Got questions?

[peiann]

Hi everybody,

I recently went through the whole graduate school application process and am now free and eager to help or give advice to future applicants, whether for grad app preparation, statement of purpose, test taking, getting letters of recommendations, interviews, and inevitably turning down acceptances. If anyone has any questions feel free to private message me or post questions here. I’m more geared toward the engineering/hard sciences. I’ve been through both MS and PhD app processes so I can answer questions for both types of programs.

Applied to: UCSD, UCSC, UCSF, Stanford, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, MIT/Harvard

[rohitanna]

Hi,
please help me out in this. I wanna pursue MS(CS).

1. how many letter of reference can I send? will 3 suffice or it is good to send arnd 8/10?
2. Shld I send my letter of reference in original college letter head or can I have it photocopied? My coll given me only 5 letter heads?
3.what shld i write in my statement of purpose if I dont hav any extra-curricular or presentation or research experience? Can i mention my final yr project(I am going to do it in my specialization feild)+ i have won Univ level academic awards.
4.How many pages shld my letter of reference and statement of purpose be?

Thanks

[peiann]

Hi rohitanna

1) I would send only 3. More would be pointless. Some schools state recommended 3 and maximum 4. If 3 won't do the job, 4 won't either and you'd just give the adcom more work.

2) You should have Letters of Recommendations sent by whoever writes them. Most US universities use online forms for letters of recommendations.

3) The research experience would be more important if you were going for a PhD. If you don't have any I would definitely write about why you're motivated about getting an MS and what do you want to do with an MS after you get it. You should definitely mention your final year project. You should also write a paragraph of why you want to attend a certain school. The statement of purpose for MS is much more stringent for PhD I think. When I applied for an MS my first paragraph was a general introduction involving my past academics. I went on to talk about why I wanted to get an MS in my particular fied as well as why I wanted to go to the school. I also wrote about what I wanted to do with my future after an MS.

4) Your letter of reference should be 1 page max. statement of purpose 2 pages max. some schools have specific limits so be sure to be under those limits. My standard was 2 pages max.

[rohitanna]

thanks for that advice . Some more queries
1. Considering Fall 2007, when is the best time to send transcripts.Can i send them by Oct last week.From India how many weeks it will take to send them?
2.being more specific: I want to specialize in MS-CS(networks) and how r the job prospects in this field.
3.how r the chances of getting an aid after a sem or so.. OR is ter simply no chance of acquiring them.
4.will u also aid in selection of univ ?

[peiann]

1. The last week in october should be fine for fall 2007. Just make sure they adcom receives your transcripts before the deadline. I really have no idea how long mail takes to get from India to the US. You can ask your postal service.

2. I think MS in CS always has good job prospects. You shouldn't have to worry about being able to get a job.

3. Highly doubtful to get aid for an MS - I can just say this from experience. However, there might be schools that allow MS students to TA. You can always get loans I think. I'm not too clear on that for international students.

4. what are your statistics? What range of MS programs are u looking into rankwise?

[rohitanna]

Thanks again
Here is my profile and my initial list :
acads(B tech) : 88% ( 1 to 6sem ) (am a topper in 3,4,5,6 sem)
=> GPA:: 3.8
XII (state board): 95%
x th(CBSE :85%

Gre : 1250(Q-750 v-400)
Toefl: 277 ,6

Project (till now): 1. Inplant training
2.Mini project

Papers presented : none
not much Extra curricular act

1. Univ of MaryLand,College Park
2. TAMU
3. University of Illinois, Chicago

4.Ohio State University
5.Arizona State University
6.Univ MICHIGAN -Ann Arbor

7. MAryland univ-Baltimore ((is this a good one for CS ))
8. SUNY- stony brook
9.University of Cincinnati

Please comment on above univ list + GIVE thy SUGGESTION

[Peter137]

No offence but 750+400 = 1150 not 1250.

[rohitanna]

sorry for the typo: my v-500

[peiann]

That's a good wide range of schools. I don't really see any problems getting into MS programs in those schools with thy stats. UMCP is very good. If anything you can always get a good idea from the US News and world report graduate school book. I wouldn't put too much in the rankings but it gives a good general idea about what you might be interested in

[LostInLA]

My Profile:
undergrad and masters : Univ of Southern California
undergrad gpa: 3.89/4.0
masters gpa: 4.0/4.0

GRE: 770q 510v 4.5aw

Research Experience: almost 2 years working at a robotics lab. I have no papers published though.

I have participated in robotics competitions too, specifically underwater robotics. Have also papers submitted as part of these competitions requirements and can be viewed on the competition's website.

My letter of reference: I'm thinking of asking 2 Professors, which I have worked with. For the other recommendation letter, I'm thinking of asking the prof. of a class I took.


Research area is either robotics or computer vision.
Here are the schools I'm thinking of applying to:
1. CMU
2. Stanford
3. UIUC
4. USC
5. UPenn
6. Duke
7. UCSD
8. Columbia
9. Penn State
10. U of Florida


What do you think of my chances to these schools?
I know Stanford, CMU are a long shot.