<p>I'm trying to figure out what I should to do improve my chances. I graduated from Penn with a 3.93, majored in econ. I am currently working at big bank doing quantitative research. I've decided I want to apply to an MS in CS program. I am still figuring out what schools make sense for me and was hoping to get some input from people here. I am expecting glowing recommendations from my superiors at work highlighting my coding abilities. My GRE scores are 170 verbal, 161 quant. Is it worth to retake for the quant? I have my math courses from Penn to back up my quant abilities (lowest score was a A- in the same course sequence as engineers) and my work role. Any advice would be much appreciated in terms of GRE retaking and schools i should be looking at.</p>
<p>You seem to have a very strong profile. I would aim for Stanford. From my experience, if you express to them how you plan to apply CS to your current job and how that degree will make you better at what you already do, then you will stand a good chance for their program!</p>
<p>Your GRE/GPA are excellent. No need to retake. </p>
<p>thanks for the advice! I’ll take a look at the Stanford program. I’m pretty interested in UT-Austin’s program. Any sense of what kind of candidates they usually look for?</p>
<p>Most Master’s programs in computer science are targeted at students with an undergraduate computer science background. While you wouldn’t need a full major, you would need to be familiar with the core curriculum in order to follow the graduate coursework. Are you?</p>
<p>If not, you have a couple of options. A few universities offer graduate degrees in computer science specifically aimed at career changers. [url=<a href=“Master of Computer and Information Technology”>Master of Computer and Information Technology]Penn[/url</a>] has one of those. Or you could opt for a second Bachelor’s degree in computer science. (You’d only need to complete the requirements for the CS major; no need to repeat general education courses or free electives.) Or you could take the core undergraduate CS courses and then apply to a “regular” Master’s program. </p>
<p>Depending on what your interests are, you might also consider more professionally-oriented fields, such as software engineering or information technology. You are more likely to find programs for career changers there.</p>
<p>Barium, thanks for thr response, very much appreciated. </p>
<p>I can not say i am as familiar with the fundamentals as i should be. What i have learned, ive done via work and through self-study. My initial idea was to find programs that would allow me to extend my studies by the time necessary to complete the prerequisite coursework. </p>
<p>I have previously looked at the mcit program and found it very interesting. My only concern is whether the degree features enough theoretical material as well. Have you heard anything about rhis pt? </p>
<p>Going back for a second bachelor’s is not really something im considering, since id come back into my firm at the same pay grade i am currently at. </p>
<p>I have looked into taking courses at local universities to fulfill my lack of backgtound, buy most courses start way before my end of day. I am usually in the office 7-8, which leaves little time for anything but self -study. </p>
<p>Any idea of programs that allow fulfillment of prerequisites once you’re there? I was under the jmpresssion some places like ut austin and ga tech did this.</p>
<p>I really want to ask how you ended up in quant research with a 3.9 in econ from Penn, seems to me like you were pretty competitive for IBD or S&T, is it because of Wharton? But, that’s beside the point. Do you still want to work in finance? Although it may be a bit off from CS and might not be what you’re looking for, CMU’s computational finance program might be a fantastic fit for you since it blends both a healthy amount of statistical modeling and finance. Although I’m still bitter at them for rejecting me and want to strangle the adcoms, I can’t deny how fantastic the program looks. They rank at the top of every quant list year after year and the placement record is superb. Check it out.</p>
<p>@Fuzzylogic: Thanks for the cmu computational finance recommendation. I had indeed seen the program and i agree that it looks very interesting. However, I’m avoiding programs strictly geared at finance since I’d like to expand into other areas. I’d arguably go to the program and come back to the same job if I did a comp finance program, so not sure if it’s worth it in that case.</p>
<p>with regards to your work question: You’re working under the assumptions that a) everyone wants to be one of those 2 areas and b) that i didn’t get offers for those areas ? I’m quant research b/c that’s exactly what I wanted to be in.</p>
<p>sorry to keep beating a dead horse with a stick, but was wondering if anyone out there had any sense of the admission standards for NYU Courant’s MS in Scientific Computing. Seems like a fantastic program that lines up with a lot of my math interests as well.</p>
? I’m quant research b/c that’s exactly what I wanted to be in.</p>