Please help vet my uni list | Spring 2012 | MS CS | GRE 1520

[ikkokusenkin]

Hello All,

I need your help selecting universities for an MS in Computer Science! Yes, it's that time of year again.

I'm planning to apply to 8 universities: 4 safe, 2 mod, 2 ambi. I need some help selecting universities according to my profile. Here's a brief summary::

Acads:

HSC CBSE: 91%

BE Electronics from a Tier-2 college. GPA 8.52/10. Within top 15 in class. Gold medal in first year.

4 years work exp. in an Indian MNC in VLSI.

MSc Informatics from a top-15 institute in the UK. Percentage: 61.07% (Pass grade, nothing special). I wrote a thesis on a computational neuroscience research project which involved MATLAB programming. Other coursework included literature reviews, more programming in MATLAB and C related to complexity theory and genetic algorithms. Note that one of my subjects in the MSc has a 'non-submission' on the transcript because I couldn't submit the project on time.

Currently doing a Diploma in Java Technologies from NIIT.

Tests:

GRE General: 1520 (800Q + 720V + 5.5AWA)

TOEFL iBT: Going to give it on the 11th of June. Got 117 the last time I gave it (I've left this score up on Infobank and my sig for now).

Recos:

2 from the UK - 1 from my thesis advisor and another from the MSc course administrator.

1 from my undergrad project supervisor in India.

Weaknesses:

1. No formal coursework in CS prerequisites (although I believe this is pretty normal for a lot of people).

2. No publications.

3. Non-software work experience.

Other information that may be relevant:

1. My priority is finding a job post-MS. I am NOT interested in continuing to a PhD. I'm NOT interested in academia. In other words, I'd rather do a coursework-based MS than a research-based MS (one reason I've chosen IIT-Chicago for its MCS below).

2. I'd like to go to a uni that offers financial aid (who wouldn't? ). But I'd rather go to a uni that has a good placement record even if it doesn't offer aid.

3. I'd eventually like to end up working either in Cal or in the Greater NY area.

4. I have not yet chosen a CS specialty but I'm leaning towards software engineering or distributed systems -- basically, something that makes me employable. So, I haven't yet looked at the research stuff going on in these unis. I'm more interested in brand-name recognition.

Term for which I'm applying:

Spring (January) 2012.

My shortlist (I will update this post based on your feedback):

These are my "safe" unis, chosen based on proximity to jobs (in addition to ease of getting in, of course):

1. IIT-Chicago (MCS, not MSCS)

2. NJIT or Stevens Inst.? I've read a lot of threads on this subject. The consensus seems to be that Stevens is marginally better academically speaking, and way ahead when it comes to jobs. So I'm leaning towards Stevens.

3. Syracuse

4. SFSU or UTD? I've shortlisted SFSU only because of the Bay area and jobs around it. Otherwise, I've found hardly any information on this uni either on Edulix or on Urch. Is UTD better? I've heard that UTD is centered in a telecom-heavy area. Would that make it hard to find CS jobs?

These are my "mod" unis, chosen based on feedback from previous applicants on Edulix/Urch as well as by browsing Infobank profiles.

1. UPenn. I understand it's pretty expensive.

2. Virginia Tech. Lots of competition from fellow Indians.

These are my "ambi" unis, chosen based on feedback from previous applicants on Edulix/Urch as well as by browsing Infobank profiles.

1. UT-Austin

2. IU Bloomington

Please tell me if I've misclassified any of these unis according to my profile.

Other contenders:

What about these universities? Do you think I should bump any off my list to put these in?

Safe:

SUNY Binghampton

ASU

UFL

GMU

Mod:

SUNY SB (too hard for me to get in? The admissions process seems quite unpredictable)

WashU

UNCC

Ambi:

Purdue (too hard for me to get in?)

UGa

Rice (too hard for me to get in?)

Many thanks for your help and comments!

[yamamotomiechan]

Are you Japanese?

I think you have very good profile compared to me

[ikkokusenkin]

Are you Japanese?

I think you have very good profile compared to me

いいえ、インド人です。でも、日本語がちょっと出来ますね。宜しくお願いいたします。

Edited June 3, 2011 by ikkokusenkin

[ikkokusenkin]

Anyone willing to comment on my uni selection? I'd really appreciate your help folks.

[yamamotomiechan]

Ah~, your Japanese is very natural. I am Japanese.

I cannot clearly say which universities are safe for you, but I can tell you my case.

I applied to 9 universities the last year: MIT, Princeton, OSU, UCSD, UMCP, University of Michigan Ann arbor, NCSU, UW-Madison, and Purdue.

My profile was GRE(Q:790, V:310, A:3.5) , TOEFL-ibt:86, and GPA:3.7.

I had one international conference paper(the first author). Moreover, after applying, I got another international conference paper(the first author) and told this information to the universities I applied.

In this situation,

1) I got accepted at UW-Madison and NCSU.

2) I was put into the waiting list of Purdue. So I decided to go to UW-Madison. I told Purdue that I will go to UW-Madison. So I do not know if I was accepted by Purdue in the end. But I think I would be rejected.

3) I was rejected by all other universities.

