ahmadka

Hi guys .. So last year I was all over this forum when I was going through my phase of choosing universities, giving the GRE, etc., and often wondered why there isn't an app on the App Store which is a calculator designed like the one available during a GRE exam (there wasn't one at least till last year this time). So recently I developed such as app which is now available on the Apple App Store. This is the link to the app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gre-calculator/id1137504482?mt=8 If there are others like me who desire such an app - well now you have one :). The intention of this post was not to self-publicize, but rather to let others know that there's now a GRE calculator that you can use on your iPhone or iPad which mimics the real thing. The message was for the benefit of others. However if this message offends anyone still, mods are free to remove this message. Hope you guys like my app

Hi guys ... So I applied to a bunch of schools for Masters in CS, and so far I've received offers from 3: University of Waterloo, Brown University, and Arizona State University. My criteria is that I want to join a program that gives me the best overall CS experience to maximize my chances of employment within the Software Dev industry in the US following my graduation, because my undergrad was in Computer Engineering (which some IT companies don't like that much, so I want to make up for this). Secondly, I'd like a program which offers maximum help in career services, such as better internship chances, co-ops, better employment chances, etc. Waterloo has a Co-op program, but I believe its only for the undergrad CS students (correct me if I'm wrong). Also, it seems that Waterloo is only famous for it's undergrad CS, not grad CS. Other factors, e.g cost, weather, etc., aren't that important to me. Other schools from which I'm still waiting for a decision from are: USC, UFL, Gatech, Northeastern, Uni of Toronto, UW - Madison. Need opinions

Hi guys, I have two sets of GRE scores, and I don't know which would be better to use for MS Computer Science applications. Both were taken in the last 3 months: Score 1: Math: 161 (80% below) Verbal: 152 (54% below) Analytical: 4.0 (56% below) Score 2: Math: 164 (88% below) Verbal: 150 (45% below) Analytical: 4.5 (80% below) Score 2 may seem better, but the Verbal score goes below 50% percentile mark. I'm not sure how much of a problem that may be, so I'm confused which set to use. I'm applying to about 5 Top 20 universities, and another 5 universities between top 20 and 50 marks.

I understand that he might be putting them off for now, but the thing I don't understand is why he isn't replying to my emails anymore. That is the most troubling thing for me which I can't understand.

Hi guys .. So I have a Professor who in early November agreed to write a 'good' LOR for me. Throughout November, he replied to any emails I sent him (2-3 emails in November). However his last email to me was on 1st December - a reply to a question I asked him. Since then he has not replied to any emails. I've mentioned him as one of the three References for SEVEN universities, out of which he hasn't sent his LOR to even ONE so far, and the deadline for most was 15th December. I called him 8th December, and he 'promised' me to send them 'on time'. He can't send them 'on time' anymore as he has missed the deadline, but what's troubling me even more is that he isn't responding to any of my weekly email reminders. Please advice, what should I do ? Is there a possibility that he doesn't intend to send those LORs at all, even though he 'promised' me earlier to send them on time ? Do I need to be prepared for this ?

I guess you might be right, but I felt it was needed to sort of elaborate on my true interests. It explains why I studied the CompE program for my bachelors, and also helps explain my reasons for needing another Masters degree in retrospective. Plus, it serves well as an intro too.

Thanks, but are you suggesting that I remove the reference section (If I'm separately providing LORs through my referees), or leave it in ?

Hi guys .. So I'm applying for the MS in Computer Science program, and I wanted to know if the points I'm discussing in my SOP are okay. I'd also like to know if there's something I'm leaving out, or something which I'm discussing which is not needed. The length currently comes down to exactly two pages, while using default parameters in Word. Please note that I already have a previous Masters in Electrical & Computer Engineering, so I have to discuss why I feel that I need to do a second Masters now, this time in CS. My bachelors was in Computer Engineering. Paragraph 1: How my interest in computers developed as a child, and what skills I had developed in the area as a teenager. Paragraph 2: How I got interested in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence during my Computer Engineering Bachelors program. Also discussed my Undergraduate Research project which involved Computer Vision (object detection and tracking via an FPGA). Paragraph 3: Reasons for doing a second Masters. How I was misguided into studying Elec. & Computer Engineering for my previous Bachelors and Masters, and how I realized that's its not what I was really passionate about. Paragraph 4: How my current academic profile is not inline with my professional goals, and how a Masters in CS resolves this issue, and prepares me for the IT industry. Paragraph 5: What areas I'd like to study within CS, and why. Their importance in the technological world today. Paragraph 6: Why I'm applying to XYZ university. Paragraph 7: Concluding paragraph. If anyone wants to see my SOP, I can give them access if they have been a member on the forum here for a while. Please PM me in this case.

Another question, is the 'Notable Projects' worth including ? I mean it does have relevance, although I haven't come across many academic CVs meant for CS Master's admission, which have a Projects section.

1) Are you guys sure about removing the references section ? Because I looked at lots of college application CV samples, and all had a references section. 2) Sadly no publications .. I'm an industry oriented guy and am not going the academic route. 3) Technical Skills section has been removed entirely. I agree that it might not be relevant in an academic setting. Let me know if anyone feels the opposite. 4) The 'wide' layout, yeah I have to agree. I did this intentionally to utilize more left-right space, to try and decrease page count. For now I'm not changing it as I personally feel it's not a big issue, and because it will take a considerable amount of time to change the whole layout to 'fix' it. However if more people feel that it is an issue, then I might try to fix it. 5) Regarding doing a second Masters, I'm addressing that in my SOP. 6) Regarding not including my Grad supervisor as a reference (you have a sharp eye gorki! ), well to be honest it's because I felt that he wasn't all that happy with me. But the reasons behind that are quite complex: such as I realized eventually that I didn't want to study the field I was studying at the time, the professor was also a pain in the ass sometimes, etc. But the university should not automatically penalize for not having him as a reference, right ? I mean its up to me to decide who to have a referee, as I know they'll best represent my traits.

Would appreciate if someone can help me with this ..

Hi guys .. I've made an academic CV (which I've never made before) for sending along with my CS Masters application submissions. Please have a look and tell me if something is wrong or can be improved, or is not needed, etc. Please note that for privacy reasons, I've replaced all hard info with dummy data (changed names, university names, addresses, company names, locations, etc.). But all other data is actual data. Page 1: Page 2: Page 3:

Would really like some more replies ..

Hmm .. Question :: How would you start the first paragraph, in which you're probably going to discuss your qualification highlights ? Do you open with some cheesy though provoking sentence, or just get right to it with not punchy expressions ?

So basically I should just do exactly what they're asking ? That is, things like, "In 2008 I was awarded XYZ, and then I went onto do XYZ at XYZ. I researched on XYZ concepts, and did 2 publications, etc." ?? It just seems really stupid to do this because they can easily see all this info from my CV ..