Professors' conflicting opinion on MS program matching

[ab2013]

Dear all,

My program advisor (who also taught me in one of my core major classes) has been very insistent on me applying to all the top 5 ranked programs, saying that "I should at least try" and that I stand a very good chance at getting into my current school (Michigan) and that I should not waste time on schools ranked lower than the Top 20. I get the impression that he possibly has written the strongest letter of all 3 professors I've requested letters from. I understand that he's also an extremely talented and well-known researcher in my major, so his letter should carry some weight, I presume.

The professor I did research with looked at my profile and told me not to waste time with the top 10 schools, even at the Masters level. He advised me to apply to lower ranked programs, expanding my search to schools under the Top 25. Though I did research with him, I do not think his letter is as strong as my program advisor's; a contributing factor is that he was a bit distant while I was active in his projects, so I ended up working more closely with his grad students. (His grad students have said that he has a positive opinion of me, so it maybe that some people are difficult to read)

The professor who is writing the third and (I expect) weakest letter has not had any input whatsoever, because I have had little contact with him. The only reason that he is on my reference list is that I did extremely well in his class, and his class was an advanced undergraduate level class.

I took my case to another professor, who did not know me as well, is currently teaching me but is not (yet) arranged to write a letter for me, agreed with the second professor, even going to the extent that I may not make it back into my current school, saying that my situation was "dicey" but noted that he wasn't on our school's graduate admissions committee and that he hasn't been a student for 20 years.

What do I do? I currently have a few Top 10 programs and a couple under Top 25, but most are between Top 10 and 25. I'm a bit anxious because since these people are writing letters for me, I don't want to come across as ignoring them, but I'm getting very conflicting opinions at this point. The schools that I'm currently applying to / have applied to is basically a rough consensus of professors' opinions of a (competitive) match and my perception of match in terms of interest/program compatibility.

Note that I'm not using rankings as a basis for selecting to schools, but I'm using it as an indirect measure of how competitive a program is, because the more prestigious it is, the more likely it'll attract competitive and talented applicants. I also don't want to apply to every program on the list due to time and monetary constraints and, most importantly, interest matching; some schools are not strong in the areas that I'm interested in, even if they do get name recognition.

Thanks!

[fdhkjal]

Apply where ever you want. The decision is yours, your professors are simply trying to give you input; they will write your letters of recommendation regardless of where you apply and they will use the same letter for every application.

Stop digging so deep into what the professors said, you sound like a women analyzing a text from a guy that says 'c u at 8'.

[Chai_latte]

I think you've done the right thing. You have a wide range of schools. Just make sure they're all good research fits.

[ssk2]

Apply to where you think is best for you.

That said, make sure you explain (even briefly) your rationale for your selection to your letter writers. This will help avoid antagonising them (in case they think you've ignored their advice) and may even help them write your letters with a better understanding of your motives.

Looking at your profile, it seems like you should have a reasonable chance at schools ranked 10-25. Then again, I'm less informed than your professors :-).

[ab2013]

Right ... Actually, another factor I forgot to mention but is also important for me is location. I don't want to go to school on the West Coast. All of the schools I've chosen are in the Midwest or Northeast and no more than a days worth of driving from home (my Dad has cancer so I'm not sure where that's going to go in the next couple of years and I'm planning on working full-time on the West Coast after I'm done with my MS)

My choices so far (UMCP and Purdue have been submitted)

• Tier 1 (<10) schools: Illinois and Cornell
  
• Tier 2 (10-25) schools: Michigan (choice), UMCP, UPenn, Purdue
  
• Tier 3 (> 25) schools: Ohio State and Michigan State
  

When he reviewed my transcript, my research prof said that he didn't like seeing how I screwed up in one of the important core major classes (got a B-); he thinks that could go against me. The third professor, who somewhat agreed with my research prof, said that my course rigor (e.g. no filler classes, just CS, math, and econ classes) should play in my favor.

I guess it might be that no one really knows.

Edited December 16, 2012 by ab2013

[fdhkjal]

A single B- from Michigan isn't gonna hurt you nearly as much as you think (or maybe I'm over estimating the rest of your profile).

My small piece of advice, which should obviously be taken with a grain of salt is that: You are getting a Masters, presumably for work related purposes. You go to a good school, thus I would drop Ohio State and Michigan State from the schools you are applying to (and maybe add cmu/mit/wisconsin/columbia/harvard/etc). It looks weird for companies when someone drops from a good school to a worse school (they assume you couldn't get a job because something is wrong with you that's not on your transcript/resume, etc); you'd be better off not getting the master's in that case, and say, working in your hometown for a few years before applying to companies on the west coast.

Edited December 16, 2012 by fdhkjal

[ab2013]

Well, I have a couple of B-'s and B's... the rest are B+'s and higher (my major GPA is around a 3.4). My profile isn't too strong. 

 

The only reason that I have MSU on my list is locality (I'm a Michigan resident) and possible in-state tuition. Would going to such a "worse school" even for a masters degree affect my career prospects? 

