zero33

Hi all, I just got admitted to Cornell's MEng for CS program and UIUC's MCS program. They are both currently unfunded. UIUC is 3 semesters at 32K/year, and Cornell is 9 months at 42K total. If anyone is familiar with UIUC, do they know if that 3rd semester can be done in the summer? Or if it has to be a Fall/Spring semester? If so, it seems like UIUC would be 32K + 16K (for another half year/semester). I plan on graduating and going straight into industry, I have no plan of doing research. Does anyone know if Cornell or UIUC has a advantage over each other in terms of recruiting for industry? I know they're both ranked highly, but I'm not sure if that's helpful for working in industry or continuing towards a PhD. My initial thinking is to lean towards Cornell, since 9 months is ridiculously fast to obtain a Masters degree and Cornell's name seems to carry more weight. However, I am slightly concerned that 9 months is not enough time to take all the courses I want and be able to take full advantage of networking. Seems like a insanely hectic program. FYI, I studied EE as an undergrad, so my main purpose for getting a Masters in CS is to gain the knowledge I never learned as an undergrad to help me pursue other options in a CS career. Any other insight on either program would be greatly appreciated!

Awesome thanks! Good luck with your applications too!

Hey guys, I've read a lot about how the admissions committee is comprised of professors who care about 1 thing: your ability to help them do research. If you're applying to a terminal MS or a MEng program, where there is clearly no option of thesis or research work unless you apply for the PhD program, should the SoP still highlight research? Do you think the committee more looks at it as whether this candidate can complete this program or not? Seeing how most MEng programs are 1 year, it seems unlikely you'd even really get much interaction with the professors, so I'm not sure what they could be looking for when they read your SoP. Thanks! Btw, I'm applying for comp sci if that matters.