Please advise - really low GPA

[toofaan]

Can you please help me evaluate my profile, and give me some advice? I'm hoping to do MS in Computer Science from a US university

 

Undergrad: From top college in India in Electrical Engineering

Undergrad GPA: 2.12 (Low to the point it may not meet the minimum GPA cutoff for some universities)

Work Experience: 5.5 years in a renowned IT Consulting company (half of experience in US). Mostly software design and development experience. Can expect good LORs.

GRE: Not written yet, but am confident of a good score.

 

Can you please suggest if I have any chance of getting admit into a decent school?

Also, is there anything I can do to enhance my profile, including try to work on a CS project on the side?

 

Thanks!

[jjduval]

Hey, guy, let me pitch in and give you a preview of what most everyone is going to tell you:

 

1. Your GPA is very low, and it's good that you're self-aware enough to understand that it's going to be your biggest challenge when you apply to any university over here. It will raise a very red flag, and you'll have to do a lot of work to take focus away from it.

 

2. Your work experience is going to be extremely helpful. I guess you're about 5 years removed from your last university class? If so, you have that advantage. The further away you are from a lousy GPA, the less weight it will hold when the admission committees are combing through your application.

 

3. You most certainly have a chance to get into a great university. You have to put a lot of focus on everything that isn't your GPA, though. So, do your damndest to get a high GRE score (know which universities you're interested in? Many will have the median GRE score of incoming candidates), get some LORs that can amplify your most important messages (do you want the schools to know how bright you are, despite your uGPA? Make sure that your LOR writers make note of how intelligent you are, etc.), write an outstanding Statement of Purpose, etc.

 

4. Anything you can do to show determination and capability in your field (CS project, etc) will definitely boost your candidacy. 

 

I'm applying for an MA in International Relations, but am in the same exact boat as you are. I've only been in the workforce for 3 years, so you've got me beat, bro. Look for other advice, but I bet that everything you'll read will be somehow related to what I wrote above.

 

Good luck. You are a contender.

[latin]

Another recommendation:

 

For schools that receive a large number of applications, you won't even be looked at during the main review based on your scores. At my university once all of the applications are in, they sort by GPA & GRE scores before sending out a list of applicants to professors for review. 

 

To avoid this: E-mail professors left and right. They aren't going to see your application when it comes through the main review cycle, so you need to e-mail them far ahead of time, so that they are looking for your application. This is where your years of experience come in. Write an amazing introduction e-mail to POIs, and try to get a conversation going to make them excited for your application at least 3-4 months before the application deadline. Once the conversation is going, you can tell them all about the amazing projects you have done since graduation.