nabusman

@anacron @starmaker Thanks for your responses. You guys are right in that there really isn't any reason for me to target the top 4, after all the second I get a chance I will be off doing a business where it doesn't really matter where you got your degree from (or got your degree at all). I guess its more of a curiosity thing: I have always wondered what life is like at the top schools. In reality, I was only thinking about Stanford because I want to go into more depth in computer science from a entrepreneurial angle, which of course Stanford is famous for. Anyway, from what I've read is that if someone has a peer-review paper published they are pretty much a shoo-in. I'm pretty sure I can make that happen by doing the grunt work on a paper or two and getting my name in at the end of the list of authors. Do you think that would help? Thanks, Nabs

I am an entrepreneur and have been involved in various successful IT-based businesses (mostly e-commerce, but also black-box trading). My work experience include two Fortune 100 finance companies (total 2 years). My academics are not very solid. I have a BBA in Finance and an MBA in Finance (minor Systems) but the universities I attended are in random, remote corners of the world, and my grades were never very high since I was always starting/running a business or two on the side. I am an American Citizen (if that makes a difference), though I've spent half of my life in foreign countries. On the whole I would be an applicant way out in left field, I know that. Essentially, my question is simple: do off-the-wall applicants like me have a bat's chance in hell of getting into the top 4 CS programs? If so, which programs would be the most "open-minded"?