josh-cs

Thanks everyone for the advice/opinions. I'm reluctant to try to use a MS as a stepping stone for a couple reasons. The main being the lack of funding for most places. And if I were lucky to get some funding, it'd be a TA and not a RA. Even if I got full funding with a decent stipend, it'd still be a big cut in income for my wife and me, but that's something we are willing to take. The other reason being that credits from institutions don't always transfer. Two of my professors got their MS from 1 program, then went to another for their PhDs and had to take most of the same classes over again. Many of my professors advised me that if I wanted my PhD, try to get straight into the program. It seems like I'll have a slim chance of getting into even the #20+ schools (NC and Duke) that are actually near the top of my list due to reasons more than academics. Would it be strange/bad for me to contact some departments for more information about admissions, importance of research/publications, etc. that aren't posted on their websites? newms getting into a top 20 school w/o a publication is a little encouraging. newms, do you mind sharing some of your credentials and anything else you think helped you get into a top school w/o publications and little research experience?

I'm leaning toward a PhD. About my LoRs, I like to think my professors think more of me than just being an A student. I was always talking with them about the field, discussing CS topics that weren't even taught, talking about graduate school, etc. They know how dedicated, ambitious, and tenacious I am toward my work, so that's why I think I can get good LoRs. I tell anyone spending much time studying for it, your efforts would almost surely be better placed doing some research or improving your SOP Thanks for that. I've heard that before, but mostly my need to study for the GRE is to at least get that score that puts me in contention (Chapel Hill says their average candidate gets 90% in every GRE section, which is over a 1400 total, it's probably like this everywhere). About getting some research experience, what's the best way to pursue that now? I don't have the guidance of a professor like undergrads do. Are there many paid research opportunities for graduates?

I did some "additional work/projects" as an undergrad that professors might consider research, but it was mainly me trying to independently figure out what others have done (especially in my math research class). The university was a teaching school, so undergrad research opportunities were few and few between. Am I sure? I honestly can't say 100%, but that's because I am making a decent living with my B.S., but there's no real challenge, I don't think I'm doing anything that wasn't already done in CS a decade ago. I've read some literature about what life as a PhD student is like and how different it is from undergrad [1]. But I do know my passion is CS and I do have a lot of ambition and desire to work on tomorrows technology. I do think that I'd rather go to a great school or not go back at all. I've lurked here for years, and many have mentioned how different the job opportunities are for the top schools vs the low- or un-ranked schools. My end goal is to work R&D in industry, not academia. [1] http://www.cs.unc.edu/~azuma/hitch4.html (one of my favorite resources)

Hi all, I graduated with a double B.S. in CS and Math last year. I've worked full time as a Software Engineer for over 2 years now. I'm starting to think that being a code monkey just isn't what I want, but I love CS and I'm really interested in research. I did excellent as an undergrad (almost a 4.0), and received many merit-based awards, but it was a pretty small/unknown school. I know I can get some great LORs and I'm confident that with enough prep I can get at least a 1400 on the GRE. My question is, do I have a reasonable chance at getting into a top school with no publications or real research experience? I have a few months now to prepare if I want to apply for Fall 2012, but my time is extremely limited (I work up to 70 hours a week) and I want to have some idea of what my chances are. Also, would 2+ years experience in the CS industry help my chances much? Getting in a Big-4 schools would be a dream, but from what I've read, I wouldn't have a chance in hell w/o publications. Other than those, I am most interested in: Princeton Harvard UNC Chapel Hill Duke Georgia Tech Yale UT-Austin Johns Hopkins Also, ML and Software Engineering are what I am most interested in studying. Thanks in advance! Edit: s/UT-Texas/UT-Austin/

Hi everyone. This is my first post but I've been a regular reader of this board for several months now. I'm trying to get a better idea about how competitive top CS grad schools are to get into. The reason is that I'm a senior in CS/Applied math from a relatively small state school (10k students) with a small CS program. Research is encouraged but hasn't really been emphasized like I'm sure it is at bigger/research universities. This is a teaching school so unless I want to volunteer as an RA next summer or get an internship/coop elsewhere, any research I get will mostly be what I think of on my own (and I've tried for months, I have no idea where to even start). I graduate in December 2010, so I won't be enrolling till Fall 2011, but I want to prepare as best as I can now. I have a 3.91 GPA (4.0 in Math, ~3.8 in CS). I'm confident I'll get strong LoR's from extremely good professors who got PhD's from good research schools (U.Wisconsin being the best). I've also received two small but competitive CS/math scholarships. One which is only given to one out of probably 100 CS students at my school per year based on merit/performance/recommendations. I haven't taken the GRE yet but I think I'll be well prepared when I take it. One of my professors has told me he thought I could get into one of my top CS schools (UNC or Duke), but I'm a little more pessimistic, especially after reading this forum and seeing all the rejections for what appears to be strong applicants. And I'm also afraid being from a lesser-known college is going to hurt me quite a bit since grad schools are so competitive. Anyway, I'd be very interested in what advice guys may have and to also hear undergrad stats and what schools you got accepted and rejected to and if you got funding (TA or RA?). Thanks in advance, and I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say! P.S. Most of my top schools are in the top 20, but not the top 4 since I know I won't have a chance in hell to get in there unless I get a real lucky research opportunity. P.P.S. I'm leaning towards just a M.S., but going after a PhD is not out of the question.