

Need Advice- Getting into a CompSci M.S program from a non CS background - giveitsometime

I have a Bachelor's degree,in telecommunications and have been working in  qa/testing for about 2 years.Have taught myself C,some C++,Python,HTML/CSS,JS,Perl.I hope to apply to an M.S CS program in the States but looking at admission requirements,I think that the odds are very much against me getting through because - 
1.I am not from a top-tier school
2.I don't have significant programming experience
3.I wish to apply to good schools where something like 1 out of 17 applicants get through,that too good candidates.<p>I have tried working with open source code like sqlite but have been able to do it very slowly.I feel dejected because I want to work as a systems engineer or a server side engineer and without an M.S or at least some great project work ,I am simply unqualified.Having read a lot of good things on HN and learnt tremendously just by hanging out on this site,I would be grateful for any relevant comments/advice that anyone could have.
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larsberg
Most of the terminal MS programs are not terribly competitive and are mainly
made up of either students who did not have a CS undergrad degree or got one
long ago and did not use it. If you have the cash and pass their basic entry
tests (usually just the GRE, +TOEFL if from a non-English country) it
shouldn't be a problem for you.

That said, a Ph.D. program (or the booby-prize/MS degree from it) is a
completely different matter. But despite being the same degree, the terminal
MS programs are a completely different program, and are intended for people
with a background like yours who are trying to get further in their CS career.

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giveitsometime
Thanks.Hope to get admission to a good MS program,not just to get a degree but
really learn as well as I can.

