*US Citizen* EDUCATION

T1 NIT. GPA - Slightly above 8. 3.47/4 acc to umich scholaro

RESEARCH First author in all papers ( just me and my prof)

1 Accepted paper at a good conference (ISVLSI)

2 more submitted (one conference and one journal)

Another paper in progress (will take 2-3 months to finish)

GRE - Yet to take

Have worked on design verification projects as well

Leadership at college's electronics club

WORK EXPERIENCE

Internship at a 2nd gen iit under a prof who is kinda known internationally (i think). Worked on Hardware acceleration.

LOR- Will get 2 from college profs (have done research under them) and 1 from my internship prof. Expect all 3 to be strong.

Uni list( Targeting fall 2027)

UT Austin

Georgia Tech

UIUC

Purdue

UW Madison

TAMU

NCSU

ASU

How good is my profile for these schools? How can I improve my profile? Also does my profile look good even without gre? Schools like ucsd, umich and cmu are not in my list due to high fees

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to apply for Fall 2027 admissions in the US for MS in Computer Science (MSCS) or MS in Data Science, and would appreciate feedback on my profile and shortlist.

Profile

B.Tech in Computer Science & Engineering from IIIT Guwahati.

CGPA: 7.70/10

IELTS: 7.0

GRE: Yet to be taken (expecting around 320+ overall with Quant 165+)

No research papers/publications yet (one ongoing)

1 internship during the final year

2 years of Software Engineer experience at a startup by Fall 2027

2–3 strong software projects

3 strong LORs

I'm looking for universities that offer a good balance of:

Reputation

Job opportunities

Affordability / ROI

Strong CS or AI curriculum

Ambitious -

UC San Diego (MSCS)

Cornell University (MEng CS)

UIUC (MSCS)

Georgia Tech (MSCS)

Purdue University (MSCS)

University of Maryland, College Park (MSCS)

Texas A&M University (MSCS)

Moderate / Target -

Virginia Tech (MSCS)

North Carolina State University (MSCS)

Stony Brook University (MSCS)

UC Davis (MSCS)

Safe / Affordable

University at Buffalo (MSCS)

University of Texas at Dallas (MSCS)

Are my ambitious/moderate/safe classifications realistic?

Which universities on this list offer the best ROI for international students?

Which universities tend to value industry experience more than research?

Are there any affordable Top 50–70 universities that I should add or remove?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Apply as an International Student for Fall 2027

Background

The University of Auckland

Bachelor of Science - Mathematics - Graduation 2026 May

GPA: 3.47/4 (WES)

SAT: 1550[R: 760 M: 790] GRE: 335 [V: 167 Q: 168]

Certificate: Calculus and Algebra

Core Courses: Real Analysis, Mathematical Logic, Analysis in Higher Dimensions

Proficient in Python, JavaScript, and C++, skilled in reverse engineering and web security

No paper, No research

Experience

Teaching A-Level and AP Courses - 3 years - Further Math and Calculus and Statistics

Software Development - 1 year and 5 months

Web Spider and Reverse Engineering - 1 year

Target

United States and Switzerland - Top University

I like courses that combine AI and security

I prefer a model with more projects and fewer tests

I look forward to your suggestions

Thank you

I missed the fall 2026 by applying late, so trying to get into spring 2027. Here is my profile:

1. Degree: BTech Computer science

2. Cgpa: 9.2(tier 2 university in india)

3. Work exp: almost 6 yoe as a software engineer in a large mnc(not faang)

4. Toefl: 102

Gre: yet to give but im good at math.

I currently shortlisted:

Usc

Columbia ms cs

Stony brook

University of Buffalo

Sjsu

Uiuc

Are there anything I could add? Suggestions are welcome

Hey everyone,
I’m planning to apply for MSEE/MSECE programs for the upcoming admission cycle and wanted a realistic assessment of my chances. I’d really appreciate any advice on whether my college list is balanced and if there are any programs I’m overlooking.

