Admission to Graduate School (MS) with a break in career

[lookingahead]

Hi ,

I have been an academically strong student (GPA (CS) 3.8/4) with scholarships through school and college , i also have 2 years of work experience with a networking major and a ERP solutions major as a
software developer.
Though now i am planning to take a break of one year and then apply for my masters , i want to know how a break of one year is taken at grad schools.
Is it heavily weighed against applicants ( given a worst case scenario that i end up doing nothing much in that one year ) .
I would like to apply to say schools in the top 30 rankings in the US ( with a 1400 + GRE score ).

Regards

[w_guy]

it really depends, if you can show of having done some useful activity like (work experience/research experience) then ofcourse it counts in your favour.

but if you did nothing, then i will say yes it does go against you.

but again, for some schools as long as you have decent recommendations, great GPA, great GRE, then it is fine.

[CalmLogic]

Though now i am planning to take a break of one year and then apply for my masters

So are you talking about starting grad school in Fall 2009? In any case, as you may know, the deadlines for Fall admission are usually between December to February.

I would suggest doing one of the following if you want to futher increase your chances for getting into as good a school as possible:

- Submit a paper to a conference (even a short 2-page "poster paper")
- Take the GRECS exam but don't have your score reported automatically (in case you get a low score)
- Take one or two distance learning CS graduates courses from UF, Harvard, etc (Please evaluate my profile). (Most MS programs will accept 6-9 graduate credits. Note that most of the Harvard coruses are IT rather than CS courses and may not be applicable.)

[lookingahead]

Originally Posted by CalmLogic

So are you talking about starting grad school in Fall 2009? In any case, as you may know, the deadlines for Fall admission are usually between December to February.

I would suggest doing one of the following if you want to futher increase your chances for getting into as good a school as possible:

- Submit a paper to a conference (even a short 2-page "poster paper")
- Take the GRECS exam but don't have your score reported automatically (in case you get a low score)
- Take one or two distance learning CS graduates courses from UF, Harvard, etc (Please evaluate my profile). (Most MS programs will accept 6-9 graduate credits. Note that most of the Harvard coruses are IT rather than CS courses and may not be applicable.)

Hi Calmlogic ,

Thanks for the inputs ! Yes , i am planning to start graduate school in fall 2009 and work till around june end 2008, but i still need to give the GRE around July end 2008 and then the application procedure starts around october to november .

Coming to your suggestions i have considered each one of the options you mention.I am also considering scouting for another job once i am done with the GRE.Work does not seem very interesting from where i am.

I am not very sure about the distance learning option though i think i would need the GRE score for that and that i will get only by august mid.

Im in a CAtch 22 situation

[FoolishAmbition]

Women do this often. I've taken much longer to get my bachelors than most b/c I got married and started a family. I finished my bachelors and continued having children. I'm going back to get my masters and will have 1 more child while working on my masters. They can take me or leave me, I am what I am.

My work experience is very little. I've been at home raising kids. So, I've had to really think about what else I have done. I manage a household of 4 children, I manage the budget, I manage time like you would not believe. I have to highlight these things b/c there is not much else.

I'm invovled in a few community activities. I've traveled internationally. I read a lot more than my other mom friends. I'm writing a book, albeit not in my degree field. I have an editor and have started submissions of outlines and summaries looking for a publisher.

I have to believe life experience counts for something. Frankly, if a program wants to nit pick 1 year of your life, do you really want to be in that program?

[lookingahead]

Originally Posted by FoolishAmbition

Women do this often. I've taken much longer to get my bachelors than most b/c I got married and started a family. I finished my bachelors and continued having children. I'm going back to get my masters and will have 1 more child while working on my masters. They can take me or leave me, I am what I am.

My work experience is very little. I've been at home raising kids. So, I've had to really think about what else I have done. I manage a household of 4 children, I manage the budget, I manage time like you would not believe. I have to highlight these things b/c there is not much else.

I'm invovled in a few community activities. I've traveled internationally. I read a lot more than my other mom friends. I'm writing a book, albeit not in my degree field. I have an editor and have started submissions of outlines and summaries looking for a publisher.

I have to believe life experience counts for something. Frankly, if a program wants to nit pick 1 year of your life, do you really want to be in that program?

hmm ... true but from where i come from its not done too often , any way i have decided to continue on with the Job and then go in for the MS in the fall 2009 session should work out well . I realize its not very uncommon to take an year off its not much really , but i want to get to a good school and possibly with a schol , thats why the concern

[CalmLogic]

Tell them you had a baby In any case, it's none of their business, but if they are like an employer that likes to see a recent work history, participating in an online TopCoder competition, taking distance learning courses, or even just showing up at any local CS conferences may not be a bad idea.

[FoolishAmbition]

I guess the old adage, "I had to find myself," isn't going to be effective.

If you want or need a year off, then do it. You certainly can find ways to "show" you have used your time wisely. If you have planned financially to be unemployed for a year, it shows character traits which are certainly important for success and can be elaborated on in admission essays.

"Leave of absence", "sabbatical", etc. are norms of some professions. Call it something professional...

Life is about making choices. Most people work b/c they have been sucked into middle class life of homeownership, car payments, a family, etc. Some people work b/c they are motivated to be productive members of society. It's alltruistic to believe everyone is equally motivated to be equally productive in society. Who's to say that back packing the Appalachian mountain trails for months isn't being productive, it certainly is not being a burden to society. It takes planning to do things that one enjoys, elaborate on the planning skill invovled to be free to make such a choice.

If you are not enjoying life, then what is the point? If you can not freely go after scholarly dreams, then what is the point of having freedom of choice?

Admissions offices need to get over themselves.

[CalmLogic]

Who's to say that back packing the Appalachian mountain trails for months isn't being productive, it certainly is not being a burden to society.

Reminds me of the movie Into the Wild.

Anyway, since you already have 2 years of work experience and you are only taking one year off, they may just note that you have the 2 years of work experience, unlike many/most applicants.

[lookingahead]

Originally Posted by CalmLogic

Reminds me of the movie Into the Wild.

Anyway, since you already have 2 years of work experience and you are only taking one year off, they may just note that you have the 2 years of work experience, unlike many/most applicants.

hmm ... loads of replies , ya i have explored these options and as i mentioned i just plan to continue for some more time and put down my papers before leaving ,its probably the best deal right now , i was looking at options such as writing a research paper ( which i could have managed ) , albeit not on a very relevant topic ( i want to do my masters in CS ) i was planning to write a research paper on ( using IT in the public health ) since i could have managed a faculty advisor here .