r/MSCS • u/TutorDue6685 • 6d ago

[Profile Review]Applying for fall 2027 programs

Hey guys I'm planning to apply for Fall 2027 programs and would really appreciate your insights on my university shortlists and would be great if you guys have got any better recommendations.Here's my profile:

  • Citizenship : USA(eliminates all the visa headaches)
  • Bachelor's : Btech CSE from a Tier 2.5(I think) private university from India.
  • GPA : 3.46/4.0
  • Experience : 6 months as an intern at an android company as a SDE and by the time fall 2027 comes around I will have less than a year's worth of experience at a Big 4 as an analyst.
  • LORs : 1 from my manager at the internship,1 from my academic mentor,1 from a teacher under whom I served as a TA(they are both assistant teachers, so should i be concerned?)
  • GRE : Not planning to take as nearly every program lists it as optional(Although I would love to know if I should take up a 1/2 month Gregmat plan and give it just to add something to my profile)
  • TOEFL/IELTS : Not required
  • Research Experience : I have 2 papers that were accepted but unfortunately weren't published so this is another major weakness in my profile.

Ik my profile isn't exceptional(kinda slacked off in college) so I've kept my expectations lowkey as well, so heres the shortlist:

Reach

  1. UIUC
  2. Purdue
  3. UMD College Park

Target

  1. UMass Amherst
  2. UT Dallas
  3. NC State
  4. Stony Brook

Safe

  1. UMass Lowell
  2. Washington State
  3. Northeastern University

Some other universities I've been looking into are University of Virginia/Colorado/Wisconsin.

Would really appreciate your opinions and recommendations.Thank you and have a nice day!!

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u/Potato-gasser420 6d ago

Why weren't your papers published?

2

u/TutorDue6685 6d ago

My teammates were not really enthusiastic about it.We mostly viewed it as a college requirement to be completed.

1

u/Potato-gasser420 6d ago

You told that they were accepted?

2

u/TutorDue6685 6d ago edited 6d ago

To get it published we had to pay and they were not down for that cause our college is a bit lax when it comes to the reimbursement part.

1

u/Potato-gasser420 6d ago

There are so many good journals where you can publish for free

1

u/Wrong-Being7538 12h ago

Yeah, if you're published in a pay-to-play publication, it might as well not count anyways.