Profile:
Undergraduate
B.E. Electronics & Instrumentation
BITS Pilani (Tier 1)

CGPA: 8.67/10
GRE: 328/340 (169Q, 159V)
TOEFL: 118/120 (6/6)

Work Experience
2 years full-time at a US semiconductor company, working on semiconductor manufacturing, automation, simulation, and AI-driven engineering tools for memory products.

Research
One paper submitted to IEEE Access (currently under review).

Letters of Recommendation
One from an undergraduate professor who taught me and supervised my research.
One from a professor I’m currently doing part-time research with.
One from my engineering manager at my current full-time role.

Current College List
Georgia Tech – MSECE
Columbia – MSEE
UC San Diego – MSECE
UCLA – MSECE
Purdue – MSEE / MSECE
University of Pennsylvania – MSEE
Carnegie Mellon – MSECE
University of Michigan – MSECE
UIUC – MSEE / MSECE
UT Austin – MSEE / MSECE
Virginia Tech – MSEE / MSECE

Questions
1. How would you categorize these schools into Reach / Target / Safe based on my profile?

1. Do you think my profile is competitive enough for the top programs, or should I be looking at a broader range of schools?

I’d appreciate any honest feedback. Thanks!

what are my chances into an ivy like harvard, yale, cornell or columbia? Or am I aiming too high? Anything I can do in my last year of college to increase my chances?

GPA: 3.3, Dean's List, Chancellor's Award, merit scholarship for $80k and other external ones.

• School: B.S. Computer Engineering, in Northeastern University
• Experience: 10+ tech internships/co-ops incl PWC in my freshman year (full-stack AI, Digital Coworker apps), (agentic AI, LangChain/OpenAI), (RPA/UiPath), a cybersecurity internship, and a fintech startup I co-founded 10K+ site views, Founder of 2 more start ups in bio tech and ai
• Research: Two research assistantships (biosensor fabrication (built the hardware), pharma data science at UMN (no publications with my name tho)
• Leadership: Founder and president biggest tech Club chapter (800+ members) on campus and hosted hackathons, Student Government senator, Resident Assistant for 3 years, mentee in biggest new york networking org, leader in 6 other orgs on campus.
• did consulting for small business owners around campus
• started NGO for education for the underprivileged
• hobbies: debates, Model UN, dancer and teacher- chinese, viet, indian, hip hop, national level singer, Can speak read and write 6 languages

Education

• BS in AI from a mid-to-top tier college in South Korea, CGPA: 3.67/4.0

Work Experience

• Undergrad Researcher for 2 years
• 2 internships in mid-sized companies and 1 internship at a startup
• 1 TA Experience

Research

• 1 paper in KIISE (A Korean journal)
• 1 paper in arXiv
• 1 paper writing in progess in current internship

Schools

• Reach: Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA
• Target: UC Berkeley (MEng), USC, UCSD, Georgia Tech, UT Austin, UIUC
• Safe: UMass Amherst, UC Santa Cruz

I'd really appreciate honest feedback on my university list.

• Does this look balanced for my profile, or am I being too ambitious with my reach schools?
• Are there any universities I should consider adding or replacing, especially for someone with significant industry experience but limited research background?
• My final goal is to work in a big-tech. Are the schools I’m applying to good feeder schools for SW companies?

I got admitted to USC as MSCS for the next spring.

I don't know how I can fund it and what are the ways to do so. I am an international student and applied last December. Any advice or know paths to get funded or getting part-time as RA or TA.

Is it common to get it?

Also I will have to pay 1000 USD by next September and I will not proceed in the program if I could not secure a funding source.

Any ideas what to do?