My GRE and TOEFL was very low, but I could get accepted at very good universities. I think my conference papers helped me a lot.

You do not have publications, but your GRE is enough. I do not know actually how much your GPA is good. In 4.0 scale, your GPA is like 3.4? I applied to the universities in 4.0 scale. So I cannot tell how much good.

So I think you have enough possibility to be accepted by Ambi Universities(Purdue, UGa,..).

I think it is better for you to apply for more top schools. Top schools are very difficult, but nobody cannot know what happens.

This is just my opinion.

Edited June 3, 2011 by yamamotomiechan

[ikkokusenkin]

l

Ah~, your Japanese is very natural. I am Japanese.

I cannot clearly say which universities are safe for you, but I can tell you my case.

I applied to 9 universities the last year: MIT, Princeton, OSU, UCSD, UMCP, University of Michigan Ann arbor, NCSU, UW-Madison, and Purdue.

My profile was GRE(Q:790, V:310, A:3.5) , TOEFL-ibt:86, and GPA:3.7.

I had one international conference paper(the first author). Moreover, after applying, I got another international conference paper(the first author) and told this information to the universities I applied.

In this situation,

1) I got accepted at UW-Madison and NCSU.

2) I was put into the waiting list of Purdue. So I decided to go to UW-Madison. I told Purdue that I will go to UW-Madison. So I do not know if I was accepted by Purdue in the end. But I think I would be rejected.

3) I was rejected by all other universities.

My GRE and TOEFL was very low, but I could get accepted at very good universities. I think my conference papers helped me a lot.

You do not have publications, but your GRE is enough. I do not know actually how much your GPA is good. In 4.0 scale, your GPA is like 3.4? I applied to the universities in 4.0 scale. So I cannot tell how much good.

So I think you have enough possibility to be accepted by Ambi Universities(Purdue, UGa,..).

I think it is better for you to apply for more top schools. Top schools are very difficult, but nobody cannot know what happens.

This is just my opinion.

Wow. You have a superb profile!

Since my undergrad is from India, I don't know how US universities will translate it into a 4.0 scale. They have a complicated procedure that takes into account the ranking of the undergrad institution. Since I don't come from an IIT/NIT (the best engg. colleges in India -- something like 東大 in Japan ), I can't be sure. I'd guess about 3.3-3.4 like you said.

I think top schools wouldn't accept me because I don't have any research publications. From what I know, they only use the GRE scores as a first filter on applications. Once you're above a certain cut-off (1400 or so), it doesn't really make a difference. Instead, they look more at research experience to judge whether an applicant should be admitted. Besides, top schools would be very research-intensive and I'm looking for a more professional-oriented degree that can teach me skills that make me employable.

Thank you for helping me out anyway.

[yamamotomiechan]

l

Wow. You have a superb profile!

Since my undergrad is from India, I don't know how US universities will translate it into a 4.0 scale. They have a complicated procedure that takes into account the ranking of the undergrad institution. Since I don't come from an IIT/NIT (the best engg. colleges in India -- something like 東大 in Japan ), I can't be sure. I'd guess about 3.3-3.4 like you said.

I think top schools wouldn't accept me because I don't have any research publications. From what I know, they only use the GRE scores as a first filter on applications. Once you're above a certain cut-off (1400 or so), it doesn't really make a difference. Instead, they look more at research experience to judge whether an applicant should be admitted. Besides, top schools would be very research-intensive and I'm looking for a more professional-oriented degree that can teach me skills that make me employable.

Thank you for helping me out anyway.

Ah~, you do not pursue Ph.D I did not read carefully.

By the way, my undergrad school is not top ranked school in my country like you.

I think my undergrad is in the middle of all universities in Japan in terms of ranking

I went to there because it is the best university in my region

So I think you also have chance

[ikkokusenkin]

By the way, my undergrad school is not top ranked school in my country like you.

I think my undergrad is in the middle of all universities in Japan in terms of ranking

It's the same for me, I'm NOT from a top-ranked uni.

[the poisoned pawn]

I'm also an international student, not from India, Japan or China though. As far as I know, if the school you apply to have some professors/grad students that are from your country then probably one of them will be consulted when evaluating your transcript. Saying that, there's pretty much no need to convert to 4.0 though. It may not make sense and not reflect the equivalent performance.

[ikkokusenkin]

I'm also an international student, not from India, Japan or China though. As far as I know, if the school you apply to have some professors/grad students that are from your country then probably one of them will be consulted when evaluating your transcript. Saying that, there's pretty much no need to convert to 4.0 though. It may not make sense and not reflect the equivalent performance.

Thank you for the info.

[csKid]

Which university in India did you study in?. You have a great profile. I'm not sure about spring admissions, but what area are you interested in?? If you want a professional program, why not consider MSIT or MSIS.?

Edited June 8, 2011 by rejectMeNot

[ikkokusenkin]

Which university in India did you study in?. You have a great profile. I'm not sure about spring admissions, but what area are you interested in?? If you want a professional program, why not consider MSIT or MSIS.?

S. P. University, Gujarat. It's accredited as a B grade uni by the NAAC.

I'm looking at CS degrees (one of the following specializations: systems, game dev, s/w engg), not so much interested in business/IT.