Any advice for a fall '13 applicant (computer science) making first contact with top choice school?

[sevyn731]

My younger brother is preparing for the fall 2013 application season and I thought it would be wise to begin by contacting a faculty member in the department he is interested in (Computer Science/Human Computer Interfacing).

He's worried (sometimes depressed) that his GPA is too low (3.1+) to get into ANY of the 'big name' schools he's interested in. I feel he has great potential considering the number of innovative projects he's taken on outside of class, his knowledge and passion for his chosen field, and his work experience. Not to mention I'm sure he'll ace the GRE as he has no difficulty taking tests and we've been studying daily to take it this summer. Honestly I don't want him to settle for less and not apply to his dream school(s) at all (as long as he has a good amount of safety schools to apply to).

Within the next week we'll be in Atlanta, and he's agreed to try to meet with a someone from his department of interest at Georgia Tech, but as I mentioned before, he should call or send an email requesting to meet with someone as opposed to just showing up.

Right now he's struggling with what to say/ask when he does finally make first contact.

Can anyone offer some advice?

[Eigen]

"Hi, I'm interested in graduate school in XX, and plan on applying to your Masters/PhD program this fall. I'll be in your area for XX reason next week, and I was wondering if it would be possible for me to meet with you to discuss your research?"

The main issue I see is that it's really short notice. Ideally, you'd have gotten in touch with them several weeks in advance. That said, encourage him to not put it off anymore, as the reception will be better the farther in advance it is.

Definitely don't just show up.

When I did this the summer before I applied, I contacted the DGS about a month ahead of time, and gave them a brief rundown of my "stats". They treated it pretty much like any other prospective grad student visit- met all day with different faculty, lunch with grad students, etc.

I doubt your brother will get something similar on such short notice, but he could probably find some faculty to meet with.

The other issue that I see is next week is likely smack in the middle of finals week for most schools, which means everyone will be busy, cranky and overworked.