Please evaluate my profile and suggest me some universities for MS in computer scienc

[inneed]

Hi,

Please evaluate my profile and suggest me some universities for MS in computer science.

Profile:

10th: 76%

12th: 59%

B.E [I.T] from Mumbai University

Aggregate of 8 semesters: 55%

Final Year Aggregate: 61%

GRE: 1250
Quant: 720
Verbal: 530

Toefl: 104/120

Experience:

Working with Syntel, Inc. for 1.8 months as Analyst programmer on java platform (web technologies).

Note:
* I want to apply for fall 2008. Hope I am not too late !!
* I would like to request your attention ASAP.
* If at all you have helped a guy with a similar profile and feel
that the same solution would apply to me then please forward
me to that particular thread.

Thanks n Regards

[MDK]

Well, you have missed the first round of applying since the deadlines were on December 15. However, There are a lot of chances in advance, the next deadlines are by the January 2nd and January 15th. There are also some deadlines by the beginning of February. Simply : You're not late.

Since you are not late, I would strongly recommend retaking the GRE in order to get a better Quantitative score because your quantitative score is the weakest point of your profile.
But, There are some universities that requires a GRE score >1200 such University of Texas -Dallas, so you can apply there but they are always mentioned as safe choice.
Although many colleges don't set a GRE cutoff, such a low quantitative score would be worrisome for a computer science committee.

[inneed]

Hi MDK,

First of all thanks for your response.

Well I am not sure whether I would be able to retake the GRE in such a short notice and still better my score. Though, I will definitely give a serious thought to it.

In the mean while I made a list of my own but am not sure about its suitability. Can you please check the same and mark each of them as Safe/Moderate/Ambitious?

University Name
Iowa State University
Virginia Tech
New Jersey Institute of Tech
Arizona State University
Pennsylvania State University
Texas A & M University
University of Connecticut
Rutgers State University New Brunswick
University of Illinois at Chicago
Boston University
Clemson University
University of Houston
University of Texas - Dallas

Thanks n Regards

[MDK]

My comments are embedded in the quotations:

Originally Posted by inneed

Hi MDK,


University Name
Iowa State University // No Idea
Virginia Tech // Ambitious
New Jersey Institute of Tech // No Idea
Arizona State University // Moderate
Pennsylvania State University // Ambitious
Texas A & M University // a little bit ambitious
University of Connecticut // No Idea
Rutgers State University New Brunswick // Ambitious
University of Illinois at Chicago // Moderate
Boston University // Moderate
Clemson University // No Idea
University of Houston // No Idea, but I think it's safe
University of Texas - Dallas // safe

Thanks n Regards

BTW, Rutgers, Texas A&M and Penn state strongly encourages the applicants to take the subject GRE. So I prefer if you choose other schools that don't mention the subject GRE.

B.E [I.T] from Mumbai University

Does that mean Information Technology ? I mean: have you taken discrete math , algorithms and complexity courses ?
because your transcript is a very important factor in the admission process

[inneed]

Hi MDK,

Yes, it does mean Information Technology. I have taken subjects like:
1) Descrete structures.
2) Data Structures and Algorithms
3) Information Theory and Coding
4) Automata Theory
5) Operating Systems
6) Database Systems

Will this be helpful? But they cannot compensate for my low quant scores,
right?

Thanks n Regards

[CalmLogic]

Will this be helpful?

Certainly, it would be helpful for a school like UT Dallas that doesn't require CS courses prior to admission. However, you don't have to worry about UT Dallas, anyway. The University of Houston does not seem as good as UT Dallas for computer science, so I assume they are another safety school.

But they cannot compensate for my low quant scores, right?

Not when most applicants have taken similar courses, including computer architecture. GPA can often compensate for lower GRE scores. However, the best thing is to retake the GRE, especially since your GPA doesn't seem too stellar. There is no doubt that your current quantitative GRE score of 720 may prevent you from getting some admissions, at least at the more ambitious schools.