How much does extracurricular matter for admission to PhD program in Computer Science?

Question

I graduated with a B.S. in "Computer & Information Sciences" from a small, insignificant liberal arts school. My overall CGPA was 3.86 and my major CGPA was 3.80. Average GPA, but I am worried about the quality of my studies, not the quantity. During my undergraduate studies I put just enough work into the CS classes to get the grade, and not any more. And I am guessing it is much harder to maintain such GPAs at state universities with more rigorous programs.

I have no extracurricular work to show: never participated in projects, and never done real research work.

Can I still apply to decent PhD programs? Will any PhD programs consider me seriously?

Thank you!

I should mention that I am not considering MS, because I am told it is a better choice to go for the PhD program directly if I am planning on getting it anyways, and there are more opportunities for full funding and stipends. — CDLee, Oct 08 '16 at 18:57
Although you are using the word "extracurricular" correctly according to the literal definition -- i.e., outside of the curriculum -- in practice the term "extracurricular" refers to non-academic activities (or academic clubs) done by students. If what you mean is that you have never participated in research projects, you should rewrite the question accordingly. Also, please search the site: a lot of questions like that have been asked before. — Pete L. Clark, Oct 08 '16 at 20:02
I've voted to close as a duplicate of a general question, but there are also many questions that address some of your more specific concerns. See e.g. How much research experience do US grad schools really expect from an undergraduate CS student?, How handicapped am I in graduate admissions if I graduated from a lower tier university?, and many others — ff524, Oct 09 '16 at 06:18
Having some work experience would help with having no extracurricular works done during undergrads. — Athif Shaffy, Mar 07 '17 at 04:40

How much does extracurricular matter for admission to PhD program in Computer Science?

0 Answers0