Getting accepted into a top level CS program.
gaius: I can get a high paying job in the finance industry maintaining a Java/C++ code base.Ho ho ho. After the ex-Bear and Lehman experienced coders find jobs, then maybe the finance industry will start hiring entry-level coders again. Maybe.Ask yourself tho' what you want from a PhD. It's not a "higher qualification" in the sense that a MSc is, learning specialist knowledge to do a niche job. It's an apprenticeship to become an academic. Where do you see yourself post-PhD? What is the outcome you are looking to achieve here? Altho' grad students may write an awful lot of code, no-one really cares about it - its only purpose is to demonstrate theoretical ideas. Coding experience gained in industry won't count for much. Not even Open Source coding. Computer Science is as related to software development as Astronomy is to telescope manufacturing. Working in a Carl Zeiss factory on the shop floor wouldn't count for much applying for an Astronomy PhD would it?