Profile Evaluation Fall-09 MS-CS (Info Tech/Software Engg)

[Ritz009]

Hi All

Thanks for reading my post. I came across this forum 2 days back and decided to share my thought process about how and which direction should I put in efforts for MS-CS (Info Tech/Software Engg) for Fall-09.

My Short Profile-
Acads (I know its very poor ) -
HS - 81%
SSC - 73 %
Computer Science & Engineering 2004 (UP Tech Univ)- 69%

Extras
8 Months Research Software - (Summer + Continued) Intern in a Govt Research Org - Letter of Appreciation.
3 Months Summer Internship with Indian Telecom Major.
IEEE Student Paper CS - FirstPrize (62 Participating Papers from various Colleges)
IEEE Best Design Project

With this much, in 2004, after my under-grad, I gave GRE-1200(780+420)/4.5 and TOEFL-263/6 and got a call from UT-Arlington and got rejected from Drexel & UCI & Penn.

Then I decided to work in Industry, I joined Software Major TCS, and tried to build up my profile a little bit -
1 - Letter of Appreciation from Client
Internal Recognition Award - 2 times
SUN Certified JAVA Professional - 100%
Early Promotion for my Outstanding work

Since last 2 years, I am working for a US Telecom Major's Software Division in Silicon Valley, California. By the time, I apply, I'll have 5 yrs of Software Experience, and when I take GRE/TOEFL, I'll get similar or better score.
My LORs will be from -
Acad - Prof @ Under Grad
Industry - Supervisor (10+ yrs exp) @ US Telecom Major
Industry - Supervisor (12+ yrs exp) @ TCS

Please guide me and suggest -
1] Around when should I schedule my GRE/TOEFL tests, for smooth application process ?
2] Which Universities, can I dream for, as I am looking for more towards, Industry Oriented Programs than Research stuff ?

Thanks again...
Ritz

[MDK]

1] Around when should I schedule my GRE/TOEFL tests, for smooth application process ?

At most, by the end of October.

2] Which Universities, can I dream for, as I am looking for more towards, Industry Oriented Programs than Research stuff ?

The first program that came to my mind was Cornell's MENG, but it's a competitive program so you should consider programs at CMU and JHU which has a high acceptance rate. I would also think of USC since you don't have to participate in any research, you can just finish your 27 credit hours and jump into industry. Moreover, USC has one of the greatest SE groups and profs.

[rjt]

Originally Posted by Ritz009

Acads (I know its very poor ) -
HS - 81%
SSC - 73 %
Computer Science & Engineering 2004 (UP Tech Univ)- 69%

Which institute in UP?

Extras
8 Months Research Software - (Summer + Continued) Intern in a Govt Research Org - Letter of Appreciation.
3 Months Summer Internship with Indian Telecom Major.

Can you name the above two, just curious.

With this much, in 2004, after my under-grad, I gave GRE-1200(780+420)/4.5 and TOEFL-263/6 and got a call from UT-Arlington and got rejected from Drexel & UCI & Penn.

Retake the standardised tests. Also, who rejected you, UPenn or Penn State? It is worth applying to UCI and UPenn as you never know, they are no more too picky these days.

Then I decided to work in Industry, I joined Software Major TCS, and tried to build up my profile a little bit -
1 - Letter of Appreciation from Client
Internal Recognition Award - 2 times
SUN Certified JAVA Professional - 100%
Early Promotion for my Outstanding work

Since last 2 years, I am working for a US Telecom Major's Software Division in Silicon Valley, California. By the time, I apply, I'll have 5 yrs of Software Experience, and when I take GRE/TOEFL, I'll get similar or better score.

Try to emphasise on your work ex in your SOP if you want to specialise on it.