[fdhkjal]

Well, I have a couple of B-'s and B's... the rest are B+'s and higher (my major GPA is around a 3.4). My profile isn't too strong. 

 

The only reason that I have MSU on my list is locality (I'm a Michigan resident) and possible in-state tuition. Would going to such a "worse school" even for a masters degree affect my career prospects? 

This is my personal opinion and might not reflect those of others (or even most people): if I was reviewing a candidate, I would prefer the candidate with only a BS from michigan to the guy with a MS from MSU.  I will explain my reasoning as follows (again, my personal views):

(1). People generally only look at your last place of education, not your entire track record.

(2). They assume there is something wrong with you outside of what's written on paper because you didn't get a job immediately.  A common view from a company aspect is that when a person goes to a better school after their undergrad, they are more interested in the topic, want to learn more, etc.  When a person goes to a worse school, it means that they didn't get a good job offer and are trying to buy time.  Is this a fair assumption?  No, absolutely not; but there's other notorious assumptions like this such as fat people are inherently lazier. 

 

Maybe I'm exaggerating this, and I'm not saying that MSU or Ohio State are bad schools by any means, but what would your automatic assumption be if a Harvard undergrad went to, say, the University of Southern Mississippi for a masters...

 

On a side note, in computer science its easy to tell who is a good candidate and who isn't (unlike in business), so good companies will give out 15-30 minute phone interviews like candy so the more important thing to to actually have knowledge. 

 

Lastly, I'm currently at a top 4 school right now, and there are plenty of master's students who have similar profiles to yours.  I wouldn't sell yourself short.  Most of the people on this forum are PhD applicants, and the bar is much higher since the school is making a huge investment in them (6 years of paid tuition and a stipend -- depending on the school, this can be over half a million over the time the student spends there); schools generally see a master's program as a cash cow and have a lower bar. 

Edited January 13, 2013 by fdhkjal

[ab2013]

Hmmm ... I did eliminate MSU from my list of schools, but I did apply to OSU. Just playing really cautious. 

 

I'm wishing really hard that I can get back into Michigan. 

[ab2013]

Ummm ... I got rejected from Purdue last night. Should I be looking at safety schools or be prepared to tell Amazon that I'm changing my plans to go to grad school or be prepared to look for a full-time job next fall (if it sounds really bad to tell Amazon)? 

 

Sorry, I'm really panicking right now.  I'm scared that I won't make it into a good masters program.

Edited January 15, 2013 by ab2013

[fdhkjal]

I got rejected by some of my safety schools too, very few people get into all the places they apply; I see it kind of like a probability distribution, the more places you apply, the better chance you have of getting in somewhere. 

 

I'd need more info about Amazon to give good advice; but I personally didn't tell any of the places I got hired I was applying to grad school (but I mentioned I was considering it), I only told them after I got accepted into a program I wanted to go to that I won't be able to work at their company. 

Edited January 15, 2013 by fdhkjal

[ab2013]

Amazon told me that I had until November 15 to tell them about future plans, regardless of whether I had a grad school admit or not. So I told them that I was planning on going to grad school, so they gave me an internship. My career office instructed me that accepting a full-time offer then telling Amazon that I was going to grad school would be deemed as "reneging" on an offer. I can't afford this, because our career center has excellent resources, and I've already reneged on an internship before (they've told me reneging on an offer a second time would result in them revoking my privilege to utilize career services here) 

 

Currently, I'm considering adding a few more 20s. Are Brown, USC, and UNC good choices? Brown seems to have good connections, but they are very expensive and they seem to be really strong in graphics/visuals/spatial reality, which is not an area I'm interested in.

 

I still haven't heard back from UMCP, which was another one I sent out in mid-December; it seems that they post decisions in mid February, but I don't have high hopes for them.

Edited January 15, 2013 by ab2013

[ssk2]

University applications aside, it might be possible for Amazon to fast track you into a graduate position after an internship - if you intern with them and don't go to graduate school. I wouldn't worry about that too much.

[ab2013]

Fast track?

 

Should I not be overstressing about Purdue's rejection or be looking for alternate schools? 

Edited January 16, 2013 by ab2013

[ssk2]

I don't know how regimental these big tech firms are, particularly in the US, but certainly when interning at big banks, I've known people who intern and then join as permanent hires just a few months later. You may have a bit of downtime but it's not like you'll have a whole year on your hands.

[ab2013]

ssk2, I noticed that you had admit decisions in the footer... Does Cornell and UPenn have rolling decisions? (Is UPenn more selective than Cornell?)

[ssk2]

Both have deadlines - UPenn has three application cycles, I applied before the first. Cornell has just one deadline for Fall admissions but I applied before the Spring deadline so it appears their adcomms considered my application then.

 

Cornell is less competitive than many other courses because it's a professional Master's course and isn't sufficient for people looking to do a PhD afterwards.