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Masters in computer M.eng

S

See.B.1

Member
Apr 7, 2018
11
2
Hi. I am from pakistan with bachelors degree in computer science from comsats. My cgpa is 2.77 which is 73%. In many other unis 3.1 would be 73%, but our university gives A at 90% and most students have lower GPAs when comparing with some other local unis.
Now I want to apply to a professional masters degree. I also have a work experience in my field of 3years and some good recommendations from professors as well.

what are my chances getting admitted in some good schools such as ubc, mcmaster or mcgill.
Some other options I’m looking at are simon fraser and Concordia university.
Can someone please guide me here, should I spend my time looking into good schools or apply straight to mid ranked unis.
And what can I do to improve my application apart from sop, recommendations and ielts.
 
Impatient Dankaroo

Impatient Dankaroo

VIP Member
Jan 10, 2020
4,382
2,671
First and most important thing is to get a Degree evaluation service to convert your score that would be be equivalent in Canada. Ask your intended school to be sure but WES is a good one. I am not familiar with your country's percentage but 2.77 is extremely poor in Canada (and US). Most decent universities require 3.0 mostly 3.3 especially the ones you have mentioned.

so things for you to do:
Degree evaluation/conversion (WES, etc)
Look up requirements on universitie admission requirements
start studying for the gmat/gre - This is your best bet to offset your GPA. if you can get 700+ you will have a great chance anywhere.

good luck
 
S

See.B.1

Member
Apr 7, 2018
11
2
tapperb said:
First and most important thing is to get a Degree evaluation service to convert your score that would be be equivalent in Canada. Ask your intended school to be sure but WES is a good one. I am not familiar with your country's percentage but 2.77 is extremely poor in Canada (and US). Most decent universities require 3.0 mostly 3.3 especially the ones you have mentioned.

so things for you to do:
Degree evaluation/conversion (WES, etc)
Look up requirements on universitie admission requirements
start studying for the gmat/gre - This is your best bet to offset your GPA. if you can get 700+ you will have a great chance anywhere.

good luck
Click to expand...
Gmat/Gre are actually not required and in most cases wont affect my application for the programs I’m applying to(as far as Ive researched).
I called up Simon Fraser though. They said from Pakistan I need a minimum of 60% marks as minimum requirements and that my 73% marks are enough to apply for their programs. I’m still a little confused. How can people in Canada require so much gpa even for lower ranked schools.

Link: https://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/future/international-applicants/academic-requirements/pakistan.html
 
S

See.B.1

Member
Apr 7, 2018
11
2
tapperb said:
Must be different grading systems. I'm guessing it's really hard to get top grades in Pakistan?
Click to expand...
Not necessarily I would say. But the topper in our batch had a 3.55cgpa. You can get a gold medal by the university for anything above 3.5. In a lot of CS batches in my class only around 25% of the students get above 2.7cgpa. 3+ is around 10-15%. So Anything above 70% is considered good. How common is 3.3gpa in canada?
 
Impatient Dankaroo

Impatient Dankaroo

VIP Member
Jan 10, 2020
4,382
2,671
3.3 is not hard to get at all provided you are in the top 25% of classes, attend classes and get a B+ average. What is really hard is to get over 3.7 which means getting A (93+) or A-(87+) on every class.
 
S

See.B.1

Member
Apr 7, 2018
11
2
tapperb said:
3.3 is not hard to get at all provided you are in the top 25% of classes, attend classes and get a B+ average. What is really hard is to get over 3.7 which means getting A (93+) or A-(87+) on every class.
Click to expand...
One bad point is that I had one backlog which then I cleared with good marks. Apart from that only one D in the entire degree which In would consider bad. Apart from that I have pretty decent grades.
Now that I remember even in the classes where I was the topper, I never got a 4gpa. It was always 3.7(85%) and thats for someone who is at the top. But overall I was always at the top 20% of my class and now have a substantial work experience as well in my profession as a software engineer with some pretty decent companies. I’m even working at a career portal software thats being used at top unis such as harvard and UC berkley among others.
Secondly I have some good recommendations. One from the head of dept for CS at my college, another from an assistant professor and also my current employer.
I think if my gpa falls short I can cover up with my sop and references and at least manage to get into mid ranked unis in Canada
 
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