Is Georgia Tech’s OMSCS worth it?
This post is for prospective students who are considering pursuing an online master’s course from Georgia Tech, popularly knows an OMSCS. I have tried to answer frequent questions that aspirants might have while also sharing my experience and perspective on the side.
Let me start by introducing myself. I am a Software Engineer at Careem(an Uber Inc) in Dubai, and I am a graduate student at Georgia Tech. I have completed fifty per cent of my degree requirement while working full-time, and it has been a lot of learning and fun with some hard work ;).
My journey with OMSCS
I applied to an online degree because I was quite satisfied with my job then(an early-stage startup, Hansel.io in Bangalore) and even now(Careem, Dubai) and I didn’t want to spend a lot of money in tuition for an on-campus master’s program by quitting my job. Also, my aim was never to get a job and get settled in the US. If that is what you are looking for, then perhaps you would want to write GRE and get on-campus admission. On-campus admission to Georgia Tech through OMSCS is also possible through an option of on-campus transfer which I have explained in detail later in this post.
Cost
The OMSCS program costs approx $7000. The tuition is not dependent on the number of years you take to complete. Rather it depends on the number of subjects(in the form of credits) you choose which is a minimum of ten(equivalent to thirty credits). You can take more courses if you wish to, but ten is minimum to apply for graduation.
How to apply?
The application process for OMSCS is quite simple. You have to fulfil minimum eligibility criteria which are a Bachelors in Computer Science, or it’s equivalent, a decent TOEFL score(90+), two well-written essays, SOP and background letter along with three persuasive recommendation letters. You can find details of this information here.
Who can apply?
Anyone who fulfils the requirements mentioned above is eligible to apply. If you are not from a computer science background and you want to pursue this program, then you have to take at least two courses which are accredited (NPTEL programming courses) and score well. Although, meeting eligibility criteria is just a start. Getting admitted is still difficult if your application is not impressive enough. Don’t worry, though, I have explained in sections below on how to make it remarkable.
TOEFL score
You need to have a minimum score of 90 for the application. If the deadline for application is approaching, you can fill and submit the application and show the score later up to one month as well.
Background essays and recommendations
The essays and recommendation is the most critical part of the application. There are two essays — Statement of Purpose and Background essay. Both these write-ups have to be well written. The background essay reflects on your past accomplishments, career path and what have you done in the previous years to reach where you are now. The statement of purpose has to layout your plans of why you want to pursue masters, what do you plan to learn, and how do you prepare to apply it once you have finished the degree.
The essays should be concise, within the word limit, should reflect your abilities in the field and soft skills to carry out the hard work required in the program and your determination and motivation to do so.
Next part is the recommendations. You have to provide three recommendation letters in support of your abilities that you have mentioned in the background essays. For students, it will be better to get recommendation letters from your college professors while working professionals can get them from your managers and leads. A trio of recommendation from a senior colleague, from the technical manager and the senior technical head would be perfect. At least I did the same. Also, make sure to request these folks to write as genuinely as possible. Make sure to get a recommendation from someone who has worked with you directly else it might come across as a made-up recommendation, and it might be a problem.
Do applications get rejected?
Sadly, yes, applications do get rejected. There can be various reasons. Here are the significant reasons for which the application can get rejected.
- TOEFL score is not enough. (Less than 90)
- The undergraduate degree is not in Computer Science, and you don’t have relevant work experience in software engineering domain.
- The essays and recommendations fail to establish that you will be a strong candidate for the program.
- The undergraduate grades are not meeting the eligibility criteria. A minimum of 3 out of 4 CGPA is needed.
What to do after rejection?
TOEFL Score
For TOEFL score, it is self-evident, study hard and target a score of 100+.
Undergraduate Degree
If you don’t have an undergraduate degree in Computer Science or related field, take accredited courses by NPTEL(minimum two courses), write the exams, get good grades and apply again.
Low grades in Undergraduate Degree
Your application may get rejected due to poor grades in undergraduate. However, if you explain in the essays the reasons for your bad grades and give sufficient evidence that you are capable of hard work and can handle the workload required in OMSCS, you can pass this hurdle. To do the same quote examples from your work where you have shown outstanding performance while doing a lot of learning on the job or talk about a side hustle that you carried out along with your work and you succeeded in the same. Also, explain the genuine reasons for your poor grades but in an articulate manner.
What to do after acceptance?
