I'm writing this >year since I applied, so I might be hazy on a few of the details. View my full grad application cycle here (I might eventually add the other ~dozen schools I applied to). I've tried to redact minimally. Hopefully this helps others applying to grad school! Do not copy this for your application; it will just hurt you.

Context

I applied to CMU for the Fall 2025 application cycle as a 21 year old Canadian citizen to their Master of Software Engineering program located within their School of Computer Science. I chose the "Scalable Systems" degree option. The program is 20-months long in-person in Pittsburgh, PA. I did not submit a GRE score. My test crashed halfway through and I didn't want to deal with the hassle of retaking.

I ultimately opted not to attend CMU in favor of Columbia's MS CS program.

Application

My application required three primary written pieces:

1. Experience and background essay.
2. Purpose, goals, and achievements essay.
3. Video about my life and engineering (I forget the exact prompt).

Note that these essays were not simply information dumps — they already had considerable background about me from other parts of my application (projects, marks, recommendation letters, etc.).

I've redacted some small excerpts using "•"s. You can hover over underlined sections to get my thoughts. I did not use AI for my essays.

At the time of application, I had this portfolio website live.

To find out other stats about my application (GPA, classes taken, projects, etc.), you can read my current portfolio and look at things dated pre-Fall 2025.

Essay 1: Experience and Background

Throughout my academic and professional career, I have worked on several team-oriented software development projects that sharpened my technical expertise and teamwork skills. Below, I highlight three key experiences.

In my university’s data mining course, I collaborated with three students to develop a real-time hockey game predictor. Using a dataset of 1.75 million shot entries, we applied machine learning and deep learning techniques, including logistic regression and Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM) neural networks, to predict game outcomes dynamically. After preprocessing and feature engineering, we created a shot-quality metric to predict the likelihood of a shot resulting in a goal, which served as input for the LSTM model to provide real-time win probabilities. My role included designing the system architecture, leading feature engineering, and fine-tuning the LSTM model to optimize metrics. A key challenge was resolving disagreements among team members on optimization approaches, including feature priorities and the LSTM’s sliding window range. By fostering open communication and compromise, we aligned our efforts and delivered a successful system with a 71.5% accuracy and 85.4% recall.

Building on this collaborative foundation, I was invited to undergo a software engineering internship at Virtual Smart Chain (VSC) by the CEO after an impromptu blockchain conversation during a hackathon. I worked with three senior engineers and business professionals to redesign their blockchain node system. My primary responsibility was rewriting portions of the mainnet TypeScript node into Go, focusing on cryptographic components like signature verification and wallet interoperability with standards such as EIP712. Collaborating closely with a one engineer, I designed the node architecture and later contributed to smart contract development in AssemblyScript. A major challenge was ensuring network nodes updated their software to run the new code successfully, requiring clear documentation, proactive outreach, and troubleshooting deployment issues. Effective cross-team communication and regular feedback loops were critical in overcoming these challenges and ensuring seamless integration across teams.

For my honors project, I independently developed Kurlox, a decentralized search engine addressing centralized system limitations. Supervised by Dr. Anthony Estey and consulting with industry experts, I designed a trustless architecture featuring Byzantine Fault Tolerance and a dynamically partitioned vector embedding space, enabling efficient semantic search across a distributed network. My responsibilities included developing the partitioning algorithm, implementing cryptographically secured network crawlers, and synthesizing diverse feedback. One challenge was the uneven distribution of 384-dimensional “boxes” of vector space assigned to network nodes for storing IPFS CIDs. Some nodes received semantically popular “boxes” with overwhelming vectors (e.g., Facebook-adjacent content), while others had sparse assignments (e.g., niche topics like “Scottish goat parties”). To resolve this, I created a dynamic vector space partitioner to rebalance storage across nodes. The project succeeded in demonstrating a novel architecture, and I learned the importance of additional testing under heavy strain.

Reflecting on these projects, the most significant challenges often stemmed not from technical hurdles but from coordinating across teams with varying expertise and priorities. In the hockey predictor project, resolving disagreements on optimization strategies required flexibility and collaboration. At VSC, I learned to navigate cross-functional dynamics and emphasize clear documentation. Further, Kurlox taught me to balance theoretical rigor with practical solutions and adapt dynamically to address real-world imbalances. In each case, collaboration, adaptability, and proactive problem-solving were key to delivering impactful results.

Essay 2: Purpose, Goals, and Achievements

Carnegie Mellon University’s MSE-SS program aligns perfectly with my aspirations to drive innovation at the intersection of cryptography, security, networking, distributed systems, and blockchain technology. My short-term goal (2-4 years) is to establish a startup specializing in decentralized systems, designing scalable, secure, and innovative solutions to real-world challenges. Long-term (5-7 years), I aim to grow this venture into an industry leader, advancing trust and efficiency in digital ecosystems. CMU’s program will be instrumental in achieving these objectives by providing unparalleled resources, mentorship, and a forward-thinking community.

My entrepreneurial passion fuels my drive for bold innovation. This was evident in Kurlox, a cutting-edge decentralized search engine I conceived and developed. Pursuing commercial funding for Kurlox has been a defining challenge, reinforcing my dedication to impactful systems. Similarly, my leadership in founding and scaling Confesi — a large-scale social media platform — showcased my ability to navigate competitive markets, transforming an idea into a functional prototype with features like sentiment-based content sorting, real-time feeds, anonymous chat, and much more. These experiences exemplify my ability to lead ambitious projects from inception to execution.