My LORs will be from -
Acad - Prof @ Under Grad
Industry - Supervisor (10+ yrs exp) @ US Telecom Major
Industry - Supervisor (12+ yrs exp) @ TCS

It is advisable to have two letter writers who can talk about your academic potential and who has taught you and known you for a sufficiently long time to be able to comment on you. They should be your univ proffs. This is like a thumb rule that every univ writes as a requirement. You can keep an extra reco from the industry - that wouldn't harm.

Please guide me and suggest -
1] Around when should I schedule my GRE/TOEFL tests, for smooth application process ?
2] Which Universities, can I dream for, as I am looking for more towards, Industry Oriented Programs than Research stuff ?

Thanks again...
Ritz

Take the GRE and TOEFL before the end of August atleast. That will give you enough time and peace of mind to go on with the rest of the process considering you will still be having a hard time at office.

About univs, you should try to apply in some of the UCs as they look into related work ex a lot (eg - UCSC). Top notch places like UT (Austin) also values work ex a lot but it might still be an ambitious for you as you never know what the outcome can be. Also, your acads are not too great to bank upon. Hope this helps. If you apply to 10 univs, you can consider going by the 5-3-2 rule of keeping ambitious, moderates and safes. And don't forget to talk of your work ex, that might get you in a good place. And yes, as MDK said, do apply to Cornell MEngg , you have sufficient work ex to get through. CMU INI, although costly, is also a good program when you consider the jobs later.

[Ritz009]

Thanks to both of you for replying... especially for advice of Work Ex to be given more importance in SOP

I have got a quite a fair picture for test dates now, I'll plan it by Aug End-Sep Beginning timeframe to be on the safer side.

But Second Question is still giving me a tough time

@MDK
General Question - Are all MEng degrees more Industry targeted than MS ? Secondly, what is general perception of Industry towards this MEng degree, against MS ?

@RJT
Q1 - UP Institute - 1962 Founded - MMMEC, State Funded College
Q2 - Interships -
Research, Design & Standard Organisation, Ministry of Railways, Designed a train metrics simulation software.
BSNL - Software Intern.
Q3 - It was PSU, sorry for the confusion.
C1 - I can get another Reco from Prof. in college, making it 2A+2I Reco.


I have some money for admissions, so I would prefer to expand list of 5-3-2 => 6-6-3 just to get best out of this whole rigor.

Ambitious - 6
===========
Cornell MEng
CMU - PA
???

Moderate - 6
===========
CMU - West Campus (Visited it tomorrow, they have started Full-Time MS from 08, nothing like univ just an office with classrooms)
???

Safe - 3
========
SJSU (Silicon Valley Proximity)
???

Where should I place JHU, USC, UCSC in this list considering my profile ?

As per my preliminary filtering I have pointed out a few universities, which have some work-ex similar courses. I am not much aware of their Acad rankings, industry standings, funding options.
Please dont take this list as any final thing, they are just results of my surfing, and please be open for suggestions, especially Additions & Removals.
UCSD
UT-Austin
UT-Dallas
UArizona-Tucson
UColorado-Boulder
UPenn
UIllinois-Chicago
SUNY-StonyBrook
Ohio State Univ
NC State Univ
Arizona State Univ
Drexel
Iowa State Univ
Colorado State Univ
RPI

Thanks again...

[MDK]

General Question - Are all MEng degrees more Industry targeted than MS ? Secondly, what is general perception of Industry towards this MEng degree, against MS ?

I would say yes:

In the United States, the Master of Engineering degree is generally a Professional degree offered as a coursework-based alternative to the traditional research-based Master of Science. It is typically a two-year program, and many universities allow students to choose between the Master of Engineering and the Master of Science.
Master of Engineering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The M.Eng. program is a professional degree program, aimed at enhancing your practical skills in computer science
FAQs for Applicants

As long as it's a Masters degree, then the industry won't differentiate between the types of the degrees. It's all the same unless you want to work in some R&D department.

Where should I place JHU, USC, UCSC in this list considering my profile ?

JHU: Safe to Moderate
USC: Safe
UCSC: No Idea.

