How To Improve In Secondary Science?

How can I improve my professional profile so as to secure a good MS university in Computer Science?

• I'm a final year CS student in India from a reasonably good Engineering College(not IITs/NITs). I want to pursue MS in a good CS university (mostly amongst Top 50 in the world). I will be taking up a job after i complete my Engineering this June and want to finish answering GRE/TOEFL so that i can send my application by Dec '13 to apply for admissions in August '14. I have a very good academic record, good PORs and working on a research project that i hope to get published. I want to know how else i can improve my profile to as to secure an admission in a good university. How can i plan out my next year? Edit: Please Promote this Question if you can spare some credits. Thanks :)

• Answer:

  Number 1 tip - apply early. December may be too late. Check with the deadlines at the universities and make sure you're in the first/second round. Recommendation letters take the most time, so be sure to reach out your professors in time. Also spend adequate time and thought on your essays.   You're already on track with publications, which is a very strong point. Apart from this, I'd suggest to get involved in an open source project related to your area or some community work related to computer sciences (e.g. local Google users group) to further embellish your profile. Apart from academic profile, if anything else can demonstrate your personality and soft-skills, do highlight that in your applications.