Snapshots
Name : Vedant Bhatt
Graduation College : DJ Sanghvi College of Engineering, Mumbai University
Graduation Stream : B.E in Computer Engineering
Graduation Aggregate : 69.2%
GRE Score : 1520 (Quant: 800; Verbal: 720)
TOEFL Score: 114
University for Masters: Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Pennsylvania
Course Details : Information Technology - Information Security (MSIT - IS)
Term: Fall 2012
Applications & Admits
Universities & Courses applied to :
Applied for Computer Science (CS) program in the following universities:
- Georgia Institute of Technology (GaTech)
- Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) for Information Technology - Information Security
- University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
- University of Southern California (USC)
- University of Pennsylvania (UPenn)
- Columbia University in the city of New York
- North Carolina State University (NCSU)
- University of California Irvine (UCI)
- Northeastern University (NEU)
- Johns Hopkins ISI (Information Security Institute)
- Boston University
- SUNY Stony Brook
Admits from:
- Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) for Information Technology - Information Security
- Columbia University in the city of New York
- North Carolina State University (NCSU)
- University of Southern California (USC)
- Northeastern University (NEU)
- Johns Hopkins ISI (Information Security Institute)
- Boston University
- SUNY Stony Brook
Minutia
Projects:
Java Based Intrusion Detection System (Anomaly Based)
Technical Papers :
None
Letter of Recommendations :
- Head of Dept.
- Internship Manager (Chief Technology Officer of Kotak Mahindra Bank)
- Assistant Professor
Extracurriculars:
None.
Work Experience/Internship:
A month internship at Kotak Mahindra Bank related to information security. I was designated to a wide range of tasks for short periods which included risk analysis, vulnerbaility analysis, penetration testing etc.
Financial Aid :
286$/credit in NEU which sums up to approx 10,000$ for the entire course.
Preparation:
Verbal : I started preparing with word lists. I started doing words quite early. Once I was done with a considerable amount of words, I started practice questions from barrons, kaplans and other sources. During the last 20-25 days I had given many practice tests which included princeton, kaplan, barrons, tests at coaching classes, powerprep etc.
Quant : Definitely much easier than verbal. Preparation included practice questions from various sources including Nova and practice tests during the last 20-25 days.
I took GRE on 30th March 2011. Ideal time would need at least 2 to 2.5 months to prepare well. Choose a date accordingly.
Counselling opinion:
Yes. I would say join a counselor ONLY if you are lazy and need instant access to some information. All your applications can easily be done without a counselor.
SOP Advice:
I read some sample SOP's from the internet and through seniors which guided me in the right direction. I stressed on my internship and the fact that I had scored well in all subjects related to my field (Computer science).
Reasons to choose Current University:
CMU INI (Masters in Information technology - Information Security). Definitely, it was my best admit. It has great coursework and amazing placements. The latter half of my course is in Silicon Valley which is a great factor for finding jobs post-grad. The brand name Carnegie Mellon is a good enough reason to go for this course.
Advice to Juniors:
Start preparing for your applications as early as possible. Apply early especially in universities with rolling admissions. Build up your profile over the years.