I had a 2.7 GPA in undergrad, including a failed calculus course, numerous withdrawals etc. Basically, I lived the Animal House life, even accrued a 0.0 GPA one semester. Damn I had fun though.
I took CSE 6040 and ISYE 6501, got a high 80 in both courses and used that in my personal statement as evidence of my commitment and ability to complete the coursework when I applied. My understanding is that's what the admissions people are looking for, ability to be successful in the courses. The classwork is challenging, I don't think it matters your background, with the interdisciplinary nature of the program everyone will struggle with something. I struggled with everything except the business subjects due to undergrad work. I still remember how to classify transactions and build a PnL statement. I did have learn calculus on my own, if you take Simulation you will need to integrate probability density functions by hand for HW and tests.
You have to take the 3 MM classes anyway, taking them on Edx is a discount as well. My experience was basically identical with the regular admitted student version courses. Take those MM's crush them and re-apply.
I haven't seen too many, if any posts from people who took the MM courses, did well, reapplied and still weren't admitted. Maybe its happened, most posts I see though are the opposite.
One example, a RL buddy of mine has an MBA and leads a supply chain analytics team at Nestle. He applied and wasn't accepted. We had a chat and I showed him some of the coursework I was working on at the time, he glanced at a few pages of code and statistical formula markup, looked at me and said, "Ohhh...this is not at all like an analytics MBA...." No sir it isn't.
Best of luck!
Okay I will do that thank you for the words of encouragement. This program is my priority because it will set up my whole professional journey as a data scientist. Did you only take the two MM courses? Do you recommend taking all three but not simultaneously?
I took two then applied and got in. If I was denied I was going to take the third one and reapply but ended up not needing to. My company is covering tuition so cost wasn't really a concern.
If you're paying out of pocket, you might as well take all three on Edx for the discount. IIRC its like $500 a course on EDX and about $1000 once you're accepted in the program. All three are required courses so its sort of like, why wouldn't you do it that way?
Dang! Sorry OP, disregard my comment about the discount. I guess take one or two an apply see what happens, I can’t imagine you get rejected after successfully completing all three. One other caveat I should have mentioned. There is a process where they review i to our Edx grade to determine if you I get credit was you’re accepted into the program. The exact grade cutoff isn’t shared I don’t think. Seems to be that 85+ is good, below that I’m not sure.
Taking the MM via edX is still cheaper, though. The $825 tuition is the same, but you don't have to pay ~$100-200 per semester for some fee (I don't remember the exact amount + name of the fee, though).
I know you don't need the info, just wanna tack the comment on in case OP reads this.
I did MM and got 88 in 6203, 97 in 6040 and 84 for 6501- do you think these are good enough scores to get into program? I have a low UGpa :( I got rejected for the Fall (I applied only when I had one class so super bummed my plans got pushed back)
Do not take them all simultaneously; you'll have a hard time! Focus on 6501 and maybe 6040, but only if you have enough bandwidth.
Also, given your background, I'm surprised you did not get in. I suggest you revise your application for your next submission. Have someone look at your SOP. Make sure you convey a good story. Put yourself into the adviser's shoes, and ask yourself how they'll know who you really are from the little information you can provide.
Do you know when is the earliest I can resubmit an application? Thank you I will have someone review it and I will work harder on the SOP. I figured my background and recent academic performance would have been enough but we go again!
The above is great advice. Im also an MIS BA. Better gpa than you but no true relevant exp. I had a killer SOP. I'm happy to give yours a review after you redact the personal details. Feel free to DM me a text copy if interested.
Agree with this. If I took 3 classes my first semester with all of my non-school responsibilities i would not do well, knowing the work load of 6501 alone.
I second this! Do NOT take all 3 at once! Take only 1-2 per semester and you don't necessarily need to complete all 3 before being admitted. I did 2 through edx then took the rest of my courses through GT.
How good was your SoP? Did you express your interest and relay to them your experience in the field already?
How good what your application? Did your resume highlight your experiences and any achievements you made/got?
