u/Basic_Ad_900

I have a ~average GPA but will have a decent amount of work experience by Fall 2027 , and I'm trying to figure out whether my target list is delusional or actually reasonable. Would appreciate blunt feedback and any changes, other options you could suggest.

Profile

Undergrad: Btech CSE from a Tier 2 University based in Bangalore , India

Degree: B.Tech Computer Science, graduated 2024

CGPA: ~8 out of 10

Work Experience (will be ~3.5 years by Fall 2027):

- Jan 2024 – Jul 2024: SWE Intern, AI startup

- Jul 2024 – Feb 2026: SWE, same startup - mostly ML infra and backend

- Mar 2026 – present: SWE at a distributed NoSQL database company.

Research: One paper from my bachelor's capstone .

GRE/TOEFL: Not taken yet. Targeting 325+ and 110+. Will sit both by Nov 2026.

LORs: Planning 2 professional (startup founder + current manager) and

1 academic (capstone advisor).

This is just a rough shortlist for now , But I wanted to have some idea , I am open for anywhere in the world and any CS and CS allied programs

REACH

1. CMU, MSCS or MSAII (SCS Pittsburgh)

2. Stanford, MSCS or MS&E Data Science track.

3. MIT, MBAn (Business Analytics).

4. UIUC, MS CS (Siebel, research track).

5. UW Seattle, MSCS.

6. UT Austin, MSCS on-campus.

7. Harvard SEAS, MS Data Science.

8. Cambridge, MPhil ACS or MLMI.

9. Oxford, MSc Advanced CS or MSc Social Data Science.

10. ETH Zurich, MSc CS or MSc Data Science.

TARGET

1. CMU, MSE-SS or MSIT-SE or MSE-AI (Silicon Valley campus)

2. CMU, MISM (Heinz, 16 month or BIDA track)

3. UC Berkeley, MIMS (School of Information)

4. UMich Ann Arbor, MSI (Data Science / Big Data pathway)

5. Georgia Tech, MSCS (Computing Systems) or MS Analytics, on-campus

6. Cornell Tech, MEng CS or MEng ORIE

7. Columbia, MS CS or MS Data Science (DSI)

8. NYU, MS CS (Courant) or MS Data Science (CDS)

9. Imperial College London, MSc Computing (AI/ML) or MSc Business Analytics

10. NUS MComp (AI) or NTU MSc AI or EPFL MSc Data Science

SAFE

1. USC, MS CS (General) or MS Applied Data Science

2. UIUC, MSIM (iSchool)

3. UT Austin, MSITM (McCombs) or MSCSO (online)

4. UW Seattle, MSIM (Information Management)

5. Northeastern, MS CS or MS Data Analytics Engineering

6. NC State, MS CS

7. Arizona State, MS CS or MS Information Systems Management

8. UT Dallas, MS CS or MS ITM

9. Indiana Kelley MSIS or UMD MS Information Systems

10. UNSW or Melbourne MS CS, or TCD / UCD MSc CS