MSc engineering with abysmal GPA; 1 US patent (first inventor); 5 SPIE publications (first author)

[hopeful101]

Okay; I've been out of undergrad for 10 yrs now; got a BSc in computer engineering, really partied in college, I mean really; I showed up for labs only; my GPA is a solid 2.0. I've been in the workforce for the past 10 yrs, I have a stellar resume; I managed to get an algorithm patented (while working leading CPU manufacturer) and I've published almost every year at SPIE for the past 6-7 years, almost always as a first author on the papers. Basically I know I'm not an idiot.

I've hit a personal low in my life, rock bottom that is, and I've decided the only way to pull myself back up is to do what I've wanted to do a long time ago but couldn't because of my crappy GPA.

I managed to score a 160 on the prepsoftware practice quant GRE and 156/4 on verbal.

I need some advice and honest opinion about my chances of getting into a MSc program. I do have the means to apply to 50 schools if that's what'll take.

Cheers

Yoda

[heyo]

If it's something you want to do, go for it! I would seriously doubt you'd be rejected because of your GPA from 10 years ago considering everything you have been doing in the meantime, though I'm only an applicant myself.

[Crucial BBQ]

Grad school is all about research, even at the Masters level.  An applicant's GPA and GRE scores do not tell the admissions committee of your capabilities as a researcher; only that you test well. Keep in mind that unlike undergrad admissions, graduate school admissions are conducted by actual professors who are more than aware that there are usually more than one way to earn a grade in a course; that some profs are more lenient than others, and so on.  I wouldn't worry about your GPA.

 

You have a stellar resume, and a patent.  Those will definitely give you a leg up and trump your low GPA everyday of the week even at the best programs.  

 

By the way, properly labeling your GPA shows your level of maturity, which is leaps and bounds above current and recent undergrads who moan and groan all day long about how their lives are over because of their "abysmally low" GPA of "only" 3.7.  

 

You should be just fine.

Edited January 18, 2014 by Crucial BBQ