Planning for Masters CS

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I’m currently a Junior at UCSC and I’m a computer science major. I have two more years before I finish my degree. Within these two years, I want to make myself a competitive applicant so that I can get into a good Masters program.</p>

<p>My overall GPA: 3.0
My major GPA: 3.8</p>

<p>(My overall is significantly lower than my major GPA simply because I did extremely bad during freshmen and sophomore year as a Biology major.)</p>

<p>I have yet to take the GRE or get any internships.</p>

<p>My target goal is to get into Carnegie Mellon’s MBA/MSE dual-degree program.
Link: <a href=“http://mse.isri.cmu.edu/software-engineering/web1-programs/mba-mse/index.html”>http://mse.isri.cmu.edu/software-engineering/web1-programs/mba-mse/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>My question is, aside from doing the GRE and one or two internships, what else can I do to make myself a competitive applicant?</p>

2

<p>You should look into gaining some research experience. It would be like killing two birds with one stone. Not only would you gain experience as a researcher in your major but have some potential recommendation letters from professors who were part of your research experience.</p>

3

<p>Although you will be expected to get high marks on the GRE, it isn’t weighted as heavily as you LOR and your GPA. I agree don’t overlook research instead of internships. I’m supposing that program is ultra competitive and you are going to be fighting that overall gpa, keep the good work up and do look for good potential LOR writers. Remember that Did Well In Class isn’t any great reccomentation they can already see that by your grade. You need profs that know you well and who have worked with you on a deeper level.</p>