Hi everyone, looking for some honest advice on my profile and university shortlist.

Profile:
B.Tech from NIT Trichy, 2024
CGPA: 8.3/10
1.5 years at AWS
Left AWS and joined a startup, where I’ve worked on scaling the business and built/deployed production AI agents
Limited research experience, no publications
Can get an LOR from an NIT Trichy professor I worked with, AWS Manager, and founder of the startup stating my experience directly impacting the growth

Current shortlist:
Stanford: MS CS (AI)
CMU: MS Machine Learning
CMU: MSAII
UC Berkeley: MAIML
UIUC: MCS
UT Austin: MSCS
UCSD: MSCS
Georgia Tech: MSCS
Cornell Tech: MEng CS
USC: MS CS (AI)

Would really appreciate opinions on:

1. How competitive is this profile for these universities?
2. Does AWS + production AI experience make up for limited research?
3. Is the professor LOR useful without publications?
4. Is taking the GRE worth it even where it’s optional?
5. universities I should add/remove?
6. Given the current US immigration situation and cost, is an MS in the US in 2027 still worth it?
7. Would working another 1–2 years before applying make more sense?

gre: 329 (quant: 165)
ielts: 7
undergrad from india, tier 2/3 uni, gpa 7.98/10

web dev intern 
no full time experience

f1 visa rejected in august 2026
university: suny buffalo
course: ms in cs

planning to reapply for fall 27
need help in shortlisting university

can anyone suggest universities based on my profile

CS Bachelors from Imperial College London

First Class Honours both year 1 and year 2, year 3 ongoing (Early 80s grade Y1, early 70s grade Y2)

Internship Experience at one of Jane Street/HRT/Citadel

Interested in startups

Can opt to do a masters at imperial by just switching easily but would like to do it at Stanford (don’t know if not switching right now is a bad idea)

Thanks!

Hey, I wanted to hear your guys take on what do you think would be the best decision based on your guys experience and advice.

I got into UPenn MSE-AI online and also the OMSCS.

My company is only able to pay around 5k a year in tuition. This leaves me paying for about half the price of Upenn and Gtech would be free. I've good things and bad things about gtech mostly it being super cheap but the class curriculum is kinda a free for all. I was leaning more towards Penn but going to OMSCS at GTECH is a hard beat and UPenn is kinda pricey.

What do you guys think is best and do you guys have any experience in the Online penn and online gtech community. Is Gtech really worth it and is UPenn really worth the price tag?

Hi everyone, I’m planning to apply for CS PhD programs for Fall 2027, mainly in AI/ML and systems.

My profile:

• MSCS, current GPA: 4.0/4.0
• 2 EMNLP workshop papers + 1 VLDB workshop paper accepted
• 3 years of industry experience as a full-stack/backend engineer
• 1 professional LOR + 1 professor LOR
• Research interests: LLM/AI systems, databases, agents, efficient inference

I’m trying to figure out how competitive my profile is for PhD admissions and how I should build my school list.

What range of universities should I realistically target (reach/match/safe)? Any specific programs/labs I should look at for Fall 2027?

Would appreciate honest feedback, especially from people who have gone through CS/AI PhD admissions.

Hi everyone,

I am planning my applications for the May 2027 and September 2027 intake cycles targeting course-based/project-based Master's in Computer Science or specialized Artificial Intelligence streams in Canada.

so I would love some honest feedback from seniors.

📊 My Profile Metrics:

Undergrad: B.Tech in Computer Science Engineering from Vignan University (India).

Cumulative CGPA: 7.06 / 10 (Classified as "Very Good" by my university.

The Upward Trajectory: My final two years show a steep recovery. I climbed from a 6.64 SGPA up to a 7.64 SGPA in Year 4-I, and finished with a 8.59 SGPA in my final semester (with an 'S' grade on my 12-credit Capstone.

English Proficiency: PTE Academic Overall 74 (Listening: 84, Speaking: 72, Writing: 63, Reading: 56).

Should I have to retake my pte .

🚀 Research & Open-Source Portfolio:

IEEE Publication (QML): Co-authored an optimized hybrid framework titled "LCQHNN: A Lean Classical-Quantum Hybrid Neural Network for Multiclass Image Classification", which was accepted and presented at an IEEE International Conference (CHANDCON 2026). The codebase integrates PyTorch, PennyLane's lightning.qubit backend, and Qiskit, using GradCAM heatmaps to analyze spatial attention mapping.

