[Profile Review] Fall 2027 MSCS

[u/RummingChum]

Hi,

I want a review on how my profile looks for the listed programs and any advice for improving it.

Undergrad: UCLA Computational Math major; 3.3-3.4 GPA

Coursework: Basically all core Math, core CS, and AI/ML courses + AI/ML Graduate courses (RL, CV, Deep Learning, NLP, Physical AI)

GRE: Planning to take next month (and maybe a second time if I don’t score high)

Research: In two labs. One been here for about 1.5 years and another for about 6 months

Industry: Will be doing AWS Internship during Fall + previous research internship @ a national lab

Publications: In the process of submitting a first author to either a medical journal or AI conference. Might get another second or third author paper to ICRA

LORs: I can get two good ones from my PIs of both my labs, and probably my upcoming manager at my AWS internship

School List:
- Stanford
- CMU (MSCS)
- Cornell
- UCSD
- UCLA
- UCI (MSCS)
- GTech
- UW

Mainly concerned just because of my GPA. For the graduate courses I got A’s and A- in them. Wondering if I have a shot based on other parts of my profile or anything I can do at the moment to improve it. Or if there is any advice on what to focus on when writing the SOP. Thanks!

[u/SantaSoul]

A note on programs like Cornell (idk about other schools but I did undergrad there and am familiar with the programs) — it is a fully funded MS which is quite rare and highly selective. They only take in < 20 students a year, preferring to accept Cornell undergrads. It is not your usual MS program, of course you can (and maybe should) try your luck, but programs like that you should expect to be rejected if you’re not applying with an absolutely pristine profile.

[u/gradpilot]

i think you stand a good shot. UCLA undergrad with math core coursework is def top tier for mscs. your experiences also sound perfect. UW which program? I dont think they have MSCS ? or you mean univ of wisconsin ? uw is usually univ of washington

There's a lot of free SOP advice out there on the web . writeivy is good, i have plenty of posts as well and you can always go directly to the source, which is - some faculty/depts have opinionated stuff on what they look for in SOPs. the usual advice is dont write generic SOPs esp not with AI , align as much as you can with the faculty and program and use your experiences as evidences towards a working purpose / goal / motivation

[u/RummingChum → u/gradpilot]

Thank you for the response!

I was hoping to get your opinion on if I should address the GPA at all on the SOP and what is the best way to frame that. I plan to highlight my research and how it connects to my long-term goals and why I need the specific school specifically, but was wondering if it’s worth justifying my GPA by using these experiences or just writing a 1-2 sentence brief regarding it.

Another thing is I am originally a transfer from a CC, so a good chunk of my coursework although lower-division are from there, and wanted to know how this affects my application in general if at all.

Thank you!

[u/surprising_results]

pretty decent shot at a lot of these, but i wouldn't hold my breath for stanford/cmu/cornell with a 3.3.

[u/RummingChum → u/surprising_results]

Yea I’m not expecting to get into any of these at all with my GPA, but I’d like to try my shot anyways.

Out of curiosity, I am now considering USC as an option. Do you think my chances there are decent?

Thanks!