weaselling past GPA requirements – yeah good luck with that

hi, I am currently doing Bs(Computer Sciences) in Pakistan – 5th semester (start of 3rd year). I would really like to get admission in Masters Degree program offered in uoft. Although i am quite good at what my field focuses at, yet my GPA does not express that at all. I have a current CGPA of 2.30. uoft site says that the minimum gpa required even for applying is 3.00 (B). I am so much paranoid that i cannot express. The thing is that, surprisingly, the university i am doing my BSCS from is ranked #1 for CS in Pakistan and is actually really good. But at same time, their grading is very very very strict. what i mean to say is that with the amount of effort it took me to maintain gpa of 2.30 at FAST-NU (my university name), i could easily maintain way above 3.00 in any other university from Pakistan (just that they don’t teach as thoroughly as FAST). So this makes me think that if i was in a less competent university, it would have been easier for me to get to uoft. is it not a bit unfair? why is the teaching level of institutions not also considered.

And, please please please help me, i really want to make it to uoft. Can’there be any other way? If with gpa like this, i apply to uoft anyway, are there chances that i can get selected? what if i score really good at GRE test (or international students)? will the University of Toronto consider
me on the basis of anything other than my gpa? 🙁

Will really appreciate helpful suggestions.
Thank You

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hey there,

I appreciate how much you want to get into uoft. Seriously, it’s a pretty rad place. I’d love to help you as much as possible; you’ve come to aska for help, and if there’s anything more rad than uoft, it’s aska.

Unfortunately, I am just a lowly messenger, and I don’t have the power to bend uoft’s admission requirements. They do say explicitly on their website that they require at least a 77%-79% GPA in the final two years of your undergraduate course. Lucky for you, you’re just starting on your third year, meaning you’ve got almost two years to get your GPA up. I get that your university is crazy hard, but if you really want to get into uoft, you’ve got to find a way to boost it.

If there really is nothing you can do to bring up your marks but you feel like a master’s in CS here would be a breeze, the School of Graduate Studies does make exceptions in special cases. Do you feel like your case is special? Hint: it’s probably not unless you have some kind of industry experience to back up your knowledge, but I don’t know man, give it a shot, why not.

As for other parts of your application, a good GRE result will strengthen your application, but it’s not everything. At the end of the day, fair or not, the requirements are the same for all students, and you’ll probably just have to work within uoft’s GPA cut-off.

Bottom line, just do whatever you can to get your marks up in the next two years, and maybe consider applying to other universities – they’re alright too. I mean, they’re not us. But they’re alright.

aska