How difficult is it to get into Tier 2 Universities

[Mervin2008]

To be honest I am not very sure what the exact defination of Tier 2 is ,so I am assuming its in the ranking range 20-40.Please correct me if I am wrong.

My profile is as follows :

GRE - Total 1520 -Verbal 740/Quant -780 ,AWA -still awaiting the scores,expecting between 4.5 to 5.5

TOEFL - Plan to give it within 3 weeks ,should get over 100

Undergraduate CGPA - 7.62/10

MS aspirations : Electrical and computer Engineering

2 papers presented at at regional colleges in India

My final year project was in Biomedical Imaging and was a IEEE based project.

I have about 2.8 years of work experience though its in a IT company ,not sure if it counts

I have been going through some of the profiles of people who got rejected from Top Universities in Edulix and was wondering If I stood a decent chance at the Tier 2 Universities.I do plan to apply for some Top Universities but I want to build a decent University list ( not too overambitious) before I start applying.

This is a tentative list so far :

1) University of Wisconsin Madison
2) University of Washington ,Seattle
3) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy
4) Arizona State University
4) University of Colorado--Boulder Boulder
5) University of Massachusetts--Amherst Amherst, MA
6) University of Pennsylvania


I would appreciate if someone could give me some advice on this.I am a little dejected seeing so many good profiles rejected in Edulix

[kronique]

Mervin2008,

You should understand that very application is not treated the same way. From what I see, your profile is really good. Of course your work experience will count, in fact, if your applying to a CS/EE program (which I assume you are) then it is a great plus !! Personally, I feel you are being modest in not considering more top schools in your list !

[ObfuscateOften]

Mervin, I'm currently at the University of Massachusetts- Amherst doing my undergrad, and I can't say enough good about the place. I transferred from another school because of financial reasons and did not expect to like it, but I absolutely love this school. I don't know much about the department you're interested in, but I would definitely recommend UMass Amherst.

[Mervin2008]

Thanks for the encouragement Kronique,I am considering going for networking in Electrical and computer science.The reason I am not too confident my work experience will stand me in good stead is because I have been working in datawarehousing .. I am not eligible for a MS in CS( which would make my work experience count) because my under grad was in electronics and communication and I did not have the prerequisite courses in my undergrad which are required for a MS in CS.However as I mentioned this is just a tentative list and I might add a few more top colleges to it.

Once again,thanks for the encouragement

Mervin

[kronique]

Mervin,

Frankly, I don't think what you did in your undergrad is going to affect the entry process too much. From my personal experience, the only think I feel counted towards my admission was my undergrad score which was lesser than your score ! Also, as you have more than a year's work experience, that would be a more valid source of evaluation.
About the prerequiste requirement, its more of a formality issue. I'm sure you must've done quite a few common courses with the CS people. Quite a few of my friends have successfully changed their discipline in a similar way. In fact you can account for your work experience to have created an interest in the field of networking or something of that sort !
All the best anyways !

[cooldude41]

GRE - Total 1520 is very good score, but work has to be done to find the right school to apply. You can get admission with some form of Scholarship for sure, and you must highlight your IEEE project with good recommendation from proessors. Tier 2 universities require research experience along with good GRE score.

[cooldude41]

Person who writes your LOR definetly matters and alos how well you craft your Statement of purpose and resume. You got wonderful chance so make use of it.

[cooldude41]

Person who writes your LOR definetly matters and alos how well you craft your statement of purpose and resume. You got wonderful chance so make use of it.

[Myitt]

I attended UMass Amherst undergrad too, and I recommend it very highly. It's a great place, especially for CS. Your profile looks great, I'd say go for it, at any of those schools. Best of luck.