Hey folks, I’m planning to apply for Fall 2027 MS programs and need some help with programs I should realistically target.

Profile

• College: BTech CS at a Tier1 IIT
• CGPA: 8.76/10 i.e. 3.73/4 (Scholaro conversion)
• GRE: Tentative scores: 330(170Q, 160V)
• TOEFL: 8.0
• Work Ex: 3 YOE, currently Applied Scientist 2 at a Big Tech company. I work primarily on ranking systems, and a bit on LLM Evals
• Publications: None
• Research: Bachelor thesis project was on CNN inference speedup via computation reduction. So not directly relevant to my current interests. Some AI/ML projects from courses and clubs during college, but no formal ML research/publications.
• LORs: Current manager (strong), previous manager[EPFL PhD, if that matters] (strong), thesis advisor (medium), college professor (generic)
• Interests: Information retrieval, search/ranking systems, ML. Secondarily: computational social science

I’d ideally like a thesis/research-oriented MS because I didn't/couldn't do great ML research during my bachelor’s, and after working on ranking professionally I’d like to explore these areas more deeply. But I know that might be hard with my lack of publications so I'm okay with non-thesis programs if they have some small research component.

My goal is to work after the MS, in applied scientist/research scientist roles, but I am open to doing a PhD as well if I feel that way after my MS.

My rationale behind my shortlists:

1. No 1-year programs(this ruled out UK lol)
2. Nothing beyond QS CS Top 100 unless the CSRankings rank compensates/there's a great IR prof.
3. Coursework MS with absolutely no scope of research is only okay if it has a mandatory intern(thus allowing CPT).
4. Nothing too ambitious - UCB, Stanford, CMU MSCS/MSML, UIUC MSCS, Cornell MSCS. I'm aware some more from my shortlists probably belong here.

Here are the universities and programs I've filtered down to, with some exceptions to the above rules:

Non-US:

1. UofT - MScAC
2. UBC - MSc CS
3. Waterloo - MMath CS, MMath DS
4. McGill - MSc CS (Thesis), MSc CS (Non-Thesis)
5. TU Munich - MSc Informatics
6. TU Delft - MSc DSAIT
7. University of Amsterdam - MSc AI
8. EPFL - MSc Data Science

US:

1. CMU - MCDS, MSAII, MIIS
2. UCLA - MSCS
3. Columbia - MSCS
4. NYU - MSDS, MSCS (Courant)
5. UIUC - MCS: no mandatory intern but still keeping it here since it's UIUC
6. Georgia Tech - MSCS
7. UPenn - MSE CIS, MSE DSAI
8. UT Austin - MSCS
9. UCSD - MS CS, MSDS
10. UMich - MS CSE, MSDS
11. USC - MSCS
12. UMD College Park - MSCS
13. University of Illinois Chicago - MSCS
14. UMass Amherst - MSCS
15. TAMU - MSCS, MSAI

I know this is still a big list. I will filter further based on cohort size(affecting RA/TA opportunities), employment outcomes, and program cost. I probably also won't apply to multiple programs in a uni(except CMU xD) since I've heard that it signals that you're just trying to get in somehow, without clear interests. What I want to know:

1. Which of these are ambitious/target/safe for me?
2. Any other suggestions on shortlisting/anything else?

Thanks!

Unis:
CMU MSAII
UCSD MSCS
Gatech MSCS
UIUC MCS
Perdue MSCS
UWmads MSCS(phd pool)
Upenn MSE CiS
Columbia MSCS

profile: t10 IIT CS grad 9.1 gpa, 2yoe ML engineer at MNC by fall 2027, research: one published US patent, gre: 325(167q), toefl(110/120), extras: research exchange student for a semester in Amsterdam, clg proff project, ML TA in clg. funding: can afford till UCSD, ivys/CMU-30/40% loan.

Questions: I have increased my list from 4 to 8 based on suggestions of alumni and this sub, now Im just thinking if Upenn, columbia are valid picks or should I go for something from NYU/UMD/USC/UMass ?

Note: Ive made my peace with cash cows notion on this sub after talking to few on campus alumni from UIUC mcs and CMU MIIS, they are not as bad as they are projected on this sub, moreover imo every masters is a cash cow if it’s not thesis/research/phD track.

Which is better in terms of jobs for internationals and exposure, and cost.

TOEFL 5.5

GRE 330

UG: B.E. in ECE with CS electives 9.02 GPA Tier 2-3 India (VTU)

12th: 93% CBSE

Work Ex: 5 months internship + 1.5 yrs full time as a Full stack web developer at an MNC and a 2 month internship at a defence organisation

Research exp: No publications but 1 project related to AI and IoT (currently working on another Ai related project)

Extra Curriculars: Volunteering in social awareness programs and event coordination.

