2.68 GPA. Do I have a chance at any university?

[First]

I'm a computer engineering student at this ABET-accredited university in the middle east. I graduate in December 2016. I'm a US citizen.

A few months ago I was toying with the idea of doing a masters. During one of my courses I developed an interest in computer architecture and noticed that most jobs in the field require a masters or PhD. I asked a professor for a research opportunity. He agreed. A few days ago he got back to me and asked me if I was still interested in carrying out some research for him.

I have a 2.68 GPA. Major GPA and GPA over last 2 years are more or less the same. Grades in some of the relevant courses are C's.

I have an internship that will begin soon and probably help more than some research for landing a full time job for after I graduate. There's no use in turning down this internship opportunity for research unless I commit now to trying to get into a masters program. I'm planning on working on some projects related to computer architecture (hardware and software gameboy emulators) regardless but I don't think that will help. The only other thing I've got is competitive programming experience. I don't think that helps either.

My recommendation letters, I assume, would probably be good. Some professors know me from programming contests. I've done well in them.

Would doing any research this summer tip the scales in my favour? Would I have a chance of getting into a masters program at less selective universities? 

[rising_star]

Honestly, a summer of research isn't going to outweigh a GPA less than 3.0. You would probably be better off gaining work experience in the field and using that to show your commitment to doing research and pursuing a graduate degree. Trying to go straight from undergrad to grad school with minimal research experience and a low GPA is going to make it difficult to get into any program, even those that are less selective.

[First]

21 hours ago, rising_star said:

Honestly, a summer of research isn't going to outweigh a GPA less than 3.0. You would probably be better off gaining work experience in the field and using that to show your commitment to doing research and pursuing a graduate degree. Trying to go straight from undergrad to grad school with minimal research experience and a low GPA is going to make it difficult to get into any program, even those that are less selective.

Hmm... that's what I thought. 

I've noticed some schools like California State University Long Beach set their requirement at 2.7 for the last 60 credit hours. How selective do you think they are? Would I have a chance at universities with lower requirements?

If I choose to go into industry I assume I'd have to take a position that involves some sort of research if I plan on going to do masters after, right?

[rising_star]

Honestly, it won't matter whether or not the position involves the research. The key will be getting a job where you can use and further develop your CS skills. The idea is to distance yourself from your GPA through years of work, not necessarily to do some sort of cool research project while working.

You should be thinking about research fit, in addition to things like the GPA requirements of universities. Going to the only program that will take you only to discover that they don't do any research you're interested in would mean that the application process was a huge waste of both your time and your money.

[First]

32 minutes ago, rising_star said:

Honestly, it won't matter whether or not the position involves the research. The key will be getting a job where you can use and further develop your CS skills. The idea is to distance yourself from your GPA through years of work, not necessarily to do some sort of cool research project while working.

You should be thinking about research fit, in addition to things like the GPA requirements of universities. Going to the only program that will take you only to discover that they don't do any research you're interested in would mean that the application process was a huge waste of both your time and your money.

I see. Makes sense. Thanks for the advice!

[mteng]

On 04.07.2016 at 11:29 PM, First said:

I'm a computer engineering student at this ABET-accredited university in the middle east. I graduate in December 2016. I'm a US citizen.

A few months ago I was toying with the idea of doing a masters. During one of my courses I developed an interest in computer architecture and noticed that most jobs in the field require a masters or PhD. I asked a professor for a research opportunity. He agreed. A few days ago he got back to me and asked me if I was still interested in carrying out some research for him.

I have a 2.68 GPA. Major GPA and GPA over last 2 years are more or less the same. Grades in some of the relevant courses are C's.

I have an internship that will begin soon and probably help more than some research for landing a full time job for after I graduate. There's no use in turning down this internship opportunity for research unless I commit now to trying to get into a masters program. I'm planning on working on some projects related to computer architecture (hardware and software gameboy emulators) regardless but I don't think that will help. The only other thing I've got is competitive programming experience. I don't think that helps either.

My recommendation letters, I assume, would probably be good. Some professors know me from programming contests. I've done well in them.

Would doing any research this summer tip the scales in my favour? Would I have a chance of getting into a masters program at less selective universities? 

Dont worry yes you can but self-funded.if you demonstrate stellar performance,you can get assistanship 2nd term maybe.Try less selective schools and compensate your low undergraduate gpa with strong LOR,SOP and GRE(maybe you are not asked gre as you are us citizen and got your bsc from abet accredited university but take it)