Going back to school after 5+years

[SDxx]

Hello!

I will try going back to school after 5+ years in the workforce. My question is whether such is feasible, and if so, what hurdles do I need to consider? Basically, I am not sure what admission committee members look for in non-traditional students. Any comments about topics my application should address are welcomed! Below are some stats about me.

I will be applying for the MS computer science graduate program.

GPA: 3.82, ECE, Big State School

GRE: 162V/167Q/4.5AWA

1 Patent and 1 Publication

1 year work experience as software qa

3 year work experience as embedded software eng.

1 year work experience as full-stack software eng.

... and if it counts, 2 internships prior to full-time work

Edited December 31, 2015 by SDxx

[svent]

You'll need to hope your professors remember you for LORs, and have sufficient coursework. You may need to find a school to take classes at in a non-degree capacity (this is also good for LORs, doing so gave me 2 current LORs, only needed to use 1 LOR from graduating 5 years ago in a different field). Data structures, algorithms, computer organization, operating systems, automata theory, etc.

Edited December 31, 2015 by svent

[MarineBluePsy]

I too went back for my Master's after being out of undergrad awhile and getting LORs was the biggest hurdle.  The schools I applied to were very understanding of it being unlikely that I could find a professor from way back when to write one and were willing to accept LORs from relevant employers and community service projects.  Other than that my having worked for several years was not viewed negatively.  I had experiences that helped me think differently, allowed me to bring a unique perspective to classroom discussions, and shaped my research in unexpected ways. 

[SDxx]

On December 31, 2015 at 1:23 AM, SDxx said:

... and if it counts, 2 internships prior to full-time work

ok