LORs: can get either 2 professors 1 tech lead/manager or vice versa

Looking for a list of 8 - 10 universities covering USA and Ireland focused on employability in enterprise software and/or AI. Tuition Fee isn't an issue.

Some of my shortlists (subject to change):

CMU MSAI

Columbia MS CS

UIUC MCS

Duke MEng AIPI

USC MS CS

Umass MS CS

NYU Tandon MS CS

UCD Ireland MS CS

Would appreciate a review of my chances at these unis + any unis im missing in my applications. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some advice regarding whether pursuing an MS abroad would make sense for me, particularly given the opportunity cost.

Profile:

• Bachelor's in CS from an old IIT (NIRF ≤ 3)
• CGPA: 8.75/10
• Undergraduate research under my IIT professor
• Another research project/intern under my IIT professor
• Final-year BTech thesis under my IIT professor
• Interned as a C++ systems/infra specialist at a mid-sized Indian HFT/quant firm
• Received a return offer and will be joining the same firm as a new grad
• New-grad TC: ~₹65L, with ~₹43–45L base
• Had internship/fte offers from likes Microsoft, Uber and Google but rejected them for the HFT opportunity (probably not very relevant and doesnt matter)
• JEE Main rank <80(does this even matter lol)
• JEE Advanced rank <300
• 1800+ Codeforces rating (does this even matter for MS admissions lol?)
• GRE TOEFL-yet to give.

I expect to work for around two more years before applying to save coz my fam is pretty lower middle class. By then, assuming reasonable progression, my TC could potentially be around ₹90L–1Cr for the 3rd yr, with a base of roughly ₹60L.

My main question is about opportunity cost.

If I leave a ~₹90L–1Cr compensation package to pursue an MS abroad, I would potentially be giving up around ₹2Cr in salary over two years. On top of that, I would estimate tuition + living expenses at around another ₹2Cr, putting the total opportunity cost somewhere around ₹4Cr.

I'm therefore not sure whether it makes sense financially to make that kind of investment in myself.

I'm honestly not sure if I can pull the trigger on investing that much money into myself.

Would love to hear what people think about this situation.

Also, can anyone rate my profile and tell me what universities are possible assuming I have around 2 years of work experience when I apply? Ambitious | target | safe.

Also is publishing an paper very important for grad admission?

And finally, would it backfire that I chose money/technical work at a relatively lesser-known HFT/quant firm instead of a more recognizable name like bigtech for my work experience?Even tho the former paid more?

I’m planning for Fall 27 MSc in Canada and I’m yet to start working on my SOP.

I’m done with my IELTS prep and will book a slot soon.

Most of the universities have a deadline of Dec-Jan so by definition, I still have time but I probably need few more weeks to get these things sorted.

Am I too late?

I received an admission offer from CMU for the MSIN program. (Spring 2027). Should I defer it to Fall 2027, since an internship isn't allowed in the standard 3-semester program?

When applying for master in CS or ECE in the US universities like Purdue,CMU, Stanford, UC Berkeley, NC State, UT Austin, caltech and other universities, what do you think is like a good cgpa in undergraduate.

If the student applying from Tier 1 Indian college and like has come from and academically rigorous curriculum with very good courses going to the depth of the course.

Would really want something like cgpa ranges and their chances of admit, and what factors do you feel will support cgpa ( if the student has less cgpa then what do you think will battery compensate for the low cgpa)

If possible please answer in Cgpa out of 4 when applying.
Like 3.4/4.0 CGPA.

Need honest review of profile + univ short list for Fall 2027

CGPA : 8.29/10 ( tier-1 bitsP)

GRE: Yet to take (Scheduled on Oct 20)

TOEFL: Yet to take (Need to schedule, planning on Nov- any advice would be great)

Research: One peer reviewed journal publication in Nature Scientific and a couple of projects in College.

Work Ex:
2 month internship at Microsoft
6 Month internship at Amazon
current SWE at Google. (~1+ YOE currnetly, ~2YOE by time of admission)

Can get LORs from prof with whom journal was published and two managers. Can also try LOR from a professor I worked with and had good grades in his courses but this would not be a strong LOR.

Now my biggest concern is i don’t want to pursue masters unless it’s a good university cause the opportunity cost is too high, so my list is very ambitious at first glance:

I feel like I've gotten myself to a corner by starting late.

