irishwildcat

Your last point - speak to the graduate admissions coordinator for the department is the most important item. I think you are wasting your time trying to improve your GPA and take the CS GRE (just my opninion only - its worth as much trust as you can put into an anonymous source on the internet). I would second fes_alum's suggestion to take a couple of courses as a non-degree seeking student. If you can prove you belong, admission will easily follow you once they know you. Also, realize that your situation is somewhat different and being a non-traditional student has some advantages for strictly a MS. Additionally, if you're american (ie, a US resident) and willing to pay your own way through school, that improves your admission chances - esp. if you can develop that relationship with the coordinator and a couple of professors. Best wishes.

belowthree - I've spent probably more time and energy thinking about than I should - especially trying to see their viewpoint. What bothers me most is that it's an implied rejection that you as an individual just are not good enough for us. Other rejection letters than I've received have more the message of - you're good, but there were better applicants ... Here's the rough profile for me: GRE: 800Q 600V 5.0A GPA: 3.23 undergrad in mathematics at a top 20 US school, 3.8 M.S. at a top 20-25 school, taught 1 class while getting my MS along with a semester of TA. 15 years work experience. Why I think I've been rejected from Georgia Tech - No research / publishing experience - No letters of recommendation from academia. Couple of factors in the above items: 1) It was unheard at the school I went to for my master's for the MS students to do research. The faculty didn't believe it was worthwhile at the time and highly discouraged the thesis option. From looking at the current landscape, this has very much changed - and even with more undergraduate level research as well. 2) I don't paid by my employees to publish. I get paid to build solutions that help the company make money. 3) I'm choosing to leave because I'm sick of the grind and I really don't want to be doing the current type of work for the next 20-25 years of my professional life. I love teaaching, studying, solving difficult problems... [this entire line was not expressed in the application at all]. I'm definitely not doing this for the pay - I'm sure there's no way I'd ever make up for the lost income for at least 4 years of additional schooling. 4) It's been 15 years since I've left grad school. Although I did touch base with a few professors from my graduate school, I did not feel it was appropriate to ask for a reference letter so far removed. Best wishes to all of you -

I can deal with the rejection. To say that I have insufficient academic qualifications to succeed in their program is appalling and demeaning.

Take a look at the recent graduates from both schools. Which has sent more students into academia? Yes, it's not necessarily a predicter and there's a lot a variance based upon individuals, but if one school has put more people into academia than the other by a significant amount, that would be something to consider.

A few things to think about: 1) Are you negotiating from a position of strength or weakness? ie, are you the top 25% of whom they want to admit, or just another admit.... 2) How does the cost of living in the different areas compare? I would expect a higher stipend in Boston(MIT) or the bay area (Berkeley,Stanford) than in southern Illinois (UIUC) or Pittsburgh (CMU). 3) How are they funding you? If it's a TA, they may not have much flexibility.. RAship depends on the funding and their current budget. 4) Financially, all universities (public/private) are have issues.

Have you tied the GRE Math Workbooks that both Kaplan has? http://www.amazon.com/Kaplan-GRE-Math-W ... 1427795045 I used the Kaplan GRE Math Workbook, and along with taking several practice tests was able to raise my score up 130 points. (as a disclaimer, I was a math major 16 years ago ) In one of their (Kaplan's) book, they also had a cut-out sheet of 100 topics for the quantitative test, you need to understand all of those concepts and can solve related problems without issues. Also, take a look at this website -> http://www.wtamu.edu/academic/anns/mps/ ... /index.htm There's a section on "Math Help" that covers much of the topics - especically in data analysis.