Chai_latte

I was asking b/c I knew this guy who applied to W&M for physics a few years back. He had a low GPA; a cut-off was not advertised. He was rejected specifically because of his grades, which were in the "B-" range. Good luck, and it's great if they're only looking at the last 2 years.

If I were you, I would really get an internship and do research before applying. That will make a huge difference (given the extremely low GPA). If that enthusiastic prof were also your research advisor and you had a glowing rec from a summer internship, I think you'd get much better results. Lastly, can you take another CS course(s), or something? I know they're expensive. But, if your portfolio is not at the level you want, you might benefit from more training in order to present some "professional-looking" stuff. Also, are you sure those grad schools don't have GPA cut-offs? Sometimes departments don't post that info. You have to contact the general graduate school. From what I've seen in the sciences, someone might be able to slide in with a poor GPA if he/she has a killer portfolio/great research background/whatever. Without those, I'm not sure how one would fare, even at the lower ranking places.

Aside from your courses, what else have you done in CS? Outside/independent projects? Research? Internship? If you've only taken those classes, I'm not sure how strong your recs will be.

It really isn't. We're all here to learn and to enhance our careers. Now, with that said, I didn't announce that I was 30 to my suitemates lol. Being this age with suitemates was never part of the grand plan (at least I'm saving money during these 2 semesters!), but I digress... As far as admissions go, I bet you're not the only one in communications who has taken some time off. One of the people in my cohort has returned to school for his M.S.; he's 34-35. One classmate who entered last year is about 40. I don't think this is particularly uncommon in the social sciences. Go for it!

I did not feel older in my last program. Most of the students were doctoral candidates. So, there was a range of ages. There were also the post-docs. (I was the same age as most 4th-5th year PhD students.) In this program, however, I am aware of the age difference. I live on campus, and my suitemates are all in their early 20's. A few of them definitely seem younger. It almost feels like college...part 2 (which is a nice change of pace). I'm probably one of the oldest people in the whole building. On the other hand, I think most of my classmates fall into the 24-34 bracket. So, I only feel older before and after class, not during.

When are you entering school? You weren't Fall 2015?

This. An Orgo PhD doesn't always lead to a phenomenal career, especially not now. Go with interest and fit.

My error...the 16% response rate was for a different 2014 ACS survey (new graduates only). http://cen.acs.org/articles/93/i26/New-Grad-Salaries-Employment.html

But, the difference here is that not all chemists belong to ACS. The argument is that the folks who have allowed their membership to lapse may be on the lower end of the salary scale (or could have left the field entirely). They're not included. And then, of the ACS members, the response rate is 10-15% depending on the year. My question is (and I don't know if this info is out there): what percentage of trained chemists belong to ACS?

@ Eigen- I can't quibble with the PhD numbers. As stated before, I don't really know them. But, the BS/BA...do you know chemists making that kind of money? In the northeast, I definitely don't. How about your area? Aren't you out west or southwest?

I'm fuzzier with PhD salaries. The people whose salaries I can at least ballpark are either post-docs or tenured profs. I don't know my industry PhD friends' salaries. Actually, that's not true...one guy is about 95k. So, your friend's income sounds about right. Other than that, I don't know salaries. @takeruk- this is for all ACS members, so new hires and experienced chemists. But, their surveys have been criticized.

The problem with the ACS survey is that an insanely small percentage of people responds. The participation rate rarely exceeds 10%, if I remember correctly. As a result, these numbers are inflated...very inflated. I don't know a single BS chemist making 70k or 80k in a lab. Numbers like that just aren't normative (though they do exist).

I see. Well, I think it's all about how you ask. Maybe preface it with what you liked about the book/why it spoke to you. Your genuine interest will show. Then, ask for the signature. I never requested a signature, but a prof in my old department wrote a chem text while I was a student there. I purchased it (for my own, personal library) and thought it was fantastic. He never taught me and probably did not even know my name. But, I introduced myself, told him how I felt about the text and why it resonated with me. We had a nice interchange. Go for it.

NO! I don't think so, at least. If someone asked me to sign a copy of my thesis for them (lol), I'd be flattered.

You might do better on MBA-oriented sites, like GMAT Club or Poets & Quants. As Juillet said, it depends on what "abroad" means to you. Here, in the states, the most highly regarded European b-schools are INSEAD and maybe LBS (recognizable names also include Cambridge's Judge biz school and IESE in Spain). But, if you have no interest in working in the US, this doesn't matter. Find out what schools are most highly regarded where you want to work. Also, in certain countries outside of North America, an Ivy will always carry weight (even if the Ivy League school isn't noted for its MBA program...Yale, for example).

