Choosing where to apply

[awestover89]

I am looking to go back to school for my Masters in Computer Science and am trying to narrow down which schools I should apply to. Right now there are three that have caught my attention:

 

1) DePaul University 

2) Illinois Institute of Technology

3) Johns Hopkins University - Engineering for Professionals

 

My main concerns are that the school offers a large breadth of CS courses, and I'd prefer having the option to complete either a Master's Thesis. DePaul and IIT both have an extremely large number of courses available, and both have thesis, project, and exam options. I live in Chicago-land, so I can attend either of these schools in person. Johns Hopkins has a bit more national prestige, but mostly for the medical program, and I would have to attend online.

 

I do not get tuition reimbursement, so my maximum I want to pay is around $40K for the entire program. IIT and DePaul are both around $40K, JHU is around $33K.

 

I also did not have the best undergrad GPA (3.2 overall at a small, private University) but I have been in the workforce full time for 3 years, and am taking the GRE even though it's optional to spruce up how I look. Still, I want to be realistic and not spend time and money applying to schools that I know I can't afford or have slim to no chance of being admitted.

 

Does anybody have any experience between my three main choices? Are there other schools I should be looking into? 

 

I really want to avoid schools that have a set program with almost no concentration/elective courses. I've seen a couple schools where the Master's program is 10 specific classes with no choice what to take.

[compiler_guy]

The chances are always slim, so applying to more schools as a sort of investment. But the good news is that applying to more schools increases your chances!

 

Other possible schools to consider:

Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, University of California (LA,San Diego,Irvine etc,.), U Wisconsin Madison, U Colorado Boulder and possible a few more

With relevant work experience and letters of recommendation, you have a more than decent chance to get in to the Masters program!

Edited December 9, 2013 by compiler_guy

[flm0003]

IIT looks like a good choice and I'll be applying there as well.  If your undergrad was in computer science and you want to learn something while taking your master's I'd suggest against DePaul.  I had taken a graduate database class there and dropped out after the first class because the first class was about how to use the Unix shell.  I would've expected that out of a freshman-level undergraduate class, not a graduate CS class.  I live near JHU and know people who have gotten their degree from JHU Engineering for Professionals.  They had good things to say about the program, but it is very much a professional master's program.  The program requirements, course selections and faculty are completely different than what is offered by the "real" Johns Hopkins at the Homewood Campus (which is ranked #28).

 

In the Chicago area - what about U of Chicago, Northwestern or UIC?  Also, there are several universities that offer the same courses online as their "real" CS masters program on campus: Colorado State, NC State, UIUC and Missouri S&T to name a few.  Those online programs may give you more bang for your buck compared to Hopkins.

[awestover89]

IIT looks like a good choice and I'll be applying there as well.  If your undergrad was in computer science and you want to learn something while taking your master's I'd suggest against DePaul.  I had taken a graduate database class there and dropped out after the first class because the first class was about how to use the Unix shell.  I would've expected that out of a freshman-level undergraduate class, not a graduate CS class.  I live near JHU and know people who have gotten their degree from JHU Engineering for Professionals.  They had good things to say about the program, but it is very much a professional master's program.  The program requirements, course selections and faculty are completely different than what is offered by the "real" Johns Hopkins at the Homewood Campus (which is ranked #28).

 

In the Chicago area - what about U of Chicago, Northwestern or UIC?  Also, there are several universities that offer the same courses online as their "real" CS masters program on campus: Colorado State, NC State, UIUC and Missouri S&T to name a few.  Those online programs may give you more bang for your buck compared to Hopkins.

 

UofC and Northwestern are too expensive, just about double DePaul/IIT and more than double JHU (UofC is almost triple the cost of JHU). I looked into Colorado State, but their MCS program didn't seem to have a large number of classes to choose from 17 classes available online, and you have to choose 9 of them to graduate, with additional restrictions based on course level. UIUC is too selective, I'm not going to kid myself, they recommend an undergrad GPA of 3.5 as a cutoff, and 3.7 for a strong chance of admission and I definitely did not have that. I had some motivation/procrastination problems in my undergrad, and that's the primary reason I wanted to wait a few years before going back for my Masters.

 

That is a bit concerning of DePaul, but at the same time I would expect some recap/basic information during the first week of a class. If the entire quarter was rehashed info I would be very concerned, but if it is just 1 week of rehashing and then the rest of the quarter is more advanced, that would be acceptable. I have my BS in Computer Science, so I definitely want to be learning something new.

Edited December 16, 2013 by awestover89