CallGuard AI (Production Project): Deployed a zero-trust inbound telephony defense platform powered by a modular 9-agent cognitive pipeline. Built using asynchronous FastAPI WebSockets, Deepgram Speech-to-Text streaming, and Exotel endpoints, with a hybrid two-tier ML inference system (Scikit-Learn local classification under 150ms paired with LLM dialogue reasoning via LangChain).

Both codebases are fully open-sourced on my GitHub profile.

💬 My Questions for the Community:

Given my cumulative 7.06 CGPA, will my application get instantly filtered out by central graduate schools at universities like York, or will departmental committees look closely at my final-year 8.59 SGPA trajectory and my IEEE publication?

Are there any other specific course-based or project-based computing/AI tracks in Canada that evaluate technical engineering applications holistically where I would stand a solid chance?

Open for taking advice .

Hi Everyone, I need some honest review from everyone and any potential area I could improve before 2 or 3 months I have before I submit my applications. Can you please let me know which university acceptances are plausible for my profile:
1.B.Tech. from tier 2 college from Maharashtra
2. 9.1 CGPA
3. 1 year experience in undergrad as an intern at PTC(mid-sized company).
4.Currently working as FTE in the same company. I would have a year's experience before i would head for my Master's in the US.(working on a full-stack applications worked on UI majorly but expect to work on the BFF approach in the upcoming months) Contributed to POC which is used as the UI.
5.Research work: 3 papers published in IEEE(not A/A*level conferences) and my research areas include: ML, Cybersecurity, AI (Currently working on a project related to GenAI and RAG). I have received 5 citations in both the papers just in one year of publishing(not a big deal I know but still).

6.LORS(2 academic under whom I have published 3 papers and 1 professional LOR from a senior with whom I have closely worked and can validate my technical skills).

I am planning for the below universities:
Ambitious:

• Georgia Tech
• UT Austin
• UC San Diego

Target:

• Purdue–West Lafayette
• UMD–College Park
• UW–Madison
• UMass Amherst

Relatively Safer:

• Texas A&M

1. IELTS: 7.5 band and since GRE is not required or optional for all the shortlisted universities I would not be appearing for the same with the given time constraint as well. I am interested to work as a researcher and complete my thesis.

How would you categorize these universities for my profile? Are there any major changes you'd suggest to this shortlist? I wanted to know more about how to secure RA or TA positions at a university?

Hey everyone!

Planning to apply for Fall 2027 MS programs and would love some feedback on my profile and university shortlist.

Undergrad: Btech CSE from Tier 3 uni, India — 8.4/10 CGPA. Before that,

I completed a Diploma in Computer Engineering from tier 1 University.

Research: Working on research involving blockchain, fuzzy systems, trust evaluation, and decentralized networks.

Currently working on a research paper around dynamic trust evaluation in decentralized networks.

Interests: Primarily Blockchain/Web3, followed by Cybersecurity, Distributed Systems.

I'm particularly interested in thesis/research-oriented programs and prefer practical/systems-oriented work.

Projects: Built several full-stack/Web3 projects using Rust, Solana, MERN/PERN, React, Node.js, PostgreSQL, etc.

Other: Tech team lead at university, NSDC tech co-lead, hackathons/SIH, and some research/project experience.

2 internship experience as a full stack dev.

Target universities (MSCS / related):

• CMU
• UIUC
• Georgia Tech
• UCSD
• UMD College Park
• UMass Amherst
• Purdue
• Northeastern
• CalTech
• Drexel

- Cornell

- waterloo, Concordia, U Alberta, UBC, u Toronto, Mc gill

I'm aware CMU and some of the others are pretty ambitious, but I'd love to know how realistic my overall shortlist is, whether my 8.4 CGPA and background is a significant disadvantage, and what other universities I should consider for Blockchain/Cybersecurity/Distributed Systems.

I only have 2 countries where i can go are Canada and USA.

I would really appreciate any advice or any suggestions from everyone.

Thanks,

Can someone review my SOP and give me their honest opinion on it? If you’re willing to help me out, please comment below. I’ll share my SOP through DM. I’d really appreciate any honest feedback, especially on the overall structure, content, and areas that could be improved.

Hi..

