Chances for admission with 3.2 GPA and strong coding background

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rasmos
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Hey everyone,

I’m a 21y Brazilian student finishing my bachelor’s in Information Systems at a relatively new, non-target university (GPA 3.2).
The program isn’t math-heavy — we barely had calculus or linear algebra — but it provided a strong foundation in programming, databases, and data analysis.

I’ve consistently performed at the top of my class in technical courses: 10/10 in all programming classes, 10/10 in Databases (SQL), and 9.5/10 in Data Analysis (Python and R). My letters of recommendation would likely come from these same professors, who know my coding work closely.

Here’s a summary of my background so far:
  • 1.5 years internship in process automation at a multinational (Python, VBA, R).
  • 7 months as an investment advisor, where I realized I preferred the quantitative and technical side.
  • 1.5 years trading independently, mainly options and derivatives, building and backtesting strategies, and coding my own trading bots (some with sub-minute execution).
I know these bots are far from professional-grade systems, but they gave me solid, hands-on experience with Python development, backtesting frameworks, and market data handling. I have no prior experience with C++, but I learn fast and genuinely enjoy coding.

After graduating this December, I plan to take isolated classes from a top local university (Calculus I/II, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Probability, etc.) to fill my math gaps and prepare for the GRE exam (I know I should reach 168 or more on the quantitative section)

Given my background — non-target school, 3.2 GPA, strong coding but limited math coursework — what are my realistic chances of being admitted into a master’s program in the US? (Throw your rocks at me, be brutally honest)

Also, which colleges would be a better fit for me (If I have any chance being approved)?

Thanks a lot for your time!
 
This has been done before. In fact, many people with low GPA got into different programs. The trick is to show other strength in your application that overwhelms the GPA. That said, you need to seriously spend time to address any weakness from your profile. Math seems like the weakest part while programming is your strength. Maybe model your profile for Quant Developer roles would be ideal.
 
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