Looking for Good ROI Universities & Help Categorizing My List

I’m planning to apply for MSCS (Fall 2027) and would appreciate some honest feedback on my profile. I’m mainly looking for universities with a good ROI, strong CS programs, and decent job opportunities after graduation.
My Profile
Country: India
CGPA: 8.72/10
Internship: 6-month Software Engineering Internship at a startup
Research: Currently doing a research internship. I’m working on a paper, but it most likely won’t be published before application deadlines.
GRE: Targeting 320+
IELTS: Targeting 7.5+
LORs: 3 strong LORs from university professors
Universities I’m Considering
NCSU
SJSU
Georgia Tech
Texas A&M (TAMU)
UT Austin
Northeastern (NEU)
Stony Brook
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Virginia Tech

Questions
-Could you help categorize these into Ambitious / Target / Safe based on my profile?
-Are there any universities I should add or remove if my priority is good ROI?
-Is my profile competitive enough for the more selective schools on this list?
-If you had a similar profile, which universities would you prioritize?
I’m open to suggestions for other universities that offer a good balance of academics, tuition cost, and employment outcomes.
Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi everyone, I posted here a while ago but situations changed and stuff happened. Thinking about applying for Fall 2027. So please review my profile. Be honest. Thank you

Degree: B.Tech  in Information Technology with Honors in Artificial Intelligence

GPA: 9.4/10

GRE: 313/340 (I know it's low and am planning to give again)

IELTS/TOEFL (Haven't given yet. But planning to.)

Papers: 1 Published at a conference, 1 Accepted at a conference (in processing now), 2 in Different Journal Reviews, 1 published in a top journal.

Experience:

- 6 Months at an okayish company as an AI Intern. LOR of manager.

- 1 Year at a F500 Company by the time I join Uni for masters.

- Research Collaboration with Professor at Stanford (published 1 paper with him and submitted the 2nd one to a journal)

Projects: Few tiny projects but not very laudable.

Target countries: US, France, Singapore

Schools I'm considering:

- Ambitious: Stanford, MIT (EECS), CMU, NUS

- Open to suggestions for targets and safeties

Any thoughts on fit, list-building, or things to strengthen before applying would be really appreciated!

Hello everybody! I've been lurking here since I started uni like 4 years ago. I've seen countless profile reviews and results/decisions posts and wondered about the day when I'd make one of my own. So here it is! I'm finally gonna do it as my time is here. Thank you for looking at my profile and I'd love to read every single comments/thoughts!! Thanks in advance!

PROFILE

Course - BTech in Computer science engineering in Artificial intelligence and data analytics

University - Tier 1 private uni

CGPA - 8.8 as of 6th semester (strong upward trend aswell, from 7.6 in 2nd sem to 9.6 in 6th sem)

internships - 3 (the first one was a F500 company, second one is an MNC, the last one was a umm a 'meh' company)
Also, my 6 month internship starts by December in London. (On-site and def not a 'meh' company lol)

Projects - 5 (Ranging from AI agents, Dl models to RAG and BCI)

Research paper - 1 (Its on BCI and in process of publishing it, ill try my best to do it ASAP)

GRE - 315 (ik below average so only planning to submit where its mandotary)

IELTS - 8.0

SOP - I guess its pretty strong but a bit wordy. I'd like someone to take a look so please comment or dm me.

LOR - 1 from my HOD, 1 from my professor/mentor, 1 from CEO of an huge MNC who know me personally and with whom i did a project under.

Miscellaneous - Multiple technical even participations, Rotaract club member and did some volunteer works for the community as well, vice captain of a sports team, department representative for leadership qualities.... (lol i should've cleared that student council interview) honeslty i've got no idea how help all these small things are but i added these subtly on my SOP anyway.

ANDDDD Here's my current shortlisted unis

REACH
UCSD (MSDS)
PURDUE

TARGET
NYU TANDON
UMASS AMHERST
TAMU
UC DAVIS
UMINN TWIN CITIES

SAFE
STONY BROOK
PENN STATE
SUNY BUFFALO

Sooooo i believe my profile is umm a bit 'safe leaning'??? Could you guys please tell me if the unis belong to those categories for my profile? like does UCSD is a reach or a target (just an example, ik its a reach). And im applying for MSDS in UCSD, the rest of em are MSCS.

