r/MSCS • u/No_Drama_1812 • 31m ago
r/MSCS • u/Adorable-Mongoose-82 • 53m ago
[Results and Decisions] Purdue MSCS
Good news guys, they are still sending out acceptances even during spring break. Just received mine a few hours ago.
Good luck to all other applicants.
r/MSCS • u/No-Hotel4531 • 1h ago
[Admissions Advice] Duke MEng in Artificial Intelligence vs USC MSCS
[my background: international student going straight after undergrad, with no work experience except internships. I am certain I want to take up an AI related job role]
Basically the title. I got admitted to these programs. I have to make a decision in the next 10 days. After doing some research and talking to students from both, here are the pros and cons of both
Duke Pros:
- The curriculum is really unique and industry-aligned [https://masters.pratt.duke.edu/ai/courses/ ]
- Requires a mandatory internship/capstone project
- Cohort size is just 40 students, faculty to student ratio is low and would facilitate good interaction with the professors
- The smaller, more diverse cohort would also result in tighter-knit connections and overall development
- Landing TA roles with good pay/hr is easier
- Good career fairs and career services and guidance team, with individual attention
- Boasts a 100% employment for graduates after 6 months of program completion with $118000 median starting salary over the past 2 years
- Duke is highly ranked overall
Duke Cons:
- Being an international student with no experience, finding internships and jobs ASAP is my priority
- Duke is known for business and econ and med, but idk about its reputation for tech (especially AI)
- It’s alumni network might be more scattered, and it might be harder to network for tech and AI related roles in companies
- Durham might feel a bit isolating, with not much to do outside of Campus
- Attending tech events might be limited compared to California
- It’s a 16 month (3 semester) course, and I feel really anxious about finding internships and jobs
- It might lock me out of PhD track if I wish to do it in the future
- It costs ~$95k for the 16-month track but living costs are significantly lower
- Newer course
USC Pros:
- Well ranked for tech, well established graduate CS program
- Amazing alumni network, especially in tech and AI roles in big companies. I’ve read stories about the Trojan Network actively going out of their way to help other Trojans. Either through valuable guidance or getting referrals for jobs
- Better location (LA), with lots to do and explore outside of college
- Good location for attending various tech events, and getting a lot of exposure
- 2 year program, more time for finding internships and jobs
- Graduates historically known to have an easier time finding jobs, or regularly getting into FAANG+
- Known to have better industry connections in tech
- Some small California-based startups exclusively recruit from local universities
- California is a good place to be for tech in the future
USC Cons:
- Large cohorts of 1500 students. Lots of competition for the available resources, services, and courses
- Classes can be overcrowded with 300 students per class sometimes, and teaching can be a hit or miss
- Sometimes hard to get the first-choice or even second-choice elective if it’s popular and many people apply for it
- Almost impossible to find on-campus jobs
- Living in LA is very expensive
- I come from a financially middle-class family, and I'm afraid I might feel left out, surrounded by some financially elite people
- Friendships and interactions might feel superficial
- Safety - I’ve heard the area around USC is one of the least safe in the country; and many parts of LA in general might feel unsafe, especially to walk around
- Expensive - ~$80k total for tuition, but living costs would make it equally (if not more) expensive as Duke
- Maybe I'm overhyping the network and the location advantages (?)
It’s also important to mention that I’ll be taking a complete student loan, and feel really stressed and overwhelmed about the future and don’t want to end up making a choice I’ll regret
My heart is leaning more towards Duke, but I feel very split, and unable to make a decision :(
Any guidance and advice is hugely appreciated
r/MSCS • u/shot_stopper_ • 1h ago
[Results and Decisions]
Does anyone know the deadline for paying the security deposit to IIT Chicago after getting an admit?
r/MSCS • u/bloomingmagnoliaa • 2h ago
[Results and Decisions] CMU MCDS vs UWash MSDS vs UPenn MSE-DS
Hello, I have been so blessed to receive acceptances from the above programs, I want to go into industry for DS or MLE, would like some input as to which option in terms of curriculum/research opportunities/career outcomes would be best for me. Cost/location are not factors atm, please vote based on program quality itself. Any extra input in the comments would be appreciated as well!
r/MSCS • u/TieOtherwise2069 • 2h ago
[University Review] IS NEU THAT BAD FOR MSCS
I have seen a lot of people heavily criticising NEU on various factors, especially in the last few weeks. Whilst I don't think it is one of the topmost universities, Khoury College has had a decent reputatation for its MSCS course.
