GRAD ECHO

I think rankings should not be considered in isolation and scrutinized too much. Many programs consistently remain in the top 10 or top 20 for example, but vary a lot along that list. This does not mean they actually get better or worse. Some ranking criteria are very volatile and tied to factors that may not be of interest to you for example openness to veterans or amount of publications in an area that is not of interest to you. So perhaps evaluate programs based on the tier in which they fall (top 10, top 20, top 30) rather than the exact number. If you then have to account for rankings look at subcriteria provided by rankings, like QS for instance has diversity and employment outcomes sub criteria for ranking as well, which may be more important for international students.

A format I followed was to link an element/feature of the program the SOP was for with each of my project/research interests, mentioning it immediately after I explained my interest. For example, when I wrote about building a tool which I eventually want to launch as a startup in the near future, I followed it up by mentioning the entrepreneurial classes and venture lab in that university to show that I have a charted trajectory for this program and that I can build on my specific goals and aims using program facilities.

I emailed and asked PIs I was interested in working with directly and they told me about the program specific policies and the kind of funding available. If you don't get replies from official channels, surfing different social media platforms like Reddit or GradCafe might also help.

I think for CS specifically, they mostly ask you to explain your research, try to get a feel of your level of involvement and maturity in handling the research process, and assess your motivation and future interests. I heard some programs interview just to assess your English speaking skills, while others actually want to verify information on your CV and SOP etc.

Can anyone share their GRE prep plan? I am only a month away from my test date, would appreciate it if people can share any free resources that worked for them. I'm aware that there are several reference books out there, including the ETS Official Guide, Princeton Review and Kaplan Prep -- which of these is comprehensive in terms of content and difficulty of the real GRE?