What schools should I apply to?

**Mike_L** · 09-20-2005, 03:18 AM

Hi,

I'm in the process of trying to decide on what schools to apply to for a masters in CS. Any recommendations would be great. Here is my profile:

Program: Computer Science (specialist) and Math (major)
GPA: 3.75 GPA (3.97 in CS)
Class Rank: top 2%
School: top Canadian univ with grade deflation (average GPA in our department is 2.0-2.2)
GRE: 1400 (800Q, 600V), 5.0 AWA
Work experiences: summer internship + 12 month internship, both with large IT companies (50k+ employees)
Research & Publications: None
Areas of Interest: Software Engineering, Operating Systems, Theory

Schools that I'm applying to:
U of Toronto, Waterloo
UM-Ann Arbor (my parents live there)

I don't want to waste a lot of cash applying everywhere... I want to set a limit of 10 schools to apply to. Any thoughts on my choices and any suggestions on what other schools from the US I should add to my list? I'm also a permanent resident of the US, not sure if that helps.

In terms of funding, I can only afford to pay $30k US / year (tuition + living expenses) if I go to school in the US.

Thanks for any advice,

Mike

**bruno** · 09-20-2005, 02:59 PM

With a profile like that, it's strange that you've picked univs which are lower than what you deserve, more so, you haven't even picked up the best in Cananda! With no research under your belt, you might be at some disadvantage, but you definitely must add the top 10-20 univs in US on your list, being a Princeton Review, you have a bigger chance for aid as well.UPenn, Vanderbilt, Berkeley, Dartmouth, Columbia, Brown should make it on your list, but keep safety schools as well. Take a big shot, you might just thank yourself later!

**Mike_L** · 09-21-2005, 05:03 PM

Hi Bruno, thanks for the advice.

I wouldn't say UM-Ann Arbor is below me though, it's ranked pretty high in the US News and from what I hear is pretty tough to get in to without research.

What do you guys think are my chances at these schools?
UCLA
Rice
Duke
Princeton
UTexas - Austin
UWisc - Madison
UChicago

I'll apply to one safety school in Canada (still thinking which).

Thanks in advance,

Mike

**ProcessControl** · 09-22-2005, 02:41 AM

Originally Posted by bruno

With a profile like that, it's strange that you've picked univs which are lower than what you deserve, more so, you haven't even picked up the best in Cananda! With no research under your belt, you might be at some disadvantage, but you definitely must add the top 10-20 univs in US on your list, being a Princeton Review, you have a bigger chance for aid as well.UPenn, Vanderbilt, Berkeley, Dartmouth, Columbia, Brown should make it on your list, but keep safety schools as well. Take a big shot, you might just thank yourself later!

Huh?
Waterloo is the best school for CS in Canada.

**bruno** · 09-22-2005, 03:29 AM

Originally Posted by ProcessControl

Huh?
Waterloo is the best school for CS in Canada.

not for post-grad

**jinics** · 09-22-2005, 01:50 PM

well why Ann Arbor is so low ranked
i guess its in top 20 in EE and CS already

**attraxion** · 09-26-2005, 02:26 PM

Hi, here is what i think of your list -

UCLA - Ambitious, less admits
Rice - Moderate
Duke - Ambi to Moderate, not a very great CS Program though
Princeton - Ambitious, very less admits.
UTexas Austin - Ambitious
UWisc Madison - Moderate I think
UChicago - Safe
Mike - Safe

Ideally your list should have a good mix of ambis, mods and safe univs... maybe 3 each...

best,
Attraxion.