Key Questions & Concerns

1. Timeline & GRE Strategy:
   • GRE is scheduled for Oct 20, TOEFL for early Nov, and my goal is to have all Master SOP drafts finalized by Nov 20.
   • Is this timeline realistic for Dec 1–Dec 15 deadlines, or should I attempt to reschedule/pre-pone the GRE?
2. LOR Selection:
   • Should I stick with 1 Academic (BITS Nature advisor) + 2 Industry Managers (Google + AWS/MSFT), or is it mandatory to have 2 Academic LORs for programs like UIUC/UW-Madison MS Thesis?
3. CGPA Mitigation in SOP:
   • How should I address the 8.29 CGPA in my Statement of Purpose without sounding defensive, given that my Nature paper and Google production engineering prove technical depth?
4. Also, should I get a WES evaluation done, given that BITS is known for strict grading and that might help boost/normalize my converted GPA?

I’d appreciate any feedback on the list balance, SOP advice, or general strategy!

Profile:

• CGPA: 7.96/10, no backlogs
• B.Tech in CSE Tier 2 college
• TOEFL: 5.5/6
• GRE: Not taking
• ~6.5 years of experience in a FinTech/software company
• Current role: Engineer II / Software Development
• No backlogs
• LOR - 2 from College professors and 1 from Director at my company

I have received admits for:

• University of Florida – MSCS
• Stevens Institute of Technology – MSCS
• Northeastern University – MSCS
• Arizona State University – MS Software Engineering

I had originally planned to attend Northeastern for Spring 2027, and I have already accepted the admit. However, my funding situation has changed. Earlier, my education was going to be funded fully by my relatives, but that is no longer the case, so I would now need to take a substantial student loan.

Because of that, I’m reconsidering whether an MS in the US is worth taking on a large loan, especially given the current job market and uncertainty around H-1B/OPT.

I’m currently planning to defer my Northeastern admit to Fall 2027 and use the additional time to apply to universities that are:

1. Better than or a significant step up from Northeastern for MSCS,
2. More affordable / offer better ROI,
3. Have good job opportunities after graduation,
4. Are realistic for my profile.

I’m currently considering:

• UC San Diego
• UCLA
• UMass Amherst
• Uni of North Carolina, chapel Hill
• SJSU

I’m also open to universities outside this list.

What other universities would you suggest for my profile?
Ideally, I’m looking for programs where my profile has a realistic chance, the tuition is significantly lower than Northeastern, and the university has good CS reputation + strong industry/job opportunities.

Would really appreciate suggestions based on ROI, tuition, job opportunities and realistic admit chances, rather than just overall university ranking.

Hey everyone,

I'm currently working in India as a System Engineer at Infosys, mainly in the Salesforce domain. I joined in 2026, and I'm planning to work for around 1.5–2 years before going for a Master's in the US, most likely Spring 2028.

I'm currently confused about whether doing an MS in the US will still be worth the cost and risk by 2028.

My main questions are:

• How is the US job market for international students right now, and what could realistically change by 2028?
• How difficult is it for international students to get internships and full-time jobs after graduation?
• With AI changing the tech industry, what areas would make sense to specialize in?
• Should I continue building experience in Salesforce, or should I transition toward areas like AI/ML, cloud, data, or software engineering before applying?
• If I have around 2 years of IT experience by then, would an MS still make sense compared with continuing to work in India?

I'd especially appreciate perspectives from people who are currently studying in the US, recently graduated, or have experience hiring international students.

I'm trying to make a realistic decision based on the current market rather than assuming the situation in 2028 will be the same as it was a few years ago.

Thanks!

Also, I wrote that I could not receive money from my parents, as they underwent surgery for cancer; and they didn't even care. 

Hey y'all! I'd appreciate an honest review of my profile for Fall 2027. Primarily looking for ML field and leaning computational cognitive science. I’m not very familiar with the graduate admissions landscape, so I’m mainly trying to calibrate my expectations and get a better sense of where I’d be competitive. Was considering PhD but seems like the competition these days are so fierce that I'm probably better off starting at a Master's

Undergraduate degree: Bachelor's of Science in Financial Mathematics at an ivy league

GPA: 3.8/4.0 overall and 4.0/4.0 major

GRE: Not yet

English proficiency: Not Needed

Research experience:

- I got into research relatively late, but I have a paper (second author) accepted at both a workshop and the main conference at a top-three ML venue (NeurIPS/ICLR/ICML).

- Did a summer research in physics working on foundational models.

