Strange Undergrad Program

[puffin444]

Hello,

I am an undergraduate hoping to apply to grad school in CS for the upcoming fall. I came to college with a great deal of advanced placement and I would say 50% of my course program consisted of graduate courses from six or seven different departments. I learned a lot from these courses, and I think I have a very concrete idea of what I would want to research for a Ph.d. They have also given a very strong background for interdisciplinary work. However, this experience came at a price. It seems that, compared to undergrad classes, the grading in grad classes where I am from is quite arbitrary. Either the professors gave out A’s like candy or they graded on very fine distinctions. The result has been a lower gpa relative to a “typical” undergrad program, a 3.87 compared to what would probably be a 3.97, and some of the grad classes in subjects that I am interested in researching for my Ph.D. (Machine Learning, Neural Networks) have been A-/B+ instead of A’s. Again, this is not due to lack of intelligence or hard work, but do to the fact that some of these grad classes were graded on ultra-fine distinctions (missing one question on a test leads to a drop in the entire class grade).

1. Did this hurt me? Do the most competitive grad schools/fellowships make distinctions based on a tenth of a GPA no matter the course program? Keep in mind I come from a decent, but not elite, college (top 50 or so in CS).

2. Did this actually make me look good? Did taking these grad classes make me look like I have a strong work ethic and initiative?

3. Will this be taken into consideration? From what I know grad students are more interested in getting a 3.0 or above than getting straight A’s in each class.

4. Does this even matter? Will competitive grad schools/fellowships be more interested in my research experience? (I have substantial experience as well as publications)

[nvseal]

I don't think you really have anything to worry about. There are lots of phd students at top schools who don't have 4.0 GPAs and if you have a 3.87 with 50% graduate courses in your undergrad you should probably be fine. The graduate classes will probably help you to stand out from the other 3.8-3.9 GPA applicants. Add in a publication or two with some good rec letters and a good SOP and it sounds like you may have a decent shot at some top schools. Try looking CVs of students already there to compare your background with those who have already gotten in.

1) As I said, I don't think so. When you get to the very top schools, research and experience seem to matter more than GPA (so long as the GPA doesn't bring any red flags). 3.8 with good research > 4.0 with no research

2) Yes I think so.

3,4) It does matter as it makes you unique and will help you to stand out in the applicant pile. As I said in #1, research is most important but I can't imagine those grad classes not helping your chances as they give a whole new light to your GPA and will probably make you seem like less of a risk (the question of "can this person handle graduate work?" seems, at least to some extent, already answered).

Do you mean that you are interested in starting grad school this fall or applying this fall?

[puffin444]

I plan to apply this fall. Thanks for the reassurance. Some people kept telling

me that grad schools made distinctions on attributes as fine as tenths of a gpa, which sounds

quite arbitrary and draconian.

[OH YEAH]

1. Did this hurt me? Do the most competitive grad schools/fellowships make distinctions based on a tenth of a GPA no matter the course program? Keep in mind I come from a decent, but not elite, college (top 50 or so in CS).

Anything over a 3.5 is fine, nobody cares about your GPA....

2. Did this actually make me look good? Did taking these grad classes make me look like I have a strong work ethic and initiative? 3. Will this be taken into consideration? From what I know grad students are more interested in getting a 3.0 or above than getting straight A’s in each class.

I don't think anyone will care unless the class led to interesting research problems that you worked on.

4. Does this even matter? Will competitive grad schools/fellowships be more interested in my research experience? (I have substantial experience as well as publications)

No, it doesn't matter. Your research experience and, more importantly, what your letters of recommendation have to say about your research potential are the only things that matter.