Anyone get admitted/know someone who got admitted with a profile like this?

[donatelo]

Hi,

I've been waiting patiently on the sidelines to apply for grad school, and admittedly have a rather unorthodox profile for someone who is interested in a Masters in Computer Science at a top-ranked US university.

- 3 years non-honors Business degree majoring in Finance from Asia (is the 3 year non-honors degree an issue? anyone have any insight?)

- Strong academic profile (3.7 GPA, number of other academic accolades)

- Worked in Banking and now Private Equity for ~2 years, planning to apply when I hit the 3 or 4 year mark

I have no prior background in Computing, except for courses which I took in Middle and High School which I did well in. I am planning to start a number of IT ventures on the side however.

2 main questions: 1) is the degree an issue? and 2) anyone know of someone with a similar profile who has been admitted into a MS CS program?

Thanks.

Edited June 28, 2010 by donatelo

[fuzzylogician]

Not knowing anything specific about CS I would simply contribute this: have you look at some of the programs' websites that you are interested in? What do they say about unconventional applicants? Do they accept applicants without any formal background in CS -- if so, I'm sure they give some indication of what special skills would make them accept such an applicant. If none of them mention such an option then try contacting programs and asking. I'm sure that there are anecdotal stories here and there, but the DGS at one of the programs can give you more accurate information both about unorthodox applicants' acceptance chances over time and possibly about committee deliberations and considerations in assessing such applicants.

At the same time, what do you expect to get out of a MS in CS? E.g., do you have any (unofficial) background in the field? Do you know what you want to study during the degree? I would think an adcom's rather legitimate worry would be - do you know what you're getting yourself into, and will you be able to keep up with the other students and utilize the tools that you will be taught in your courses? Assuming that you can build a strong case and argue that you will benefit from the degree just as much as any CS major, you have a fighting chance. In your case, being an unorthodox applicant, grades from your other degree won't matter that much, except to show in general that you are a good student who can deal with (and apply) quantities of new information. I'd imagine that showing the ability to independently study areas of CS (e.g. through getting a good score in the subject GRE, writing a large programming project, or successfully taking CS classes as a non-matriculated student at a local university) will be more pertinent.

[joro]

I have a friend who tried to do that same thing. She had no background in CS (graduated from Berkeley in some other science major) and ended up with only a BS in CS at a nearby CSU.

There are a lot of prereq classes that you need to take for your graduate level courses. And those prereq classes are normally upper level undergrad CS classes which have lower level undergrad CS and Math classes as prereqs. You can probably see why she only received a BS in CS instead of a MS now.

You'd probably have to take the CS GRE to even have a shot at a top-ranked university.

Edited June 28, 2010 by joro

[Grad Hopeful]

Hi,

I've been waiting patiently on the sidelines to apply for grad school, and admittedly have a rather unorthodox profile for someone who is interested in a Masters in Computer Science at a top-ranked US university.

- 3 years non-honors Business degree majoring in Finance from Asia (is the 3 year non-honors degree an issue? anyone have any insight?)

- Strong academic profile (3.7 GPA, number of other academic accolades)

- Worked in Banking and now Private Equity for ~2 years, planning to apply when I hit the 3 or 4 year mark

I have no prior background in Computing, except for courses which I took in Middle and High School which I did well in. I am planning to start a number of IT ventures on the side however.

2 main questions: 1) is the degree an issue? and 2) anyone know of someone with a similar profile who has been admitted into a MS CS program?

Thanks.

3 year degrees can be an issue, depending on the school. Depending on the basis of the 3 year bachelor program, some schools may require a 3 year Bachelor degree to be supplemented by a masters degree or for you to take the equivalent of one year of undergraduate credits in order to obtain a masters. This is dependent upon the department and the school so you should check with the school and the department you are interested in.

[fuzzylogician]

3 year degrees can be an issue, depending on the school. Depending on the basis of the 3 year bachelor program, some schools may require a 3 year Bachelor degree to be supplemented by a masters degree or for you to take the equivalent of one year of undergraduate credits in order to obtain a masters. This is dependent upon the department and the school so you should check with the school and the department you are interested in.

Generally, just because in the US a 4-year degree is basically synonymous with a normal Bachelor's degree doesn't mean it's like that everywhere else. No one ever mentioned my 3-year BA as a problem of any sort. It's the usual length for a BA where I'm from and everybody understands that (in fact, we get three years of specialized classes in our major and US students only get two, so I really find it amusing when someone says the degrees aren't comparable). But yes, it's worth checking just in case there is a formal requirement so you don't waste money applying to a program whose reqs you don't meet.

Edited July 2, 2010 by fuzzylogician

[DrFaustus666]

I have a friend who tried to do that same thing. She had no background in CS (graduated from Berkeley in some other science major) and ended up with only a BS in CS at a nearby CSU.

There are a lot of prereq classes that you need to take for your graduate level courses. And those prereq classes are normally upper level undergrad CS classes which have lower level undergrad CS and Math classes as prereqs. You can probably see why she only received a BS in CS instead of a MS now.

You'd probably have to take the CS GRE to even have a shot at a top-ranked university.

Hi original poster,

See joro's post above. He/she has it absolutely correct. Even a BSCS is a major endeavor. Having taken 30 undergrad credit hours in CS as a non-degree-seeking student in a medium-high ranked university (for CS), I can tell you this is not something to enter lightly.

If you do have some informal CS background, that will be a plus, but there are some undergrad courses ("data structures", "computer architecture," etc., that are very difficult courses, even for the "normal" CS undergraduates who have all the lower level prerequisites. And those two courses, among others, would be absolute prerequisites for entrance into any respectable MSCS program, I would think.

So, I'd say, talk to a prof in CS and discuss your ideas. I'm not saying it's impossible for you, but I am saying it appears that you will be traveling upwards on a steep hill.

John

[krok]

I am just going to be frank. It will be impossible to get into a top-ranked MS CS program without any undergrad work in CS (like at least a minor). It just won't happen. As someone else mentioned you have to have undergrad classes in DS and algorithms, programming classes and a few others at a minimum. Even people with a BS in CS don't get into top-ranked MS CS programs because their undergrad curriculum or the classes they took in their CS programs were just not hard enough, etc (not all undergrad CS programs are created equal) so it's going to be impossible for someone with no undergrad work in CS to get into an MS CS program. It just won't happen unless you do a year or 2 of specialized CS courses and even then I wouldn't shoot for a top-ranked program.