Am I disqualified from good/decent masters programs

[aaronjg98]

Hello,

I don't really have a full profile for evaluation, but I'm currently an undergraduate at UT Austin majoring in mathematics with two minors in computer science and statistics. I have one more semester left (Fall 2020) and I am thinking deeply about going to graduate school in the field of science/engineering. Current I am sitting at a GPA of 3.17 overall, with a technical GPA around 3.0 (really low, I know) but I can still potential bring it up to a 3.2-3.3 next semester.

As for projects/experience, I only have experience working in fast food and two projects (no internships) - one from a data science course and engineering course. I took the community college -> university route and have been struggling to adjust to the academics/life of university, and right now I am hoping to get a research project in my last semester at UT Austin and work on my skills more so that I can work a bit (hopefully) in industry before or after graduation.

I wanted to know what specific programs I could apply for in Texas/USA. A list of programs I'm considering on applying for are (specifically in Engineering/Statistics/Applied Math/Computer Science):

Texas A&M 

Texas Tech

Baylor

Rice

UT Dallas

North Texas

Colorado School of Mines

Oklahoma

Arkansas

CU Boulder

Purdue

Georgia Tech

If this isn't the appropriate section for this, I apologize as I am new to this site. Thanks! 

Edited May 31, 2020 by aaronjg98

[Stat Assistant Professor]

I think you can likely get into a Masters program provided that you have good letters of recommendation and explain your undergrad academic performance/emphasize any upward trend. Although your GPA isn't great, it is above the minimum threshold not to be auto-rejected. Masters admissions are also usually more lenient, since they are rarely funded. Finally, UT Austin is a well-respected school, so you have that going in your favor. 

I have also seen some individuals use Masters programs as "stepping stones" to get into PhD programs. These folks didn't have the best undergrad grades, but they did the Masters to show that they could get A's. Then they went on to do a PhD program (in math/applied math/stats). If you wanted to do that, you probably could -- though you would  likely have to temper your expectations for PhD admissions, in terms of what tier of programs you could get admitted to... but mid/lower-ranked schools might take a chance on you.

If your goal is just to get a Masters and then work in industry, I could see you getting into some MS program.