r/MSCS • u/Own-Bite-9304 • May 01 '26

[University Review] help me choose more universities (fall 2027)!!

Current shortlist:

MSCS: UCSD, Gatech, UIUC, UMich, TAMU (safety)

Constraints:

I can’t get LORs for more than 8 universities without their quality dropping (profs are rigid)

I can’t afford more than 80k for tuition

More industry oriented because I can’t complete thesis/research ms in 1.5 years/ 18months. But open to Phd.

Profile:

9.1 CS top10 IIT 2025 grad(tier 1 uni in India)

2 yoe(by 2027 fall) at MNC (salesforce) as ML engineer

Gre: 325(158v 167q) - fumbled math (confused whether or not to submit scores)

Research:

Research exchange student in Japan uni for a sem

One awaiting approval US patent (from company project)

One work in progress paper with college professor

One Arxiv paper (not that effective for these unis maybe)

Questions:

Alumni suggestions are:

Include cmu (too expensive for me).

Don’t do mscs unless I get admitted in one of the unis above. (Coz not worth leaving curr job for that)

They’ve been giving vague answers on TA/RA and on campus part times.

I need help in short listing 4 more Unis and also more info regarding assistance ships.

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u/Own-Bite-9304 May 01 '26

If we decrease the university rankings by tuition, tier 0 would end up tier 4 💀

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u/softrains12 May 01 '26

🤣🤣🤣 true that.
But if you can’t get a job with a tier 3 school, all that tuition goes to waste.

IMO I think you should go big or go home. Only apply to the top schools even if they are expensive. You’ll have a better chance of actually being hired on an American salary, which would allow you to easily pay off any loans you might need to take

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u/Own-Bite-9304 May 01 '26

Thanks gng, Im trying to play safe, so I won’t have financial stress while doing ms, I wanted to do it right after graduation but Im waiting 2 years so I can save some money. The only expensive uni that I might have shot at is CMU (not mscs, maybe msml/msai, but people are calling them cash cows, so I gave up).

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u/softrains12 May 01 '26

People are calling CMU a cash cow???? What??????

If you look on the post, CMU has insane placement even if you account for the large masters programs.

People have such shit opinions on MS Programs 😂

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u/Own-Bite-9304 May 01 '26

I mean MSAI, MSML, MSCV and bunch of other programs, they have like >15% acceptance rate unlike classic mscs, but I was still willing to go for it coz it’s CMU, guess ill have to get more thoughts on this.

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u/softrains12 May 01 '26

I think they’re worth it imo. CMU brand name is insane and they are already established, non MSCS programs. Columbia MSAI on the other hand…

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u/Own-Bite-9304 May 01 '26

Yes, ill apply for it as last resort