After you get the acceptance letter from OMSCS, first enjoy and give credit to yourself for making it. Then make sure you submit all the documents needed for the acceptance to get converted. You need to send a hard copy or attested copy of your degree and original transcripts to the US for verification. Also, to stay in the program, you need to fulfil the foundational requirement that is scoring a B or above in two foundational courses within the first year. You can find more details here and here.
Also, make sure you take only one course in your first semester because it will take some time for you to adjust with the course structure, communication channels like piazza and slack. Nothing is stopping you from pursuing two courses, but it will be a heavy load to carry on. So be mindful about it.
How much time will it take to complete the degree?
The minimum requirement for obtaining the degree is ten subjects. If you are a working professional, you can take a maximum of up to two subjects per semester. You can choose extra courses after you take a permit from your advisor. But with a full-time job, even two courses will be a lot. There are three semesters in one year, namely Spring, Summer and Fall, and you can take a maximum of five subjects in a year. Summer semester is short and allows only one subject. This way, you can graduate as early as two years. However, the course considers three years as an excellent time to graduate for working professionals, although you have a maximum of six years to complete the degree.
How much is the effort required weekly?
Every course has a different amount of workload ranging from a minimum of 8 hours per week to 20 hours per week. You can find more info here. If you take two subjects per semester, it will be around 20–25 hours of course work per week, and you will have assignment submissions almost every week. Majority of the assignments in OMSCS are due on Sunday nights, so be ready to say goodbye to the majority of weekends and some nights as well.
One secret trick that all seniors follow and I too abide by the same. Start the assignments as soon as they are released. It will save you from anxiety and load at the eleventh hour. I dedicate two hours every morning on weekdays and four to five hours on weekends to the course. That helps me stay sane, and I don’t end up in fatigue, but I did not do this for some classes, and that ended in late weekend nights and tears(figuratively) :D
Benefits of OMSCS
The direct benefit which most people seek is placement to more prominent companies. You can apply for the US companies through OMSCS career fairs, but you won’t be eligible for a visa unless you have a US visa already then it can benefit you.
However, the other benefits that you will get are many. The coursework is based on projects and self-learning. That will teach you to research and solve problems and write better code, create world-class documentation, develop robust designs and develop better software overall. The amount of reading and learning will teach you the incredible skill of learning how to learn. I applied the knowledge of OMSCS at work, and I got promoted to a team with better projects. Also, the expansion of experience in various domains like networking, security, distributed systems helped me indirectly to perform better at interviews.
Many friends who have graduated from OMSCS got better jobs in India. They were able to perform better and change jobs.
Most importantly, this coursework will change you entirely as a software engineer, and you will come out 10x better than when you would enter. Looking at it just a step to get a job is underestimating the value of course. Again, this is my personal opinion, and other people who are pursuing this degree may differ as they might have a different perspective. Hence, I am not speaking for anyone else other than myself here.
Overall, it is a good investment of time and very less money as compared to traditional on-campus courses, and you can count on a lot of learning and a vast network of OMSCS folks.
How is the grading system, assignments and exams?
The assignments and projects are graded by TAs or auto graders depending on the courses. The structure of assignments and grading is the same as on-campus students. The only difference is few courses are offered on campus and are not offered online.
The exams are monitored, and slightest of violation can result in zero markings. It is rigorous when it comes to conduct and ethics.
Also, the degree is considered and recognized as an advanced degree and can be used for the application of the H1-B visa. And the degree doesn’t mention online anywhere.
On-campus transfer to Georgia Tech, Atlanta
One can apply to get transferred to on campus to Atlanta. There is no guarantee or sure shot way. The requirement is that you have good grades, at least 3.5/4 and you have completed less than 40% of the coursework. Ideally, if you have completed less than five courses, you have an excellent chance to get transferred. Also, an on-campus transfer is considered on a case by case basis, and it is not necessary if you have the above criteria, you will be transferred. The first step is to talk to your advisor and fill out the appropriate forms. You can find more details here.
I sincerely hope that this post has helped you in answering the queries to help you decide for your career and future aspirations. Please consider giving some likes and claps and share this post so that other aspirants can benefit from it as well. If you have any other query or feedback or suggestions, please feel free to post it in the comments section below.
Thank you
Yogita Sharma
For more such posts about Computer Science and Software Engineering, you can follow me here on Medium and also get connected to me on LinkedIn(https://www.linkedin.com/in/yogita-sharma-83400b55/).
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