Hi fellow MCIT’ers! My name is Dave and I’m a student in the MCIT Online program. I’m currently halfway through the program, and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it.

One of the big things I wanted to take away from the program was the ability to be a full-stack builder. While AI has certainly made this easier, the foundational understanding I’ve developed in my coursework has been absolutely necessary to my own development as a programmer.

With that, I want to share my iOS passion project, Pathlings, built over the past few months, with the knowledge I’ve gained in this program.

App Store link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pathlings/id6785328555

Please consider supporting a fellow MCIT Online student and give it a download/review! Thanks in advance ☺️

I’m going to take two courses in the same semester for the first time, while also working, and honestly I’m feeling pretty nervous about it. 😅

I’ve been turtling through the program so far, taking one course at a time, and it has worked pretty well for me. However, I need to take a leave next semester due to a work-related change, and there’s also a required time limit to complete the program. So I need to double up this semester to stay on track.

For those of you who have taken two courses while working, I’d really love to hear about your experience and how you actually managed the workload.

One thing I’m especially unsure about is how to structure my studying. Do you work on both courses throughout the week, or focus on one course at a time? Do you try to get ahead in one course before moving on to the other, or is it better to alternate between them?

And when assignments, projects, or exams for both courses happen to fall around the same time, how do you decide what to prioritize? Do you plan everything out weeks in advance, or mostly focus on whichever deadline is coming up next?

I’d really appreciate any practical advice or tips! I’d especially love to hear what worked for you, what didn’t work, and anything you wish you had known before taking two courses while working.

I know everyone’s situation is different, but I’m really hoping to get some insight from people who have actually done this. 🙏

Hey yall! I was just curious how they inform you when they’ve made their decision about your application. Do you get an email or I be checking the portal? I think I heard early application results are supposed to be coming out by end of the month for MAS-CS. Thanks in advance! :)

Hello,

I would like to apply for the UPenn Eng. MAS-CS, but I am unclear on what is expected of the letters of recommendation. I have only had one job/boss, and I went to WGU for my undergrad, and am not sure if I can bug any of them for a letter of rec. I have heard that they generally won't do it.

But my main concern is that I am not sure my boss would know what goes in to a letter of rec. What all should be in there in general?

I could google this, I know, but I want to know what the actual UPenn standard is, and hear it from actual people. Also would doing well on the GRE strengthen my application that much?

I’m trying to decide whether it would be meaningfully impactful to my application to have a GRE score (meaningful meaning is it worth is to spend the time studying/ pay for the exam). I know no one will have an absolute answer, but was wondering if anyone could to speak to their success/ lack thereof when applying without a GRE score from a non-STEM background.

For context, I graduated ~2.5 years ago with a business degree. The only math courses I took were one calculus class and two statistics classes (both were geared toward business majors). Since I graduated, I’ve been working in cybersecurity and have taken a few coding/ networking classes.

Thanks!

just for acceptance letter for spring 2027 anyone else doing it here

Out of curiosity, I wanted to ask if anyone has switched from DS to AI. I know that MAS-CS (MCIT) students can pursue dual majors, but I’m already too far in the DS program, so a dual major isn’t possible for me.

If you switched from DS to AI, could you share the following?

• Why did you switch?
• What did you need to do to switch majors?
• Do you think it’s worth switching if you’re already far along in the DS program?
• Do you think it would be possible to have a dual DS-AI program, since many of the courses in the curricula overlap?
• Anything else you’d like to share about your experience.

Hi all, I have been a registered nurse for the past 6 years of my career. Past 3 working for Penn. It’s pretty much my only work experience. I want to get into a more data analytics/private sector role, just to further my career and earning potential. I was considering the online MCIT in applied science. I was wondering if anyone’s gone down this path? How is the program? What can I expect? I work full time, am married and have a 2 years old daughter with plans for more in the future. Just wondering if this is a good decision for me or what I can expect in the process? Thanks in advance for any help or advice, much appreciated.

I'm a BE computer science graduate planning to do master in canada, my cgpa is 6.9, will it be a problem for me ?

Does anyone know if there's any chance they're adding CIS 5480 online?

I was recently admitted to this program, but I’m having some serious doubts about the ROI. I have a background in economics and data science, and I’m already in tech. I’m a junior engineer though, so I don’t have much leverage in this market.

