With a GRE score of 306, can I get admission to the University of California at Santa Barbara for an MS in CS?

It doesn’t really depend just on your GRE score, although it is undeniable that GRE score is an important player here. Honestly speaking, the GRE of 306 may fall a little short for MS in CS at Santa Barbara, not to forget the cut-throat competition among the candidates and especially among the international students. 

However, GRE is not the only aspect to be taken into account by their admission officers. If you are a well-performing student, and have research papers you have written you might still have a good chance. Your SoP, letters of recommendation and others play a key role in your selection, so make sure these are well prepared. 

To put it frankly, UCSB MS is very competitive, practically as selective as UCSB CS Ph.D. program. If you apply for the Ph.D., you may have a better chance given some fair history grades, letters, and experiences. Below are some of the basic admission requirements:

In the past, UCSB CS did not focus on nurturing a broad MS program. Therefore, each year the number of slots is limited for MS students. Besides, BS/MS students take the same pool slots. If there is one year with large numbers of high-quality BS/MS students, then there could be a few spare seats as well. 

So to conclude, your GRE score of 306 puts you at a less desirable spot here solely because it’s competitive. However, you might have a stroke of slight luck, if for your letter of recommendation and background! But it is slightly less of an event.