Profile evaluation - graduating in 3 years

[tw11]

hello gradcafe!

I've been reading this forum for the past couple of days and found it quite the comments quite helpful. I figured I should join so maybe you guys can help me in determining my changes as well as any other advice.

I'm currently entering my third year at UChicago but due to high costs, I plan to finish in 3 years with a degree in CS and possibly math.

I want to apply to some big name schools and would prefer PhD over MS. My current list:

UIUC

Berkely

Stanford

CMU

Harvard

MIT

UNC:CH

I want to apply to some smaller schools too but would like to know my chances for these schools first

Some of my stats:

Current GPA: 3.85

Major gpa: 4.0

Requirement Engineering research at DePaul university for 3 summers with:

1 published paper (not main author)

1 paper in the works (main author but probably wont be published by the time I apply to schools this fall; can I still mention it??)

2 presentations at Argonne Undergraduate Symposium

1 part time internship at a small start up software company

I haven't taken the GRE yet but from what I've been reading, it doesn't make TOO big of an impact.

As far as the domain or field I wish to go in, I have no clue yet.

Besides my chances, I have the following questions:

1. Is graduating in three years going to hurt my chances a lot?

2. Would it be better to work for some time before applying to graduate school?

3. How beneficial would the additional math major be?

Thanks for any advice!!!

Edited July 29, 2010 by tw11

[UnlikelyGrad]

1 paper in the works (main author but probably wont be published by the time I apply to schools this fall; can I still mention it??)

If you've actually submitted it you can mention it. Anything earlier in the process, no.

I haven't taken the GRE yet but from what I've been reading, it doesn't make TOO big of an impact.

If your scores are lousy, it does have a big impact.

If your scores are fantastic (1550+) it will also have a big impact.

If they're mediocre, then people may not care.

As far as the domain or field I wish to go in, I have no clue yet.

Don't apply to grad school w/o knowing this! Really, if you don't have research interests that align with a faculty member's, you're unlikely to get in. If you have no research interests, you really shouldn't be doing a PhD.

If you still don't know what you want to do by fall, then I would say you should get some work experience first--maybe it will help you clarify what you do (or at least don't) like.

3. How beneficial would the additional math major be?

Depends what field of CS you're going into.

[timuralp]

UIUC

Berkely

Stanford

CMU

Harvard

MIT

UNC:CH

Really? Harvard? You need to pick carefully what field you're interested in. Most schools are good in some subfields and bad at others. I know that first hand about UIUC - great school rankings wise, but not very good when it comes to the field I'm in. This is true about every school - no school is great at everything.

I haven't taken the GRE yet but from what I've been reading, it doesn't make TOO big of an impact.

That is true. In fact, it has so little impact that a number of top schools don't even ask for it. The verbal score in particular has a pretty low bar. The quant part is easy and you really should get something above 700. No one cares if you get 800 on it or not.

1. Is graduating in three years going to hurt my chances a lot?

2. Would it be better to work for some time before applying to graduate school?

3. How beneficial would the additional math major be?

1. Shouldn't. There are people coming back to school in their 30s and 40s. I wouldn't worry about it.

2. You should. It is true that many (most?) grad students in CS apply without having any inkling about which area they're interested in, but it is useful to have some idea. At the very least you should identify a couple of fields you're interested and pick schools who have active research in the area with multiple professors.

3. Not very beneficial from what I heard from other professors. May be useful if you're pursuing Theory or Econ related things.

[OH YEAH]

I don't believe a 1550+ is going to make a big difference. You need to meet a threshold, but besides that, who cares. For what it's worth, you can be below the threshold. I was.

Here's what matters: recommendations, research, SOP. Graduating in 3 years puts you at a disadvantage because you will not have the recommendations or research that other students have (face it, they had an extra year to chum up with their profs and do research).

The Argonne symposium is not competitive, and unfortunately it won't really count towards your profile. If you did good work, the paper will count for a lot (your recommendations and SOP will describe the nature and importance of your work towards this project).

Spending some time working won't help your profile unless you get a job in which you do research. Nobody cares about your Java/.NET skills, and if you waste 2 years on that junk, you will be at a disadvantage compared to your peers. The other exception is if you are unsure about what you want to do, and your job would help you figure that out (again, should be a research-y job.)

Personally, I think you've got a good shot. But please--when applying to the University of California, spell it BERKELEY in your SOP!

Can I ask what field you want to go into? For example, UNC's reputation is mainly in graphics, and that doesn't seem to be what you are doing. For all of your schools, you should have your potential advisers picked out.

Edited July 30, 2010 by OH YEAH