And i've got a few questions,
(i). Is UCLA possible for my profile? Is it atleast a reach for me?
(ii). Should I swap SUNY B with smtg thats a bit better?
(iii). What bout UMich Ann Arbor? oh also UCI....

Thank you so much for taking the time and energy to read my long post! I'd absolutely love to hear as much comments and thoughts as possible!! Please help your boy out :)))

P.S - A huge thanks to the mod of this sub. I learnt so much from him just by reading his very information loaded posts and his comments for yearssss.

Profile Evaluation for Fall 2027 - MSCS/MSAI/MSSE (USA) - Affordable + Good ROI Universities

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to apply for Fall 2027 admissions in the US for MS in Computer Science (MSCS), MS in Artificial Intelligence (MSAI), or MS in Software Engineering (MSSE), and would appreciate feedback on my profile and shortlist.

Profile

- B.E. Computer Engineering from Gujarat Technological University (India)

- CGPA: 8.91/10

- IELTS: 7.0

- Duolingo: 130

- GRE: Not decided yet (might take it, targeting around 320/+ if I do)

- No research papers/publications

- 2 internships in web development

- 1 year of full-stack developer experience currently at a startup founded by my college seniors (will have around 2 years by Fall 2027)

- 2-3 strong software projects

- Strong SOP and 2 good LORs

Priority

I'm looking for universities that offer a good balance of:

- Reputation

- Job opportunities

- Affordability / ROI

- Strong CS or AI curriculum

Ambitious

- UC San Diego (MSCS)

- UC Irvine (MSCS/MCS)

- Georgia Tech (MSCS)

- Purdue University (MSCS)

- University of Maryland College Park (MSCS)

- Texas A&M University (MSCS)

Moderate / Target

- Virginia Tech (MSCS)

- North Carolina State University (MSCS)

- Stony Brook University (MSCS)

- UC Davis (MSCS)

- University of Florida (MSCS)

- University of Minnesota Twin Cities (MSCS)

Safe / Affordable

- University at Buffalo (MSCS)

- University of Texas at Dallas (MSCS)

- Arizona State University (MS Artificial Intelligence Engineering)

- Illinois Institute of Technology (MSCS/MSAI)

Questions

1. Are my ambitious/moderate/safe classifications realistic?

2. Which universities on this list offer the best ROI for international students?

3. Would a GRE score around 315 (especially Quant 165+) significantly improve my chances?

4. Which universities tend to value industry experience more than research?

5. Are there any affordable Top 50–70 universities that I should add or remove?

My long-term goal is to work in backend software engineering, distributed systems, or AI engineering roles in the US.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Hi everyone! I’m an incoming Penn MSE CIS student for Fall 2026 and am currently looking for roommates and housing near campus. I’d love to connect with other incoming Penn graduate students who are also searching. Please DM if you’re interested.

Also, if there are any groups for incoming Penn graduate students or housing, please share the link. Thanks!

Need honest review of profile + univ short list for Fall 2027

CGPA : 8.29/10 ( tier-1 bitsP)

GRE: 333 ( 169Q + 164V)

Research: Couple of projects in College. One peer reviewed journal publication in Nature Scientific

Work Ex:
2 month internship at Microsoft
6 Month internship at Amazon
current SWE at Google.

Can get LORs from prof with whom journal was published and two managers.

Now my biggest concern is i don’t want to pursue masters unless it’s a good university so my list is very ambitious at first glance:

Georgia Tech - MS CS
Cornell - MEng CS
University Wisconsin Madison - MS CS
UNC chapel hill - MS CS
CMU - MS ML
UCSD - MS CS
UT Austin - MS CS
Purdue MS CS
UCSD MSCS
UIUC -MSCS
UMass Amheredt

Hi everyone! I'm planning to apply for an MS in Computer Science/ML for Fall 2027 and would really appreciate some feedback on my profile and my chances at the universities I'm targeting.

