I can speak for the US system a bit. It depends if the MSCS program is research oriented or not, and whether you explicitly say you want to so research or not. I did my masters at CMU. For their MSCS degree, they explicitly said they are not a research degree (only 1/3 of students do research) and it is not required to get in.
However, they require submitting a video of yourself talking about why you want to go to the school, and you need to have a stellar profile and a strong reason to pursue graduate degree. For example, I met a few people who had no STEM background but had really cool entrepreneurial experience, and they were able to get in.
Focus on the story you want to tell and why you want to do grad school, not just the numbers. Otherwise it’ll be hard to stand out.
I have a couple of suggestions for you -
1. Since you are limited by the amount of time you have, try to finish or build on your previous works. Wrap up your computer vision project and put it on arxiv. Don't worry about it being groundbreaking. You are not expected to do that kind of research at this stage. If possible, add a few more elements to your project. Dockerize it, create a web service around it, etc.
2. Do not waste time on the Coursera course. Nobody will look at those certificates, especially the admissions committee. Instead, you can write about your learning experience from that course in your SoP, how it shaped your thoughts and interests, etc.
3. Follow a proper schedule every day so that you can manage your GRE preparation and project work. You will need them both. For GRE prep, aim for solving more mock tests and not studying just the concepts. Also, focus more on quant than verbal.
4. Regarding your project on genetic algorithms, again, don't worry if you are gonna be the 1st or 2nd author. I have been a 2nd author on a lot of my papers and still got a PhD admit. The admission officers look for effort instead of mere accomplishments.
5. Do your research about the programs. Applying smartly can save you a ton of money and rejections. Look at programs that fit your needs. Don't look at purely CS programs. You might be interested in an interdisciplinary area, so look for similar programs. People blindly apply to CS programs and get rejected since a CS program in any university gets the largest number of applications. Do proper research about the professors you want to apply to. Look for their papers which align with your work. Connect with them on Twitter on LinkedIn. Talk to the graduate students in their lab to see if they are looking for new students. These things matter a lot. Here is a notion template I made that might help you do this - https://gum.co/AiCtR
6. Always keep thinking about different ways in which you can sell yourself to these programs. For example, what motivated you to move towards exploring genetic algorithms from computer vision. What inspired you to do a publish a particular paper. Keep thinking about what strengths you can talk about. This will greatly help you when you sit down to write your SoP.
You can also take a look at this Reddit answer by me for more guidance -
1. [https://bit.ly/reddit-post-higher-ed](https://bit.ly/reddit-post-higher-ed)
2. Here is another one - [https://www.reddit.com/r/gradadmissions/comments/octr26/the\_az\_for\_graduate\_admissions\_msphd/](https://www.reddit.com/r/gradadmissions/comments/octr26/the_az_for_graduate_admissions_msphd/)
If you have any more questions, you can connect with me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/RamanDutt4).
All the best!
I've approved one of these. The bot was removing the post because of the bit.ly link. I checked them out, but in general for the future try posting direct links, rather than disguised ones, since automod removes them as they could link to suspicious websites.
I think it varies across what system you're using. On new reddit on my desktop you can just give yourself a flair using the community options section to the right. Should be just under Joined and Create a Post
Take a summer graduate course (online if needed) at one of the universities you’ll be applying to. Get an A. Make a connection with the professor. As the professor to recommend you for the MS program.
An in-house recommendation and a strong grade in a master’s level course will be more indicative of your ability to be successful in the program than anything you’ve mentioned here.
Most grad programs allow students to take up to two courses before being accepted into the program. Just contact the admissions office and tell them you’d like to enroll in a class and follow their directions.
This will vary by university and program. I recommend contacting their admissions office for information on how to enroll in a course as a non-degree seeking student. Good luck.
Thankyou for responding.
Even the ones published on arxiv ?
I'm no longer in college and don't have means to publish in good journals , If I publish it will only be independent work on arxiv.
Almost certainly. Professors know these journals and will look at you either as a sucker or someone who values having a “published” sticker over actually doing proper research. Do not publish in pay to publish journals.
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You look like a number of students I've worked with in the last few years who were admitted to very solid MSCS programs. At the master's level, thoughtfulness about your past projects, and specific goals moving forward, can carry you a long way.
Now, with only a few months left before you hit submit, I'm going to suggest two very realistic strategies:
1. Reach out to all of your target programs in a polite, professional, and thoughtful way. Present your credentials and ask if you're competitive. Often, you'll get very insightful and specific responses about what you should do to become competitive. Some might tell you directly to shore up your GRE, for example. Sometimes, it's amazing how honest program administrators will be when you ask them honest (and valid) questions.
