Did you have high grades in school?
During bachelors I didn’t, I failed 10 times in a few different disciplines; I was pretty busy learning on my own way, so I had almost no time to prepare for regular tests (my overall score was ~60/100). During master degree I had to adapt put some focus on performing well on the tests, instead of doing relevant things, otherwise I wouldn’t continue receiving my scholarship (my overall score was ~94/100).
How was I accepted in a master degree program with such poor grades?
In Brazil there is a test called Poscomp, usually the universities accept this test and use it somehow in your application. This test covers almost everything you study during undergrad, except for physics. I was ranked on the 63 place among 4000+ candidates. How did I get this position? My score was ~60% of the test, the average was ~30% I guess. How did I get this score? My method to study consists of understanding the concepts and spending a lot of time trying to connect this new knowledge to what I already know, so after more than 10 years I still know how to solve limits, I remember the definitions of big O, little o, theta, omega etc. So my score just represented what I knew back there, 60% of what was taught in my undergrad course of computer science, which is not so much if you think well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
Did you consider studying something other than computer science?
Yes, electrical engineering and law.
How did you learn english?
In fact I’m still learning, but it was by watching videos, trying to reproduce the sounds and by translating portuguese phrases to english using Google Translator. Grammar was in the school and on the internet.
Why computer science?
I learned how to program computers when I was 13 (self taught), so I wanted to learn more about programming, networks, databases and the theory behind that.
Any hobbies?
Yes, outdoor walking mainly. Coding is also my hobby, and playing instruments; I’m self taught in drums, guitar, bass and a little bit of piano.