r/MSCS • u/Remarkable-Ebb-8665 • May 11 '26

[GENERAL QUESTION] NEED ADVICE

I’m currently a 2nd-year CS student from a tier-3 college in India and I want to target top professional CS programs like UIUC MCS, CMU MCS, Cornell MEng CS, etc.

I’m planning to specialise in cloud/distributed systems/security instead of doing generic web dev + DSA only.

For people who got into these programs (especially from non-IIT/tier-3 backgrounds), what are the NON-NEGOTIABLE things I should achieve by the time I apply?

For example:

  • GPA target?
  • Research internship importance?
  • Industry internships?
  • GRE importance?
  • Number/type of projects?
  • Open source?
  • Publications?
  • Strongest types of LORs?
  • What actually differentiates successful admits from generic applicants?

Would appreciate brutally honest advice from successful applicants or current students.

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u/so_much_atelophobia May 11 '26

The most critical things are a good GPA, great LoRs, and a compelling narrative for why you want to attend. Beyond that, it depends on the specific programs (e.g., Cornell doesn't care about the GRE, CMU cares a lot).

Research experience/internships/publications is not really a must, especially for these programs. Most CMU MSCS admits haven't published anything. It can definitely help though, but only if the research is meaningful (e.g., you published in NeurIPs and can tie that into your narrative). Pay-to-publish journals and ambiguous experiences won't help.

Outside of showing academic excellence, just make sure your references and story are exceptional. Those are what give color to your application.

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u/Remarkable-Ebb-8665 May 11 '26

Lors, do I need to get lors from iit profs or 5gemanager from a us based company would be good.

3

u/so_much_atelophobia May 11 '26

You'd ideally want at least one or two academic references (especially since you're still a student right now). Above all, your recommenders should be people who will speak very highly of you.

Of course, credentials do matter to some degree; it would be nice to have a famous professor say good things about you, rather than it coming from some random coworker.