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(on leave from the CS Ph.D. program at Stanford)copying this answer from my own webpageMany people write to me asking about admission to the Computer Science department here at Stanford University. I had many of the same questions when I was applying and others were kind enough to answer my questions. It's not possible for me to answer individual questions by e-mail but if you have a question and e-mail me, I am happy to post the answer here so that everyone can benefit. This page does not constitute official policy but the reflections of one student who is no longer involved in making admissions decisions. I believe that my answers apply beyond Stanford but there is a sharp drop-off in what admission committees expect after the top 10 schools so plan accordingly.Q. How are admissions decisions made?A. For the M.S. program, typically two professors and/or current M.S. students will individually review your application and assign you a numeric score. How they do that is up to them and scores are informally normalized. If your application is especially weak, you may be rejected without review. If both reviewers feel that your application is weak, you will not receive further consideration. If, on the other hand, both reviewers find that you are highly qualified, you will be admitted without further review. Most admits fall into neither of these categories and are discussed by a committee of several professors.Thus you should be careful to distinguish between the administrative staff who will prepare your file and the reviewers who will actually read it. Your application will be reviewed quickly so take care to be clear and concise. Submit all necessary documents in a timely fashion. I suggest including self-addressed, stamped postcards with everything you submit so that you can know that your documents were received by the receipt of your own postcard. The admissions committee will never see such things and an incomplete file is the quickest path to rejection. It is your responsibility to make sure your file is complete.Q. What kind of GRE scores do I need to be admitted?A. Your GRE scores will not substantially influence your chances for admission unless you do poorly on them. A Math score of 750 or higher is adequate and an 800 is best. More leeway is given for the English and Writing sections. A score of 600 or above (and something comparable on the Writing) is needed and 700 is considered good. Higher scores will attest to your writing ability and are especially helpful if you are applying from abroad. If your application is otherwise strong, you will not be disqualified on the basis of GRE scores alone.I suggest you spend considerable time and effort preparing for the GRE until you are confident you can get the 800 / 700 as mentioned above. You're probably applying to several graduate programs and the GRE is consistently considered important in most programs. You will benefit substantially for relatively little effort.Q. Whom should I ask for letters of recommendations? What should they discuss?There are two important factors to consider when asking for letters of recommendation or undertaking research and/or work opportunities that will lead to opportunities to ask in the future. The first factor is the importance of the person writing the letter for you. It is helpful if this person has a Ph.D. from a reputable university. The more reputable the better but any top 50 university is usually adequate. The second factor is how much the person likes you. At least one letter should be from someone who has supervised you in a professional capacity and things highly of you. Thus when asking, you should seek a balance between these two factors. Typical admits will have one letter from a professor at their undergraduate institute who has supervised them in undergraduate research. Another letter may be from another professor who has supervised research or an especially successful class project. A third may be from a manager at an internship. It is best if the first is especially strong. Any subsequent letters will probably be discarded and since you don't know which one will be thought of as an extra one, don't send them. The third letter can be ambivalent and it will not harm your chances for admission by very much.Letters of recommendation are very important for M.S. admission and the deciding factor for Ph.D. admission. It is well worth your time working hard for those whom you plan to ask for letters. If someone is qualified to write the letter, they will know what to write and will probably not ask you to write the letter yourself. If you do have to offer guidance or write your own though, write about projects that you worked on and how you demonstrated competence and intelligence in your undertaking.Q. What should I write about in my statement of purpose?Your statement of purpose serves two equally important purposes. First, it demonstrated whether you write and think clearly. Second, it shows whether you are ready to undertake individual research. You are expected to be more ready if you are applying to the Ph.D. program. Unlike your essay for undergraduate research, you are not expected nor benefited by demonstrating artistic flair in your statement. Write about projects you have worked on in the past, what role you played in those projects, and what you would like to do research on if accepted into the program you are applying for. Be specific but remain open-minded. The rationale behind this is that there may not be anyone who works on the project you are interested in or the person who does work in that area may not be looking for more students. Others may be interested in you though. Specificity, on the other hand, demonstrates maturity and mastery. Don't fret too much about assuming background knowledge. If someone in the department will know what you're talking about, the reader will give you the benefit of the doubt or forward your statement to that person. Do not discuss why you like engineering or computers or how you came to be interested in such topics. You may want to mention a few professors in the department you may be interested in working with if admitted.Q. What kind of funding is available for students?A. The answer below applies to both domestic and international students except that if you are an international student, you are generally forbidden from seeking employment outside the university except in the summer as an intern. There are plenty of opportunities to be a teaching assistant (help professor teach courses) or a research assistant (receive remuneration for doing research) as an M.S. student. As a Ph.D. student, you are guaranteed funding. You are not eligible for a teaching assistantship during your first quarter. Finding such opportunities requires some effort but typically, if you're good enough to get in, you're good enough to receive some sort of funding. If you are especially bright, you may apply for and secure external fellowships. Funding is generally not a big problem but it is best if you can stash or borrow enough to pay for expenses during your first quarter while you are getting settled. $1000 / month past housing and tuition costs should ensure that you will not starve. I know some who get by on less.

