august23

I know its been a while but just wanted to give some updates. First of all, thank you for all the reply. I really appreciate it. I decided to go with the program from California State University - Fullerton and actually just graduated last May with Master of Science in Software Engineering. The program is 2 years long and I learned some few things (outside my industry experience). I picked that program because it is mostly online and only had to go to school on few occasions, its not that expensive and cost around $15,000 for the whole thing which I was able to pay in cash without taking any student loan, and at that time of my application, it was one of the top online master program in engineering (although i haven't looked at the recent ranking). I'm not sure if I want to continue to Ph.D., because I don't see any online program for that. Also it is not really necessary in my career to get a doctoral degree. (unlike an advanced degree which helped me a little bit). Anyway, thank you!

Hello TropicalCharlie, I was always waiting for a reply after I created this thread, I was like trying to check everyday if someone replied but I stopped cause I've been very busy this past month. I really appreciate your reply and I think you answered most of my question. Yeah, I always want to go to Caltech and I know that it is the creme de la creme of cs here in the west coast. And I know for sure that Its gonna be hard to apply and the tuition fee is really expensive. I'm earning a decent amount of money right now with my current job and I have no debts, but still, I'm just starting with my career and I'm not really stable and you know, I'm pretty new here in Los Angeles. I just have one more question and I hope you can help me. I just want to know what university belongs to tier 1, tier 2 and so on. You mentioned that Caltech and USC are tier 1. Does UCLA belongs to tier1? I heard that UCLA is really good in medicines but not really in Computer Science. How about CSU? Does all public university system considered as tier2? I'm not really familiar with all the university and colleges here in California but does it always mean that tier 2 school is cheaper in tuition fee against tier 1? I know that public/state universities are the cheaper ones regarding tuition fee and costs. I'm not sure if you are familiar with CA universities but what I mean is, if you were on my shoes, which tier 2 schools you are going to choose? Oh btw, Are all MS programs full time? Can you take MS classes part time? I still want to work full time while I'm taking my graduate school. I can't afford to - not to work. Thanks a lot!

Hello Everyone, Hi, I am new here and I am looking for some opinions, suggestions, advice, etc. Just a quick introduction, I am currently working as a Web Developer / Software Engineer in Los Angeles for a year now. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science from Informatics International College (Philippines, yes I was born and raised in Asia) and it is accredited by University of Cambridge, National Computing Center UK, and Informatics Singapore. I had World Education Services (Member of National Association of Credential Evaluation Services) evaluated my transcript and diploma and the result is, it is equivalent to a US Bachelors Degree to a regionally accredited institution (a really long list) with a 3.15 GPA and 143 credits which I believe the average credit for a college degree is 120. I always dream to have a master's degree and I really want to apply for a grad school. My top three choices are CalTech, UCLA, and USC. I'm not ready yet right now but maybe in the future, and I know that tuition is going to rip me off. I just don't know which university is better and I prefer Los Angeles Area. Some of my questions are: I'm pretty sure I can apply for a grad school with my status, I am a working professional, I had recommendation letter from my college and previous jobs, but I don't have enough money. Anyway, Is it really hard to get in? Which university has the cheaper tuition fee? Can I take a grad school part time while working full time? What's the major difference of the 3 institution I mentioned? Sorry if this is a long post, I have so many questions in mind but those are fine for now. I hope someone is willing to talk to me. Thanks a lot!