How do european profile compare to other international profiles ?

[aquazeta]

Hi,

 

I am studying Engineering in a reputed French program (5 year combined bachelor / master program) although I am from Africa. So I wanted to switch to Computer Science by applying for a Master's degree in the US. There is not much information here since very few people apply for the United States. For this reason I have no idea how my profile compares to people from India, China and other countries. I selected Stanford / CMU / Georgia Tech / UCSD / Columbia for now. I recently took the GRE and got (170Q, 168V, 5.0 W), my TOEFL score is 118/120. 

Thing is french grades don't get high so it's tough to explain: last year I got 14/20 GPA (top 10%) and topper's grade is at 16/20. But this doesn't explain much: I am topping the class in all the subjects related to CS but I got really bad grades in unrelated subjects like power systems and mechanics (mandatory subjects if you want to get your bachelor).

Moreover, I don't have any research experience since French professors only work with grad students. I want to go to the US in fall 2016 but I could wait one more year: I will attend KAIST next semester as an exchange student and will be able to do research at INRIA this summer. 

So do you guys think I have a shot for 2016 fall admissions ?

[Komugi]

On 9/27/2015 at 6:46 PM, aquazeta said:

Hi,

 

I am studying Engineering in a reputed French program (5 year combined bachelor / master program) although I am from Africa. So I wanted to switch to Computer Science by applying for a Master's degree in the US. There is not much information here since very few people apply for the United States. For this reason I have no idea how my profile compares to people from India, China and other countries. I selected Stanford / CMU / Georgia Tech / UCSD / Columbia for now. I recently took the GRE and got (170Q, 168V, 5.0 W), my TOEFL score is 118/120. 

Thing is french grades don't get high so it's tough to explain: last year I got 14/20 GPA (top 10%) and topper's grade is at 16/20. But this doesn't explain much: I am topping the class in all the subjects related to CS but I got really bad grades in unrelated subjects like power systems and mechanics (mandatory subjects if you want to get your bachelor).

Moreover, I don't have any research experience since French professors only work with grad students. I want to go to the US in fall 2016 but I could wait one more year: I will attend KAIST next semester as an exchange student and will be able to do research at INRIA this summer. 

So do you guys think I have a shot for 2016 fall admissions ?

6

 

You could ask your professors to mention in their recommendations that you're among the top 5% or 3% of your class for instance. The good thing about your profile is your very high GRE scores, which is a common ground for comparing applications. So, you should do fine in your applications to top schools. May I ask how did you prepare for the GRE. I am preparing for the exam and so any advice would be very much appreciated.