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CalmLogic · 05-17-2008, 03:20 AM

I realize you want the best job prospects, but academics are, of course, just one factor, especially in the American IT industry. Even people who go to UPenn don't exactly have companies lining up to hire them immediately. (According to the alumni stories at UPenn, it seems most grad students at UPenn take at least 2 months to find a job after they start their search.)

As you may know, many CS grad programs only allow 6 credits to be transferred into an MS program, though many do allow up to 9 credits. (If you want to get a head start on your first 6 credits of graduate work, an alternative to going to Albany is distance learning, which is what I am doing right now: UF College of Engineering: UFEDGE ) And maybe you will find great roommates in Albany and will not want to move after settling in and buying furniture

Certainly, the time spent planning the logistics about re-relocating and finding a second round of roommates could take away from working on resume-boosting projects.

Personally, I don't think it's worth going to a school for just one term, especially with distance learning options. So, if I went to Albany, I would stay there unless I didn't like it. To compete with people from NYU and SB, I would beef up my resume by working on TopCoder awards, open source projects, Microsoft/Oracle/Sun/Cisco/SAS certifications, or whatever applies to your career choice. And I would certainly work hard on trying to a get an internship at a well-known company, which, in some cases, can be more important than the university one attended, e.g. an internship at Microsoft can mean more than an M.S. from Columbia.

If you have your heart/ego/expectations set on going to a well-ranked school like Columbia or if you want to get a PhD later on, then I would suggest taking the GRECS and then apply for Spring 2009 or later. (Or, if your class rank is satisfactory and you have money to burn, just apply to Columbia or Brown right now if you haven't already since they offer rolling admissions. Also, USC's deadline for Fall 2008 hasn't passed yet.)

Also, did you get rejected from UT Dallas or are you still waiting for a decision from them?

05-17-2008, 03:20 AM	#2 (permalink)
CalmLogic No Longer Active Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 1,300	I realize you want the best job prospects, but academics are, of course, just one factor, especially in the American IT industry. Even people who go to UPenn don't exactly have companies lining up to hire them immediately. (According to the alumni stories at UPenn, it seems most grad students at UPenn take at least 2 months to find a job after they start their search.) As you may know, many CS grad programs only allow 6 credits to be transferred into an MS program, though many do allow up to 9 credits. (If you want to get a head start on your first 6 credits of graduate work, an alternative to going to Albany is distance learning, which is what I am doing right now: UF College of Engineering: UFEDGE ) And maybe you will find great roommates in Albany and will not want to move after settling in and buying furniture Certainly, the time spent planning the logistics about re-relocating and finding a second round of roommates could take away from working on resume-boosting projects. Personally, I don't think it's worth going to a school for just one term, especially with distance learning options. So, if I went to Albany, I would stay there unless I didn't like it. To compete with people from NYU and SB, I would beef up my resume by working on TopCoder awards, open source projects, Microsoft/Oracle/Sun/Cisco/SAS certifications, or whatever applies to your career choice. And I would certainly work hard on trying to a get an internship at a well-known company, which, in some cases, can be more important than the university one attended, e.g. an internship at Microsoft can mean more than an M.S. from Columbia. If you have your heart/ego/expectations set on going to a well-ranked school like Columbia or if you want to get a PhD later on, then I would suggest taking the GRECS and then apply for Spring 2009 or later. (Or, if your class rank is satisfactory and you have money to burn, just apply to Columbia or Brown right now if you haven't already since they offer rolling admissions. Also, USC's deadline for Fall 2008 hasn't passed yet.) Also, did you get rejected from UT Dallas or are you still waiting for a decision from them? _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ Admit Profiles, MSCS Admit Chances, CS Internships, TopCoder, Programming Challenges (requires Firefox) Applying to Ph.D. Programs in Computer Science *GRE Computer Science Subject Test:* ETS Booklet (solutions at Yahoo GRECS group), MFT, Titanium Bits, Guide, More Links more CS practice: Stanford Comps GATE CS/IT: GATEForum, Yahoo, Freshers, Q & A, Mock Exams & Solutions, GATEMentor Last edited by CalmLogic : 05-17-2008 at 04:51 AM.