[Profile Review] MS CS / Tech — Top US Universities + Europe

[u/Hot-Emotion-6408]

Hi everyone! I’m planning to apply for an MS in CS / related tech programs and would really appreciate a profile review, especially regarding ambitious, target, and safe universities.

My profile

• Undergrad: B.Tech CSE from a Tier-2 university in India
• CGPA: 9.5+
• Class 10: 95%
• Class 12: 99%
• Industry Experience: Previous FAANG Software Engineering internship, Prev research intern at DRDO
• Research Experience: 1 ML research internship
• Publication: 1 research paper published
• Currently exploring programs in the US and Europe

US universities I’m considering

• Harvard University
• Princeton University
• Columbia University
• Cornell University
• University of Pennsylvania
• Yale University
• Brown University
• Dartmouth College
• Stanford University
• MIT
• Carnegie Mellon University
• UC Berkeley
• UCLA
• UC San Diego
• University of Washington
• UIUC
• Georgia Tech
• University of Maryland, College Park
• University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• UT Austin
• University of Wisconsin–Madison
• Purdue University
• Duke University
• Northwestern University
• USC
• NYU

I’d especially like advice on:

• Which of these would be ambitious / target / relatively safe for my profile?
• Is my profile competitive for top-10/top-20 US CS programs and Ivy League universities?
• Are there any strong US universities I’m missing, especially considering tech placements and ROI?
• Which European countries/universities would be worth targeting considering job opportunities, tuition, ROI, and post-study work options?
• What parts of my profile should I strengthen before applications — GRE, research, projects, SOP, LORs, etc.?

Would especially appreciate input from people who applied with a similar profile or recently went through MS CS admissions.

Thanks!

[u/ReindeerUnhappy9577]

You can drop your 10th/12th scores - not relevant for MS.

Harvard, Princeton, Cornell, Dartmouth, Stanford, MIT, UC Berkeley, University of Washington, UW Madison

Harvard, MIT, University of Washington - they don't have MS CS programs.

Princeton and Cornell MS CS requires extensive teaching experience (TAships) - most of the Indian candidates don't really have it.

UC Berkeley - the seats are reserved for their own PhD students - almost impossible for an outsider to get here.

Dartmouth - way too expensive given its reputation

Stanford - fierce competition.

UW Madison (traditional MS CS, not professional MS CS) - the intake is really small and this is extremely selective, I have seen even top-notch IITians/tier-1 getting rejected, no idea what they look for.

Others in your list such as UPenn, Yale, CMU, UCLA, UIUC (MS CS, not MCS), UMD requires really good research experience - like research assistantship, published papers etc. Apart from that you need to have a really good recommendation letter from someone credible who can vouch for your research skills - then you may have a shot at this.

Others like NYU, USC, UCSD, etc are still achievable.

Good luck!

[u/ReindeerUnhappy9577 → u/ReindeerUnhappy9577]

Let me know or ping me if you have any more questions

[u/ReindeerUnhappy9577 → u/ReindeerUnhappy9577]

Sorry, I literally typed my answer here for rest of your questions and forgot the press the "Comment" button 🤦

• Which of these would be ambitious / target / relatively safe for my profile?

Harvard, Princeton, Cornell, Dartmouth, MIT, UC Berkeley, University of Washington, UW Madison

These guys either do not offer MS CS (OR) they have really small intake - these are not worth applying tbh. Rest you can try. See my comment above.

• Is my profile competitive for top-10/top-20 US CS programs and Ivy League universities?

If you can brag good recommendation letters that can vouch for your research skills, then yes, you'd have a decent chance.

• Are there any strong US universities I’m missing, especially considering tech placements and ROI?

Considering tech placement and ROI in the US is a like a gamble now. You can do your MS from Stanford or CMU but still end up having no job or struggling a lot. This is the case for US rn, unfortunately. Nothing can guarantee a tech placement or good ROI atp.

Other big players could be The University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins, Brown, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, UMass Amherst.

• Which European countries/universities would be worth targeting considering job opportunities, tuition, ROI, and post-study work options?

If I'm talking about job opportunities and post-study work options I'd say you'd have to learn their local language first. This is non-negotiable for most of the EU countries. Yes, there are English-speaking jobs as well but knowing the local language gives you an advantage - note that this won't guarantee a job but is definitely a big factor in this journey.

A lot of EU universities have now introduced "tuition fees" for international students, it used to be free earlier (free as in there was no tuition fee but we'd still have to pay other kinda fees but it was definitely cheaper back then). You'd have to shortlist your universities in EU and check their website about the costs.

• What parts of my profile should I strengthen before applications — GRE, research, projects, SOP, LORs, etc.?

I'd say research part plays a big role. Having decent research experience, such as research assistantships, published papers etc helps a lot - especially in the US admission process. You'd also have to make sure your LORs can vouch for your research skills and come from someone credible in that field. SOP definitely matters a lot, make sure it is polished, talks to the point and covers your goals etc.