Profile Evaluation!

[TvP]

I'm an international senior student of Computer Science, I would like to apply for Masters and I'm not sure about my chances. This fall I applied to PhD programs of top 30 universities in US but all of them rejected me so I thought I would better think of a Masters first since I might have higher chance of getting accepted.
My GPA is 3.23 (I'm ranked 5th in the class).
I have research experience at National University of Singapore's HCI Lab.
My Gre scores are 164/142/4.0
My IELTS overall score is 7
I have good recommendation letters and hopefully a good SoP...

Do you think I have chance of getting accepted to top universities for Masters ? If yes or no, which university you suggest me to apply ?

[TvP]

Oops I should edit my word, I applied to about 6 of those 30 top universities not all of them !

[jjsakurai]

My guess is that you've a good shot for a Masters at the top 30 or even the top 20. I'm not terribly familiar with MS decisions so it's only a guess.

I'd also recommend that you add Canadian institutions to your list (Toronto, Waterloo, UBC, McGill, Alberta). The tuition is usually a lot cheaper and it's somewhat easier to get financial aid.

[TvP]

Thanks for your help. I applied to Toronto's MS but they rejected me (I heard that for UofT you would better have contacted a professor and I hadn't!). I'm more into universities of US. Do you think I would better apply to a normal university for winter 2013 (like University of Tennessee Knoxville or Cal Poly that I have in mind) for MS and then transfer to top universities or I'd better wait more and just directly apply to top universities for Fall 2013 ?

Getting Financial aid (assistantship or others) is also very important to me.

[jjsakurai]

Thanks for your help. I applied to Toronto's MS but they rejected me (I heard that for UofT you would better have contacted a professor and I hadn't!). I'm more into universities of US. Do you think I would better apply to a normal university for winter 2013 (like University of Tennessee Knoxville or Cal Poly that I have in mind) for MS and then transfer to top universities or I'd better wait more and just directly apply to top universities for Fall 2013 ?

Getting Financial aid (assistantship or others) is also very important to me.

If Finaid is important to you, then it's very tough. Most US universities don't have finaid for MS students (and AFAIK, no US university admits MS students with any guarantee of financial aid - infact you usually have to prove that you've sufficient funds to cover the cost of education, either through your personal funds or loans). It is possible at several places to get a research assistantship (RA) or teaching assistantship (TA) but only a small minority of students get that so it's not something I'd recommend you rely on. Policies at every university may differ so I'd recommend contacting MS students at universities you're interested in to find out how common it is at that place to get an RA or a TA.

Toronto is a top university - comparable to a top 10 university in the US so admission is hard. Try and apply to the other Canadian Universities I mentioned. Some other good places are Simon Fraser, Carleton and Queens University.

Regarding transfer - I've never heard of an MS student transferring to another university. I guess it's possible but you'll likely end up paying even more depending on how many course credits you can transfer. Also transfer admission is usually a lot harder than regular admission.

Edited June 1, 2012 by jjsakurai

[TvP]

Thanks

Currently I might have the chance of getting Assistant ship from university of Tennessee Knoxville but the ranking is not so high. Do you think I'd better go there for this Winter or risk applying to better universities (like Simon Fraser or any other US University with Fund) for next Fall ?

Also Could you please let me know if you heard anything about transferring ?

[victor.s.andrei]

If Finaid is important to you, then it's very tough. Most US universities don't have finaid for MS students (and AFAIK, no US university admits MS students with any guarantee of financial aid - infact you usually have to prove that you've sufficient funds to cover the cost of education, either through your personal funds or loans). It is possible at several places to get a research assistantship (RA) or teaching assistantship (TA) but only a small minority of students get that so it's not something I'd recommend you rely on. Policies at every university may differ so I'd recommend contacting MS students at universities you're interested in to find out how common it is at that place to get an RA or a TA.

This is true. Most departmental and institutional aid goes to Ph.D. students.