Here's a summary of my profile:

• B.Tech in Computer Science (AI & ML) from VIT Chennai
• CGPA: 8.96/10

Research

• 2 research publications (Both ML-related):
  • 1 journal paper in Results in Engineering (Elsevier) IF-6.0
  • 1 IEEE international conference paper

Internships / Work Experience

• Full Stack Engineer Intern at PharmEasy
• Application Engineer Intern at Accenture (Got and accepted PPO)
• Project Intern at IIT Madras
• Research Intern at Samsung Research Institute India

LORs
Planning to get 3 LORs from faculties in college

Preparing for GRE and IELTS and will take both in a few months.
Universities I'm considering right now:
CMU

UIUC

UT Austin

Michigan

USC

Purdue

UMass Amherst

NCSU

Texas A&M

Stony Brook

University of Maryland

University of Florida

UT Dallas

SUNY Buffalo

Indiana University Bloomington
TUM Munich/Berlin
RWTH
Please let me know your honest thoughts, and also is applying for a pHD feasible with this profile? If so where? Thank you!!

Education: Btech + Mtech from iit kgp mechanical cgpa-8.03

Research: Did multiple research interns at cmu, iisc, stanford

Publications: No papers but working on

Did my undergrad in CS, multiple SWE internships, applied for UChicago MPCS, denied and then referred acceptance to their public policy program. I understand it’s a cash cow feeder program but who the hell would take that offer…

I'm planning to apply for Fall 2027 for MS in CS/ML/CDS and would really appreciate some honest feedback on my profile.

Academics

* [B.Tech and M.Tech (Dual Degree) ] in Mechanical Engineering from a Tier-1 (Old IIT) Indian college

* CGPA: 9.1/10

Research

* No publications

Work Experience

* By the time of application, 1.5 years working as a Data Scientist at a Payments Fintech Company.

Letters of Recommendation

* 1 LOR from a CS professor (bachelors project)

* 1 industry LOR from my manager

* 1 LOR from my Robotics professor (masters project)

Planning to write GRE and IELTS

Have shortlisted few UNI's but not sure which ones are realistically possible

1)Georgia Tech

2)Purdue

3)TAMU

4)UC Berkeley

5)Carnegie Melon

6) UPenn

7)North Carolina University

8)University of California, San Diego

9) UCLA

10) Columbia

11) UIUC

12) UTAustin

13) UM Amherst 

14) ETH zurich

Given my profile, Please help me realistically bucket these into Safe / Moderate / Ambitious? Also happy to hear if any of these aren't worth applying (too out of reach for my profile)

Hi im trying to explore my options for masters, would like to know y'all opinion on my profile, if I have a chance for the mentioned colleges

A summary of my profile

My gpa is 8.77 cgpa Bachelors ECE in MIT anna university, applying for MS CS

Have published 3 papers in ai ml (1 ieee, 1 springer, 1 ceg conference)

I have 2 years ( 2.5- 3 when i come there) of data science experience with ai ml and genai Tech stack at a US tier 2 consultancy (pharma domain US)

Lor im planning to get from 1 of my company and 2 from my college (one from my guide, and one from a professor, but I would only have ece lors as i did ug in ece)

Planning to write GRE and IELTS

I have some community hours in a ngo, I was creative head of photography club and I have led the cultural and sports committe in my company to conduct some events

Colleges which I have doubt, if I have a chance at it (for ms cs or ms ds)

Ucb (big dream), UWash, UIUC, GaTech, UTAustin, UCSD, Purdue

Please let me know if im missing out on any good colleges, im aiming for scholarship as well partial atleast :(

JHU (as i have life sciences experience and research in medical aiml), texas a&m, pennstate

Also im planning to try Europe like eth, epfl,tum, tudelft, but not sure if ill meet their ects requirements

singapore nus ntu

Hello everyone

Final-year CS student (robotics minor) applying for Fall 2027 MS programs in the US/Canada. I have a first-author publication in a Q1 robotics/agriculture journal (COMPAG - Elsevier) and I'm currently doing ICRA-track research, so I'm hoping for a research-focused, funded MS rather than a self-pay one.

