<p>I am currently a senior at Montclair State University. CS and Math double major, was wondering what my chances are in being accepted at one of these schools: Yale, Harvard, Cornell, NYU, Columbia?</p>
<p>GPA: 3.6 </p>
<p>GRE: 90th percentile both.</p>
<p>Good letters of recommendation from professors who've taught me several classes over years.</p>
<p>Paricipated in summer REU at the school. Gave a poster presentation at a conference.</p>
<p>bump</p>
<p>What type of program are you applying for (PhD, MS)? Is a single REU your only research experience?</p>
<p>I am planning on applying to MS, but would definitely consider PhD if there is a chance for being admitted. REU is pretty much the only research experience I have</p>
<p>Your chances for a MS admission is higher because it is probably expected that you self-fund. What are your goals for a graduate degree? You say MS but maybe a Ph.D. i can guarantee you that you will find a program that will accept you with full funding for a Ph.D. but it is not likely one of the ones you have mentioned. You really need to figure out why you want to go to graduate school first before applying.</p>
<p>If you want a degree to get into industry, then maybe you should get a job first, find out what kind of graduate degree will best boost your career and go back after a few years. This is a really good idea in CS as well as many engineering disciplines.</p>
<p>If you are interested in a research career, then you should be looking for a Ph.D. program right away. Don’t obsess on the schools you mention but think about the specific field you are interested in and find what schools have strong faculty in that area. (Hint: they are not always at the schools you listed!) You said you did an REU, is that a department that you are interested in? They know you already and took you for exactly the reason of recruiting you to their graduate program.</p>
<p>I want to do an M. S. first and then start working in the industry and go back to school for PhD only after few years of work experience if things don’t take off with industry job. In other words, at this point I am looking for a masters degree opportunity.</p>
<p>I did REU in the math department but both CS and Math skills were involved (Matlab coding for the most part) I did the REU at my school though (Montclair State).</p>
<p>You think I have a good shot at M. S. at one of these schools?</p>
<p>I will definitely start looking into PhD programs. Opportunity cost is huge for PhD programs so that’s what is holding me back for the most part. I am 100% sure that I want to get an M. S. degree though. </p>
<p>So M. S. is what I intend to do at this stage for sure. Financing is another issue though which I will be closely considering. Is there any sort of federal or state aid available for m. s. students?</p>
<p>Both of you thanks for replying btw.</p>
<p>As xraymancs says most MS programs will require self-funding. At most you would be eligible for loans. The universities you listed are expensive and it may take a year and a half or two years to earn a masters degree. Some will not accept students for a terminal masters.</p>
<p>In a field like CS you probably can get a job with your bachelors degree. Work for a few years and see if a graduate degree will advance your career. Some companies will pay for their employees to earn a masters degree. If you are then interested in a PhD, apply to programs that will offer you full funding as a teaching assistant or a research assistant.</p>
<p>If you apply to a university which has only Masters programs, then there may be opportunities for a Teaching Assistantship which would help you finance the Masters. That is unlikely at the universities you name and I am not sure they offer any kind of scholarship aid for M.S. students.</p>