Master degree in Computer Science Best answer on the web
Author:
mike
07 30th, 2010 in
xn--00t609f.com
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at an IT Consulting firm. I am planning to purse a master degree in
Computer Science to enhance my technical skills. Do high tech
companies place more weight on work experience or education? Also,
with my scores and background, what tier of universities I can get
into?
GRE: v640, m790, a680
GPA: 3.6 (from USC)
2 years of work experience at an IT consulting firm
excellent recommendations from managers.
1-2 ok recommendations from professors.
Do I have any chances of getting into Stanford, Cornell, UCLA, UCSD,
CMU and UMich?
Good day and thanks for your question. The reason I posted a comment earlier and not an answer was because I was working on another answer and guidelines forbid us to 'lock' more than one question. Regarding your question about the institutions I got admission to, I'm applying for fall 2003, and will get to know only in April next.
Q1. Do high tech companies place more weight on work experience or education?
This depends on what sort of work experience you have. In today's market with major economic slowdowns, it is essential you have a combination of the two. More importantly, you should be able to work independently. The companies want people who are innovative in their thinking. Many companies who conduct aptitude tests ask questions like "What is the taste of purple" and "What is the sex of 6".
Depending on the position and the field of work, certain jobs require that candidates have the appropriate educational background or its equivalent. There are of course many other jobs and professions that require a college degree but do not necessarily require specialized academic study. Nevertheless, education and experience usually are considered equally important to any job.
Q2. Also, with my scores and background, what tier of universities I can get into?
You can definitely get into one of the top tier universities. You were able to get into a top tier university for your BS (USC), so you definitely have it in you to get into a top tier university. In your list, Stanford, CMU & UMich will be the tough ones to get into. Admission is highly competitive. No doubt, you have an edge over others as far as work experience is concerned. An international research paper would have helped, but its not an absolute necessity. Some stats regarding graduate admission for the universities you've listed
Stanford (which happens to be Google's original home)
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2000 acceptance rate : 39%
2001 acceptance rate : 36%
Avg UG GPA : N/A
2000 GRE Verbal : 550
2000 GRE Quants: 769
2000 GRE Analytical : 703
2001 GRE Quants : 770
2001 GRE Analytical : 710
The figures for the other universities (in the same order)
Cornell : 28% 27% N/A 544 768 700 771 726
UCLA : 42 36.8 3.57 490 770 660 780 680
UCSD : 20 22.1 3.45 531 758 688 766 708
CMU : 16 21.1 3.61 568 770 718 770 730
UMich : 38 33.6 3.5 524 765 703 768 709
There is no problem with your GRE scores and your GPA, and the fact that you have work experience could be an added advantage. Make sure you have strong recommendations (minimum 1 professor - if you have 2 its good) and your Statement of Purpose/Objectives should be crisp and clear.
I would also advise you to include some "backup universities", say 2 or 3 - universities which you know you are sure to get
Good luck with your admissions.
If you have any clarifications, then please don't hesitate to ask
Regards,
Aditya.
The stats are for grad admissions on the whole and not only CS. As a rule of the thumb, add 0.2 to the GPA and 30 to the GRE scores.
I got these stats from the usnews.com site (when it was free). I was lucky to save some information before they made it a pay site. I did collect quite a bit of information as even I'm pursuing an MS.
Cheers,
Aditya2K
My gre is 600-800-790, 79% acads. Its difficult to say for sure if you will get into those universities. There are various factors. like recommendation letters, SOP etc..
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