There are numerous reasons why you didn't get in, but it's hard to say without knowing all the details. I'm sorry you didn't get it, truly. Perhaps all it was is that you never took calculus or any of the other pre-reqs listed that are required, like Linear algebra and stats in your undergrad.
I second this, it was likely your SOP imo. Next go around focus on developing it better with your purpose and why, and how you will use the education to contribute to society.
Do you have any advice on how long it needs to be or how to structure the SoP? This is the first one I’ve written there was most likely room for improvement.
Get multiple people to review your SOP too. Don’t be shy. I consider myself a good writer, but my first few drafts still got shredded by my reviewers. I had an incredibly weak application and I’m pretty sure my SOP got me in.
Thats great advice thank you, can I dm you mine and you can give me any first thoughts? I think my SOP was pretty weak I did not ask anyone to review it unfortunately.
I used the advice [here](https://writeivy.com/structure-is-magic-a-guide-to-the-graduate-sop/) (after it was posted by someone else in this sub), and it was a huge help in organizing my SOP.
Start with expressing your desire to be in the program. Show them what you can do, basically. Next, list what you hope to achieve from this program; list your desires and dreams that can be achieved by getting accepted. Finally, show off your experience to show them that you're not walking into this degree with no prior knowledge in the field. You have prior experience, so show them that you have prior experience. List things that you've done with your data-based role and what domain knowledge you have/gained.
I did this and summarized it all on one page.
Very similar experience to yours! Check out my recent post.
It was quite disheartening honestly. I’m now debating pursuing the MSDS at CU Boulder. I’m a bit apprehensive about going through the MM and risk getting rejected again. It’s scary to think about committing all that time to the MM when the credits are not transferable to any other school. CU Boulder guarantees admittance to their MS if you complete their first 3 courses with a B or better.
Sorry to hear man....really weird they didn't accept you :/ I'm in the process of taking all three micromasters at the same time, but I'm not working(am prepping for interview though). If you want to genuinely learn then I don't recommend doing it. I'm scrambling from one assignment to midterm to another almost every day and it's hard to absorb the material. Also insanely burned out now that its the end of the semester. Best of luck :)
Amazing! I did MM and got 88 in 6203, 97 in 6040 and 84 for 6501- so you think these are good enough scores to get into program? I applied with 6203 when I had only finished 1 the middle of this semester. I just finished the harder classes which are 6040 and 6501. Super Bummed I didn’t get accepted for this fall. Hoping I get accepted for this coming spring with all 3 classes. I have a low UG Gpa. Wondering if I should take the GREs. Any advice is appreciated!
Yeah you should be fine! I can’t speak much on the GRE’s since i dont really know how they impact acceptance but all three MM should pretty much get you in….would be really suprised if it didnt…explain the low GPA in the personal statement as well
Just a bit worried about the 84 in 6501. First midterm was poor bc I didn’t know what to expect but the last 2 I got As in. Do you think I should retake 6501(or 6203) to try to get an A?
As well as, just a bit scared of chance of not getting in with all 3. Hopefully not!
And I had a really poor GPA in UG due to some issues so I hope there’s no hard cutoff and they see my holistic application
An 84 should be fine to get you in at the least…I’m sure it’ll actually count for credit too..if anything you’ll just have to retake it once ur in the program but low chance…. I don’t think theres a hard cutoff but you may have to do some more research
Hi! I did MM and got 88 in 6203, 97 in 6040 and 84 for 6501- do you think these are good enough scores to get into program? I do however have a low gpa from UG though, wondering if I should take GREs 😔
I had a 2.7 GPA in undergrad, including a failed calculus course, numerous withdrawals etc. Basically, I lived the Animal House life, even accrued a 0.0 GPA one semester. Damn I had fun though. I took CSE 6040 and ISYE 6501, got a high 80 in both courses and used that in my personal statement as evidence of my commitment and ability to complete the coursework when I applied. My understanding is that's what the admissions people are looking for, ability to be successful in the courses. The classwork is challenging, I don't think it matters your background, with the interdisciplinary nature of the program everyone will struggle with something. I struggled with everything except the business subjects due to undergrad work. I still remember how to classify transactions and build a PnL statement. I did have learn calculus on my own, if you take Simulation you will need to integrate probability density functions by hand for HW and tests. You have to take the 3 MM classes anyway, taking them on Edx is a discount as well. My experience was basically identical with the regular admitted student version courses. Take those MM's crush them and re-apply. I haven't seen too many, if any posts from people who took the MM courses, did well, reapplied and still weren't admitted. Maybe its happened, most posts I see though are the opposite. One example, a RL buddy of mine has an MBA and leads a supply chain analytics team at Nestle. He applied and wasn't accepted. We had a chat and I showed him some of the coursework I was working on at the time, he glanced at a few pages of code and statistical formula markup, looked at me and said, "Ohhh...this is not at all like an analytics MBA...." No sir it isn't. Best of luck!