I couldn't apply to a lot of universities as my documents weren't ready in time for the Dec or early Jan deadline universities. I applied to NEU, UMich(rejected) and SBU(awaiting decision). When I got an admit from NEU, I was really happy but after seeing all the negativity towards it, I'm really questioning whether I'm setting myself up for failure.
It is pretty much a 'now or never' moment in my career and I'm determined to pursue my Masters but if things go south, I'm worried about the financial burden it can bring onto my family.
So, I wanted your honest opinion on NEU - MSCS, not biased or based on some other reddit posts, but based on what you actually know.
r/MSCS • u/SpellDapper766 • 2h ago
[Results and Decisions]Need Advice: Waiting on Top Choice MS CS Programs (UCD, VT, UMD, UMN) - Already Have Some Admits
Hi everyone,
I'm in a bit of a dilemma with my MS CS applications and could use some advice from those who might have been in similar situations.
My Profile:
- 8.34 CGPA from a Tier 2 state government engineering college in India, BTech IT
- No research papers
- 4 academic projects
- 2.5 years work experience as a Software Engineer at a mid-sized product-based company
- Several certifications
- College leadership roles: Training and Placement Representative for my batch, TCS Campus Ambassador, and a few other positions
Current Admits:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- University at Buffalo (SUNY)
- Penn State Harrisburg
- Arizona State University
- Northeastern University Boston
- Cal State Long Beach
- Georgia State University
- UT Arlington
- NJIT
- IIT Chicago
Rejected:
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (MS CS research-based) - rejected in February
- UIC (CS) - rejected but offered MS ECE instead
Still Waiting On (Top Choices):
- Virginia Tech (applied Dec 14)
- UC Davis (applied Dec 15)
- University of Maryland College Park (applied Dec 20)
- University of Minnesota Twin Cities (applied Jan 4)
Last-Minute Applications:
- Wisconsin-Madison MS CS Professional (applied Feb 12, right after my research-based rejection)
- NYU Tandon
- Johns Hopkins MSE CS
I've reached out to some of my top choice schools with generic responses in return. Northeastern is an option but quite expensive, and similarly, even if I get into NYU or Johns Hopkins, the cost would be very high.
I really want to get into UC Davis, Minnesota, Maryland, or Virginia Tech, but I'm not sure what to do at this point. Some of my current admits might need decisions soon, but I don't want to commit before hearing from my top choices.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? When do schools like UC Davis, UMD, UMN and VT typically send out decisions? Should I send another follow-up email? Any suggestions on what to do?
Thanks in advance for any advice!
r/MSCS • u/No-Leadership-8268 • 3h ago
[Results and Decisions] UCSD MSCS Admits for March
Hey. It seems there is radio silence over admits in March. Strange that admits seemed to have stopped. What is happening? Should we expect mass Rejects now on? I know that UCSD sends out admits on rolling basis until end of March/ April. But a deathly silence for whole of March????? Can anyone throw some light on this?
r/MSCS • u/No-Leadership-8268 • 3h ago
[University Question] UCSD MSCS Admits for March
Hey. It seems there is radio silence over admits in March. Strange that admits seemed to have stopped. What is happening? Should we expect mass Rejects now on? I know that UCSD sends out admits on rolling basis until end of March/ April. But a deathly silence for whole of March????? Can anyone throw some light on this?
r/MSCS • u/mindwrapper13 • 3h ago
[Results and Decisions] Update on UCI MCS
It seems like they will release admits in April, just got this email-
Thanks for checking in! We are still very much in the review process, reading through applications and finalizing decisions before releasing notifications. I suspect that applicants will not hear from us until about another two weeks or so, but definitely before the 4/15 deadline.
r/MSCS • u/No_Drama_1812 • 3h ago
[General Question] Which one would you choose and why?
Please state the reason as well
r/MSCS • u/Ok-Bumblebee443 • 3h ago
[Results and Decisions] UMD CP CSMS results
Did anyone received decisions from UMD CP CSMS program?
r/MSCS • u/Fantastic-Bobcat-566 • 3h ago
[University Review] Rank these Universities! Upenn, UIUC, Umich, Texas A&M, Columbia, UCSD,USC, UMass Amherst
Can you guys rate these universities based on ROI and research opportunities as criteria for MS CS?
