MS in Computer Engineering: an Interview with Kasyap
Written on May 5th, 2020 by {"login"=>"jcbitshyd", "email"=>"journal@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in", "display_name"=>"Journal Club, BPHC", "first_name"=>"", "last_name"=>""}What was your master’s admission process like? How was it different from your undergrad admission procedure?
For my undergrad admission at BITS, all I needed to do was write BITSAT and send in an application. Beyond that, there was nothing else I needed to do. A master’s admission procedure isn’t based on a ranking system so I had to send in multiple applications. And given the exams, I wrote GRE and TOEFL. They’re different from BITSAT in terms of testing my logical and analytical skills instead of laying emphasis on my memory.
How did you select/ find out about the universities that offered the course you were looking for?
I spent a lot of time reading blogs, talking to seniors and professors and surfing through the internet. Then I started off by making a list of around 30 universities, went through their websites, looked at the work their faculty was doing, sent them mails and finally cut my list short to 10 places. So, it’s mostly about reading a lot. All the information is available readily; you just need to take the time to read through it. It’s not a hard process. It’s a tedious process.
How much time did the entire process take you?
I finished my GRE and TOEFL in February of 3-2 in 2018 and then started talking to seniors in the summer after 3rd year in July. And then once college opened, I started talking to professors as well. Applications open in September or middle of October and they extend up to usually December. You have to keep track of multiple things because you’re finalising what you want to do, where you want to apply, who you want a LOR from along with writing your SOP and sending it to multiple people for reviews and proofreads.
While picking PS/Thesis, what did you go with and why? Did it help you in your application?
PS1 is just on my CV as a summer research intern. I hadn’t learnt much there. PS 2 was useful to me. I learnt a lot of things but it wasn’t useful to me at least because there is an inherent flaw in BITS’ allotment system that it’s based on your CGPA. If there’s a field I’m good at and interested in, I wouldn’t get it simply because I don’t have the CG.
Coming to doing a thesis at BITS, basically, there was no one at BITS who was doing work in my field and had an open slot for a thesis student. There were basically 3 professors who were working on what I was interested in but didn’t have an empty slot so there was no chance.
As for doing a thesis outside BITS, I didn’t really want to take that chance because it’s a whole different ball game. It’s a different process. You have to get approval from the department, find someone who’s willing to take you. It’s a lengthy process. I didn’t want to go through that so I just let it be and ended up taking PS 2 itself.
Was doing Projects under professors helpful? How much of a difference do they make?
Projects under professors are helpful because they’ll guarantee you a LOR and it’ll be a strong one because the professor would have personally worked with you and you personally get to know if you want to do a MS or not.
Projects give you a trailer into what it would be like. I did a project about antenna designs for Wi-Fi under Prof Sandeep Kumar knowing nothing about the field. I learnt, made designs, watched it fail, made more designs, watched it fail and went on for 2 semesters but in the end I actually had a viable design which contributed to his research work.
What about extra-curricular activities? We often hear that applications are also checked for how much extra-curricular activities a student might engage in. What are your thoughts on this?
I was only a part of the Quiz Club and Journal Club. JC helped because it makes GRE and TOEFL easier than having to start from scratch because I was constantly writing, constantly editing, re-writing articles.
I was editor-in-chief for a couple of the fest magazines and that helped me learn a lot about writing good article pieces. It’s a good thing to have a POR on your CV because the person reviewing your CV believes that someone somewhere has trusted this person with a duty.
My CV had “managed admissions for over more than 1000 incoming students in July 2017” as I was in the admissions division as well. It helped a lot in teaching me to work with people who are not very cooperative. So, all of this may not directly tie into your skill set but it definitely helps and allows the reviewer a glance into the type of person you might be.
How did you figure out what interests you in the field of Electronics?
I’ve always known I wanted to do something related to electronics but only over the years could I figure out what. As I learnt more, I narrowed down my interests properly.
Electronics is a very hierarchical field. You can have people working on base transistors which are in the nanometer or picometer range versus people working on manufactured hardware that’s way above the transistors with multiple levels in between.
For me, it was figuring out which level I wanted to work in and that happened in 3rd year when I was doing courses like computer architecture or FGPA design. So, in 3-1, I had this course called ADVD (Analog and Digital VLSI design), it’s a very divisive course because people who like it really like it and those who don’t, simply don't.
I was one of the people who actually liked the course and saw that I wanted to work and learn more about this. So, this was when I tried to put my interests into reality and started with GRE coaching as well.
What were the hurdles you faced in your application process and how did you overcome them?
The main hurdle was my GPA. My GPA wasn’t good enough for a MS application. There are people here who are far more experienced than I am and also have a really good GPA.
I overcame it by having a good CV and by knowing what to put on it along with what not to put on it. I put more projects than extra-curricular activities on my CV knowing that they were actual definite proofs of my interest in research.
What most people don’t realise completely is that if you did a course project you can still put in on your CV. So, I had a Computer Architecture course project, a FPGA design project, a Microprocessors course project along with my semester long project.
Also, I had a decent SOP where I didn’t claim I was building rockets but where I was still showcasing my efforts. I didn’t bring up my GPA anywhere in my application process. My SOP has no mention of it. I just said, “Managing to perform at one of the most eminent institutes of India in a consistent manner for 4 years”. That was my only mention and mostly people don’t look at what you don’t mention.
If you write a sob story about why you have a less GPA because of so and so reasons, they’ll actually begin to notice. In one of my applications, I had to address areas of low academic performance So, I wrote a couple of sentences saying, “The courses I had didn’t spark an interest in me which is why I didn’t concentrate on them while I should have. And even though this isn’t an acceptable excuse by any means, I implore the admissions division to look beyond this and consider my actual interest towards research.”
Nowhere in my application did I blame my professors for being biased or the grading system. I took the blame on myself. I took responsibility for my actions. And apparently that struck a chord with the admission’s committee.
Is having work experience useful for a master’s degree? Both in terms of getting admitted and during the Master’s itself?
I was lacking work experience as I joined here right after I had graduated. It all boils down to why you want to do an MS. Is it because of having an interest in the research side and keeping in touch with academics or because of wanting a decent job?
If you want to have it as a gateway to your job, I suggest having a year or two of work experience and then come here because it makes a lot of things easier. Particularly in getting job offers after your MS. Because if I apply to a company with a GPA of let’s assume 7 and another person applies with a GPA of 6.8 with a year of industry experience, he’ll be preferred. It’s a tiebreaker.
But if you’re using it as a research aid, make sure that your work experience relates to your field of interest. It’s not necessary but it just makes things easier. Also, one downside of having work experience is that it’s tough to get an LOR from college professors because there’s that 1-2 years of gap and the only solution to that is to tell your professors that you plan to apply for an MS a couple of years in future and would it be okay if I reach out for a LOR when needed. Another very obvious reason is that you become used to that regular cash flow. It can be a bit tough to let that go.
What would you like to tell your juniors?
Don’t slack off on your GPA. Don’t get people to pay attention to it if you don’t want it to be a hurdle in your application. Don’t blame anyone but yourself and reach out to people. Don’t be hesitant to reach out to people when you need help. Make use of the large alumni network you have because someone will definitely know someone. Reach out and ask there’s no harm in that, however remember to have some etiquette when you’re sending important mails.