Jump to content

Fall 2012 profile evaluation & university selection


sxu

Recommended Posts

Hi everyone, I'm planning to apply for grad school the coming fall and I need your help for deciding on my future goals! Here's my profile:

Current program: B.Sc in CS at McGill University,

GPA: 3.98

GRE: planning to take it in August/September

Research experience and LOR's: I should have three LOR's, I've worked with two professors in individual project courses, and I am doing research with a post-doc now on quantum information. But I'd say that the project with the post-doc is more involved; we may have a paper published but it probably won't be in time for the application.

I'm aiming for a research oriented program starting at fall 2012 in US/Canada. My current tendency is to stay in Canada for the MS as it seems to be more versatile and might give me a stronger application for the PHD later as I get to do more research. I haven't decided on exactly which area I want to work, but I've been interested in algorithms, graph theory, cryptography, also quantum information.

Based on my profile, which universities would seem to be a reasonable shot? Your comments are appreciated!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi everyone, I'm planning to apply for grad school the coming fall and I need your help for deciding on my future goals! Here's my profile:

Current program: B.Sc in CS at McGill University,

GPA: 3.98

GRE: planning to take it in August/September

Research experience and LOR's: I should have three LOR's, I've worked with two professors in individual project courses, and I am doing research with a post-doc now on quantum information. But I'd say that the project with the post-doc is more involved; we may have a paper published but it probably won't be in time for the application.

I'm aiming for a research oriented program starting at fall 2012 in US/Canada. My current tendency is to stay in Canada for the MS as it seems to be more versatile and might give me a stronger application for the PHD later as I get to do more research. I haven't decided on exactly which area I want to work, but I've been interested in algorithms, graph theory, cryptography, also quantum information.

Based on my profile, which universities would seem to be a reasonable shot? Your comments are appreciated!

If you are looking for a funded MS in Canada, you should definitely try for the very best : Toronto, UBC, Waterloo, McGill.

The US is significantly more complicated and you might need to look deeper. The best thing to do would probably be to ask your advisors/post-doc where they think you should apply and if they have contacts anywhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You mentioned that your publication probably wouldn't be in time for the app. If you can get it accepted, at least, during the application cycle, you can list is as being in press in the relevant journal/proceedings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You mentioned that your publication probably wouldn't be in time for the app. If you can get it accepted, at least, during the application cycle, you can list is as being in press in the relevant journal/proceedings.

Yeah I had a couple papers go from review to accepted while they were reviewing my app and most schools responded to an email updating the situation

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You better be applying for NSERC. I applied with a 3.94 GPA, limited research experience at the time, no publications, OK LORs (I didn't really get to know my professors super well until later on in the year, after the application was due) and I got a CGS-M. Having your own funding makes you that much more attractive as an applicant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You mentioned that your publication probably wouldn't be in time for the app. If you can get it accepted, at least, during the application cycle, you can list is as being in press in the relevant journal/proceedings.

Yeah I had a couple papers go from review to accepted while they were reviewing my app and most schools responded to an email updating the situation

You guys are right, I will definitely mention it.

You better be applying for NSERC. I applied with a 3.94 GPA, limited research experience at the time, no publications, OK LORs (I didn't really get to know my professors super well until later on in the year, after the application was due) and I got a CGS-M. Having your own funding makes you that much more attractive as an applicant.

Good call, I almost forgot about that...

Also, I was hoping for some university recommendations given the areas of interest that I've listed... Anyone?

Edited by sxu
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Keep in mind that the internal deadline for your school might be quite early. The deadline at my school for NSERC was the second week of September I think. See if you can find out and start contacting people for letters of reference and look for a potential research project to write about (this can be just filler, I think they just want to see how you can write a research proposal, you don't have to stick to it)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use