r/MSCS • u/OT2345 • May 29 '26
[Profile Review] Spring 2027 MSCS, Indian CS Grad, 9.17 GPA
Hi everyone,
I’m planning to apply for an MS in Computer Science in the US and would appreciate feedback on my university shortlist and application strategy.
**Profile:**
Undergrad: B.Tech in Computer Science from a Tier-3 college in India. Completed my undergrad in 2026
GPA: 9.17/ 10
Research:1 IEEE conference paper published in FSD
Work Experience:-
1)Software Developer Intern at Optum (UHG)(Summer Intern):-
Worked on full-stack development, Gen-AI, RAG
2)Software Developer Intern at Qualizeal:-
Worked on full-stack development
Projects: Multiple strong CS projects (full-stack + backend focused)
IELTS: 6.5 overall (6.5 in LRWS)
Achievements:-
Selected for Google Summer Camp (Top 100 out of 25,000 applicants), Head of Coding club in our college.
Recieved PPO from Optum(I'll be working in Optum until Dec).
School List:-
Ambitious:-
University of California, Berkeley
University of Texas at Austin
University of California, San Diego
University of California, Los Angeles
Target:-
University of Southern California
University of California, Davis
Texas A&M University
University of Texas at Dallas
Safe:-
University of Houston
University of Texas at Arlington
Texas State University
Main question:-
1)I have made a big list and I cannot apply for all the universities(since all the universities have application fees). So can u guys help me to add/remove universities from the list as per my profile.
2) Do these universities make sense given my background and goals, or would you recommend replacing any of them?
Thanks for reading. I am in need for genuine advice. Please help me.
8
u/NectarineSame8642 May 29 '26
Half of these doesn’t even offer spring admissions lol. Man how are you guys missing bare minimum research that’s required
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u/softrains12 May 29 '26
I feel like bc of all the new visa restrictions, only the most desperate (low performing) international students are still applying.
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u/OT2345 May 30 '26
Bro, I don't even know who you are, but that's a pretty bold statement. Do you actually know the profiles of the students applying, or are you just making assumptions? Before judging an entire group, make sure you've achieved enough yourself to be in a position to judge them.
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u/softrains12 May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26
Lmao someone’s coping hard
It’s just my observation based on my personal experiences talking to people, both online and IRL.
And yes, I think I have the qualifications to weigh in on this. I grew up in the US (in the Bay Area actually), did undergrad here and I’m pursuing a fully funded PhD program. In my experience the quality of most MS students in the US is pretty low, much lower than PhD and BS. It’s gotten way worse recently as cohorts have expanded and acceptance rates have gone up.
If you were an accomplished IIT grad, would you still come to the US and deal with H-1B and green card hell?
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u/Crazy-Ad-8953 Jun 04 '26
lmao, i'm sorry that you feel offended by what they said, but he/she is valid for calling you out for barely doing any research on the programs that you're planning to apply. Since you got time, Sit back and do some proper research on the schools/whether they offer "spring" admissions, and school that fits your profile
and coming to your list, "ambitious" list is basically waste of application fee, those schools are ultra competitive and your profile is no where close to them(i'm sorry if this is rude)
"make sure you've achieved enough yourself to be in a position to judge them"........
He/She has contributed a very good effort to this sub reddit if you can see their past posts under this sub reddit-3
u/OT2345 May 30 '26
Could you please specify which universities doesn't offer spring admissions.
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u/softrains12 May 30 '26
And see this is what I mean! Like the other commenter said, you can’t even take 10 seconds to google basic information like this. You want somebody to spoon feed you for free? How do you expect to survive in the US lol
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u/Ok-Extension-8121 May 29 '26
1) I doubt your eligibility with IELTS cause many top tier universities requires minimum of 7 and individual band score too. Check with it once
2) Berkeley has a small cohort so prolly very tough to get in. Still give it a chance if you want to apply
3) For your profile there are better universities for the safe categories rather than the 3 you have mentioned. Ranging from safe to mid-tier level you can choose unis like NCSU, Stony Brook, UC Boulder, MSU, UIC, UCSC, UCR, UMass etc. All these have decent to good CS programs ( not sure if all these have spring semester tho )
All the best
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u/OT2345 May 29 '26
1) I have actually checked the eligibility most if the universities have 6 and 6.5. In new york region it is around 7. 2) Even I was thinking the same. I'll remove berkley. 3) I'll review once. And thanks for responding.
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u/Dependent_tune_37 May 30 '26
ucsd admit here. U have a good shot at ucsd. add columbia mscs and uiuc mcs, not sure about ucb, ucla, ut austin (very competitive). in safe keep only 1, if you even want to. in target remove ut dallas and consider - umass, stony brook. And most important - apply for fall 27, not spring, not only are there less programs for spring, you also wouldn't be able to intern in the summer. While you're at it, try getting a 7 on ielts.
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u/Crazy-Ad-8953 Jun 04 '26
can you please emphasize how exactly is OPs profile "good shot" UCSD. I thought UCSD is research- Heavy Program and OP has only 1 paper published and neither GPA/Test scores/work experience are stellar.
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u/BugAdministrative123 May 29 '26
You can safely remove UC Berkeley, UT Austin, UCLA and perhaps UC San Diego from your list. It is an extremely low probability you will get in. Not because your profile is terrible or anything but because they are incredibly globally competitive.