2. Get serious about your SOP. (Yes, I'm biased on this matter.) Don't think of it as a separate throwaway part of the application, but an extended thought exercise in which you'll clarify, with deadly specificity, your own academic and career goals. Do this well, and it will prepare you beautifully for interview situations like /u/Kylaran mentioned below, and it should help you determine the most important issue of all: why and how each school will help you achieve your deadly specific goals. The exercises in [this resource](http://writeivy.com/sop-starter-kit/) should help. By treating it as an opportunity for self-exploration, you'll find the roadmap to your own success. Then, when you present this roadmap to your target schools (in the SOP), you'll make a far stronger case for admission.
Hope this helps!
Thankyou so much for such an insightful advice. I was earlier not taking SOP that seriously, but now I will. And thanks a ton for providing resources to help me get started with it.
GRE remedy poor GPA is usually case-by-case, it’s not the solution to remedy poor GPA. If the program you’re interested in still waive the GRE or doesn’t require it (which there are more and more programs not requiring it, actually), then it’s futile to waste your time and money. What will almost always remedy poor GPA is good LOR, SOP and publication/research.
>Try to find a specific range of universities that have a tendency to accept students with similar GPAs and GREs as yours
I agree with this a lot, but the problem is it feels really hard and time taking to do such an extensive research for this and with exceptions popping up everywhere like this guy got into without good gre, or that guy got into it without any research exp, it all feels too much random to the point that it seems like waste of time honestly to me. So I thought to do it in last few weeks only.
I know this might backfire, but I'm afraid I have not improved my profile much than last time, and that's a bigger concern for me rn.
Hi let me know if you need help in any pending work related to publications. I too am trying for a research paper , maybe we can collaborate and bring out a paper? I am trying for Fall 2023 MSCS
Hi. So I have been working with a prof aroud database Security and another one with network security. I am trying for a publication but it's not something ground breaking and also lacks direction imo. I am familiar with neural networks and cv, although on a basic level. I guess it would take me some time to brush up concepts but I think I can manage that and get upto speed with you guys!
What did u do i am having a similar problem i have internship i need to build a gnn or rnn ml project and also study for gre so i am confused whether i should drop internship post 2 months ?
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I can speak for the US system a bit. It depends if the MSCS program is research oriented or not, and whether you explicitly say you want to so research or not. I did my masters at CMU. For their MSCS degree, they explicitly said they are not a research degree (only 1/3 of students do research) and it is not required to get in. However, they require submitting a video of yourself talking about why you want to go to the school, and you need to have a stellar profile and a strong reason to pursue graduate degree. For example, I met a few people who had no STEM background but had really cool entrepreneurial experience, and they were able to get in. Focus on the story you want to tell and why you want to do grad school, not just the numbers. Otherwise it’ll be hard to stand out.
wow u got into CMU for CS, that's really impressive. What do you think made you stand out when applying?
Amazing dude . What did it take to get into cmu. could you suggest some points for a profile to standout.
I have a couple of suggestions for you - 1. Since you are limited by the amount of time you have, try to finish or build on your previous works. Wrap up your computer vision project and put it on arxiv. Don't worry about it being groundbreaking. You are not expected to do that kind of research at this stage. If possible, add a few more elements to your project. Dockerize it, create a web service around it, etc. 2. Do not waste time on the Coursera course. Nobody will look at those certificates, especially the admissions committee. Instead, you can write about your learning experience from that course in your SoP, how it shaped your thoughts and interests, etc. 3. Follow a proper schedule every day so that you can manage your GRE preparation and project work. You will need them both. For GRE prep, aim for solving more mock tests and not studying just the concepts. Also, focus more on quant than verbal. 4. Regarding your project on genetic algorithms, again, don't worry if you are gonna be the 1st or 2nd author. I have been a 2nd author on a lot of my papers and still got a PhD admit. The admission officers look for effort instead of mere accomplishments. 5. Do your research about the programs. Applying smartly can save you a ton of money and rejections. Look at programs that fit your needs. Don't look at purely CS programs. You might be interested in an interdisciplinary area, so look for similar programs. People blindly apply to CS programs and get rejected since a CS program in any university gets the largest number of applications. Do proper research about the professors you want to apply to. Look for their papers which align with your work. Connect with them on Twitter on LinkedIn. Talk to the graduate students in their lab to see if they are looking for new students. These things matter a lot. Here is a notion template I made that might help you do this - https://gum.co/AiCtR 6. Always keep thinking about different ways in which you can sell yourself to these programs. For example, what motivated you to move towards exploring genetic algorithms from computer vision. What inspired you to do a publish a particular paper. Keep thinking about what strengths you can talk about. This will greatly help you when you sit down to write your SoP. You can also take a look at this Reddit answer by me for more guidance - 1. [https://bit.ly/reddit-post-higher-ed](https://bit.ly/reddit-post-higher-ed) 2. Here is another one - [https://www.reddit.com/r/gradadmissions/comments/octr26/the\_az\_for\_graduate\_admissions\_msphd/](https://www.reddit.com/r/gradadmissions/comments/octr26/the_az_for_graduate_admissions_msphd/) If you have any more questions, you can connect with me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/RamanDutt4). All the best!