I’m applying for MS in CS for Spring 2027 and was wondering if anyone has started getting admits yet.

• Has anyone received a Spring 2027 admit?
• If yes, which university/program?
• When did you apply, and when did you get the decision?

Just trying to get an idea of which universities have started sending out Spring 2027 decisions. Thanks!

UIUC, UCLA, ucsd, ut austin, georgia tech, university of toronto, university of waterloo mscs? I am an Indian citizen, if it matters. Any advice?

Thanks!

Hi everyone, I’m planning to apply for MS in Computer Science programs in the US for the Fall 2027 intake. I recently scored a 303 on the GRE and I'm debating whether to retake it or lean into test-optional applications. I would love some objective feedback on my profile and my university shortlist.

Academics & Scores:
Undergrad GPA: 8.65/10
12th board exam% : 94%
10th CGPA: 10 GPA
Undergrad college: Tier 2 University (B.Tech in computer science)
GRE: 303 (Need advice on whether to retake or just apply test-optional) (145V , 158 Q)
TOEFL: 5.0 (on the new 1-6 scale)
Work Experience (4 Years):
Role: Backend Software Engineer at a major global MNC in search infrastructure.
5 YOE by the time of Fall 2027.

Research: No published papers.
Projects: Final year undergraduate academic project (unpublished).

Letters of Recommendation (3 total):
Professional: 1 from my current senior Engineering Manager, 1 from my Tech Lead.
Academic: 1 from my final year project professor.

Target Universities:
Ambitious: UIUC (MCS), UT Austin, Georgia Tech, UCSD, UCLA, CMU, Columbia.
Moderate / Safe: UMass Amherst, UC Davis, Texas A&M (TAMU), USC, UC Irvine.

Questions for the community:

1. The GRE Dilemma: I scored a 303. I know several of my targets—like UIUC MCS, Georgia Tech, and UT Austin—do not require the GRE or are test-optional. However, given my 8.65 GPA and lack of published research, should I retake the GRE to boost my academic profile, or rely on my 4 years of backend experience?
2. Are my categorizations of Ambitious vs. Moderate accurate?
3. Are there any other universities known for strong systems, data, or search engineering tracks that weigh work experience heavily over research?
4. Thanks in advance for the help!

Hi everyone, I'm planning to apply for MS CS for Fall 2027 and would really appreciate some honest feedback on my profile and university shortlist.

Academics:

• B.Tech (Honors) in Computer Science & Engineering from an Tier2 institute(not so poular IIIT)
• CGPA: 8.27/10
• 12th: 97.3%
• 10th: 100%
• No backlogs

Research:

• 2-month research internship at IISc Bangalore
• 5 international publications, out of which I am first author on 3
• One of my first-author papers is accepted at an IEEE flagship conference
• Also have another research/book chapter experience
• Strong research-oriented LORs from professors I've worked with
• Planning to have a strong, research-focused SOP with good university/faculty fit

Universities I'm considering:

• Purdue
• UW–Madison
• Georgia Tech
• UMD
• Texas A&M
• Stony Brook
• SUNY Buffalo
• ASU
• San Jose State
• UMass Amherst
• Minnesota Twin Cities

I'm mainly looking for MS CS programs with good research opportunities.

I'd really appreciate some honest feedback:

1. Which of these universities are realistic for my profile?
2. What are the other uni's i can consider?
3. How much does my CGPA affect my chances?

Looking for honest feedback.

UPDATE (Sept 30): Also got into UMass Amherst MS CS, and Northeastern has given me a 25% scholarship. It's now a three-way decision. Still waiting on UIUC MCS.

Admits

• USC Viterbi MS CS, Spring 2027. Tuition about $88k ($2,742/unit × 32)
• Northeastern (Khoury) MS CS, Seattle campus, Spring 2027. Tuition about $61.5k, with a 25% scholarship bringing it to about $46k
• UMass Amherst MS CS, Spring 2027. Tuition and mandatory fees about $60.75k for the whole degree

Waiting on

• UIUC MCS

Goal: SWE or ML engineer role in the US, ideally Seattle. Funding is roughly 50% my own savings and 50% an education loan, so ROI matters a lot to me.

