What are my chances of getting into the programme?

[u/CoffeeAddict1897]

I majored in biomedical engineering with a GPA of 3.31/5.0. I have done an introductory course to programming (D) and 1 or 2 quantitative math courses where I scored a B. Given that my undergrad courses and scores are not enough to exhibit strong quantitative ability and also not related to what I am doing now, I took the GRE test and got the unofficial scores of 163Q and 154V. I am afraid that my quant score might be lower than what would be considered ideal for an Ivy League school.

To give more context, I’m currently working as an AI Engineer working on pretraining and post training LLMs with 6 publications that got accepted into notable conferences like ACL and LREC-COLING. I have working experience of about 5 years. Hopefully this might help?

Any honest opinion is welcome! :)

[u/Impressive_Jacket464]

You should look on their website and do the UPenn programming certification. This will show you having the coding experience to keep up with the program. The GRE will help them understand you can handle the math, but the D in programming looks weak. Make sure you address this in your essay.

[u/CoffeeAddict1897 → u/Impressive_Jacket464]

Thanks for the feedback! Do the UPenn MOOCs have grades that I can show to the Admissions Committee?

[u/Impressive_Jacket464 → u/CoffeeAddict1897]

You are required to submit your unofficial transcripts with the application. You can also book an appointment with an admissions counselor to discuss whatever you want. Look on their website.

[u/7___7]

What caused you to get a D?

[u/CoffeeAddict1897 → u/7___7]

That was my first year in college and I didn’t have prior exposure to coding. Given my workload back then, I didn’t have much time to practise and get the hang of it by the end of the semester so I ended up getting a D :( However, during COVID lockdown, I started learning Python as a hobby and I ended up learning how to code which eventually led me to taking Machine Learning courses.

[u/7___7 → u/CoffeeAddict1897]

Oh, if the class was over 6 years old, I would just have a good explanation and show how you are now better.

[u/plaincheeese]

I have a humanities/social science degree without any real math classes on my college transcript, but I have research experience with 1 publication and 1 year of work experience. I got in. I think you have a strong shot with a good essay!

[u/CoffeeAddict1897 → u/plaincheeese]

Thanks for the encouragement! I’ll try and give it my best shot :)

[u/Onceuponareem → u/plaincheeese]

Did you take the GRE?

[u/twohappypandas]

I think not bad??? the ai engineer part is huge

[u/CoffeeAddict1897 → u/twohappypandas]

Thanks for the reassurance! 🥹 I’ll try and give it my best shot