Liu: How I Got Into CS Grad School With a Low GPA

“The admissions committee isn’t judging your low GPA, they’re judging whether you have the capacity to complete and excel in the program.”

Liu is a current MSCS student at Stevens Institute of Technology. She graduated from George Washington University with a Bachelor’s in Mathematics. During college, she also studied Philosophy for three years and pursued an Accountancy minor. With a background in philosophical logic and model theory, Liu’s academic and research interests sit at the intersection of logic, computability, formal methods, and artificial intelligence. Her previous professional experiences span finance, risk management, accounting, and tax. In 2025, Liu earned admissions to three schools and received $30,000 scholarships in total. Her interests include printmaking, playing Euphonium, scuba diving, and Balboa dancing.

Thank you so much for doing this with us, Liu! Before we talk about applications, can you tell us a bit about your background? What led you to your academic career path?

I started working immediately after I graduated in January. I was working as a full-stack accounting and tax professional for an NPO at the time. I didn’t directly apply to grad programs because I had a low GPA. I was talking myself down even though I always thought about pursuing higher degrees.

On April 12th, which I remember clearly, I was told by my family that if I didn’t apply to grad school, they’d force me to go back to my home country, but I had already lived in the States for ten years. At the time, most programs were already past deadlines, and the few that were still accepting applications all had deadlines on April 15th or some time in May. So, with fear due to my low GPA, I started preparing right away and found your resources on Reddit.

What inspired you to pursue Computer Science? It sounds like you had a somewhat atypical background, no?

My passion really lies in logic and formal methods. I took all the logic courses that my college’s Philosophy Department and Mathematics Department ever offered. At the end of college, I was introduced to Computability. Later, I also self-studied Dynamic Epistemic Logic. So, with the time crunch, I tried to figure out what field logic would actually be applied in. Obviously, there are programs specifically for Logic and/or Computation, but due to the field being niche, there are only PhD programs. I had taken a Python class in college and felt that there was some applied logic, although not directly the symbolic logic that I’m really interested in. I decided to apply to programs in Computer Science and with a concentration in Machine Learning and/or Artificial Intelligence.

What then do you envision for your future career, or your research?

I have an ambitious dream about doing formal methods work in CS/ML. It would be in systems’ explainability, reliability, and safety. So, I envision my future career or research will make machines and systems safer and more transparent.

Is there a particular person or teacher who you are grateful towards who helped you get to this point? Can you share a story about that?

Many were truly appreciated for their help and companionship alongside my journey. But, I had to do the applications by myself, and I’m thankful for having found your materials.

That’s too kind, Liu! How about this: Is there a book, class, or lesson that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

I think this may have become cliche for people interested in Logic (haha). But it’s a book called Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter. I read the book when it was taught jointly by my Astronomy teacher and Philosophy teacher in high school. The book is organized in such an interesting way that weaves together mathematics, logic, physics, patterns, recursion, self-reference, and music.

 

MCSC Admissions and Overcoming Weaknesses in Your Profile

Can you share a story of a challenge you faced or observed in CS and how you overcame it?

I’ll talk about an issue I faced at work and that’s something that prompted the narrative in my SOPs. Most of the financial models are built with historic data, so you can imagine when things like Covid or Red Sea Shipping happened, every model was skewed and predictions became incorrect. At the time, we had to manually adjust the data and model input. I don’t know if this is solved at large.

So, this was a problem you faced at work, and you decided to make this the entire focus of your applications: learning how to solve this problem? Or help others solve it? Is that right? (If so, it’s a wonderful strategy!)

Yes—in my SOPs, I deliberately used that work challenge as the central narrative thread. The experience of seeing financial models fail during crises became the challenge I wanted to learn to solve. This shaped and centered my purpose statement, study plan, and program fit around building resilient, adaptive systems.

That is amazing, Liu, and in my opinion a 100% perfect application strategy! But in terms of that strategy, let me ask: what was the biggest obstacle you faced—or that you think others face—in applying to degree programs in your field?

There were two things that I thought were the obstacles. The first was my low GPA. I searched on the Internet, but everyone seemed to have normal GPAs, and everyone seemed to still complain about their normal GPAs that I wished I had. The second was that I was applying to a lot of Machine Learning intensive programs where they assume you’re fluent in some coding languages, but I had little experience in coding.

[Editor’s Note: Liu is the second student in this series who achieved success in a coding-heavy field with little experience in coding. Check out Ianne’s interview for a very similar story at the PhD level!]

Would you mind telling us more about your GPA situation? Obviously, this is something that causes anxiety for a lot of applicants out there.

Sure. My overall GPA was 2.36 and my major GPA was 3.3, the latter of which truly shows my dedication. During college, I had to manage and overcome domestic violence, a family member’s political arrest, and multiple chronic illnesses. In my opinion, simply graduating was a win for me and in my situation.