Please dont take this list as any final thing, they are just results of my surfing, and please be open for suggestions, especially Additions & Removals.
UCSD // Super ambitious, so I would recommend removing it
UT-Austin // Super ambitious, but it worth a try
UT-Dallas // Safe
UArizona-Tucson // Usually safe to moderate
UColorado-Boulder // No Idea
UPenn // Moderate , BTW, it's achievable with a decent SOP
UIllinois-Chicago // Moderate
SUNY-StonyBrook // Moderate
Ohio State Univ // Moderate
NC State Univ // Moderate
Arizona State Univ // Safe to moderate
Drexel // Safe, and they don't require an application fee
Iowa State Univ // It was super ambitious this year, they accepted 20 out of 700
Colorado State Univ // Safe
RPI // No Idea

[Ritz009]

So this is what you suggest... I feel I have to work more in the ambitious category ?

Super Ambitious [Not to be considered]
=============
UT-Austin
Iowa State Univ
UCSD

Ambitious
========
Cornell MEng
CMU - PA
???

Moderate
========
CMU - West Campus (Visited it tomorrow, they have started Full-Time MS from 08, nothing like univ just an office with classrooms)
UArizona-Tucson
UPenn
UIllinois-Chicago
SUNY-StonyBrook
Ohio State Univ
NC State Univ

Safe - 3
========
SJSU (Silicon Valley Proximity)
UT-Dallas
Drexel
Arizona State Univ
Colorado State Univ

Any suggestions?

[CalmLogic]

BTW, I don't think ASU is a safety school, at least compared to UT Dallas.

If you haven't already, I would recommend looking at profiles to get a better idea. For example:

GRE Quantitative: 800
GRE Verbal: 700
GRE Analytical/AWA: 4
TOEFL: 287 Acad. Info.: UG College: Kumaraguru college of technology
UG University: Bharathiar University, Coimbatore
UG Department: Computer Science
UG Grade: 79.9 (%)

Admits:
1. State University of New York at Buffalo (Mera I20 kab ayega?????)
2. University of Kansas, Lawrence (sweethearts..first admit from here and that too in the month of jan.certainly feels good.)

Rejects:
1. Arizona State University ((It was my mod to safe. a reject,no way.. Want to know on what factual basis they rejcted my profile ..feel like giving them a piece of my head $%&$))
2. State University of New York at Stony Brook ((Just proved agian that they have not lost the touch of being the most unpredictable of the lot..))
3. University of Texas at Austin (Aim high and fall flat on ur face...chaltha hai..)

Edulix InfoBank | Reports

[MDK]

Yes, ASU has been acting strange this year, they rejected toppers so forget about them . I would also recommend keeping USC in your safe list since it's the best safe university (regarding safeness and ranking )
Why don't you consider choices from this list:
PSU, VTech, UCD, UCI, Northeastern University, University of Florida.

[Ritz009]

Revised List...

Super Ambitious [Not to be considered] - UT-Austin, Iowa State Univ, UCSD

Ambitious
========
Cornell MEng
CMU - PA
???

Moderate
========
CMU - West Campus (Visited it tomorrow, they have started Full-Time MS from 08, nothing like univ just an office with classrooms)
UArizona-Tucson
Arizona State Univ [Moved UP from Safe]
UPenn
UIllinois-Chicago
SUNY-StonyBrook [Should I consider Buffalo instead and move this to Ambitious?]
Ohio State Univ
NC State Univ

Safe - 3
========
USC [Added to Safe]
SJSU (Silicon Valley Proximity)
UT-Dallas
Drexel
Colorado State Univ

Which band do the UCSC, PSU, VTech, UCD, UCI, Northeastern University, University of Florida, fit in ? Especially Ambitious band ?

[CalmLogic]

Did you see this already:

Edulix (MS CS Chances)

I think UF this year was in the moderate-to-ambitious category because they were cutting back on admissions due to a state-wide tourist recession (less money from taxes).