Seeking advice on transition to CS PhD program

[ThatWeirdLawyer]

I'm a lawyer. My undergrad major was not CS, math, or any hard science. I want to get a PhD in CS.

...

Has the laughter died down yet?

I did minor in CS. I also took two semesters of behavioral statistics and one of calculus, so I have at least heard of a logarithm, albeit quite some time ago. My overall UGPA was 3.96, and in CS it was 4.0. On GRE general, I got 170V/166Q/5.5W. I have a variety of law-related honors that seem unlikely to influence a CS admissions committee. I have research experience; unfortunately, it's in psychology (my undergrad major) and law. I have a very minor publication (think one step above a blog), but again, it's in (a computer-related aspect of) law.

I'm happy to take prerequisites to fill in the gaps, but I need to figure out how to do so without taking on debt (I feel guilty enough that I'll stop being the primary breadwinner of my household. Debt is simply not an option). My ideal scenario would be getting accepted to BU's MS/PhD program to start in January 2013 and taking any prereqs I'm missing during my first semester. Another option would be to apply to schools in or near Boston to start in fall 2013 and take a semester of prereqs somewhere like UMass Boston during the spring. But the way I've figured out to make this transition work financially involves working through the end of this year and, right when I leave my job, putting a big down payment on a small house. I can only buy a house if I know where I'll be going to school. And the obvious solution of continuing to work while taking prereqs in the evenings can't really be done at a law firm like mine.

The short version of why I'm doing all of this is that, personality-wise, I should be doing research and teaching, not litigating. If only I found law interesting enough to research, I would become a law professor. But the only subject that has ever engaged me enough to make me want to study it in the depth needed for an academic career is computer science. When I'm learning about an unfamiliar algorithm, there's a moment when I suddenly realize how it's going to work, and my heart rate actually increases, because I get so excited about how wonderfully clever it is. I don't get that in law.

I'm not going to ask what you think my chances are (I can only read "slim to none" so many times without it getting depressing), but I would appreciate any advice on how I can make this work. In particular, thoughts on how to work out the prereqs would be helpful. Also, do you think the CS GRE subject test will help? If so, any advice on how to prepare for it while working significantly more than full time? I'm taking the Coursera course on algorithms right now (and loving it), and I tracked down my old calculus textbook for when I finish that, as well as a PDF of Mathematics for Computer Science. I'd also appreciate your thoughts on the feasibility of eventually becoming a professor with a PhD from a school like BU, or one like Brandeis or Tufts.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[ssk2]

I think the CS GRE subject test would help significantly - especially without a background in Computer Science (i.e. having majored in it). From all the various admissions FAQs I've read, you sound like the exact sort of applicant who would benefit most from taking it. I did see a forum post somewhere on the internet with preparation advice so will try and track that down later.

I can't comment on the rest of your application but it sounds like you're driven enough. Since you already have a steady source of income and you're determined to go to graduate school, take some time (as long as necessary) to prepare your application (and in particular to prepare for the CS GRE) so that it's as strong as possible when you do apply. (I think that most people can strengthen their applications enough to get in to most places, it's just a question of will, time and money, the last two of which are luxuries which most students don't often have.)

[hzesen1222]

Oh wrong post. sorry!

Edited July 13, 2012 by hzesen1222

[Azazel]

I think the CS GRE subject test would help significantly - especially without a background in Computer Science (i.e. having majored in it). From all the various admissions FAQs I've read, you sound like the exact sort of applicant who would benefit most from taking it. I did see a forum post somewhere on the internet with preparation advice so will try and track that down later.

I can't comment on the rest of your application but it sounds like you're driven enough. Since you already have a steady source of income and you're determined to go to graduate school, take some time (as long as necessary) to prepare your application (and in particular to prepare for the CS GRE) so that it's as strong as possible when you do apply. (I think that most people can strengthen their applications enough to get in to most places, it's just a question of will, time and money, the last two of which are luxuries which most students don't often have.)

I agree. I almost never suggest that anyone take the CS GRE, but OP sounds like exactly the sort of applicant who might benefit from doing so (assuming a good performance).

I'm not going to ask what you think my chances are (I can only read "slim to none" so many times without it getting depressing), but I would appreciate any advice on how I can make this work.

Can you get in touch with your old CS professors? Letters of recommendation are the most important part of any PhD application. So if you want to get in to a good program, you should make your subgoal: "Get really good recs from one or two CS professors."

Of couse achieving this isn't easy. Is there some way to leverage your background in law? If you can find a law-related area of CS research, some (good/well-known) professors might be interested in taking you on as an RA. You can work for them as long as it takes to get a good rec (a year, maybe). Even if you have no intention of continuing research in that area, it might be a good way to bootstrap an application.

Your psychology research should also help a little bit, and you should try to get another letter from whoever you worked for. I don't think this sort of rec will greatly influence an admission committee, but it's still a great deal better than the "did well in class" recs that they see all the time.

Some of what I've said seems to conflict with your current plan. In particular, I wouldn't tie myself down to any particular region by buying property. You might also consider increasing your ambitions. There's no reason you can't go to a school like MIT/Stanford if you play your cards right. For instance, if you can find an MIT prof who's interested in having a lawyer as an RA (which doesn't really sound so absurd), that rec letter can turn into gold...

Hope this is somewhat useful.

Edited July 28, 2012 by Azazel