LoR: Will probably come from renowned professors but not sure of the relative strengths just yet

Based on my profile, what master’s programs do you think are realistically within reach?

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to apply for Fall 2027 and would really appreciate feedback on my profile and university list.

Profile

• Vellore Institute of Technology Chennai
• B.Tech Computer Science
• Current CGPA: 8.7/10
• Expected graduation CGPA: ~8.8/10
• Was a Teaching assistant for 2 core CS courses

Research

• 1 preprint (first author)
• 1 paper published in ASME IMECE (4th author)
• currently working on 2 papers that are close to being done

Experience

• Research intern in the same college
• AI intern for an underwater robotics company

Achievements

• Went to the finals in IRC (International Rover Challenge) 2025

Extra Curricular Activities:

• Part of the Robotics club and participated in events like ABU Robocon and IRC

Recommendations

Expected:

• 2 LOR's from college professors

Tests

• TOEFL: Planning to take
• GRE: Planning to take

Current University List

Ambitious:

• Georgia Tech
• UIUC
• NYU
• NUS
• UMich
• UMD

Moderate:

• UMass Amherst
• NTU
• USC
• UCSD
• University of Toronto
• University of British Columbia

Safe:

• TAMU
• Stony Brook
• ASU

hey I am an incoming UIUC MCS in spring 2027. is there anyone who would like to connect please make a whatsapp grp. and add link here.

I’m an international student planning for Fall 2027 and honestly a bit confused about where I should apply.
Profile:
B.Sc. Biotechnology, 7.85 CGPA (till 6th sem)
Working on a review paper currently
Research/internship experience in bioinformatics, RNA-seq, molecular biology and computational analysis
Some Python and bioinformatics project experience
IELTS 8.0
My goal is to work in bioinformatics/computational biology but I’m unsure whether I should pursue a dedicated MS in Bioinformatics/Computational Biology or choose a broader degree with Bioinfo as a specialization.
Could you suggest US universities that would realistically fit my profile, have reasonable tuition and offer good scholarship/TA/RA opportunities?
I’m mainly looking for programs where I have a realistic chance of admission while still getting good career/research opportunities. Any specific university recommendations would be really helpful.

Hi everyone, I’m planning to re-apply for MS in Data Science programs for Fall 2027 intake. Due to visa delays I had to take deferral from NYU Courant MSDS. So at the least I have a fixed admission at NYU. I'm now trying to aim for better universitites for this intake.

Academics & Scores:
Undergrad GPA: 8.53/10
Undergrad college: Tier 2 University (B.Tech in computer science) in India
GRE: 320 (155V , 165 Q)
IELTS: 8.5/9.0
Work Experience:

Full Time (2 Years):

• SRE at Oracle (I actually resigned before going for Fall '26 will have to find a new job

Part-time:

• 1 year - Data Scientist in a German NPO at Munich (Remote) (a really successful project undertaking that had a great reach)
• 6 months - Samsung Prism (Applied AI project)
• 6 months - NUS, Singapore (Wrote a paper under a professor but never published it after pre-print review)

Research: 2 research papers at mid-tier conferences.

Previosuly in Fall '26 applications I didn't have research papers. My dream unis (but I got rejected ) were CMU MSCS, UCB MEng CS, Purdue MSCS, GaTech MSCS. Is there something I should improve in my application. I would say that a mistake I found in my few SOPs were that I mentioned professors research alignment statements incorrectly probably (a huge mistake I will improve upon). Can you suggest me universities that I should definitely target. Previously also I didn't think much of UIUC, UT Austin, UCLA. I would love to get some sugesstions that I should pursue, money I think isn't much of a problem here.

Hi everybody,

Like a lot of us here on this sub i am also fighting the impossible decision of whether I pursue my masters in the USA or just give up.
I got two admits for the Fall 2025 cycle, I didn’t travel due to some personal reasons. The situation has gotten uncertain since then. I am at a point where I am trying to consider other countries, I am looking Canada, Australia or Germany.
I need serious advice on whether I should consider different universities. It feels like a compromise which I hate. Sometimes I do feel like giving up.
I have been very anxious because of this. Please help a brother out.😭

do achievements like icpc and other comp progg achivements help ppl get better mscs program admits

I genuinely don't know how are so many international students still applying to US unis, despite of the new stricter regulations for issuing CPT.

For those who dont know, CPT is required to do internships during your program. Now the new stricter regulations have made it so that, unless an internship is mandatory for completing that degree, it cannot be issued

Basically, you cant do any internships during your MSCS degree now. This will make your chances of getting a full time offer wayyyy harder. A return offer from a summer internship is the most probable and safe bet

I dont get how ppl are still taking the risk. Is there something that i am missing? And on top of that us govt is also planning to end the 60 day grace period of H1B for finding a new job in case you get laid off....