We definitely have this in the US. If you look at liberal arts colleges (e.g. Swarthmore, maybe Smith etc.), that's the only engineering degree offered. A number of my friends have pursued graduate degrees in engineering (mat sci, civil, electrical/computer...just off the top of my head) at top schools. The generic engineering degree is not a hindrance for admission; all of these friends went on to top 20 grad programs (half attended top 5s). You may have to take a couple of additional courses once enrolled. ETA: I don't know of anyone who went from general engr to cs, but I do know a person who went to electrical/computer (it's a joint program) at MIT. Unless you hear otherwise from someone in your field, I would go with the grad program that interests you the most--sounds like that's CS.

I think you've gotten great advice already. I just wanted to add this: I knew a girl who was in a very similar position. I think she wound up taking 8-9 years for her biology PhD. She was admitted to a good med school and is now a resident. I'm not telling you to become a doctor, but I do think it's important to note that PhDs who take more time can meet success in their field and be readily accepted outside of it (even in highly competitive medicine). Good luck.

I'm really excited. I finished my previous grad program this summer. A few days later, I packed my bags and moved ~100 miles to my new school. I got an early, mid-July start in my new program--taking an elective and beginning an independent study. Even though I didn't get much of a break, I'm thrilled about my program. It is such a great fit!! We have orientation now. My new roommates have moved in, I have my class schedule and I'm ready for next week. Woo-hoo!

Yeah, Spring really does depend on the school. My old school offered Spring admission, but only a few students were accepted. I was a Spring admit and there was just one other person at my "orientation" (read: building tour + placement testing). Apparently, my school has gotten more stringent over time. Now, the department's site says that Spring admission is rare--1 student per year--unless the student belongs to a lab group that moved to the university mid-year.

Yes, I do. I'm in a different field, but I knew that I wanted the M.S. from day 1. For two seconds, it crossed my mind to present myself as a PhD candidate and leave, but 1) that would've been horribly dishonest...an advisor's research funding/money doesn't grow on trees and 2) the MS and the first couple of PhD years are pedagogically different. By passing on the bait-n-switch, PhD->MS track and being honest, I was not expected to TA. As a result, I had the free time to explore commercialization and entrepreneurship opportunities. That helped lay the groundwork for what I'm doing now! Also, by doing the terminal master's you may get to complete a thesis (not sure if engin. does); a drop-out PhD won't. The opportunities for conference attendance, publications will probably be the same either way. I understand that you don't want the debt, but don't potentially burn bridges at the start of your career in order to avoid it. For me, I don't regret going the non-funded route. I went to an affordable R1. Because it was a doctoral-granting institution with good facilities, research there went smoothly. I could have gone to a smaller/local school and gotten funded, but I would not have had the type research experience that I wanted. It's all about trade-offs. **In my field, few R1s offer the terminal M.S.

I didn't see the school before. Are you sure you googled? I see a post on Quora that answers your question...right in the first 5-6 hits. ETA: Before I closed that window, I also saw a similar post on Reddit.

I'm in the minority, but I'm a huge fan of university housing. I've only had good experiences. But, I've also always done my homework beforehand. First, I get online. I look up anything I can about the housing. If I can't find specific info about my potential apartment building/dorm, I'll read reviews about other grad housing on campus (or even undergrad housing). A slew of crappy (or rave) reviews is telling. I've also called housing. Sometimes you'll get a super-forthcoming person. You can also find out who your potential RA will be and ask him/her about students' experiences or raise any specific concerns. My grad schools were/are both large institutions. Online research has always answered 95% of my questions. But, I've never shied away from calling the housing office. If you're still not satisfied, contact a couple of current students in your program; they can tell you about good options. Maybe you should start with that. If I'm unfamiliar with the area, I'll Google Map the address...maybe it's in a part of town that's too desolate for my taste and no matter how great the reviews are, its location would make it a no-go. As you can see, I take my housing seriously. There's nothing worse than being stuck w/ a crappy landlord or being thrown into a horrid place that is university-owned. That's a distraction that no one needs. HTH

I really think you're going to be fine. Seriously.

Oh, are you PhD or MS? And, I'm assuming your GRE is strong? If it is, I really wouldn't do anything about the low GPA (e.g. taking extra classes). Given the health concern and the company, a 3.4 is not the worst...just make sure your GRE is excellent.

Thanks for explaining things in the second post. The patent/research-based company thing is great! It, in addition to your good grades in other semesters, is gold. Make that (and how UIUC fits in) the crux of your SOP. If one of your recs will mention some of your early trouble, let him/her do that heavy lifting for you. I would only spend ~2-3 sentences mentioning the cruddy semester and then FOCUS on my achievements, what I can bring to the program and how UIUC can enhance my career trajectory. Good luck and great job. The way I see it, you have a strong shot...even if the withdrawal is not approved. I think a lot of engineering profs would want a patent-holding, budding entrepreneur in their department.