Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a dream for a lot of students who want to pursue their Masters degree. CMU’s brand and reputation as a world-class innovator in educational practices, and alumni which includes several Nobel Laureates and Turing Prize winners, makes it highly ambitious in any school selection strategy.
CMU attracts more than $380 million in research funding each year and was recently named among the top 10 U.S. universities for technology transfer. That makes it a hotbed of tech giants like Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook, looking out for their next data scientists and AI developers. Naturally, the most coveted jobs in the Silicon Valley is up for grabs at CMU and its research centers.
But, this also makes CMU highly competitive to get in. Looking at the past trends of admissions, the acceptance rate to CMU’s graduate programs like Master of Science, Master in Information System and Management (MISM), or Business Intelligence and Data Analytics (BIDA), stand at around 10-12%. Thus, while applying to the MISM program, Adarsh was naturally skeptical of his chances.
About Adarsh
Adarsh completed his undergraduate from Sardar Patel Institute of Technology, Mumbai. With a 8.37 CGPA, he was among the few to be selected as a Software Engineering Analyst at JP Morgan Chase. While working as a full stack application developer, he discovered aspects of cloud computing and got hooked to it.
After working with JP Morgan for 2.5 years, Adarsh set his sight on upgrading his skillset to advanced areas of cloud computing. His career goals were to be at the forefront of research while developing solutions such as true serverless computing, implementing better scalability algorithms using Machine Learning, and improving the viability of the Gaming-as-a-Service concept.
With this in mind, he was applying to the CMU’s MISM program which he felt was tailor made for his goals and aspirations. His GRE scores stood at a healthy 321 (167 Q 154 V), and he started approaching consultants to get an understanding of his profile.
A lot of experts that he met advised him to not apply to CMU, given the highly competitive nature of the program. Some of them told that since he does not have IIT/NIT/BITS background, he has a very slim chance. Many of them encouraged him to apply to their partner schools, giving him guarantees of an admit.
Fortunately for him, he stood firm on his decision to apply to CMU and kept reaching out to people for suggestions on how to apply.
In one of such conversations, he reached out to Gradsmiths. When he had the first call with Subhkirti, our Founder, he was expecting a similar negative response to his question – Should I apply for CMU?
“Why not? You seem to have the right profile for it” said Subhkirti
That gave him the confidence to further discuss on what it would take to make a really competitive application for CMU. By the end of the call, Adarsh had made up his mind to work with us on his applications.
“Subhkirti asked me the right questions, went deep into my profile and had a very granular structure to the application which I did not find with any other consultants who I had previously spoken to. Shubh really heard my story and brought light to aspects which could help me have a fighting chance at my dream university”.
Application Strategy
He signed up for the Masters Consulting 5 Schools Package with Gradsmiths. The process was far more exhausting than he thought. Subhkirti helped him create a tactical plan to target all the university deadlines. Along with CMU, he was applying to several other top-notch universities in USA and Europe.
His initial sessions with Subhkirti focussed on understanding his background and how that ties up to his journey. They delved deep into his experiences at Sardar Patel Institute of Technology, Mumbai, and his role at JP Morgan Chase. They explored his passion for cloud computing and how his projects and work experiences aligned with his future goals in advanced cloud computing and machine learning.
They clearly defined Adarsh’s career goals and how the MISM program at CMU and other target universities would help him achieve these goals. This step was crucial in ensuring that his application narrative was coherent and compelling.
He started drafting his essays around June and was ready with the final version by August. Meanwhile, he connected with the alums of all his priority schools, and Subhkirti helped him prepare comprehensive questions that would give insights into his preferred program.
Some of the compelling themes that emerged from these discussions focused on his experience with cloud computing, autodidactic approach to learning, and forward-thinking mindset. Using them, Subhkirti helped Adarsh in charting out a story that brought out his goals in cloud computing and why that specific school is a good fit for him.
After multiple rounds of edits, they were finally able to create a standout essay that summed up his story, clearly calling out the goals.
Result
Adarsh got into three programs including CMU, which was his top priority to begin with. His strategic approach, beginning with early preparations for the applications helped me avoid any last minute stress. We are super proud of how he has shaped up his career at CMU
SOP that made it to CMU
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Master of Information Systems Management (MISM) program at CMU
CMU’s MISM program is a 12 or 16 month track offered by Heinz College, with a comprehensive curriculum in technology design and implementation, business strategy, professional communication, and management. The course is is an great fit for students who not only want to design and implement technology, but wish to be leaders in this space with the ability to drive business decisions, communicate value, manage projects, and inspire others. The world’s top firms across technology, finance, retail, and consulting seek CMU’s MISM graduates, often offering six-figure salaries right out of school.
The coursework is a three-semester program, with Core Subjects, Concentrations, and a capstone project built into the program. A typical program would look like the following:
FIRST SEMESTER (FALL)
- Internet of Things
- Object-Oriented Programming in Java
- Database Management
- Organizational Design and Implementation
- Statistics for IT Managers
- Economic Analysis
- Writing for Information Systems Management
SECOND SEMESTER (SPRING)
- Telling Stories With Data
- Consulting Lab
- Managing Analytics Projects
- Distributed Systems for Information Systems Management
- Decision Making Under Uncertainty
- Financial Accounting
- Principles of Finance
- Professional Speaking
–REQUIRED SUMMER INTERNSHIP–
THIRD SEMESTER (FALL)
- Information Systems Capstone Project
- Intro to Artificial Intelligence
- Blockchain Fundamentals
- Web Application Development
- Design Thinking
- Digital Transformation
- Managing Disruptive Technologies