Info needed on MISM and courses apt for my profile

[qwarentine]

Experts,
I need your valuable suggestions into my higher studies. I have been in IT field for almost 2 1/2 years now. Currently i am working for one of the top product companies in india which develops ERP products. Before i proceed any further, let me give a gist of my profile.

I am a 2005 BE (Information Technology) passout from Osmania University, Hyderabad in India. I was hired by aforementioned employer during my last semester where i went on to work for 2.3 years till now.

I always had thirst for higher education but my personal and professional commitments have absorbed all of my time these years. I have now decided to pursue my masters in one of the top university in US. The reason for opting MS over MBA is because i believe i have an aptitude for computers. I had great interest in fields like computer networks, operating systems, real time systems, distributed systems, data structures. I worked endlessly at these subjects during my college days. And now during my employement days i have excelled in technologies like Java, J2EE and PL/SQL. Moving from technical to functional side i am currently dealing with financial modules of our ERP product, which gives me an exposure to General Ledgers, accounting and other financial concepts.

The reason for me to choose MS over MBA is fueled by my desire to remain in technical side. After a lot of ransacking on net i came across MISM course which is a conglomeration of technical, financial and mangerial concepts. Now that i have made my background clear, i have few questions lingering in my mind regarding MISM and other courses suitable to my profiles. Here are my list of questions:

1. Is MISM the right course for me (I know i am sounding insane but i would like to get your views on this in reference to my profile)

2. What is the expected GRE score and also Analytical writing score for admission.

3. Are paper presentations mandatory for admission into MISM

4. What is the criteria for financial aid ?

5. Is there any exemption in terms of duration of course for experienced candidates?

6. What are the placement opportunities i have?

7. Is internship mandatory as part of curriculum?

8. What are the mandatory courses i need to take as part of curriculum?

9. What are other courses which suits to my profile and interests?

10. Will my work experience be an advantage for ehancing my chances of admission into such courses

11. Which other universities offer courses similar to MISM

I know most of the answers can be obtained from CMU site. But i see many people who have successfully made it to CMU and people with similar profile as mine which forced me to post here as they will be having valuable insights into these questions than some novice like me

I fervently hope to see your answers and critiques if any as i will be using this information to formulate my GRE plan's.

Thanks,
Satish

[Ancalagon The Black]

I would advise against CMU MISM unless you have a lot of money at your disposal. Even with a partial waiver it still amounts to over 25K in a 3 semester program. I do not think that it is worth it unless your employer supports you.

There are ISM courses in UCSC, UCB etc. which might be better. But you still have to pay non resident tuition (around 10-15K) per year for each school. Better still is to apply to PhD where you get all the aid.

Otherwise you can apply to the PhD in Information Systems in business schools like Sloan, Tepper etc.

However, the best bet for a MS would be in Berkeley or Santa Cruz. CMU is very expensive. There are other places like UMD, UWS, UM Ann Arbor, Syracuse but there is a little doubt about the extent of financial aid that they give...