gaiasabre11

Thank you for your reply. I think I have made up my mind to work for a couple of years before seeking for a master's degree. Having that extra relevant work experience should also most likely boost my chances for admission in a top-tier school/program. Thanks again.

I agree with the reply above. IMO, you need to take more CS courses, unless you can prove that you have substantial programming experiences outside of school.

Yes, I have tried to look up that option too, but it seems that few companies offer that benefit... (I Know that Google does) I'm not worrying about the money too much yet (want to leave that till later). Currently I'd just like to know which schools/programs are within my reach. Thanks for your reply.

Yeah... that's what everybody I know is telling me too. I'd like to go to grad school (now), but only if it's a good one (hence worth the $$$). I agree that finding a program isn't difficult (have looked up quite a few already), but what are my chances of getting into a good school/program? Which ones are (safely) within my range given my less than ideal gpa but strong work experiences and references? Thanks again for the reply.

Hi all, I'm a Canadian residing in Vancouver, BC, and will be graduating next year from UBC with a B.Sc Major in Computer Science. So far I'm leaning towards getting a job right after graduation, but I'd like to know how good are my chances of getting into a top-tier CS grad school now. To start, unfortunately I have a relatively low gpa (3.0~3.1/4.0, might be able to get it up to 3.2 at the end of my undergrad studies). I haven't taken the GRE, but I'm hoping that I can get good scores if I study well. Regrading my relevant work experience, I am enrolled in my school's (UBC) coop program, so I'll have a total of 20 months of coop/internship experience in the industry before graduation. I am fortunate enough to work as SDE (intern) at big-named companies like Amazon, Ericsson, and RIM. In addition, I also will have a total of 12 months of part-time research experience with cs profs who are internationally renowned. (Hence I believe it's safe to safe I'll be getting good letters of recommendation.) I have also been participating in some prestigious international competitions such as ACM-ICPC and Robocup since first year. I dislike research in general (despite all the research I've done and will be doing) so I'd like to aim for a more professional oriented M.Sc CS. So in general here are the big questions I have: Should I follow my current plan of getting a job right after grad, then go back to school later on, or do I have a good chance of getting into a top-tier cs grad school now? If I do have a good chance of getting into a good cs grad school (in US, UK, or Canada) now, which schools/programs (professional-oriented) should I be looking to apply? Many Thanks