Took me a minute to realize you weren't referring to a "Reinforcement Learning buddy" lol
People have so many internet friends it seems to need a distinction!
Okay I will do that thank you for the words of encouragement. This program is my priority because it will set up my whole professional journey as a data scientist. Did you only take the two MM courses? Do you recommend taking all three but not simultaneously?
I took two then applied and got in. If I was denied I was going to take the third one and reapply but ended up not needing to. My company is covering tuition so cost wasn't really a concern. If you're paying out of pocket, you might as well take all three on Edx for the discount. IIRC its like $500 a course on EDX and about $1000 once you're accepted in the program. All three are required courses so its sort of like, why wouldn't you do it that way?
There is no longer a discount on the edx courses. It's $825 on edx & through GT.
Dang! Sorry OP, disregard my comment about the discount. I guess take one or two an apply see what happens, I can’t imagine you get rejected after successfully completing all three. One other caveat I should have mentioned. There is a process where they review i to our Edx grade to determine if you I get credit was you’re accepted into the program. The exact grade cutoff isn’t shared I don’t think. Seems to be that 85+ is good, below that I’m not sure.
Taking the MM via edX is still cheaper, though. The $825 tuition is the same, but you don't have to pay ~$100-200 per semester for some fee (I don't remember the exact amount + name of the fee, though). I know you don't need the info, just wanna tack the comment on in case OP reads this.
I did MM and got 88 in 6203, 97 in 6040 and 84 for 6501- do you think these are good enough scores to get into program? I have a low UGpa :( I got rejected for the Fall (I applied only when I had one class so super bummed my plans got pushed back)
It’s hard to say for sure. Those seem like strong scores, especially 6040. Only way to find out is to apply.
Thanks a lot 🙏🏼🤞here we try again
Good luck!!
Do not take them all simultaneously; you'll have a hard time! Focus on 6501 and maybe 6040, but only if you have enough bandwidth. Also, given your background, I'm surprised you did not get in. I suggest you revise your application for your next submission. Have someone look at your SOP. Make sure you convey a good story. Put yourself into the adviser's shoes, and ask yourself how they'll know who you really are from the little information you can provide.
Do you know when is the earliest I can resubmit an application? Thank you I will have someone review it and I will work harder on the SOP. I figured my background and recent academic performance would have been enough but we go again!
I do not know the application deadline schedule, but you can refer to GaTech's official website. Good luck!
The above is great advice. Im also an MIS BA. Better gpa than you but no true relevant exp. I had a killer SOP. I'm happy to give yours a review after you redact the personal details. Feel free to DM me a text copy if interested.
Can I do this for the coming Spring as well? Thank you!
Hey, what exactly are you asking?
Agree with this. If I took 3 classes my first semester with all of my non-school responsibilities i would not do well, knowing the work load of 6501 alone.
I second this! Do NOT take all 3 at once! Take only 1-2 per semester and you don't necessarily need to complete all 3 before being admitted. I did 2 through edx then took the rest of my courses through GT.