Additionally, I have undertaken over 50 technical projects (both big and small) across domains such as decentralized infrastructure, scalable systems, and real-time machine learning, prioritizing them over undergraduate schoolwork. Among these, I’ve built tools that reached tens of thousands of users, showcasing my ability to combine technical innovation with practical impact. Additionally, my hackathon achievements, including podium finishes for decentralized and scalable system designs, reflect my aptitude for rapid ideation and execution under pressure. Notably, a successful 24-hour hackathon I hosted for my ~75,000-member developer community further solidified my role as a community leader and innovator.

Moreover, my insatiable curiosity drives me to uncover vulnerabilities and seek unconventional solutions. For example, while still in university, I identified and responsibly disclosed a serious flaw in a hospital’s infrastructure, being awarded for my efforts. Even during the CMU application process itself, after some investigation, I reported several odd public-facing pages on its CS website, leading to their patching within 24 hours. These instances underscore my dedication to addressing overlooked challenges, a mindset that aligns with CMU’s emphasis on problem-solving. This out-of-the-box thinking will enable me to bring novel ideas to fruition.

Despite my project-first approach, I graduated in the top ~5%^* of my class at the University of Victoria, earning "Distinction with Honors." I also ranked #1 in my classes at Thompson Rivers University, achieving a perfect GPA. Balancing academics with extensive project work, I developed a dual commitment to academic excellence and practical innovation that will enable me to thrive in CMU’s rigorous environment. Moreover, my contributions as an undergraduate research assistant at Cortex Labs — developing DECISION-MAP, a big-data Vue.ts visualization tool — highlight my ability to collaborate on interdisciplinary projects with global impact.

Overall, CMU’s MSE-SS program provides the ideal platform to achieve my goals, combining a rigorous curriculum with a strong emphasis on industry collaboration and entrepreneurship. The program’s focus on scalable systems resonates with my work on Kurlox, while its culture of innovation aligns with my entrepreneurial aspirations. CMU’s distinguished faculty and cutting-edge research in distributed systems and cryptography will provide the mentorship and expertise necessary to refine my technical and leadership skills, empowering me to advance decentralized systems and scalable technologies.

* The University of Victoria refuses to provide exact ranking metrics, but from what I have access to (top 20% GPA cut-off, number of honors students, etc.), top ~5% is a safe estimate.

Video Script: General Life & Engineering

They wanted us to record a video. Here is my rough script. I did not add any fancy effects or graphics. It was simply a video of me talking.

Hi, my name is Matthew Trent, and I’d like to share a story about leadership, collaboration, and growth through the lens of my journey with Confesi, a social media platform I built during my undergraduate studies.

Confesi began in 2022 as a vision to create a unified platform for students to share confessions anonymously. What started as an idea quickly transformed into a leadership challenge as I assembled and guided a team of developers, most of whom were new to large-scale projects. My role required me to be more than just a technical contributor; I became a mentor, a communicator, and a problem-solver, ensuring the team worked cohesively toward our shared goal.

One of the key ways I fostered collaboration was through informal technical hangouts and pair programming. These hangouts became spaces for tackling complex problems together, sharing knowledge, and sparking new ideas. When team members transitioned between repositories or tasks, I would pair program with them, leveraging my deep contextual knowledge of the project to help them navigate new challenges. This hands-on approach ensured smooth transitions, empowered everyone to contribute effectively, and strengthened our team’s capabilities.

A core aspect of my leadership was accessibility. I shared ••••• in our community Discord and extended this openness to our alpha testers, ensuring that anyone could reach out with questions or debugging issues. On more than one occasion, I found myself on late-night calls — often when the rest of the continent was asleep — helping ••••• through a tricky problem. This commitment to being available created a strong sense of trust and camaraderie within the team and among our early testers.

Technical challenges were a constant in the development process. Our initial backend, built in Node.js, worked well for prototyping but proved error-prone and unsuited for scaling. Recognizing the risks, I ••••• through a pivot to Rust, valuing its memory safety and performance. However, the steep learning curve and limited availability of Rust expertise slowed our progress. Balancing the team’s familiarity and the project’s needs, ••••• proposed moving to Go. This decision was pivotal, as Go provided the scalability and simplicity we needed while leveraging the existing strengths of the team. I personally rewrote core systems, conducted training sessions, and ensured our development pipeline stayed on track. Writing nearly 300,000 lines of code myself gave me a deeper appreciation for the intricacies of end-to-end system building.

Leadership extended into our UI development process, where I emphasized structure and collaboration. I created detailed Figma designs to map out the interface and organized review sessions, where another developer would provide feedback before the designs were finalized. These approved designs were then shared in our development Discord for implementation, creating a streamlined pipeline that maintained consistency and quality. This process not only enhanced the product but also encouraged team members to contribute creatively to the app’s design.

One of the most demanding moments came when a critical bug in our notification system threatened to derail progress. I •••••, and ••••• to ensure that other development efforts continued uninterrupted. Resolving the issue required not only technical skill but also the ability to keep the team focused and motivated under pressure.

Despite our efforts, a larger engineering company from the United States beat us to market. This outcome was humbling, teaching me the importance of being first to market and how strategic planning is as vital as technical execution. Rather than view this as a failure, I open-sourced the app, turning it into a learning opportunity for others. Confesi has since helped forge connections within the development community, with peers now reaching out to me for advice on Flutter and other technologies.

This journey taught me the value of adaptability, clear communication, and creating an environment where everyone feels empowered to contribute their best work. It also gave me a profound understanding of what it takes to build and lead a project from concept to completion, with all the technical and interpersonal challenges along the way.

Confesi became more than just a project — it was a transformative experience that reinforced my passion for leadership and problem — solving. At Carnegie Mellon, I aim to build on these skills, leveraging the MSE-SS program’s focus on scalable systems to tackle even more ambitious challenges.

Thank you for considering my application.