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<p>So I’m wagering, to be clear, as an outsider who’s thought about graduate admissions in general, that the answer is closer to “yes it is a requirement” than that it isn’t, if you want to get into MIT for CS, for instance. Why? There is one thing other than just plain academic excellence that gets you into schools, and that is having professors who are the most well known in the field of CS recommend you, after you worked as a researcher for them. This may all put more pressure on a Mudd student to be at the top to actually stand out enough to get into MIT over all the international students (remember, graduate admissions is an extremely international game) and undergraduates from UCB, MIT, CMU, Stanford with a combo of very good GPA and research experience and letters from stars.</p>
<p>Remember, when I say ___ GPA, I mean in your field of interest…</p>