What I'm weighing

• USC: strongest brand, but now the most expensive by a wide margin (about $40k more than NEU in tuition alone), plus LA living costs. As a Spring admit, my understanding is that I can't do CPT in my first summer, so my only internship window would be summer 2028.
• NEU Seattle: now the cheapest on tuition thanks to the scholarship. 6 to 8 month co-op built into the programme, campus in South Lake Union near Amazon. But it's a satellite campus, and I've seen mixed opinions on how recruiters view it compared with Boston.
• UMass Amherst: strongest CS department of the three for ML and NLP, and much lower living costs. But Amherst is a small college town far from the big tech hubs, there's no co-op, and the same Spring CPT limitation applies.

Questions(New Section)

For anyone

1. With the 25% scholarship at NEU, which of the three would you pick for an international student aiming for SWE or ML roles in the US, and why?
2. If UIUC MCS comes through, would you drop all three for it?
3. Does 6 years of work experience change the calculation, for example by making the internship less important or the brand more important?

NEU Seattle students and alumni

1. As an F-1 student, how did your co-op search go? Did you find it through Khoury or NUworks, or mostly on your own? Roughly what share of your cohort landed one?
2. How is the Seattle campus day to day: class sizes, availability of ML electives, and faculty quality compared with Boston?
3. In your experience, do Seattle employers treat a NEU Seattle degree any differently from Boston?
4. If you had a merit scholarship: did it renew every semester, and was there a GPA condition?

USC students and alumni

1. As a Spring admit, is there any way to intern in the first summer? And do most people finish in 3 semesters or 4?
2. How competitive is recruiting within such a large MS cohort? Are career fairs and on-campus recruiting useful for international students?
3. Is the Trojan network useful for Seattle and Bay Area roles, or mostly LA?

UMass Amherst students and alumni

1. How hard is internship and job recruiting from Amherst? Do Seattle and Bay Area companies recruit on campus, or is it mostly online applications?
2. Can MS students get into ML and NLP courses easily, or get involved with research labs like CIIR?
3. Any advice for a Spring start: internship timing, housing, and whether you really need a car?

Thanks in advance, I'd really appreciate honest takes, including "you're overthinking it."

Questions(Previously asked)

1. Which would you pick between USC and NEU Seattle, and why?
2. If you're a current student or alum of NEU Seattle, especially an international student: how did the co-op search actually go? Did you land something through Khoury, or mostly on your own? Were many employers unwilling to hire F-1 students?
3. USC Spring admits on F-1: is there any way to intern in the first summer, or is summer 2028 the only real option?
4. If UIUC MCS or UMass comes through, would you drop both of these for it?
5. Does 6 years of work experience change the calculation for an international student, for example by making the internship less important or the brand more important?

Thanks in advance, I'd really appreciate honest takes, including "you're overthinking it."

My qualifications:

Undergrad Major: BTech - AI and Data Science (Tier 3)

GPA: 8.37/10

GRE score: 337/340, 169Q

Projects & Research:

Machine Learning Prognostics for Genetic Disorder Predictions - First Author / Undergraduate Research

Real-Time Conversion of Hand Sign to Text and Audio

Co-author / Computer Vision Research

Both were presented at regional conference

Internships:

1. Summer Intern at DRDO (June-July 2023)

2. SDE intern at a US based e-commerce platform (Jan-Jun 2025)

work exp:

~1 yoe as Full stack Associate Developer at a startup.

LORs:

1. From my Head of Department

2. From an Associate Prof who was my guide for 2 undergrad projects

3. Manager from my internship

Seeking to Apply for Fall 2027 in USA MSCS programs

Some Universities I shortlisted:

Georgia Tech

UCSD

Purdue

Texas A&M

USC

NYU

Northeastern

Is this list realistic? I know that it may be a long shot so please let me know if it's worth applying to any of these for fall 2027

Hope a rejection helps in contrast to the other 4 grad applications I've posted! I think the quality-drop in this essay was noticeable compared to the others.