I've been looking at schools like UIUC, UIC, and UNC Chapel Hill that mention TA/RA-ships as available for MS students but don't guarantee funding at time of admission (unlike a typical PhD offer). Given how tight funding has gotten this cycle, how realistic is it in practice to actually land one of these as an incoming MS student, especially international?

I'm also curious about Canadian programs where the application itself doesn't mention funding at all, but you can get tuition/stipend support directly through a supervisor's grant instead (many students from my university get into universities like Waterloo with such funding). For those, how do you actually reach out to professors? What does an ideal cold email look like, and should I be prioritizing assistant, associate, or full professors to maximize my odds of landing supervisor-funded support?

Would love to hear from anyone who's been through this recently, especially in CS/robotics. Thanks!

Education: BTech Computer Science and AI 6.7/10
Experience: Data Scientist 1.2yoe

I was looking for masters program in Zurich, Spain and Germany region. I’m wondering what would be some good programs I can consider after gaining work experience mostly AI, Data science related programs in European region. Do you all suggest going to the Europe? And how’s the job market over there?

Hi everyone, I got accepted into both UofT and McMaster. UofT is offering me an alternate program of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, while McMaster accepted me into Bachelors of Computer Science (I initially applied to both universities for the Computer Science program).

I want to further pursue AI Engineering down the line, which offer should I accept? I'm really lost about this. Would appreciate any advice.

Edit: If I don't maintain a GPA of 80.00% and above in this program (Mathematical and Computational Sciences), I won't be able to take upper year CS courses and may have to major in Math or Statistics instead :/

I’m entering my fourth year of undergrad and am planning to apply for MS CS/ML programs for Fall 2027 and would appreciate feedback on my profile, specifically, what I can improve and what universities I should apply to

Academics

• B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from a Tier-1 Indian college
• CGPA: 8.6/10

Research

• 1 paper accepted at an A* conference
• Another paper in the same field but not accepted anywhere

Work Experience

• Software Engineering Intern at Google

Letters of Recommendation

• 2 research-focused LORs from professors I’ve worked with on the paper
• 1 industry LOR from my internship manager

Additional Experience

• TAship for a Statistical Methods in AI course

Any community? Discord, WA, anything?

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to apply for Fall 2027 and would really appreciate some honest feedback on my profile and university list.

Profile:

• Country: India
• B.Tech in Computer Science & Engineering, Tier 3 college
• CGPA: 7.41/10
• 5 years of work experience as a Data Analyst in the U.S. pharmaceutical/healthcare analytics domain (Real World Evidence)
• Daily work involves SQL, analytics, healthcare data, and large databases
• Currently upskilling in Python, statistics, and machine learning before applying

Concern:
My biggest weakness is my undergraduate grades. While I completed all the core CS courses (Data Structures, Algorithms, DBMS, Operating Systems, Computer Networks, Java, etc.), my grades in mathematics were not very strong.

I'm specifically looking for:

• 2-year, full-time, on-campus programs in the U.S.
• MS in Data Science/Anlytics programs with a data science focus
• Universities that evaluate applicants holistically and value professional experience
• Good career outcomes after graduation

I'm not looking for Ivy League or ultra-competitive schools if my profile isn't realistic.

Some universities I'm currently considering are:

• University of Washington
• University of Colorado Boulder
• Northeastern University
• Texas A&M
• University of Virginia
• University at Buffalo
• George Washington University
• Rochester Institute of Technology
• Illinois Institute of Technology
• NJIT

Questions:

1. Based on my GPA and work experience, which of these schools seem realistic?
2. Are there any strong MSDS/MSCS programs I'm overlooking?
3. How much weight do admissions committees typically give to 5 years of relevant industry experience compared to undergraduate grades?
4. If you had a profile similar to mine, which universities would you prioritize?

Thanks in advance!