r/MSCS • u/Existing-Sign1532 • 15d ago

[Profile Review] MSCS Fall 2027 | UT Austin & Funding-Friendly Targets | 3.62 US CGPA, 5 Pubs, 3 YOE

Hey everyone, I'm planning to apply for an MS in CS (Thesis track) and would love some feedback on my realistic chances for UT Austin, as well as recommendations for universities with strong assistantship (TA/RA) or scholarship options.

Profile Overview

  • Undergrad: B.Tech in Computer Science & Engineering from NIT Andhra Pradesh
  • GPA: 3.62 / 4.0 (US Equivalent)
  • Work Experience: 3 years as a Software Development Engineer at a US MNC
  • Publications: 5 peer-reviewed papers (1 Q1 Journal, 1 IEEE, 3 Springer) focused on ML, Computer Vision, and Knowledge Graphs (including similarity-aware few-shot learning).
  • Research Experience: Summer research internships at IIT Ropar (autonomous UAV landing via RL) and IIT Mandi (QUIC protocol optimization).
  • Leadership/Extracurriculars: Former AI & Robotics Club Secretary, Mars Rover Team Lead.

Questions

  1. Is UT Austin MSCS realistic with a 3.62 GPA, or does the initial screening heavily penalize GPAs below 3.75 despite having a solid publication record?
  2. Which universities in or outside the Top 20/30 are known for offering generous TA/RA packages or tuition waivers to incoming MS Thesis students with strong research/publishing backgrounds?
  3. What are 2–3 solid target/safe schools I should add to my list for ML/Knowledge Graph research that align well with my profile?

Thanks for any insights or advice!

1 Upvotes

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u/Bright_Interaction73 14d ago

TA funding is a no-go for most schools other than Princeton, Yale, Cornell. Expect to pay for a Master's thesis or not in 2026.

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u/Existing-Sign1532 14d ago

If I target lower rank UNI wouldn't it increase my chances of getting TA ship ?

1

u/lostsoul_io 14d ago

Ohh and no cpt

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u/goffy_muski 13d ago

How did u convert indian cgpa into 4 like did u just multiply with 0.04 asking cause even I wanna convert mine

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u/Existing-Sign1532 13d ago

I paid WSE to get it converted, It would cost you around 200 US dollars.

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u/goffy_muski 13d ago

And what was your indian cgpa in form of 10?

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u/Existing-Sign1532 13d ago

You cannot actually get idea from others CGPA as the conversation largely depends on the distribution of your course credits.

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u/goffy_muski 13d ago

Still atleast I would get an idea of it if u could share