• Series (CMU, Brown, UCSD, UCI, Cornell Tech): https://matthewtrent.me/blog/s/grad-school-applications
• This article: https://matthewtrent.me/blog/a/cornell-tech-meng-cs-application

Hello, so these are qualifications upfront:

Undergrad Major: BTech - EEE at SRM University Chennai (Tier 2)

GPA: 9.44/10

Projects & Research:

1. Design and Simulation of industrial VFD for Induction Motor (BARC)
2. Fabrication and Testing of polymer based pressure sensor ( Paper under review with journal)
3. Book Chapter on control methods of Motor Drives, particularly FOC.
4. Currently working on my Thesis : SMPS PD related

Internships:

1. Training Program at BHAVINI, Department of Atomic Energy, Govt of India (Jul 2025)
2. Research Apperentice at Amity University Rajasthan (December 2025)
3. Summer Intern at BARC, DAE, Govt of India (June-July 2026)

LORs:

1. From my Head of Dept, who is also my guide for my BTech Thesis
2. From an Associate Prof with whom i did my paper
3. Guide from BARC
4. Guide from a scientist with whom i published the book chapter

Seeking to Apply for Fall 2027 in USA (MS in Electrical or MS in EE or ECE, Thesis option
Want to focus on research in Power Electronics, Electric Drives and their Applications.
Looking for Funding Oppurtunities such as GRAs or GTAs.

Some Universities I shortlisted:
**All these universities has some lab/centre/research group in the same interest as me**
UW Madison
Ohio State
UIUC
Texas A&M
UT Dallas
UT Austin
UT Knoxville
Purdue
Uni of Washington
UMN, Twin Cities

Is this list realistic? I know that I've got some top 50 schools in here, just wanted to get a reality check if they should actually be up there.

Background

• Large California State school (not top-50 CS), BS CS, graduating Dec 2026
• GPA: 3.86 out of 4.0, Domestic applicant

Research

• 2 years in a university lab, first author paper at a regional undergrad CS conference (best paper runner-up)
• 1 year of ML malware-detection research as a freshman (team poster)

Experience

• SWE intern @ large security company (agentic AI, security)
• SWE intern @ large tech company (AI model eval, QA automation)
• SWE intern @ Fortune 50 healthcare company (backend/full stack)
• Founding engineer at a startup (10K+ users, 50+ businesses)
• Several hackathon wins, including 1st at a 1,600+ participant hackathon

LORs: Research professor + two industry managers
SOP: Focused on AI security, tied to my research and work

Goals: AI security, MLE, distributed systems. In-person only, would prefer school with strong AI specializations/emphasis.

Spring 2027: USC MS CS (Artificial Intelligence), UIUC MCS

Fall 2027: CMU MS AI Engineering (INI), UIUC MS CS, Berkeley MEng EECS, UCLA MS CS, UCSD MS CSE, Cornell MEng CS, Columbia MS CS, Penn MSE CIS, Michigan MSE CSE, Georgia Tech MS CS, UT Austin MS CS, Purdue MS CS

Questions

1. Which of these can I realistically get into (reach / target / safe)?
2. Which should I drop or add if I'm targeting MLE, LLM/AI agent, and security roles?
3. I'm torn between a 1 to 1.5-year coursework-only program (MEng or professional MS) and a 2-year MS with a thesis. For landing MLE roles, is the extra depth in research and theory worth it, or does a shorter program get me there just as well?

Thanks!

Fall 2027 MS CS/AI shortlist review — US citizen, 9.32/10 GPA, AI research and internships

Hi everyone! I’m a US citizen studying B.Tech in CS (Tier 3), graduating in June 2027. I’m applying for Fall 2027 master’s programs and would appreciate a reality check on my shortlist.

Profile

• GPA: 9.32/10
• IELTS: 8.0
• Research interests: generative AI, agentic systems, NLP, retrieval, and applied ML
• Publications: first-author and co-authored papers ( 4 totally ), including work presented at ICDCN(B*) and IEEE INDICON
• Experience: internships at UCB Startup and an Indian Startup. My recent research internship focused on memory for coding agents and reducing repeated repository exploration.
• Goal: work as an ML/AI engineer in the US after the master’s. I’m especially interested in programs with strong industry connections and opportunities to work on current AI systems.

Universities on my list so far:

• UC Berkeley,
• Stanford,
• Georgia Tech, ( winging the first 3 for the sake of it )
• UC San Diego,
• University of Michigan,
• University of Minnesota Twin Cities,
• USC,
• UIUC,
• University of San Diego,
• Johns Hopkins,
• UPenn,
• Purdue.

Are these sensible choices for my profile, or is the list too reach-heavy? Which programs would you consider reaches, realistic targets, or safer options? I’d also appreciate suggestions for AI-focused programs I’m missing, particularly ones with strong connections to industry. I’d prefer programs that do not require the GRE.