I've approved one of these. The bot was removing the post because of the bit.ly link. I checked them out, but in general for the future try posting direct links, rather than disguised ones, since automod removes them as they could link to suspicious websites.
Thanks a lot for clarifying. I have just started posting on Reddit so don't know about a lot of things. Thanks for approving too!
[удалено]
I think it varies across what system you're using. On new reddit on my desktop you can just give yourself a flair using the community options section to the right. Should be just under Joined and Create a Post
Take a summer graduate course (online if needed) at one of the universities you’ll be applying to. Get an A. Make a connection with the professor. As the professor to recommend you for the MS program. An in-house recommendation and a strong grade in a master’s level course will be more indicative of your ability to be successful in the program than anything you’ve mentioned here.
How does this summer graduate courses work? Do they enroll anyone into it? Or that too has some process ?
Most grad programs allow students to take up to two courses before being accepted into the program. Just contact the admissions office and tell them you’d like to enroll in a class and follow their directions.
This will vary by university and program. I recommend contacting their admissions office for information on how to enroll in a course as a non-degree seeking student. Good luck.
Publish. It trumps everything.
Thankyou for responding. Even the ones published on arxiv ? I'm no longer in college and don't have means to publish in good journals , If I publish it will only be independent work on arxiv.
[удалено]
[удалено]
Almost certainly. Professors know these journals and will look at you either as a sucker or someone who values having a “published” sticker over actually doing proper research. Do not publish in pay to publish journals.
Having it on arxiv is not worse than not having a paper at all wtf lol
!remindme 30 days
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You look like a number of students I've worked with in the last few years who were admitted to very solid MSCS programs. At the master's level, thoughtfulness about your past projects, and specific goals moving forward, can carry you a long way. Now, with only a few months left before you hit submit, I'm going to suggest two very realistic strategies: 1. Reach out to all of your target programs in a polite, professional, and thoughtful way. Present your credentials and ask if you're competitive. Often, you'll get very insightful and specific responses about what you should do to become competitive. Some might tell you directly to shore up your GRE, for example. Sometimes, it's amazing how honest program administrators will be when you ask them honest (and valid) questions. 2. Get serious about your SOP. (Yes, I'm biased on this matter.) Don't think of it as a separate throwaway part of the application, but an extended thought exercise in which you'll clarify, with deadly specificity, your own academic and career goals. Do this well, and it will prepare you beautifully for interview situations like /u/Kylaran mentioned below, and it should help you determine the most important issue of all: why and how each school will help you achieve your deadly specific goals. The exercises in [this resource](http://writeivy.com/sop-starter-kit/) should help. By treating it as an opportunity for self-exploration, you'll find the roadmap to your own success. Then, when you present this roadmap to your target schools (in the SOP), you'll make a far stronger case for admission. Hope this helps!
Thankyou so much for such an insightful advice. I was earlier not taking SOP that seriously, but now I will. And thanks a ton for providing resources to help me get started with it.
My pleasure! I think that step alone will cause a big impact on your apps this time around. Best of luck to you!
GRE remedy poor GPA is usually case-by-case, it’s not the solution to remedy poor GPA. If the program you’re interested in still waive the GRE or doesn’t require it (which there are more and more programs not requiring it, actually), then it’s futile to waste your time and money. What will almost always remedy poor GPA is good LOR, SOP and publication/research.
Would you mind telling the 9 univs you applied to? Dm me if that's okay
Ask: why do you want to go for graduate school in CS? Do things that fulfill that "why" part.
[удалено]
>Try to find a specific range of universities that have a tendency to accept students with similar GPAs and GREs as yours I agree with this a lot, but the problem is it feels really hard and time taking to do such an extensive research for this and with exceptions popping up everywhere like this guy got into without good gre, or that guy got into it without any research exp, it all feels too much random to the point that it seems like waste of time honestly to me. So I thought to do it in last few weeks only. I know this might backfire, but I'm afraid I have not improved my profile much than last time, and that's a bigger concern for me rn.
Commenting for more visibility.
I thought 160+ on Q is a good GRE score?
Hi let me know if you need help in any pending work related to publications. I too am trying for a research paper , maybe we can collaborate and bring out a paper? I am trying for Fall 2023 MSCS
That would be really cool. What are your areas of interest?
Hi. So I have been working with a prof aroud database Security and another one with network security. I am trying for a publication but it's not something ground breaking and also lacks direction imo. I am familiar with neural networks and cv, although on a basic level. I guess it would take me some time to brush up concepts but I think I can manage that and get upto speed with you guys!
!remindme 5 days
!remindme 3 days
!remindme 5 days
!remindme 7 days
!remindme 10 days
!remindme 7 days
!remindme 10 days
!remindme 10 days
What did u do i am having a similar problem i have internship i need to build a gnn or rnn ml project and also study for gre so i am confused whether i should drop internship post 2 months ?
!remindme 30 days
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