B.Tech student seeking Ivy League Master's admission advice?

Ans: Hello Sanjay,

To begin with, thank you for contacting us. I am happy to hear about your son’s plans on pursuing Master’s of Science in Computer Science. As an answer to your query, I would like to tell you that your son should follow these recommendations in order to enhance his chances of securing admission to Ivy League universities.

As the first step, your son should make sure to draft a compelling application. This entails submitting a strong Statement of Purpose/Personal Statement that outlines his interest for the field of computer science, his accomplishments as well as his future goals. Not just that, he should also obtain robust endorsement letters from professors or employers who can attest to his character and abilities. As mentioned previously, your son has applied to only Ivy League universities. Remember that outstanding programs in Computer Science are offered by a number of high-class universities. I would suggest that he submits applications to not only Ivy League but rather to a broad variety of universities. In doing so, his chances of obtaining admission offers will be boosted.

Remember that extracurricular activities are an integral part of the application procedure, and thus, I would recommend that in order to showcase his passion for the field of computer science, your son should throw light on extracurriculars or outstanding achievements he has earned. Versatile applicants are often favored by admissions committees. As mentioned above, your son has already appeared for and obtained a GRE score of more than 350. I would say that though this score earned by him is respectable, it might not necessarily meet the criteria to secure admission to Ivy League universities. Earning a robust score can greatly enhance your son’s application, and thus, I would recommend that he re-appear for the GRE examination and strive to achieve a greater score.

When applying to certain universities, your son may be required to appear for interviews as part of the application process. I would recommend that he researches common interview questions and prepares his responses to those queries. If asked for, he should be well prepared to throw light on his past experiences, background, as well as his objectives for the future. Remember that one’s performance in the interview can greatly decide whether he/she secures admission. Your son should show his earlier application to academic advisors or counselors if possible as they would be able to point out areas that require improvement, provide meaningful insights, and guide him better. Lastly, with a number of universities have rolling admissions procedures, I would recommend that your son submits his applications ahead of time.

I would like to point out that although Ivy League universities are well-renowned, several other universities offer outstanding computer science programs that your son can consider applying to. His chances of getting admitted to a reputed program in the field of computer science can be enhanced if he applies to a number of universities.

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Ans: I think he can definitely do M tech in computer science. I have seen a few people in my own company coming from Civil and Mechanical engineering background and have changed field to programming. They have done really well as they worked very hard to learn programming.

More than, M Tech, I’d suggest taking up self learning in programming through several websites and have hands on experience doing programming.

I do not have insights in to which is the best college to go for.

Ans: Most of these courses would require GRE as an entrance test.
Usually the first step is to find the admission procedure for each of these colleges. Check the deadline and what is required. Also check the date when you have to submit the scores and then plan your preparation for the exams accordingly. Usually the US universities would have weightage for extra and co curricular activities. Check that out and get involved with those activities.

Ans: First identify the course you want to do from MIT. Check their requirements. You may have to write the GRE exam. Apart from that build your profile, both academic and extra curricular activities. Having a relevant work ex could be an advantage.