If you are planning to do MS from the US, it is always better to do a profile evaluation and a SWOT analysis. By doing so you will have an idea which universities you should aim for and your probability to get into an ivy-league college. Moreover, this analysis will also let you know about your strengths and weakness clearly and you can plan accordingly.

There are many online agencies which can give you a free profile analysis on mentioning certain attributes like your GRE score (Verbal, Quant, AWA), TOEFL(Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing) score and academic qualifications ( college name, degree, subject, research work, internship, work experience, etc.) along with entry term (e.g. FALL 2014) and the course (e.g. MS/PhD in Computer Science) that you want to pursue in USA.

However, there are agencies who charge for profile evaluation. There are also some online tools designed to assist those who want to do MS in US in selecting and shortlisting the right universities based on your GRE, TOEFL scores and under grad GPA/Percentage.

These tools store profiles of all students who apply for MS in USA through affiliated consultancies and develop a computer programme which evaluates your profile and gives you a shortlist of universities by selecting that profile from the database which exactly or closely matches your profile.

Alternatively you can approach experts in this regard and can seek their advice. All you need to do is mention your test scores and CGPA with necessary industry experience if there is any.

Doing a SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis focuses on the internal and external environments, examining strengths and weaknesses in the internal environment and opportunities and threats in the external environment related to a university and its programmes.

In order to understand how a SWOT analysis will help you in your MS programme in the US you need to make a table with internal and external attributes of your strengths and weakness along with opportunities and threats of your programme. Education, including value-added features, strong technical knowledge within your field (e.g. hardware, software, programming languages), specific transferable skills (e.g., communication, teamwork, leadership skills) and personal characteristics (e.g. strong work ethic, self-discipline, ability to work under pressure, creativity, optimism or a high level of energy) can be your strengths depending on the programme that you want to select.

On the other hand lack of work experience, low GPA, wrong major, lack of goals, lack of self-knowledge, lack of specific job knowledge may be your weakness.

Positive trends in your field that will create more jobs (e.g., growth, globalization, technological advances), opportunities you could have in the field by enhancing your education, opportunities for professional development in your field may give you an idea about the programme you should enrol yourself into for MS.

Other threats like competition from your cohort of college graduates, competitors with superior skills, experienced and knowledgeable competitors with better job-hunting skills than you and competitors who went to schools with better reputations can throw certain amount of hurdles in your field of study.

SWOT analysis will help you understand which programme you should apply for and what are the universities you need to aim. A good SWOT analysis along with proper profile evaluation will make things easier for you and save your precious time applying to irrelevant universities not fit for you.