Oh no, Liu. I can’t even imagine. That really is a win, and you’re amazing for overcoming all this. I don’t want to pry, but may I ask what you think most helped you accomplish your profound success, despite these harrowing obstacles?

I really do think it was your materials. I read through your comments on any Reddit posts about applying with a low GPA and made a folder out of those comments. I also read through the MS SOP guide and some relevant success stories. I took pages of notes in a Google Doc to write in my own words how I should structure the SOPs. In every section, I would put in sample sections posted on your website to clarify what they look like in practice.

Liu—you’re truly one of the most methodical students I’ve ever seen, and you deserve your success 100%. Following on this, what was the most difficult thing about writing your application essays? Or, what do you think other applicants really need to know about them?

I do think the most difficult thing was my mental obstacle. It was me telling myself that it’s impossible to get in any programs with my low GPA. However, that’s not the point at all. The admissions committee wants to see that you have proof and that you are a mature scholar, and you really need to build your narrative to that instead of defending why you had such a low GPA.

[Editor’s Note: This is precisely the strategy I explain in this recent blog post!]

Were any WriteIvy articles or resources particularly helpful for you in this regard?

The MS SOP guide, your Reddit replies to topics of my interest, and your articles on successful sample SOPs for programs similar to mine.

Do you have any advice for future applicants (about their essays, overcoming adversity…anything) that should probably seem obvious…but isn’t? Or, can you think of any aspects of the application that might be more important than they seem at first?

If you have a low GPA and are scared of applying because of that, you need to apply and trust the structure that Jordan has put out. The admissions committee isn’t judging your low GPA, they’re judging whether you have the capacity to complete and excel in the program. You bring forward your best and most relevant narrative to the latter.

In my case, I talked in detail about specific problems I faced at work to show that I’m a professional, first and foremost. I carefully related the program, choice of courses, and professors with how I’d utilize them to solve the issues at hand. Lastly, I talked about my academic journey, passions, and interests to bring forward a stabilizing academic narrative. I spent the least words addressing my GPA.

May I ask how exactly you phrased this GPA issue in your SOP?

It was brief. I provided evidence of the medical and life difficulties I faced during my academics, but WITHOUT addressing any other details such as how I was affected by them. Instead, I ended with positive sentiments regarding my personal characteristics.

One Thing Liu Thinks Every Student Should Know About Grad Admissions

It really isn’t worth the time applying to programs you think of as “safeties,” but know you aren’t likely to enroll in.

Are there any particular types of students whom you’d like to inspire? What advice would you give them?

Really, anyone with a low GPA who is self-doubting about applying for grad programs. I would give them the same advice I’ve given above.

You are an unusually talented person, Liu. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know who you might inspire.

My heart has always been with people who have gone through or are going through domestic violence. I volunteered at a gender equality and anti-domestic violence NGO for over half a decade. I don’t need to inspire a movement, but I will be already happy with anyone that I can reach, care for, and assist.

You’re amazing, Liu. Thank you so much for your candidness and generosity! We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

 

Key Takeaways

Liu’s story is proof that a low GPA, even within tremendous life difficulties, doesn’t have to be a dealbreaker—not even close. With only weeks to prepare, limited coding experience, and a GPA that made her question whether she should even apply, she still earned three MSCS acceptances and $30,000 in scholarships. Her magnificently methodical approach and refusal to let self-doubt sabotage her applications is exactly what every anxious applicant needs to see.

But more than that, Liu’s advice cuts straight to the heart of what makes applications work:

• Don’t defend your past. Justify your future: Exactly as Liu said, the admissions committee isn’t judging your GPA. They’re judging whether you have the capacity to complete and excel in the program. Sell that capacity. Tell the best story you can to prove that you can do the work.

• Professional experience counts—a lot: In her SOP, Liu discussed in brilliant detail the specific problems she’d faced at work to show that she was a professional first and foremost. Then she carefully explained how the program, its courses, and its professors would teach her to solve those real-world issues.

• Build a coherent academic narrative: Even with an atypical background (Philosophy, Math, Accounting), Liu wove her academic journey, passions, and interests into a story that made sense to admissions committees.

• Skip the “safety” schools: If you know you won’t enroll somewhere, don’t waste your time and money applying. Focus your energy on programs you actually want to attend.

The most important thing? Liu spent the fewest possible words addressing her GPA. She kept it brief, then moved on to proving she was ready for graduate-level work. That’s the psychological frame of a truly purposeful scholar, and it’s the strategy that wins.

Deepest gratitude to Liu for sharing her story with us! If you’re sitting there right now with a low GPA, questioning whether you should even bother applying—read this interview again. Then go apply.

Want more stories from students who overcame the odds? Read our other interviews here!