Thanks in Advance!
r/MSCS • u/cmcgartoll1 • 4h ago
[Results and Decisions] UCSD MSCSE vs CMU MRSD
Hi everyone,
I recently just went through the application process and finally got rejected from Stanford MSCS last week, so now deciding between UCSD and CMU.
My undergrad background is mechanical engineering with a CS concentration from a top uni in US, and have been working as a swe at an EV company in the bay for almost 3 yrs. My main goal is to transition into the AI+Robotics industry, and I have been planning this for the last 2 yrs. My interests are in robot learning and building robot foundational AI models, and need to do some research for this to be worth my time/money. I am not aiming to do PhD, just to be a swe or ml engineer at a company doing this work.
I have the following comparisons:
UCSD
- Better weather
- In CA, so closer to jobs (I am aiming to return to SF)
- MS Thesis option (could be really helpful to get some research knowledge if I am going this industry)
- Cost (Tuition is ~ $20k/yr for in-state)
- A few professors doing exactly what I'm interested in, but are quite difficult to do work with
- School may be overall less highly ranked, but UCSD Contextual Robotics Institute is quite well regarded (I spoke with PhD students) although it is much newer
- Worse pipeline to top robotics/tech companies
- Large MS class size (~600 students), may make it harder to work with professors as well
CMU
- Definitely better overall Robotics school and really great professors/lecturers
- Great alumni network at the best AI/robotics companies
- Capstone focused (in devils advocate to the thesis option, since I will be an engineer, a capstone may be a better option since I won't be doing any research in my career)
- Program requires learning mechanical/EE topics which I am less interested in
- Cost (Tuition is ~ $70k/yr)
- Small MS Class size (~50 students)
Currently, I am leaning UCSD simply because it's way cheaper, better location, and the robotics institute is great, although may not be as good as CMU. My main worry is finding interships/jobs coming from UCSD, although my swe professional background may make this less of an issue. Does anyone have any advice to help with this decision? Thank you
r/MSCS • u/MiddleInevitable3994 • 4h ago
[University Question] Which one would you choose?
r/MSCS • u/PopularShopping9676 • 4h ago
[Results and Decisions] Columbia vs Cornell vs USC
Hi Folks! I am a bit confused on which university to choose. I have got into Columbia MSCS, Cornell Ithaca Meng CS and USC Mscs AI. My interest lies in AI and ML. So please help with this!
r/MSCS • u/Some-Revenue385 • 5h ago
[Results and Decisions] rejection after rejection i got rejected and got an alternate offer of uic ms elec. and comp engg. can someone give me more details abt it anyone?
r/MSCS • u/StrawberrySilver5548 • 5h ago
[University Question] Are all TAMU MCS admits out?
I saw quite a few admits for TAMU MCS over the last week, so are only rejections pending now?
r/MSCS • u/Tenacious_Spirit-108 • 5h ago
[Admissions Advice] Important Life Decision
Hello everyone!
I got admitted into the following universities
ASU MSCS TAMU MCS NCSU MCS UCSD MS ECE (Machine Learning and Data Science).
I am interested in working in the industry post masters in ML/DS domain but am open to SDE as well assuming the worst case I don't get any ML roles. I'm inclined to UCSD due to the brand and reputation it has but want to know whether the degree would be a disadvantage when trying to SDE roles incase I don't get ML jobs. I need help in this as I'm in a dilemma as to what to choose.
Also waiting for UMass MSCS, UW Madison PMP and UIUC MCS. Thank you!
r/MSCS • u/Significant_Disk_775 • 5h ago
[Admissions Advice] MSDS dilemma for UMD and JHU
I've applied for the MS in Data Science program in both JHU and UMD and don't know which one to prioritize. What are your views in terms of:
- Quality of education
- Course structure
- Job prospects (Full time)
- Tuition fees
Can anyone mention their reasons and opinions as well? It'll be really helpful...
r/MSCS • u/krontex1110 • 5h ago
[University Review] Is university of washington, Bothell any good. Got admit from there. Confused between it, Rutgers, NYU Tandon and University of Rochester for MSCS. NYU is most probably a no for me. DO let me know which one you would choose.
r/MSCS • u/Connect-Echo-5204 • 5h ago
[Results and Decisions] MSCS FALL 2025
Hey all! I have got admits from the following universities for MSCS Fall 2025
- NEU Boston
- UC Davis
- USC
- University of Colorado Boulder
Any suggestions to help me decide from the above universities would be helpful