By Sonali Garg, Batch of 2016
While the placements and the non-technical field still exert their preponderance at NSIT, there are a few who are willing to break the mould and embark on the road less taken. This perseverant lot strived to get admits into some of the best Grad Schools and emerged triumphant. Some of them expatiate about their experiences:
Dibakar Barua, Batch of 2014, ECE
I got offers from four universities-North Carolina State, University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), and Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Electrical and Computer Engineering. I worked on two projects at the Center for Electronic Design and Technology (CEDT) at NSIT. One of them was a national level Texas Instruments’ competition called Texas Instruments Analog Design Contest. We stood third all over India. I did two internships under professors at IIIT-D, one related to Embedded Systems and the other to communication, specifically software radios. These projects and internships provided me hands-on experience, something which I felt was needed. Also, they enhanced my understanding of the subject, generated further interest and contributed significantly to my profile. Since, unlike placements, there are no interviews to get into grad schools, I feel that the Statement of Purpose is an immensely important part of the application. You tell all you possibly can about yourself in a single letter. Moreover, websites like Coursera and Udacity offer online courses on topics that are not included in the curriculum and provide basic knowledge about different technical fields and can help in deciding one’s field of interest.
Abhinav Sangal, Batch of 2014, COE
I’ll be joining the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) for Masters of Science in Computer Science (CS) and am planning to specialize in the fields of Machine Learning and Social Computing. I feel I was pretty lucky to get a few good opportunities during my time at NSIT. After my 2nd year, I went to Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to work as a Research Intern in the field of Dynamic Network Analysis. This internship was absolutely fun and the experience of working on such a large scale research project motivated me to pursue Masters in Computer Science and explore the various other fields that this subject has to offer. My research at CMU eventually helped me get an internship at Max Planck Institute for Informatics (MPII), Germany during the summers after 3rd year. There, I worked in the field of Randomized algorithms. I think these internships helped me in building a good research profile, showing diverse interests in both theoretical and applied fields of CS. Moreover, I got some good letters of recommendation from professors at both these places. I think a balanced profile that showcases the student’s diligence and focus (through grades and test scores) and involvement in good research work at the undergraduate level impresses the admission committee. Additionally, I feel it is important to get over with your GRE in the 6th semester itself so that you have ample time to prepare a good application. Lastly, I feel that though this path is less explored at NSIT and requires a focused approach right from second/third year, the end result is totally worth the effort!
Pranshu Jain, Batch of 2014, ECE
I have essentially gotten admits for Masters of Science (MS) from three universities- University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) . My field of study is basically Electrical and Computer Engineering and my program at UPenn is called MS in Embedded Systems. By the end of third semester, I had not done much apart from a summer training program. After that, I started working at the Center for Electronics Design and Technology (CEDT) under the guidance of Prof. D.V. Gadre who taught us a lot apart from the curriculum. CEDT provided all the facilities and opportunities that no other place at NSIT could. I did a couple of projects there that helped me get acquainted with the field. We also participated in Texas Instruments’ India Analog Design Contest through CEDT, and were awarded at the national level. After the third year, I did an academic internship at IIT-Delhi, based on the application of cryptography and computer architecture, which counted as a project as well. My projects basically revolved around the applications based on microcontroller and interfacing of peripherals with it and can be broadly classified under Embedded Systems. They helped me learn how to apply academic knowledge to solve real-time problems. All the work that I did was pretty much inclined towards one domain- Embedded Systems, so that probably worked in favor of my profile as it conveyed that I was serious about the field. Also, I think that I had a decent Statement of Purpose which is essential for any grad school application, be it MS or MBA. The one mistake I feel I made was that I did not give my GRE in advance. However firm you may be on going for Masters, when placements begin, they start distracting you. So, I feel that it’s better to give the GRE before or during the summer vacations. Also, don’t try to sail in two boats at a time, that is, be very sure what your priority is, Masters or placements.
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