need advice urgently regarding my long term plan

[islam3zzat]

I'm Egyptian, and currently in a post graduate diploma in computer science. I'm very much interested in machine learning and data mining.

I read every day and watch lectures beside my studying in the diploma. After 2 years (when I finish the diploma) I want to continue my education in the states because its the center of the universe of computer science, the problem is....
I have no money (literally),
please do tell me any advice about what should I do in those 2 years besides studying to earn a scholarship .
which university should I apply to
MS or PhD

 

thank you for your caring 
 

[Seeking]

If you don't have money you should apply to a funded PhD.

 

It's easier to get funding in PhD than in MS.

 

Look for funding information on university websites. Those who have funding for International candidates clearly say so.

 

Make sure your grades are good, you have three people in your field willing to write a strong recommendation letter for you and see what kind of writing sample and personal statement your program requires. Work on those. Get Good scores on the GRE and TOEFL/IELTS.

Edited November 30, 2013 by Seeking

[memyselfandcoffee]

I am not in your field, and I didn't apply to US, but in my field (psychology) research experience is practically essential, so getting a job as a research assistant is really great for my field. Another thing that helps is having a publication, if you do an MSC or maybe even as research assistant you can perhaps be involved inot somthing that gets published and so get your name on a publication.

 

as already metnioned good GRE scores and good letters of reccomendation are essential, and you can start on getting those now, 

 

Good luck

 

Elise

[islam3zzat]

Thank you for your advice, it was very helpful I'm going to do my best to follow them, though my field is not very common in Egypt so following your advice Elise may be hard but may be I can publish something online .

[qualthian]

You have no money, so you don't get to choose universities. Apply for Ph.D. programs that can accept you, all places that fits you.

 

Or, you can apply to Masters programs which can accept you as part time student, so that you can work somewhere to cover your costs. But beware that most countries won't give you a work permit, so you would have to do it illegally and might end up in jail = destroy your future career. So, beware. Also, if you work during masters, you won't have much time for research and lower your chances for future Ph.D.

 

In these two years, do your best to publish 1-2 papers in journals and 1 in a conference(This is the best case, come as close to this as possible). This will get you into most places. You should use your time very efficiently. You can choose to do research in whatever topic you want, not necessarily in machine learning. This is just to prove that you can do research and the Ph.D. program won't blow its money by investing in you.