Evaluate chances for top 30 CS PhD schools

[cabby]

I have high stats for GPA and GRE, but not too much research experience and no published papers. I want to get into a good PhD program.

Undergrad GPA 3.9 at a top 15 CS program

Master's GPA 3.8 at a top 5 CS program

GRE Math 800, Verbal 660, Writing 5.0

A req from one famous professor in my area, but it will only talk about course projects in my area of interest and our interactions in the course, not incredibly significant results

A req form another pretty famous professor, also talking about course projects in my area of interest

A req from a lecturer whose course I tutored and know very well. It is a very positive letter about my attitude, drive, and the impact I made on his course, which is not in my area of interest

I have done a summer internship on the research team of a silicon valley company, but I'm not getting a letter from them. I will mention this internship in my statement. Although I was on the research team, I didn't get a lot of actual research experience, I was used more as a programmer.

What chance do I have of getting into a top 30 school? Top 20? 10? Also, which schools in California do you think I should apply to if my area of interest is computer vision? What are my chances of getting into these? Currently I'm planning on applying to many schools because I'm not sure what to expect. I could maybe cut down on the number if someone could give me some insight into this.

Thanks so much!

[BKMD]

I don't know enough about the admissions process to say what your chances are, but it seems like you have a decent chance. I know they usually look for research experience so this is a drawback, but your exceptional GPA and the fact that you have a masters should help a lot. They probably do need to see evidence of research ability so I think you'll need to make a strong effort to convince them of this in your essays - try to come up with somewhat specific research ideas and how you would solve them, and be specific about the professors you're interested in at each school.

Computer vision in California... I think UC Irvine is good. Stanford/Berkeley as well but of course they are hard to get into.

[joro]

I think you have a good shot at a top 20 to 30 school at least. Without any kind of research experience, I'm not too sure you could get into any top 10 school (though I would still give it a shot if I were in your shoes). As an undergrad you could have probably got by without any real research experience, but they usually expect more research experience from those with a MS.

[HappyGaucho]

I think you have a good shot at a top 20 to 30 school at least. Without any kind of research experience, I'm not too sure you could get into any top 10 school (though I would still give it a shot if I were in your shoes). As an undergrad you could have probably got by without any real research experience, but they usually expect more research experience from those with a MS.

I relied heavily on Gradcafe last year and didn't see much love for UCSB. I am extremely happy here, the department is very energetic, and is receiving more recognition lately. Take a look at our 4 eyes lab to see if you have any interest. Application deadline is around the corner but take a look at http://www.cs.ucsb.edu/common/wordpress/?p=998