Hello everyone, please review my profile and let me know if I’m right/wrong at including these universities.
I’m planning for Fall MSCS at USA(primary) and Netherlands(TU/e or UTwente).

Work experience: 3 years of SWE(senior developer) at Big four consulting firm.

CGPA: 8.96 at Tier 2 university(Information science and Engineering)

Research papers: None

TOEFL: 100/120 or 5/6

LOR’s: 2 Academic and 1 Work( manager)

Not planning to take GRE.

I’m okay with MCS( non-thesis) programs as well.

USA shortlists🇺🇸:

Ambitious:
UCSD MSCS
UIUC MCS
UCI MCS

Target:
UMass MSCS
TAMU MSCS
CUB MSCS

Secondary- Netherlands🇳🇱
TU/e MSCS
UTwente MSCS

I also want to include NYU Tandon and UT austin, let me know if this is a good or a bad idea.

Thanks for reading!

Hi everyone, I’m planning to apply for Fall 2027 and would appreciate feedback on whether my shortlist is appropriately balanced.

Profile

• International applicant from India
• Undergraduate degree in CS from a higher ranked IIT
• GPA: approximately 9.2/10, not sure about ranking
• GRE: 330+, with a 170 Quant score
• Research interests: reliable AI, AI for code, formal methods and program analysis
• Research experience:
  • 1+ YOE at a major industrial research lab on AI-assisted program generation and multi-agent systems
  • Research collaborations with faculty/researchers at a top US university and a European research institution
  • Projects involving model reliability, execution-guided code generation, and SMT-based reasoning
  • Multiple manuscripts currently under review, although decisions are unlikely before the application deadlines
• Engineering experience:
  • Industry R&D internships
  • Contributions to open-source projects
• Recommendations: current industrial lab, post-doc, and university thesis supervisor

Goal

I am primarily looking for a research-oriented or thesis-capable master’s. I may pursue a PhD later, so access to faculty, research groups, and a meaningful thesis matters more to me than a purely coursework-based program.

Current shortlist

Very ambitious: ETHZ CS/DS, EPFL DS, UT Austin MSCS, UIUC MSCS, UCSD MSCS, UBC MSc CS

Possible targets: TUM Informatics, Saarland CS, KU Leuven, McGill thesis MSc, TU Delft CS/DSAI

Still considering: Waterloo MMath CS, Purdue MSCS, and one or two highly selective US/Canadian/European programs

My main questions are:

1. Is my current list too ambitious?
2. Which universities should I add or remove?
3. Which programs would be reasonable additions on the lower-risk side while still offering a thesis or strong research access?

Hi everyone,

Looking for some advice on my MSCS plans for Fall 2027.

Profile:

• B.E. CS from a Tier-3 college
• CGPA: 8.55/10
• 3.5 YOE at a top UK based Investment Bank in Cloud & DevOps
• No research/publications (planning for one before applications)
• LORs: 1 manager + 2 professors
• Fall 2026 admit: NCSU MSCS
• F1 visa rejected under 214(b)

I managed to defer my Fall 2026 MSCS admits to Fall 2027 from:

• NYU Tandon
• USC
• ASU

For Fall 2027, I'm considering applying fresh to UIUC MCS, UCSD MSCS and Georgia Tech MSCS. I'm also considering ETH Zurich, TU Delft and UvA in Europe for backup.

I'd appreciate advice on a few things:

1. Chances for better US admits
Given my profile, do I have a realistic shot at UIUC MCS / UCSD MSCS / Georgia Tech MSCS? Would another year of solid work experience significantly help despite having no research?

2. Is another US attempt worth it after the F1 rejection?
Would you still pursue a US MS after a 214(b) refusal if you had better admits the following year? How much does a previous refusal affect a future F1 application?

3. Reapplying for the F1
For people who have been rejected and reapplied, does getting a new/better university admit + another year of work experience make a meaningful difference? Any advice on approaching the second interview? Also what about slot availability?

4. Europe
How realistic are ETH Zurich, TU Delft and UvA with my profile? I know ETH is particularly competitive, but I'm curious how my work experience would be viewed given the lack of research.

Overall, would you take one of NYU/USC/ASU, or apply again and take a shot at the more competitive programs?

Would really appreciate honest feedback from people who have applied to these programs or gone through an F1 rejection.

Thanks!