Evaluate my chances for PhD (CS) admission

[Goku_Naruto]

Hello All,

I completed MS in computer science from University of Texas at Dallas with GPA: 3.97. I did B-Tech from Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology with GPA: 7.90/10.

 

I have two publications and I have worked in the position of Asst. Prof. for an year. I have four recommendations (one from India, Three from US), all are well known researchers.

 

My GRE score is low: (Verbal: 610          Quants: 730          AWA: 3.0)

 

I have applied to CALTECH, UC Berkeley, U of Michigan, U of Chicago, JHU for CS PhD program. So, what do you guys think about my chances, should I write GRE again?

 

I have a decent job offer but I am interested in first completing PhD and if I have very slim chance of getting into any of the mentioned schools then I will grab the offer. Please give me suggestions. Thank you ! 

[SANDIEGO]

I would re-take the GRE, as the quant score is on the low side. The writing is pretty low too, I'd try to get a 4. Your chances (as well as anybody else applying to those schools) for Caltech and Berkeley are obviously slim. You have a good chance at the rest IMO. If you re-apply I'd consider broadening the range of schools you apply to.

[Goku_Naruto]

I would re-take the GRE, as the quant score is on the low side. The writing is pretty low too, I'd try to get a 4. Your chances (as well as anybody else applying to those schools) for Caltech and Berkeley are obviously slim. You have a good chance at the rest IMO. If you re-apply I'd consider broadening the range of schools you apply to.

 

 

I would re-take the GRE, as the quant score is on the low side. The writing is pretty low too, I'd try to get a 4. Your chances (as well as anybody else applying to those schools) for Caltech and Berkeley are obviously slim. You have a good chance at the rest IMO. If you re-apply I'd consider broadening the range of schools you apply to.

 

Thank you ! The reason for me applying to only small number of schools is that I only applied to schools which gave me TOEFL waiver for having done MS from US. I didn't want to give TOEFL in Fall 2012 as I was completing my thesis at that time and didn't have one whole day to waste on TOEFL. 

About retaking GRE: I will definitely do that but only if I don't get admit from any school. Thanks again. 

[josefchung]

UC Berkeley is the top-ranked CS program (with Stanford/MIT/Carnegie Mellon), so it would be extremely difficulty for anyone to get in without a world-class potential in the field (and you most likely need letters of recommendations from faculty that the admission committee can recognize and respect).

 

Caltech and Michigan are near top-10 programs (11th and 13th respectively), so again it would be very difficult to get in to these programs without a great profile. Optimally, you'd want higher Q and AWA scores, but the recommendation letters are much more important for the top programs (along with research experience), so the scores have to be good, but they don't have to be stellar (750+ Q and 4.0+ respectively; the marginal returns decrease considerably afterwards).

 

Johns Hopkins is a mid-ranked program (28th), and based on the limited information you provided, I would say you have a decent shot for such mid-rank programs. The test scores are arguably more important for lower-ranked programs, so unfortunately, the GRE scores might hurt your chances here. 

 

If you will be applying again next year, I would strongly advise you to take the TOEFL and apply to more programs (2 reach, 4-6 at level, and 2 safeties). Keep in mind that even mid-ranked CS programs have close to single-digit admission rates, so it is not uncommon for a person with a good profile to get all rejects, even if they apply to more than 10 programs.

 

Best of luck in your applications!