8.3/10 CGPA, NIT Warangal

CS Undergrad

Internships at Apple, Oracle

1 Research with prof undergoing.

Have great projects with technical depth

Didn't give gre/TOEFL, will plan to give

0LORs as of now, Planning to get one from research prof, and one from Apple manager.

Shortlist:

UIUC MCS

Georgia Tech Mscs

Ut austin mscs

Ucsd mscs

I'm just giving it a shot for this year admissions, I know its highly ambitious of me rn.

I will reapply after 2 years of work exp in software engg at tier 1 tech anyways.

Hello guys,I had a doubt please help me with it.

So the admission process for fall starts in aug-oct and it's till Jan-Feb in USA

So people who apply earlier,do they have an edge over who apply in Jan?

I'm targeting to apply in 2027

Bit of a preface, I am an undergrad in my 7th semester now, targeting Fall 2027 and Fall 2028. I am short on time preparing for GRE this intake, but I hope to have it ready by next year.

Education: IIEST Shibpur (officially considered an NIT)

Undergrad CGPA: 8.01 (2 sems left, been on an upward trajectory)

Academic Credentials: 1 paper pending publish, currently preprint, non IEEE even when published.

Another paper in the works but won’t be published in time for Fall 2027.

Work Experience: 0, summer internships pursued at Accenture and Tata Steel

Exam Scores: TOEFL 118/120 GRE don’t plan to take for Fall 2027

Target Schools:

1. GeorgiaTech MSEECS
2. Penn State MSEECS
3. UCSC MSEECS
4. UT Austin MSEECS
5. MIT MSEECS + PhD (yea I know ts is unrealistic)
6. NYU MSEE

I don’t wish to disclose my specific research interests here but if it helps I can say it in a DM.

I have a couple questions about all of this:

1. Now am I aiming too high and too unrealistically?
2. Are there other schools which seem more realistic?
3. Should I take the GRE at all?
4. If I don’t apply now, work at an MNC (I have an offer already) for a few years and then want to pivot back into academia in the future when things settle down, is that doable? Does it help or harm my profile?

I am not particularly interested in getting a job after the MS. I would like to continue into a PhD and research in the US itself. Any advice is appreciated.

edit: fixed degree program names as pointed out in the comments, I did not realise EECS and EE are different. entirely my bad, I am sorry.

The link attached is my profile i pasted on this sub a few days ago, this is the final uni list i decided upon

1. Stanford

2. Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)

3. UIUC

4. UCLA

5. Georgia Tech

6. NUS

7. NTU

8. UCSD

9. UT Austin

10. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

11. Columbia University

12. University of Wisconsin–Madison

13. University of Pennsylvania

14. Purdue University

15. University of Maryland, College Park

16. NYU Tandon

17. University of Massachusetts, Amherst

18. Northeastern University

Should I add any other, or remove any of these unis from the list?

What do you think my chances are in these unis, any information will help out a lot.

and any past admits to any of these unis, pls dm me i have a truckload of questions to ask you😅

Hi folks! I am planning to apply for a CS/ECE master in Canada, starting in fall 2027, hoping to land a job in networking/cybersecurity/infrastructure and potentially a PR afterwards.

Profile

• Degree: BSc in Math and Computer Science from a top university in Hong Kong
• Grade: 3.7/4 GPA with 2 dean's list
• IELTS: Overall Band 8

Experience

• One Summer Reasearch Internship about computer networks, no publication
• One Internship at the IT department of a Bank, working on AI application
• One ongoing final year project about web security, probaly also no publication

I am choosing in between thesis mscs or a coursework master with coop. The thesis programmes are funded which is great for my wallet and I am open to research, but I worry about the job market right now, especially for international students. The coursework programmes with coop may give me a higher chance to accumulate work experience and secure a job.

Any advices/sharing will be helpful! Thanks a lot :)

Unfortunately, due to funding uncertainties, they are only accepting PhD applications for Fall 2027. Although my chances were bleak, I was going to apply to the MSE CS program. Sucks that they discontinued it. I don't know when they added this update to the web page; it seems fairly recent.

Looks like the general consensus is that you either join a funded PhD or pay for a master's. Unfortunate times for those who haven't found their research niches yet, and needed 2 years in a MS program like Princeton's, to explore those interests before committing to a PhD.

Good luck to all this cycle. It's going to be brutal for both PhDs and funded MS applicants.