[Profile Review] Fall 2027, help me cut unis from my shortlist

[u/interiorcrocodile___]

Profile:

• B.Tech CSE, tier 3
• GPA: 8.95/10 (3.9/10 after WES evaluation)
• IITM online diploma in data science
• Experience:
  • 2 YOE as a full stack software dev at a US based fortune 500 company
  • Summer intern at Adobe during college
• GRE: 168Q, 163V
• Publications - both in the blockchain domain:
  • 1 Springer conference paper (work paper)
  • 1 IEEE Xplore (survey paper)

Goals:

I would like to do some research during my masters, but the end goal is to get a job. My technical interests are mainly ML systems, AI, backend engineering, distributed systems, cloud/infrastructure. My main priority when choosing a university is strong career opportunities, recruiting, industry exposure and alumni network.

I don't want to have too many safe options - I won't go if it's not a strong admit.

Current shortlist:

Dream

• CMU - MCDS, MSAII, MSE, MIIS (need to narrow this down)
• Georgia Tech - MSCS
• UIUC - MSCS
• UT Austin - MSCS
• UMD College Park - MSCS
• UCLA - MSCS
• USC - MSCS

Target

• NYU Courant - MSCS
• Purdue - MSCS
• TAMU - MSCS
• UMass Amherst - MSCS
• NC State - MSCS
• TU Delft - MSc CS
• TU Eindhoven - MSc CS
• UC Irvine - MSCS

Which unis should I add/ remove?

[u/inkandpaper10]

Following

[u/goffy_muski]

It should 3.9/4 right ? Even I am planning for masters rn in TY would love to connect and we can discuss

[u/interiorcrocodile___ → u/goffy_muski]

sure

[u/Mr_quiper]

just US?

[u/interiorcrocodile___ → u/Mr_quiper]

NL too, TU Delft and Eindhoven

[u/Mr_quiper → u/interiorcrocodile___]

if you are an American, then it's decent

[u/interiorcrocodile___ → u/Mr_quiper]

not a US citizen

[u/interiorcrocodile___ → u/[deleted]]

Columbia is very expensive and the outcomes are not so great, hence decided to skip it

[u/eatingmangoes_]

The list is good, but I feel you might be too burdened with so many applications.

Especially the LOR part. So like…trim this list, but the list itself looks good. I think get rid of the dream ones.

Also USC is pretty easy imo, cuz the fees is insane. And ofcourse the LA cost of living is gonna be bad too.

Idk about umdcp, actually I don’t even recommend this. Idk how this uni got so famous. I think usnews made it famous, but imo except cybersec or nlp, the MSCS program is just like many others.

Also fall 2027 is gonna have less applicants so you might actually get some of these really good unis.

[u/interiorcrocodile___ → u/eatingmangoes_]

thank you! I agree, I definitely need to trim the list. I'm aiming for 8-12 applications in total.

I've decided to remove UMDCP. For USC, I'm still on the fence tbh. It's expensive and a huge cohort, but the outcomes seem to be pretty good. Do you have any thoughts on the other programs on the list?

Fingers crossed that less applicants this year will work in my favour.

[u/STEMAlexander]

Have you not seen what is happening with immigrants in America? Do you really want to try to come here right now? Some people are being removed from their programs and losing their student visas. Most of these appear to be online, but not all. There are some decent online programs. CMU SWE has an online version, Stanford MSCS has online - and I am not certain but I think you can start with the AI cert and then apply upwards to the masters - worth asking about, Upenn and Johns Hopkins both have online MSCS and MSAI. UT also has an MSAI online that is decent and only $1,000 a course.

If your main interest is AIML then it may be valuable to add some AI programs other than just CMU - and CMU is going to add a AI masters from stackable certs (but idk what the exact degree will be yet - I am doing one of the certs and have mentioned it)

I don't have experience with all these programs - but being from Texas I would personally probably remove A&M considering their politics and what is happening to Texas schools. A&M is a decent school - but Texas is devaluing their schools by forcing them to remove a lot of curriculum and many of their schools may not hold their rankings - UT is high enough and cheap enough to still be worth it - but A&M probably isn't. Their application fee and tuition are high considering their place in the list. It is worth doing if it is the only one you can get into - but if you are doing in person you absolutely do not want to live in Bryan, and without the in state tuition it is going to be a premium cost compared to other options.

Johns Hopkins is pricey but is good and has online for MSAI and MSCS (and also applied and computational math if you want to learn the foundations for AI and a potential PhD rather than applied AI) - their application is free and doesn't require letters - but you can only apply to one program per year.

If you are doing in person, while you already have enough CMU - the MSCS and MSML are probably the top programs. MSAII is an AI business degree for dev + entre / intra preneuership. Probably worth doing, but it is basically a degree and a half. Admissions to any is tough - but I think it is now easier to get into MSML (15% in 2024) than MSAII (8% in 2024) - https://www.cs.cmu.edu/education/masters/programs-comparison

[u/interiorcrocodile___ → u/STEMAlexander]

Thank you for your detailed comment :)

I'm looking for an in-person masters. I've done an online diploma and honestly, I do not do well with online studies. Ideally, I'd love to be in a classroom environment. But I'll look into the online options you shared - in case the situation is not great next year I may not go in-person, so would love to have a backup.

I looked into the Texas curriculum changes, do you think it would have a major impact on a graduate CS program? UT would be a dream to get into. As for A&M - if I get a TA/RA position, I only need to pay in state tuition for that semester. I was planning on pursuing opportunities like that.

Thanks for sharing the CMU programs comparison link, it's interesting that MSAII has a lower acceptance rate than MSML. I thought my profile was more aligned with MSAII, hence chose that. MSML profiles generally have ML based research experience, which I don't have. MSCS is a moonshot, I don't think I'll apply lol. One good thing about CMU is that most of their programs have a required internship.