<p>I have the option of going to a Ph.D program in CS at a middle-tier school (ranked between 11-20), but I'd really like to go to a Ph.D at a top-level school (MIT, CMU, Berkley, Stanford, Cornell) - instead of starting on the Ph.D program now, if I do an MS instead could that make it possible for me to get into a Ph.D program at a top school?</p>
<p>Firstly, it seems to me that it’s excessively critical to define top twenty programs as being ‘middle-tier’.</p>
<p>If you’re really set on re-applying to programs that didn’t accept you this time, doing a MS might help, depending on why you weren’t accepted this time. Doing a MS could give you good research experience and could help make up for a lower undergrad GPA. If you already have a solid amount of research experience and a strong undergrad GPA, doing a MS might not help your chances too much on re-application.</p>
<p>My personal advice would be to just enter a PhD program now, unless there is no program you’ve been accepted to that you can even remotely see yourself attending.</p>
<p>You are living in an incredible bubble if you think that anything out of the top 10 is “middle-tier”. Especially since a lot of schools that are not in the top 10 are very strong in specific subfields.</p>