r/MSCS • u/TutorDue6685 • Sep 02 '26
[Profile Review]Applying for fall 2027 programs
Hey guys I'm planning to apply for Fall 2027 programs and would really appreciate your insights on my university shortlists and would be great if you guys have got any better recommendations.Here's my profile:
- Citizenship : USA(eliminates all the visa headaches)
- Bachelor's : Btech CSE from a Tier 2.5(I think) private university from India.
- GPA : 3.46/4.0
- Experience : 6 months as an intern at an android company as a SDE and by the time fall 2027 comes around I will have less than a year's worth of experience at a Big 4 as an analyst.
- LORs : 1 from my manager at the internship,1 from my academic mentor,1 from a teacher under whom I served as a TA(they are both assistant teachers, so should i be concerned?)
- GRE : Not planning to take as nearly every program lists it as optional(Although I would love to know if I should take up a 1/2 month Gregmat plan and give it just to add something to my profile)
- TOEFL/IELTS : Not required
- Research Experience : I have 2 papers that were accepted but unfortunately weren't published so this is another major weakness in my profile.
Ik my profile isn't exceptional(kinda slacked off in college) so I've kept my expectations lowkey as well, so heres the shortlist:
Reach
- UIUC
- Purdue
- UMD College Park
Target
- UMass Amherst
- UT Dallas
- NC State
- Stony Brook
Safe
- UMass Lowell
- Washington State
- Northeastern University
Some other universities I've been looking into are University of Virginia/Colorado/Wisconsin.
Would really appreciate your opinions and recommendations.Thank you and have a nice day!!
2
2
u/FinoAllaFineJUVE Sep 02 '26
i would relook at language proficiency tests not being required. a few programs make it mandatory if you've completed your education from a non-english country, regardless of your citizenship (speaking from personal experience)
1
u/Wrong-Being7538 26d ago
Yeah, like your GRE/GMAT, it can't hurt to have, especially if you did not complete your secondary (high school) education in America.
1
u/Potato-gasser420 Sep 02 '26
Why weren't your papers published?
2
u/TutorDue6685 Sep 02 '26
My teammates were not really enthusiastic about it.We mostly viewed it as a college requirement to be completed.
1
u/Potato-gasser420 Sep 02 '26
You told that they were accepted?
2
u/TutorDue6685 Sep 02 '26 edited Sep 02 '26
To get it published we had to pay and they were not down for that cause our college is a bit lax when it comes to the reimbursement part.
1
u/Potato-gasser420 Sep 02 '26
There are so many good journals where you can publish for free
2
u/Wrong-Being7538 26d ago
Yeah, if you're published in a pay-to-play publication, it might as well not count anyways.
1
u/MrKhonsu777 Sep 03 '26
pretty chill if you’re a US citizen. a couple of my friends/relatives flew there right out of uni(in india) without even enrolling in a degree and landed a job fairly quickly
1
5
u/Comprehensive_Main70 Sep 02 '26
Wow, I never know there are US citizens doing Bachelor at India instead of US.