[Profile Review]/[University Review] For MCS/MSCS

Hi everyone!

I’m in the process of shortlisting universities for an MS in Computer Science, and I’d appreciate your advice. My main priorities are:

  1. Lower tuition fees (or universities offering value for the cost).
  2. Strong chances of RA/TA positions to secure tuition waivers or stipends.
  3. Affordable living expenses (lower cost of living cities preferred).

I think I have a relatively average profile as you can see below. If you’ve been through this process or have insights about universities that offer good funding opportunities, please share your suggestions.

Undergrad: Tier 2 private uni

CGPA: 8.66/10

Test Scores: GRE: 320 (165Q, 155V), TOEFL: 114

Experience:

  • 3 years (SDE 1 -> SDE 2) + 6 month internship at an MNC
  • 2 months ML internship at a ML/Data Science startup

Research: None

Extras: NGO + teaching CS in gov. schools

Current Shortlist:

Very Ambitious

  1. University of Texas at Austin
  2. University of California, Los Angeles

Ambitious

  1. University of California, Santa Cruz
  2. University of Massachusetts, Amherst
  3. Texas A&M University, College Station
  4. Georgia Institute of Technology
  5. University of California, Irvine
  6. University of California, Davis
  7. University of California, San Diego
  8. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
  9. University of Southern California

Moderate

  1. University of Colorado, Boulder
  2. State University of New York, Stony Brook
  3. North Carolina State
  4. University Rutgers University, New Brunswick
  5. University of Texas, Dallas
  6. Pennsylvania State University
  7. University of Maryland, College Park
  8. NYU Tandon School of Engineering

Safe

  1. Georgia State University
  2. University of Maryland, Baltimore County
  3. University of Illinois, Chicago
  4. San Jose State University
  5. University of Florida, Gainesville
  6. Virginia Tech University
  7. Arizona State University

I know its a very long list and my confusion is clearly evident. Really need your help, I would be very graeful. Thanks in advance for your help! :)

Edit: Botched up table, fixed it