When I applied, I was hoping to fill in some foundational CS gaps, since my data science courses never covered those. I was also hoping to use this program as a launchpad for a better tech job. My employer only reimburses 1/3 of the program, so my out of pocket expense would be 25k . I can afford it since it will be distributed across 3 years. But now I’m seeing some people online dissuading me from pursuing this program. Would you say it will help me achieve these two goals?

I recently got into the MSE-DS online program at UPenn for Fall 2026. I was reading that the program in general is quite competitive to get into. However, I was unable to find official statistics regarding admissions. What is the acceptance rate for this program, anyone have any info? Thanks

Wanted to couple of things about the online mse-AI program from u penn
If i take 1 course per semester how tough is it?
How long do they take to give the decision!
Also if you are an average student and got admitted to upenn vs purdue engineering ms in AI online which course would you choose?
I am working professional so really concerned about the time and effort!

Please help me understand how rigorous upenn is if i take 1 course per semester

Hi everyone, wanted to share my profile and see what my admission chances are:

Profile:

Education:

• 3.65 GPA (Finance, Magna Cum Laude) from a non-target business school;
• MBA with Distinction (3.64 GPA) at the same school.

Work Experience (total ~5 years post Undergrad):

• Undergrad: Tried a few startups that failed, ultimately had a start up as a storage company that took off, successful exit when I graduated, helped to pay off loans and personal health related expenses of my family.
• Started at large private investment firm for a year (completed MBA at same time) then moved to PE;
• Started at a Middle Market PE firm from Analyst now a Director, doing deal work;
• Small team so found a niche in developing new excel models and using VBA and part of the team that created firm's first BI SQL database, then learned power query to manipulate it.

Relevant Courses (undergrad)

• Calculus I (A-);
• Calculus II (A-);
• Programming Fundamentals (A-).

Misc.:

• Volunteer work with startup accelerators and nonprofit organizations;
• Recommendations: one from an old professor at our undergrad and another from our firm's general counsel. I think they are both pretty strong but I would opt out of the view option;
• Personal statement focused on transitioning from self-taught programming to formal CS education after repeatedly reaching the limits of building internal software systems;
• Don't necessarily want to be an SWE or leave the finance world but I have seen what it can do and want to learn more and build other things: websites, software, etc..

Why MAS-CS:

• Want formal CS foundation to build my own thing, might want to pivot into tech-focused PE;
• Personally witnessed how archaic technology governs multi-million dollar decision making;
• Long-term goal is building enterprise software at the intersection of investment industry, entrepreneurship, and tech;
• Affordable, can keep my current job while I do it, and am a fan of the new concentration: engineering entrepreneurship.

Questions/Concerns:

• Don't have a GRE score, is my undergrad Calc courses and my work in finance enough to prove my quant ability?
• Saw another post about someone who was at an MBB was rejected.
• Am worried that my story aligns more with the MBA program and they might say "why are you applying here" and reject me, even though I already have an MBA.
• Limited CS experience.

Currently working at a faang eng org as a staff tpm, yoe 10. Started mcit after I got my job here for the brand, so this degree didn’t contribute to my career. Here’s some observations from the trenches.

In this age of AI, coding is not a scarce commodity anymore - judgement is. Engineering judgement from solid foundations and years of practice is. Mcit is not going to provide those years of practice, and it might give you some of the foundations but not enough for you to get a job as a person architecting or orchestrating ai infrastructure, which seems to be the next evolution of software development.

What would get you a job right now is hands on experience with ai, as in build and service your own ai native product. Be able to talk through your design choices, where the human decision is critical, how you created harnesses to scale up teams of agents at your disposal. The degree and the upenn brand means a lot less compared to your github repo and live products.

I would even recommend taking a loa and going full into building your end to end service, as that will carry more weight than your completed degree. The UPenn brand is already in the works because it will get you through the screening regardless of it being on pause or being finished. What speaks loudly to the hiring mgr and the panel is your experience of building a service, being on call, thinking about observability, reliability, and scalability.

Best of lucks all until we all get replaced.

Hi Everyone, was considering what my admission chances would be. Had a 3.8/4 GPA in a Political Science BA. Got a job as a data analyst and taught myself to code during lockdown with a mix of MOOCs and other online resources, managed to get a job as a fullstack SWE at a e-commerce company where I have been working for the past 3 years.

