of community college, finishing a computer engineering degree will take another 3 years for most students. That’s assuming a full time course load. If you’re planning to be part time, add another x number of years. I second the idea that ASU online may be worth looking into for part-time.
See the UCSB website regarding what they say about time to get an engineering degree.