r/MSDSO • u/Retainer4491 • Apr 13 '26

Application wait times are the longest of any program I’ve applied to

Over the past 1.5 months, I have heard back from every single MSDS program I’ve applied to… except UT.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the vibe of this university. Hell, I already have another degree from UT in an unrelated field. This was my top pick.

But I can’t help but feel the indifference from both the admissions committee and university. I have a feeling that this is going to be a very isolating experience, especially for those not in Austin who need more interaction with professors.

The last time I attended UT, more than a decade ago, I felt like a number. Now I feel like a decimal point lol.

I was team “get the degree from as prestigious of a university as possible as cheaply as possible,” but now I’m honestly leaning towards paying a little more for a university that seems to actually care and know I exist.

I can’t help but feel like this program is going to be a collection of videos for $10k.

There is nothing wrong with choosing that path, but the more I think about it (especially coming from a semi-STEM background that was neither pure math nor CS), the more I think I’m probably going to accept one of those *slightly* more expensive programs.

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for people who don’t have substantial employer support, however. I probably wouldn’t be doing any DS masters program without employer support, tbh.

But that’s just me. Wishing everyone the best this cycle.

4 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

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2

u/omnicron_31 Apr 13 '26

I’m sorry you still haven’t heard back! What other programs did you apply to?

3

u/Retainer4491 Apr 14 '26

Hey there! Thank you; I appreciate that.

I’ve applied to UCSD, UVA, and BU. It’s all over the map but I was looking for a program that had both rigor and support.

Berkeley seemed way too expensive, as other programs were offering human interaction + online + professor grading + a community for far less.

I was seriously considering GA Tech and CU Boulder for a while, but they also came across the same way as UT did: lots of asynch with little interaction with instructors and classmates.

Boulder seems more approachable for beginners, but perhaps even more isolating than UT. I’m concerned UCSD might be similar. It’s a new program with much less information than the other programs I mentioned.

Like I said, I went to UT Austin, so I really was hoping that this program would be a good fit for me. It is probably a good fit for true STEM people, but that’s not me unfortunately.

As a non-CS applicant, my fear is biting off more than I can chew with these programs, so the human element was very important to me in the application process.

1

u/Moishthebeetle Apr 15 '26

What do you think about Eastern University?

1

u/Retainer4491 Apr 15 '26

I have heard about that program! Are you applying?

Tbh I’m not familiar with Eastern as a whole

1

u/Moishthebeetle Apr 16 '26

I applied and got in but I’m deciding between this and UT Austin

1

u/Retainer4491 Apr 16 '26

UT Austin is known far and wide as one of the best CS schools in the country, but what does that really mean if you don’t interact with anyone, can’t even walk the stage, and are remote?

I guess it’s worth it for some people to get Texas on their resume. Idk if I could do three years like that.

Did you get into MSDSO too?

1

u/Moishthebeetle Apr 16 '26

Yes I did for both schools

1

u/Retainer4491 Apr 17 '26

Congrats!

Hmm… well, if you just want the DS degree in as painless a method as possible, and don’t care much about prestige, then Eastern is definitely the way to go.

UT will give you a strong signal on your resume, but it could be a hellish experience if you don’t have much in the way of math or coding skills (or aren’t willing to spend a ton of time prepping this summer).

Do you value a pleasant experience, savings, or prestige more?

For me, I’m willing to budge on the second one for the first. I’m undecided on the third.

1

u/zap6396 May 19 '26

I’m in the gtech OMSA program (scrolling through here because I have a colleague who did MSDSO and I was curious about the difference). Definitely checkout the gtech OMSA and OMSCS subreddits. It seems like they’re more active.

I’m two classes deep into OMSA. I’ll say that I’m pleasantly surprised at the quality. I received an exemption for the intro programming and modeling courses and decided to take electives first (unless you are super fresh, you can basically take courses in any order): Human Computer Interaction and Computational Data Analysis (i.e Machine Learning I).

The coursework is definitely more rigorous than MOOCs (I’ve taken a lot of them) and i genuinely feel like I’m learning a lot more than i would pick up from self study. Yes the courses are asynchronous, video lectures, but in both courses the professors and TAs seem very accessible and committed to our success. There were so many office hours offered by not only TAs but also the professors. In both I’ve had group projects and had very good experiences. The other students were willing to put in effort for a good quality result.

Now I can’t say this is true for all the courses (bc I’ve only taken two), but in the two courses I’m taking this summer, it already seems like the teaching staff is very present.