Advice for my friend regarding CS grad school

[Mutou]

Hi guys,

I have a friend who is asking my advice regarding graduate school. He's determined to get into a top 10 or top 20 CS graduate program. However, his grades were not very good as a undergrad or a MS student, and he had to take some of the core CS courses multiple times to pass them. He also has low general and subject area GRE scores, and poor recommendations (as you would expect from his performance in his CS courses). He has little or no research experience.

I really think his situation is hopeless. If it were one of these things, he could fix the problems or make up for it, but his academic record as a whole is pretty bad. If he were lucky, he might get into a top 50 program, but even that might be lucky. He applied to one round of graduate schools this year, and refused to apply to anything under 20. He was rejected from all of them.

I'm his friend, and I'd like to help him, but I think academic life is not for him. He doesn't have the motivation or the ability, and I've never seen any interest on his part in research. I don't have any clue why he wants to become a professor. What do you guys think I should suggest to him? Should I be nice and let him waste more years trying to get into schools he won't get into, or should I just be truthful with him and let him stop his futile efforts and find a job?

Thank you for your help.
Mutou

[asquare]

I think your assessment of the situation is correct. Whether or not your relationship with him is such that you should or could deliver this information is a decision you have to make. And ultimately, he has to decide for himself if it is worth the struggle even though the chance of getting in seems low. He may prefer to try than to wonder what could have been. That's his right -- and strange things sometimes happen with admissions.

I think the best thing you could do for your friend is to help him find opportunities to see for himself the realities of his situation. Are you in a graduate program right now? If so, invite him to visit, sit in on a class, and talk with current students to see what the program's demands, and the backgrounds of current students, are like.

You could also collect admissions statistics to show your friend the range of GPAs and GRE scores for admitted students, though of course these offer only rough guidelines for his chances of admission. (And this sort of tedious research is really something he could do himself...)

You can also offer information about alternative careers that fit his interests and skills. If you know people who work in the IT industry, you could introduce your friend to them so that he can learn about other possible futures.

But probably the best thing you can do, as a friend rather than an advisor or professor, is to listen and ask questions, and support him through the process. Deciding what you want to do with your life is tough stuff!