I grew up in a middle class family. My parents struggled a lot to pay for my schooling. After completing PUC I went to Chennai with lot of dreams of joining college. Engineering was never in the equation due to our financial situation. I went to New college Chennai to buy the application form for BCA.Bought the form and the fee was around 6000 which I had to pay within a day. We didn't have the money. My father tried asking our relatives & friends but none helped looking at our financial condition. I couldn't blame them too as we were not in a situation to pay them back.My father said let's go to marina beach and I became totally happy as it was my first visit to Chennai. I was awestuck looking at the beauty of marina and was enjoying my time. He took me to Madras University and bought a correspondence application form for BBA. He told me Graduation is important and it doesn't matter if it is through regular or correspondence. I told him okay without being disappointed. I was under the happiness of seeing the beach for the first time and was not worried about not joining the regular college.My father was brilliant enough to understand we will not be able to afford his college fees for 3 years, his stay and food expenses in Chennai. Even if we had arranged 6000 to pay the fees for first year I would have discontinued for sure in the remaining years.He also understood that I will be disappointed so he took me to the beach to make me happy. Later he suggested to join correspondence which I accepted without any disappointment.I took admission from Madras University for BBA correspondence. I should attend preparatory classes once in a month which was in Nandanam college Chennai. There were few instances where I didn't have sufficient money to go to Chennai and attend the class. I went in Train twice without a ticket . I used to get down in perambur as I was scared of getting caught in central railway station. From perambur I used to catch a bus and go to Nandanam to attend the preperatary classes. I used to go back by bus as I had money to cover one way journey.That was the time when call centers were booming in India.My father once showed the job opening ad of a call center hiring undergraduates. I studied in government school and was not fluent in English. My father used to buy Deccan Chronicle which was 1 Rupee then and ask me to read to improve my English.I started reading DC to learn English and my father used to help me in vocabulary. I started appearing for interviews during the same day when I go to Chennai for preperatary classes. I will be in the class during the first half and second half I used to appear for interviews. After few failed attempts I got selected in a call center. They said I will be in training for 3 months & will not be paid. I accepted the offer and joined the company.It was a US based call center where we need to sell dish connection to the customers. I struggled initially for food and travel expenses. I stayed with my relative who was staying with his friends & working in Hyundai .I started selling dish over the phone and got the incentives. I continued my degree and started my career.I started from there and never looked back. Now I am working as a Cloud Architect in an MNC & earning a 6 figure salary . I bought a flat in Bangalore & spent around 15 Lakhs and got my sister married.There used to be a time where my parents have skipped meals to feed me & my sister.The most satisfying moment is having food together with my family without thinking about money to feed all of us.EDIT 1: Thank you all for such a overwhelming response. Never expected such an amazing response. Your love & blessings inspires to achieve more.Wishing everyone the best in their life & career. Thank you.

In answer to the two specific questions posed:Q: "Can a person with some not so bright grades but is actually really brilliant be accepted?"A: Most students apply with straight A's and, at most, a few B's. If "not so bright grades" means getting C's, then there better be a good explanation. MIT turns down many "brilliant" students and accepts many "brilliant" (and less than brilliant) students. The question I ask is, "How do you intend to demonstrate that brilliance?" Most applicants overestimate their own brilliance. If you are "brilliant" in your family or HS, you are probably about average at MIT. Maybe the applicant is truly brilliant, but unless they have somehow demonstrated it, you don't get credit for just being smart. You have to communicate brilliance with your application, whether an essay, a project submission, an award, during your interview, etc.Q: "Do we have to win a lot of medals to go to MIT?"A: Absolutely not. There seems to be little correlation between medals and admission. I know applicants with medals who were denied admission and know many more applicants who were admitted without any major awards.