My Masters Journey — Applications
I started planning to pursue MS in CS with a specialization in AI from the United States right after I passed my engineering in 2021. The thought was still very nascent and I wanted to research more about it. I also had a very good job opportunity in hand and wanted to gain enough experience before I make a move back to education.
So I started planning it, keeping Fall 2023 in mind. I started with understanding the admission process and researching the best colleges out there. My goal was to find colleges that not only offer good computer science and AI courses but are affordable too. I also understood that I need to take GRE and TOEFL exams, and perform well to get good admits. So I finalized a timeline and the list of colleges before I started preparing for the GRE and TOEFL exams.
I started preparing for the GRE exams in April 2022 and booked a date for the exam in June 2022. I mainly used GRE official Prep material and Manhattan LB for the preparation. I scored a decent 312 on the GRE and then started working on my SOP.
After multiple iterations and taking inputs from my seniors who were already pursuing master’s, I had the final draft of my SOP that uniquely described my journey and my motivation for pursuing an MS in CS. While working on my SOP, I simultaneously started working toward the TOEFL exam. The preparation went well and by August 2022 I was done with my TOEFL with a good score of 107.
The next step was to get my professors and mentors to write me a Letter of Recommendation. I approached professors from my college under whom I took some important CS and AI classes, as well as the professor from IIIT Allahabad under whom I did my research internship. All the professors were really helpful and made sure they write a very detailed and personalized LOR which really added up to my profile. I also had to collect my transcripts from my college which took about a week.
Finally, once I had all the documentation ready, I started my application process around the month of October. I had finalized a list of 9 colleges. My colleges were basically divided in the ratio of 3–4–2 i.e. 3 ambitious colleges, 4 moderate colleges, and 2 safe colleges. I made sure I complete my applications by the end of the month of October as I wanted to make sure I am ahead of the early deadlines.
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During each application, I had to change my SOP according to the college, send my GRE and TOEFL scores, and make sure all the professors submit their letters of recommendation on time. Also, each college had its own application fees ranging from $50 to $150. In total, I had to spend around Rupees 70k for applying to 9 colleges.
So if I have to summarize the timeline for students targeting Fall 2023 admits:
- June-July 2022: Start Preparing for your GRE/TOEFL/IELTS
- August 2022: Get Done with your above exams
- September 2022: Work on your SOP, collect the required LORs and transcripts
- October-November 2022: Start applying and finish your application process. Make sure you start with the most important colleges and go down your list in that order.
Now I wait for hearing back from these colleges. The process does get demanding at times with all the documentation and requirements but it is fun too. My advise to others who are planning to start the process would be — Do not get intimidated by the application process, just dive into it head first. Many of my seniors and friends had painted the picture that the whole applicatication process is pretty difficult and takes time. Whereas once I started applying I realized how efficiently you can finish the whole process within a month with proper planning and consistency. Once you have all the necessary documents ready, it’s just a breeze going through the application forms. Plus the colleges are really helpful and you can reach out to them anytime you want to rectify something in your application or you have some doubt.
When I started even I wondered how I would be able to apply on time, where would I get the necessary guidance from, etc. I am sure those of you who are now looking forward to pursuing a master's degree too have many of these doubts. I was able to do it on time and I am sure with enough research and guidance you’ll be able to do it too. For any assistance, you can reach out to me on Linkedin here. Cheers!