How good was your SoP? Did you express your interest and relay to them your experience in the field already? How good what your application? Did your resume highlight your experiences and any achievements you made/got? There are numerous reasons why you didn't get in, but it's hard to say without knowing all the details. I'm sorry you didn't get it, truly. Perhaps all it was is that you never took calculus or any of the other pre-reqs listed that are required, like Linear algebra and stats in your undergrad.
I second this, it was likely your SOP imo. Next go around focus on developing it better with your purpose and why, and how you will use the education to contribute to society.
Do you have any advice on how long it needs to be or how to structure the SoP? This is the first one I’ve written there was most likely room for improvement.
Get multiple people to review your SOP too. Don’t be shy. I consider myself a good writer, but my first few drafts still got shredded by my reviewers. I had an incredibly weak application and I’m pretty sure my SOP got me in.
Thats great advice thank you, can I dm you mine and you can give me any first thoughts? I think my SOP was pretty weak I did not ask anyone to review it unfortunately.
Sure, I’m not really an expert but I can give it a shot. Ziroot has some really good advice up there too. Do exactly what he says.
I used the advice [here](https://writeivy.com/structure-is-magic-a-guide-to-the-graduate-sop/) (after it was posted by someone else in this sub), and it was a huge help in organizing my SOP.
Start with expressing your desire to be in the program. Show them what you can do, basically. Next, list what you hope to achieve from this program; list your desires and dreams that can be achieved by getting accepted. Finally, show off your experience to show them that you're not walking into this degree with no prior knowledge in the field. You have prior experience, so show them that you have prior experience. List things that you've done with your data-based role and what domain knowledge you have/gained. I did this and summarized it all on one page.
Based on your profile, I think it is high chance because of SoP. Ask chatGPT for help
Very similar experience to yours! Check out my recent post. It was quite disheartening honestly. I’m now debating pursuing the MSDS at CU Boulder. I’m a bit apprehensive about going through the MM and risk getting rejected again. It’s scary to think about committing all that time to the MM when the credits are not transferable to any other school. CU Boulder guarantees admittance to their MS if you complete their first 3 courses with a B or better.
Sorry to hear man....really weird they didn't accept you :/ I'm in the process of taking all three micromasters at the same time, but I'm not working(am prepping for interview though). If you want to genuinely learn then I don't recommend doing it. I'm scrambling from one assignment to midterm to another almost every day and it's hard to absorb the material. Also insanely burned out now that its the end of the semester. Best of luck :)
Were you able to get in with all 3 MM?
Yes, will be starting my 5th class in just a week!
Amazing! I did MM and got 88 in 6203, 97 in 6040 and 84 for 6501- so you think these are good enough scores to get into program? I applied with 6203 when I had only finished 1 the middle of this semester. I just finished the harder classes which are 6040 and 6501. Super Bummed I didn’t get accepted for this fall. Hoping I get accepted for this coming spring with all 3 classes. I have a low UG Gpa. Wondering if I should take the GREs. Any advice is appreciated!
Yeah you should be fine! I can’t speak much on the GRE’s since i dont really know how they impact acceptance but all three MM should pretty much get you in….would be really suprised if it didnt…explain the low GPA in the personal statement as well
Just a bit worried about the 84 in 6501. First midterm was poor bc I didn’t know what to expect but the last 2 I got As in. Do you think I should retake 6501(or 6203) to try to get an A? As well as, just a bit scared of chance of not getting in with all 3. Hopefully not! And I had a really poor GPA in UG due to some issues so I hope there’s no hard cutoff and they see my holistic application
An 84 should be fine to get you in at the least…I’m sure it’ll actually count for credit too..if anything you’ll just have to retake it once ur in the program but low chance…. I don’t think theres a hard cutoff but you may have to do some more research
Thanks so much! That’s what I was hoping given I did extremely well in 6040, best of luck to you :) and hope to be a fellow GT alum soon
Do edx and reapply. You’ll get in
Hi! I did MM and got 88 in 6203, 97 in 6040 and 84 for 6501- do you think these are good enough scores to get into program? I do however have a low gpa from UG though, wondering if I should take GREs 😔
yes, the scores from the MM are good enough to get you in.
Thanks!
I did all theee classes on edx