Please don't come. No prep helps. For internationals.
I got this same post when i was applying last year . Thought that guys here would be gatekeeping.(such an idiot I am) .
But guys in reality things are very tough here. 99% of my MSCS batch hasn't got any internships. Even the best among us aren't getting anything.
Here’s a common profile of my friends supposedly best among us-
(2yrs work ex , multiple research papers )etc yet no luck. If you have a stable job please don't come.
If you are fresher like me ( imagine for me), find a job.
Do leet code and crack it .
I too thought that the job market would get good in 2 years, but the problem is your probability of a job starts with a good internship , if you won't get any internship chances decrease. (NOT NILL THOUGH) And now that so many US citizens are competing with us ,companies prefer US citizens more than internationals.
Regarding cost of MSCS- whatever you pay to uni , will be mostly through a loan , I was told that being in a city would be advantageous by some peers .
And another angle that I thought — any way I am going to payback from my job , so if it costs a bit more with a school in NYC then I won’t care much , and they offered a scholarship as well. So the total come around same which equaled my second best option.
So if you get a job it can be taken care of but if you didn’t get a job even a free university is waste of 2 years.
Uni's don't care a cent about students, Nothing is merit based . Being a bit serious gets u 4.0.
If you can , come for Phd , straight from bachelors.
HACK-
How to do it - get a research internship at some US lab using cold emails to professors .
And then ask them to sponsor.
That way you get 5 years with RA .
Americans don't commit that long .
OR
Create a good startup and apply for accelerator or entrepreneurial programs . That way you get paid as well.
I WISH I KNEW THIS EARLIER.
There's still a hole that you think you are great with super stacked up skills . Imagine every masters student has 5-6 resumes with stacked up skills now.
Whatever dream these cheap counselors are selling was real in good markets . Now it's a blood bath.
Still you want to come , make sure you have shit ton of money , that an MSCS won’t even dent your pocket.
Here’s something that will give u some sense of reality
Just go through the comments and see the experience section in resume of people. And do check their University as well. If possible talk to them as well.
Another indicator - if you want a real proof of market conditions see interest rates for bank loans and compare it historically. Now they are at almost 12% .
One advice though if you are taking bank loan , just don’t take from Credila , they have floating interest rates , they are very humble at beginning but their interest spikes super quickly. I got my from ICICI.
EDIT-
I didn’t want to make things college specific so I didn’t share my university . Situation is same for almost all master’s students. But some halfwits who are super programmed by their counselors just like me last year 🤕think I am scaring them.
.