Regarding transfer - I've never heard of an MS student transferring to another university. I guess it's possible but you'll likely end up paying even more depending on how many course credits you can transfer. Also transfer admission is usually a lot harder than regular admission.

Same here. But you can get an MS at one school and then apply to a Ph.D. program at another school.

Edited June 7, 2012 by victor.s.andrei

[victor.s.andrei]

Currently I might have the chance of getting Assistant ship from university of Tennessee Knoxville but the ranking is not so high. Do you think I'd better go there for this Winter or risk applying to better universities (like Simon Fraser or any other US University with Fund) for next Fall ?

Also Could you please let me know if you heard anything about transferring ?

jjsakurai suggested applying to Canadian schools. I concur with this advice, and I'm a native-born U.S. student.

You might face some bias here in the US as an Iranian student (this story should make it quite obvious), plus, even if you get admitted, good luck getting a visa to study here.

[victor.s.andrei]

I'd also recommend that you add Canadian institutions to your list (Toronto, Waterloo, UBC, McGill, Alberta). The tuition is usually a lot cheaper and it's somewhat easier to get financial aid.

I spoke with the folks at Alberta's CS department a few years ago when I was last in Edmonton visiting family. The admissions track at Alberta (and most Canadian universities) differs in that most students are directed to master's programs, which tend to be funded, and then go on to PhDs afterwards once they prove themselves. This differs from U.S. universities, which direct most students to PhD programs and rarely fund their master's programs.

Also, completing a graduate degree at a Canadian school can make it easier to immigrate to Canada, if the OP wanted to do so.

[emmm]

Currently I might have the chance of getting Assistant ship from university of Tennessee Knoxville but the ranking is not so high.

If you have the opportunity to get funding for a master's, then I would suggest not worrying about the ranking too much. You will get an opportunity to study and obtain more research experience and would be able to position yourself well for PhD applications. Just my opinion, but perhaps something to consider.

Edited June 7, 2012 by emmm

[TvP]

jjsakurai suggested applying to Canadian schools. I concur with this advice, and I'm a native-born U.S. student.

You might face some bias here in the US as an Iranian student (this story should make it quite obvious), plus, even if you get admitted, good luck getting a visa to study here.

I don't really think there would be any consequences, I have many friends studying in US without any problems and the government has also put some support for the visa of the students recently. But still that's a good point to consider...

[TvP]

I spoke with the folks at Alberta's CS department a few years ago when I was last in Edmonton visiting family. The admissions track at Alberta (and most Canadian universities) differs in that most students are directed to master's programs, which tend to be funded, and then go on to PhDs afterwards once they prove themselves. This differs from U.S. universities, which direct most students to PhD programs and rarely fund their master's programs.

Also, completing a graduate degree at a Canadian school can make it easier to immigrate to Canada, if the OP wanted to do so.

Yeah you are right, funding for MS in Canada and also the possibility of immigration is really good... Acutally I'm still waiting for the results of the University of Victoria that I applied , but that one is also not a very high ranked university, so next year maybe I'll apply for better ones in Canada...

[TvP]

If you have the opportunity to get funding for a master's, then I would suggest not worrying about the ranking too much. You will get an opportunity to study and obtain more research experience and would be able to position yourself well for PhD applications. Just my opinion, but perhaps something to consider.

Yeah actually the main reason that I'm more tended to US for a MS is that I'll have a good chance of entering a top uni for PhD, but I'm thinking, in case that I changed my mind about going for a PhD, its better to hold a MS from a top uni than a normal one... (btw, the ranking aside, is tennessee knoxville a known university in US ?)

[victor.s.andrei]

in case that I changed my mind about going for a PhD, its better to hold a MS from a top uni than a normal one...

Not always. Depends what you want to do, actually. The benefit of going to a "top" ranked program is that you can get exposure to better research opportunities and networking opportunities with professors and other students. That said, sometimes the best research opportunities in a particular speciality aren't at the "top" ranked programs.

[TvP]

Hmm thats very interesting, I should really consider this.... thanks !