<p>I would really like to do my masters or my Ph.D for computer science in the states, preferably at MIT, Stanford or Berkeley. I'll be doing my undergraduate degree in computer science at the University of Cambridge. How hard is it to be offered admission to MIT, for example, provided a strong academical background at such a university like Cambridge? Does anybody have any experience with this?</p>
<p>Very straightforward. Keep in mind that there is no admissions office per se for postgraduate work, you will be applying directly to the department. Indeed the department of electrical engineering and computer science uses their own online application. AFAIK, they don't ask for theses or published papers or any paper documents bar the university transcript. Most grad posts in CS are funded, and the grad student population is more diverse and international than the undergraduate population. </p>
<p>Obviously, applications are highly competitive, but for more information, you really should contact the department. They have a Graduate Admissions FAQs sheet at:
<a href="http://www.eecs.mit.edu/grad/faqs.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.eecs.mit.edu/grad/faqs.html</a></p>
<p>-Mikalye</p>
<p>As we were discussing in another thread, there are about 100 spots in the MIT CS program, and they get somewhere over 2000 applications every year. So even with a strong academic background, it's challenging to get in.</p>
<p>It's not really much easier, generally speaking, to get into MIT as a grad student than it is to get in as an undergrad -- it's perhaps even harder, because you do have to keep up an outstanding academic record as an undergraduate, which is not as easy to do as keeping up an outstanding academic record in high school.</p>
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As we were discussing in another thread, there are about 100 spots in the MIT CS program, and they get somewhere over 2000 applications every year. So even with a strong academic background, it's challenging to get in.</p>
<p>It's not really much easier, generally speaking, to get into MIT as a grad student than it is to get in as an undergrad -- it's perhaps even harder, because you do have to keep up an outstanding academic record as an undergraduate, which is not as easy to do as keeping up an outstanding academic record in high school.
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<p>Well, in the specific case of EECS, I think getting into grad school at MIT is * substantially easier * for MIT undergrads than for undergrads at at any other school. That's entirely because of the existence of the EECS MEng program which, while not a walk in the park to get into, is almost certainly substantially easier to get into than the SM EECS program is to get into for an outside candidate, not least because the MEng program has no fixed slots, and hence you are not really 'competing' for a spot. If you have the technical GPA, you will be admitted, no fuss, no muss. {And note for other readers, the MEng program is available only to MIT undergrads, not undergrads for other schools - hence, the MEng program is, in some ways, a 'backdoor' for MIT undergrads to get into MIT grad school}.</p>
<p>"You need to have a solid technical GPA of at least 4.25 to be admitted at the end of your junior year; and you must have at least a 4.0 overall in the term you apply. Students who fall between a 3.9 or so and a 4.2 will be put ‘on hold' for another term of grades and reviewed again the following January. "</p>
<p>"Admission is 99% by technical GPA, because it is not like the normal competitive admissions process, where there are a fixed or limited number of slots. In theory, if every junior who applied had at least a 4.3 GPA, every single one would be admitted in June. "</p>
<p><a href="http://www.eecs.mit.edu/ug/mengadm.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.eecs.mit.edu/ug/mengadm.html</a></p>
<p>sakky,</p>
<p>That's all well and good, but it doesn't really help out the OP much either way.</p>
<p>I never said that it would help the OP. I just want to make sure that readers don't get the wrong impression that MIT has no 'home-field advantage' for its undergrads. In the case of EECS undergrads, it definitely does.</p>
<p>May I just point out that matrix transposition and inversion commute. Also that continuous endomorphisms of simplices always have fixed points. And that Managua is the capital of Nicaragua.</p>
<p>Just so readers don't get the wrong impression, you know...</p>
<p>Sigh. I had hoped that graduate admission would be easier than undergraduate. I can see that there are far, far more people from my country (Germany) attending MIT as graduate students than undergraduate - I assumed that it might be easier to get in, thus (an invalid argument, you're right).</p>
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May I just point out that matrix transposition and inversion commute. Also that continuous endomorphisms of simplices always have fixed points. And that Managua is the capital of Nicaragua.</p>
<p>Just so readers don't get the wrong impression, you know...
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</p>
<p>Hey, when I see something that I think is not quite accurate, or at least could be misinterpreted, I feel impelled to say something about it. Otherwise, we all know what's going to happen. Somebody in a later thread is going to say "Well, I read in a previous post how X,Y, and Z are true...", when in fact, they may not be true at all. And by that time, nobody will be in a position to challenge it because we won't remember what the former post was about.</p>
<p>But hey Ben, if you don't like my posts, then fair enough. You have the same right as everybody else here does, which is to simply not read them. Nobody has a gun to your head.</p>
<p>Well, I read that X, Y, and Z were true, and my friend knows a guy that almost went to MIT so uh I think you're wrong Sakky.</p>
<p>Referring back to the original post, I understand that there is an exchange program between MIT and Cambridge that if you are a top student of either institute you could spend your junior year in other school and credits are transferrable. You could get the home field advantage this way.</p>
<p>Yeah, but the exchange doesn't apply to computer science students. Sucks. Well, maybe this Cambrige-MIT thing will give me an advantage either way.</p>
<p>EECS students from MIT can</a> participate, though, and take mostly electrical engineering courses at Cambridge. (And they do say, "At this time Cambridge University's undergraduate program in computer science is not participating in the exchange..." so perhaps that may change in the near future?)</p>
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But hey Ben, if you don't like my posts, then fair enough. You have the same right as everybody else here does, which is to simply not read them. Nobody has a gun to your head.
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<p>I don't think he should have to search through garbage to find posts that are relevant. I agree with addressing an off-shoot of the thread or disputing a point that is slightly off topic. Your post was about MIT EECS, but had nothing to do with the question being asked or the responses that were given.</p>
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Well, in the specific case of EECS, I think getting into grad school at MIT is substantially easier for MIT undergrads than for undergrads at at any other school. That's entirely because of the existence of the EECS MEng program which, while not a walk in the park to get into, is almost certainly substantially easier to get into than the SM EECS program is to get into for an outside candidate, not least because the MEng program has no fixed slots, and hence you are not really 'competing' for a spot.
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<p>I think you are comparing apples-to-oranges, sakky. AFAIK, there is no EECS Master's degree program at MIT that non-MIT students can apply to; the M.Eng. program, as you correctly said, is for MIT undergrads only. The only way for a non-MIT undergrad to get an SM in EECS from MIT is to be admitted into the Ph.D.-only program, earn an SM along the way after 2 years or so, and then drop out of the program. Thus, there is no such thing as comparing how hard it is to get into MIT for Master's for MIT and non-MIT undergrads. There is no 'backdoor' since there is not even a front-door (no regular way to admit to a Master's program from the outside).</p>
<p>As for admissions into the Ph.D. program, being an MIT undergrad does not by any means guarantee your admissions ... it is a very competitive pool for all applicants. Hope that clears things up :)</p>
<p>Here's a link to accompany my post above:
<a href="http://www.eecs.mit.edu/grad/faqs.html#7%5B/url%5D">http://www.eecs.mit.edu/grad/faqs.html#7</a></p>