Profile Evaluation - Desperate assistantship

[TheElixir]

Evaluate my chances in comp science dept . I desperately need assistantship .

 

* 10th std : 81 %

* 12th std: 89 %

* B.E computer science ( Madras univ ) 81 %

* Work experience ( I.T) database and SOA 3.5 years

* Pesented couple of National level papers .

* Good Reco and SOP .

 

M.S : Interested in software design and database.

 

GRE : verbal : 550 Quants : 760

 

Dream univ :

 

1. Univ texas Austin

2. Georgia Tech

3. Univ of north carolina ,chappell hill

4. Univ of california , Irvine

5. univ of washington , seattle

6. Cornell

7. ohio state university

8.University of Illinois at Chicago

9. USC

10 Columbia University

and finally

11. stanford (over ambitious )

 

 

Some of these doesn't provide assistantship . No props for these since they are good in placements.

 

other univ at moderate level :

1. Texas A&M

2. NCSU

3.texas , dallas

4.SUNY, buffalo

5.SUNY, stony brook

6.Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

7.university of florida , Gainsville

8 Arizona State University

9 Oregon State University

10 Iowa State University

11 University of Texas at Arlington

12.Rochester Institute of Technology

 

I need assistantship that was my crux for selection of univ and also good internships and placements .

 

Overall for these profile wat r the above mentioned univ can i get good placement . I have to send for 8 to 9 univ . It would be grateful for me , if u cater in this selection .

 

Thanks.

[tamsel]

CalmLogic ur thought ?

[tamsel]

Well , your profile seems good for moderate univ .

 

try for ,

 

florida, gainsville

NCSU

michigan state

ASU

buffalo

and make try for

irvine and TAMU ( it has become tough now) .

 

All the best

[Ancalagon The Black]

Yeah, word is that both TAMU as well as Stony Brook have become pretty tough even for self financing students with MS as there are a lot of students, mostly from India and other Asian countries applying for it.

[CalmLogic]

A few thoughts regarding schools in your moderate category:

 

other univ at moderate level :

1. Texas A&M - possibly more ambitious than GA Tech (but your profile certainly gives you a shot); low tuition

2. NCSU -moderate (safe for you)

3.texas , dallas - safe (too safe for you. You are too good for them :) )

4.SUNY, buffalo - low tuition

5.SUNY, stony brook - low tuition

6.Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

7.university of florida , Gainsville - excellent for databases but nothing special for software engineering; regarded as unpredictable (moderate-to-ambitious) but attractive to a number of Indian students because of the 40 percent Achievement Award that is given out like candy :) But with the tuition waiver, they may still be more expensive than TAMU or SUNY. Also, if you read the old posts, some people have turned down Florida for other schools like USC that are more expensive.

8 Arizona State University - Intel hires more grads from ASU than any other university

9 Oregon State University - relatively expensive considering its lower rank

10 Iowa State University - not moderate since they have less slots than one would think; see TheGradCafe.com for details

11 University of Texas at Arlington -

12.Rochester Institute of Technology

[asa_sl]

Yeah, word is that both TAMU as well as Stony Brook have become pretty tough even for self financing students with MS as there are a lot of students, mostly from India and other Asian countries applying for it.

 

wow. dude you now attend in ISI ,

:)

[TheElixir]

Thanks Ancalagon , Calm Logic and Tamsel .

 

you guys repeat that GRE scores are important for university consideration . I suppose my CGPA is good . B.E Hons . have more than 3 years of work experience in the related field . 550 and 760 not a bad score . Still I am not able to get in to top 40 is ineffable :).

 

CalmLogic : If you have any good bet universities you recommend to apply ?

[CalmLogic]

CalmLogic : If you have any good bet universities you recommend to apply ?

Not really, and the more ambitious universities are harder to predict compared to the moderate universities that are typically less attractive. Of course, you can still improve your profile for the ambitious choices like UT Austin and University of Washington, such as by taking the GRECS. UIUC does offer funding to a number of accepted MS applicants, so if you score above over 90 percent on the GRECS (which would be very difficult), you should also consider UIUC.

 

Regarding university selection, when the time is right (when you have stopped boosting your profile), I think your best bet is to continue spending hours searching the profiles and forums at Edulix, especially to find or ask where people from University of Madras who graduated with a similar rank ended up going.

