[Profile Review] Should I take the GRE for Fall 2026?

My profile: GPA: 8.52/10 (3.6/4 on scholaro), 2.5 years of SWE exp, 2 SWE internships, 2 AI research internships (LoRs from here and my full-time job), won international hackathons, side project used by MIT, VCs, and YC startups, and zero papers published.

I’m trying to shortlist universities to apply to for Fall 2026. I have a long list right now, but this post is more about whether I’d need to take the GRE, which I’m looking to skip due to overwhelming work hours.

University ranking and job prospects after the MS are my priorities, so the course doesn’t have to be fully CS as long as it qualifies for STEM OPT and is applicable for SDE, Solutions, or PM roles.

Very Ambitious:

• Columbia - MSCS
• UC Berkeley - MSCS
• Rice University - MCS
• JHU - MSE CS

Ambitious:

• Cornell MEng - CS/MEM
• CMU - MS SE, MS SM, MS IS, MS IIPS
• Purdue WL - MS CS, CIT, MEM
• UIUC - MCS
• UT Austin - MSCS

Moderate:

• UMass Amherst - MSCS
• University of Michigan - Ann Arbor - MSCS
• University of California, Irvine - MCS, MSWE
• Stony Brook MSCS

Safe:

• Arizona State University
• University of California, Riverside
• UT Dallas
• Northeastern University