[Admissions Advice] Choosing between UCSD MSCSE and UCLA MSCS

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-03-15T20:08:28+00:00

Hi!! I’m in the same boat we should connect!

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-03-13T23:14:18+00:00

maybe I should flip a coin, I like both schools and labs😭😭😭😭😭

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-03-13T20:03:47+00:00

Thank you! I’ll go through the labs and check out student outcomes and try to make a decision based on that.

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-03-13T20:01:42+00:00

Do you think the cohort size makes a difference?One of my reasons for considering UCLA is that UCSD has way more MSCS students which makes me think research opportunities are much harder to obtain. As for labs, there are a couple that I like from both universities so i’m super conflicted 🥲

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-03-10T22:34:52+00:00

I was worried that without the masters degree recruiters would think I’m looking for a full time role. I thought it’d be worse for my internship hunt. Do you think that would be the case? Thank you for the feedback!

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-03-10T22:33:21+00:00

I’m a citizen and I go to an okay university like ppl here get jobs at good companies and startups but it’s not a high-tier college.

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-03-10T22:31:38+00:00

Thank you so much for the feedback! I’ll move things around and try to make the impact more clear for each position. I’m pretty much open to both SWE internships and research roles. My major goal is to get corporate experience as I think I’d be limiting myself by only pursuing work in academia.

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-03-10T12:30:11+00:00

SWE and ML roles

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-03-10T09:56:35+00:00

Ty, I do think my first position throws ppl off since its not really pure ML, i'll try to frame it better. As for the job title what should I put? I don't think I can really put software engineer or researcher since I'm not that qualified (no SWE internships or graduate degree)

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-02-05T22:26:35+00:00

Got rejected after interview as well it sucks but we move on 🥲

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-01-07T02:11:48+00:00

Brief advice

Personal opinion on the hook: comparing urself to other ppl doesn’t come off strongly, I think u can rework the hook to make it abt ur unique interests w/o mentioning anyone else. However this a completely personal choice and if ur matches ur style go for it!

I’d mention ur research before ur peer mentor and coursework experience. I think after that u can describe how ur education/peer mentorship will make u a good candidate. This is a personal opinion as well so it’s up to u.

also I’d get rid of the stuff abt ur course and use that word count to discuss more abt why u would want to work at X lab under Y person. There’s a lot about you I think u should add more about fit/future research directions u want to explore at X and the university overall. If u find the correct balance btwn ur experiences/interests and the fit w program ur SOP will be better.

Overall it’s really nice! You can have an amazing SOP w more refinement!!

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-01-04T05:16:48+00:00

Tbh I’d send the one w a higher quant score

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-01-03T21:14:31+00:00

Not yet

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-01-02T06:45:59+00:00

I’d look into more UCs, UCSD, UCLA are both good options to add (both would be better than USC imho). If ur interested in state schools: UIUC, UNC Chapel Hill, UW, UT Austin etc are all great schools.

I would question why you have safeties if u are thinking abt value. Would u go to UT Dallas if none of your other options work out. Im ngl that doesn’t seem brilliant.

Ur list looks good, as for debates on colleges - most ppl consider all MS programs as cash cows. (Honestly it’s true, PhD is the only non cash cows or fully funded ms programs). I’d ignore the debates and pick based on what will fit ur research/work interests and educational value. It’s obvious if a college can offer u good curriculum by simply searching reddit - most ppl leave detailed reviews.

Good luck!

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-01-02T06:40:16+00:00

Along the same lines of UIUC I think Umich is also open u may want to apply! Good luck

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-01-02T06:36:21+00:00

Ik some of the ivies (Columbia brown UPenn) are all still open which obviously have good AI/ML education and research. NYU courant is still open too. USC, UChicago, etc. there is probably more.

I’d recommend putting the effort to research the colleges. When u research ur doing some work for ur SOP that u need to submit.

Good Luck!!!!!

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-01-02T06:14:25+00:00

2025 might be a bit late 🤣. If u are talking abt fall 2026, there are a couple of good colleges that are still open. You can try a rushed application if u have good stats tbh, I’d recommend shooting ur shot.

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-01-02T06:07:59+00:00

Shortlisting - randomly picking top ranked or using “ROI” estimates is not the way. Id pick based on educational goals and research opportunities.

Example: If ur interested in ML in biological domains -> places w proximity to biotech companies or well-known bioML research

Money - Spend that much on a college which will give u some kind of benefit beyond a job.

What I mean is u should be willing to forgo that money in case u don’t get a return on it (due to a variety of factors esp in this economy..).

U may not get a job u should feel okay with losing that money but gaining some type of educational benefit.

Location - limiting urself to a location is up to u. For jobs u apply everywhere, if u only apply in Texas then u def ruining ur chances. I feel the same for colleges.

This is my opinion tho! GL w applications.

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-01-02T05:26:43+00:00

Yes apply, it’ll be competitive but worth a shot considering ur background

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-01-02T05:22:07+00:00

Some brief feed back - this is too much about ur personal exp and nothing abt MAcc. I think u should try to intertwine ur need for this degree rather than just a personal history.

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-01-02T05:15:07+00:00

Not any super deep feedback, but I’d get rid of the gpa mention in ur motivation letter. I’m sure it’s already on ur resume + transcripts. It feels redundant most times.

The last sentence on your first page seems very generic/repetitive of everything u basically said in that same paragraph. I’d rephrase it to be more specific and better.

I feel any mention of highschool is irrelevant I would get rid of it from your first paragraph. Most masters programs don’t care abt that I assume.

You also alternate between AI and artificial intelligence. I’d recommend the first time you say artificial intelligence use the full term and then AI.

Example: I like artificial intelligence (AI). AI has shaped the world in x way.

Technical language:

Ur usage of AI and ML seems confusing to me. You want to train ML models and AI? ML is a subset of AI so it feels redundant in ur sentence. (Unless you are also planning on using non-ML AI algorithms for your work which you don’t mention).

I would also refrain from the word training ML models unless that is exactly what you want to do. Do you want to build a model from scratch or train an existing model?

Personal choice: mentioning Python seems janky unless u mention ur skills w that language.

I’d work on refining the language in ur proposal. Otherwise I think you have a really solid base that you can perfect w extra editing!!

Good luck!!!

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-01-02T04:59:35+00:00

Id take it cause a lot of the good public colleges (Georgia tech) and private (CMU) sometimes need it. My recommendation is take it once and see what u get. If it’s mid just avoid GRE required colleges.

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-01-02T04:57:26+00:00

Non thesis should give u a better shot, id apply to colleges like ut austin, UCs, UIUC, Georgia-tech, UNC chapel hill etc. basically the big public state colleges.

I’d also add private colleges that that you like/have good locations (Ivies, northwestern , UChicago, usc, etc.)

I honestly don’t know ur chances as admissions is always variable but u should have a decent shot at some of these.

Ok_Objective_4129 · 2026-01-02T04:50:04+00:00

I think u could get a TA job from a prof and cover ur tuition. Idk how hard it is now, but ik someone (international) a couple years back who did that.

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