 

If funding is your #1 or #2 concern, then maybe a school that is less popular but still very good like University of Utah will be easier for getting a TA position, i.e. Utah is one of the few schools listed in TheGradCafe.com that offers TA positions to MS applicants. OTOH, Utah is relatively ambitious concerning admissions. BTW, a mistake some people make is they apply to schools, get accepted, and then realize one of the following:

 

1. Even though they got into a school that features low tuition, they decide to go to USC, Columbia, or GA Tech.

 

2. There are not willing to get a huge student loan to pay for a school like Columbia.

[Ancalagon The Black]

asa_sl:

 

Have you heard of ISI before?

 

TheElixir:

 

I know it seems frustrating and just in the last academic season I was pretty frustrated myself. Actually, the CS field is highly populated by a lot of over achievers and there are many many applications. Obviously, this introduces a level of randomness in the entire process.

 

I would advise you to go with what CalmLogic suggests. His advice is very good. Best of luck for admissions !! Also, don't forget Edulix. That portal is very helpful.

[TheElixir]

First thanks to Calmlogic and Ancalagon.

 

CalmLogic :

 

I went through GRECS , it seems very tough to get into 90 percentile for my level ,eventhough I am adept in CS .

 

* How can improve my profile from this level to get into 20-40 ranked universities with assistantship ?

 

* As you say , If I publish a International paper and again take up GRE within couple of months , to boost upto 800Q & 600+ V . Does it possible to get into GA Tech , UTA ,TAMU or UNC ? or able to get assistantship ( TA or tuition waiver ) from above 20 to below 40 ranked universities ?

 

* Does certification like MCP has value in improving profile ?

[CalmLogic]

* How can improve my profile from this level to get into 20-40 ranked universities with assistantship ?

For MS applicants, I think it is much easier to get into GA Tech or Columbia than to get an TA/RA/GA offer from any decent CS department prior to the first semester. Certainly, taking the GRECS or getting published could help increase your chances for a TA/RA/GA/fellowship, but the chances could still be low, at least for the majority of schools ranked in USNews for CS. And taking the GRECS or getting published would certainly help with getting admitted.

 

* As you say , If I publish a International paper and again take up GRE within couple of months , to boost upto 800Q & 600+ V . Does it possible to get into GA Tech , UTA ,TAMU or UNC ?

UNC and UT Austin could still be unlikely unless you published something really brilliant or did exceptionally well on the GRECS. For UT Austin, their website shows their average GRECS score is signficantly below 90 percent for MS applicants, but many of their applicants are from NIT and IIT, so you would possibly have to get a higher score than their average GRECS score (which is somewhat above 770 if I remember correctly). (If by UTA you mean UT Arlington, you should aim higher as you would already get admission there.)

 

Does certification like MCP has value in improving profile ?

I don't think certifications will help since you already have signficant work experience, not to mention that CS grad students tend to do fine with Java (the language of choice in grad school) but can have problems with more math/theory stuff like dynamic programming and computational geometry. So getting even a 50 percentile on the GRECS would actually be more helpful, especially for Rutgers.

 

I went through GRECS , it seems very tough to get into 90 percentile for my level ,eventhough I am adept in CS .

Definitely is impossible for most people to get 90 percentile. I would be ecstatic to get 800.

[tamsel]

CalmLogic Thanks for your time .

 

 

You incited me to take up the GRECS . As you said more than 50 %ile is good enough to get in to 40 and I realize the point that Assistantship is rare to get in top 40 for my profile .

 

I mean UT Austin .

 

Does improving my GRE score can improve my profile to get into top40 (without assistantship) ? . If I dont take up GRECS or oublished a paper .

 

 

Cheers,

Tam

[CalmLogic]

Does improving my GRE score can improve my profile to get into top40 (without assistantship) ? . If I dont take up GRECS or oublished a paper .

Yes, of course, but people tend to overestimate the potential boost. As long as you meet the average GRE score of the CS department, it's very questionable what kindof boost you can get, though I'm sure in some cases an 800 quant score makes the difference between acceptance and rejection. Personally, I am applying for Spring. While my strategy is to get GRE scores that are above-average for the departments in question, I am not aiming for 800. Rather, I am focusing more on the GRECS and doing well in 3 online graduate CS courses at UF. (Most people would consider this overkill. In my case, however, I was a non-CS major, so I want to overcompensate.)

[TheElixir]

Thanks Calmlogic :).

 

As you say , Good GRE score may or may not improve the profile but certainly moderate GRE scores can ebb the profile . Let me retake the GRE and publish a paper to improve my chances . Anyway I will take up the GRECS .