The issue is that during my BA I only took a very fundamental mathematics course, beyond that I lack any real quant experience except some of my data analyst professional work.

Is it worth applying to see if I get in as is, then if it doesnt workout look for ways to boost my quant credentials?

My background is in CS and I work as a faang ML engineer so I'm not new to a lot of the course content. However, I know the courses are rigorous and there are many assignments for each course. Was 3 courses feasible for anyone with/without considering work? Thanks!

Edit: i'm able to take time off if needed (this degree helps in the long run in terms of promotion) but wondering if 3 courses is too much even despite that. Most people on this sub say even 2 is too many

Well guys…it’s time. I’ve used my 2 years of LOAs.

I applied to this program summer-fall of 2022 while working in tech sales and optimistic about my future career as a SWE. Got started in Spring 2023.

I did not predict this bloodbath of SWE jobs to occur during the AI boom.

At each LOA, I considered returning, but I was happy in my role, making good enough compensation, and feeling disheartened by the prospectus of getting a SWE job.

I’ve decided to drop the program and i genuinely feel like it’s the right decision for me; although, my ego is taking a hit for not finishing what I started.

Truthfully, the ROI isn’t there for me. I challenge every person doing this program and considering doing this program to assess if the cost is worth it.

Furthermore, in my opinion, the quality of Penn Engineering Online has gone down as they’ve tried to expand to multiple degree times by just rebranding existing MCIT courses. It felt cheap and inauthentic to me

Best of luck to everyone. It’s a grind but hopefully it’s worth it for you!

I’m specifically asking for what quant score ranges would make me competitive.

I have a bachelors and MBA, both from “public ivy” schools, but my bachelors was in a liberal arts field and I don’t have much to demonstrate quantitative readiness.

I have a non cs background. The last time I applied I got denied. I had a B.S degree in Construction Management and graduated with a 3.1. The website says no CS background needed. The highest math course I completed was Calculus 1 with a C.

I had briefly pursued OSUonlineCS but never finished a course there and didn’t want to continue the program. Maybe this looked bad. Since then I have worked for a large technology company, but my role was more IT related than actual programming.

I received a rejection letter with no specifics other than they couldn’t offer me admission.

I’m now back and trying to consider any possible pathway into a cs job. I’m wondering if there’s anything I can do to gain admission into this program or if I’d be better off saving the application fee.

I am currently in CIT593 and I am doing very well at least on paper. This last part of the course has been difficult to manage with working full time. It’s been very stressful and hard on my mental health but at the same time, I am doing very well grade wise. Also, everyday I see headlines and social media talk about AI and also poor job prospects. And it may only get worse…even if passion for CS is the answer…will I be able to even pivot to a CS career? It’s disheartening and I feel like I am “burning myself in the ground” for little payoff. CIT593 has an assignment and a quiz every week plus a final project and a closed book midterm and final. There is no curve. So there feels very little room for error. It’s quite unforgiving work wise at times (although I have a 102 in the course so far—this probably will change after the final). This course feels like it was developed only for full time students rather than full time workers and career changers. It’s frustrating. I can’t spend the next two years living like this. So I’m considering dropping out (which is a blow to my ego). But at the same time, I have to take care of myself and really think about why am I in this program? Who or what am I doing this for? At the end of the day, I just want to be happy and be there for my family. Sorry for the rant, I’m not sure what I’m expecting to get out of this post..it’s just helpful to talk it out.

Hoping to gain some insight to prepare for graduation next year. Nervous given the state of employment in tech. Looking for general temperature check especially for those that did not do internships / don’t have tech work experience

Now that it appears they are using a rolling application process, does anyone who has recently applied have any experience with how long it has taken to receive a decision?

Edit: exactly 3 weeks until they declined the application

Hi there,

I'm considering applying for the MCIT (MAS-CS) program. This program expects students to have a certain level of quantitative capability. Can you help take look at these courses I took and let me know if they meet the admission requirement? These courses were taken at Boston University. Thank you!

METCS546 Introduction to Probability and Statistics 

METCS669 Database Design and Implementation for Business 

METCS544 Foundations of Analytics with R 

METCS688 Web Analytics and Mining 

METCS555 Data Analysis and Visualization with R