Come on friends! We have
entered the toughest part of the game.
I would classify it as
following.
Therefore, this way I categorize work. So let us go methodically.
Collecting information about all the colleges
Fine now its time that we collect
information about all the colleges all over the
After a few
weeks, you will start getting the brochures. Note: DO USE A SPECIAL EMAIL
ACCOUNT FOR THIS MAILING. DO NOT GIVE THAT TO YOUR FRIENDS. KEEP IT ONLY FOR
THIS USE.
Now its time that you verify the
application cum prospectus brochures. You should look at several factors. Some
of the most important factors to look at are:
Courses: You should
have a more or less clear idea about the field of specialization that you wish
to pursue during your postgraduate study. There are so many options available
and it would be nice to know these options and chose the one, which most suits
your interests. Though it might be possible to change the selected field later
on in the university, it is of utmost importance to project a clear idea of the
desired field in the SOP. This would also serve as one of the main criteria for
selecting the universities. Each university offers several courses in several
fields. You should check for your desired field and the number of courses the
university offers for that field. If a University does not have many courses in
your field then it would be futile in considering that university.
Pre requisites for admission: All the universities clearly state
the pre - requisites for admission to the program. All these should be looked
into carefully. Some state the GRE cut offs; some mention TOEFL requirements
and the top universities mention the AGRE percentiles. Also your academics play
a good role.
Number of faculty members and their research interests: Most
Universities have lots of good research work in many diverse fields. The thing
to consider when going through the brochures is how many faculty members are
currently doing research in your field of specialization. If you find that the
university offers several courses in your field and there are several
professors in that field, then you should do further research on the
university.
College rankings: The rankings should be examined to find out the rank
of the universities that you are considering. These rankings are based on
several factors such as ongoing research work, funding available, faculty etc.
The highly ranked universities have much higher admission criteria such as AGRE
scores, high GRE and academic performance in undergraduate degree.
Funds available: The brochures of the universities generally specify the
funding available to International students. The chief form of funding is in
the form of assistantships. There are some fellowships for truly outstanding
students. Some universities specify that no aid is available for new students
in the first year of study.
Types of
FUNDING:
Facilities
available: It is also essential to read up the brochures to find out the
facilities the College has in terms of labs, library, and timings of work etc.
This is also a good way to find out if the college is of standards or not.
For these things, you need to have a detailed
application brochure and what if you do not have one. That is again a big fix.
Isn’t it? No its not.
Do not
worry we can goto the websites of those colleges which we intend to look for.
This is as follows. You can adopt two means.
This way
you can goto the college websites and then start finding our criterions once
again, which are mentioned above.
Therefore, after this you would be selecting the colleges you feel will
serve your purpose.
IN A
NUTSHELL:
F
First, look
for good states where we can face situations like temperature, traffic, living
etc; generally, the southern states are cheaper when compared to north.
F
Look for
the fee structure.
F
Look for
the living expenses.
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Look for
the research carried out in your field.
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Look for
the professors employed in your field.
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Generally,
state universities have good funding.
Thereby I
consider that you have completed selecting your bunch of colleges.
GETTING TO THE
Well guys
you have crossed the big leap. You feel it but actually, you did not. The main
thing is that you cannot apply to all the colleges. Isn’t it? So you need to
plan to how many colleges you can apply for. Whatever may be your economical situation, it is
suggested that you should apply to atleast four colleges. In general,
many students apply to six colleges. How to scrutiny the list and get good six
colleges? It is the biggest doubt. Let us have good approach for it.
Criterions
to be met: (I consider the general number 6)
This
way you should classify your applications. Now you have the list of all the six
colleges and you are ready now to apply to them but it’s again a question to
what are the things required to fill up applications. This we will cover in the
below section.
GETTING THE MATERIAL REQUIRED TO APPLY
Well!
Well! Its time that we collect all the things we have to submit and use while
applying.
Requirements:
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One special email id, for correspondence.
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International credit card (if you wish to apply
online) or else drafts ready in name of the college payable in USD.
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Online application/ application forms. You can also
download application materials from the website. Or you may order them before.
F
GRE/TOEFL score reports. For this you need to get to
the GRE/TOEFL brochures and then you will have, an additional score report
request form, which you will also get with your score reports. You need to use
this if you are applying to a college for which you did not tick at the time of
your test. So fill up the form and give your credit card number there or attach
a draft for the required amount. For the colleges you want to send you have to
write the college and dept codes which you will find at the back of the
particular bulletin. Remember
that the codes differ for TOEFL & GRE. Thus send your score reports.
F
The main things are transcripts. Many universities on
demand, issue transcripts in sealed covers. For JNTU the university asks you to
make a copy of transcripts in its format, then principal should attest it, and
then the Registrar signs it. This is the procedure. For JNTU students, if you are a Viziagite, then you may goto the
following address where you will be charged rs.40/- for a copy of your
transcripts.
Address: FUTURELINE GRAPHICS, SHOP NO: 21, RATNAVENI
COMPLEX, DWARAKA NAGAR,
Let me tell you a main thing. Submit transcripts
only what you received by that time. Don’t worry for the later ones. It is
recommended that you submit your three years statements, atleast. Being frank
don't try to put any malpractice into that, because all the universities have a
prototype transcript of all the international colleges
F Then comes the major part. RECOMMENDATION LETTERS (RECS). So, what shall we do for this? Do not worry. It is quite simple. First we have to decide with whom we should make our RECs signed. This is very important because, some people may not be so good to sign RECS. The first criteria is that the person who signatures should atleast have a masters degree. Ph.D is very much preferable. Many universities ask for three RECs. Therefore, you have to decide about whom to approach. First, your head of the dept, second, your professor (no probs even if he/she is not a professor) who has taught you the subject which you like to take as your specialization. Moreover, the third person should be one who is not of your dept. your college principal would be better. Your HOD should be mentioning about your excellence in your academics, the other lecturer should mention about your interest in that particular field and the last one should mention your extracurricular activities. For these things, I will provide some samples.
F
Then comes the
part of writing the Statement
Of Purpose (SOP). Well here I try to give
some samples and I think you should be
in a position to understand them and write one on your own. Well that’s the way
things god. But if you want a detailed explanation about them please goto www.statementofpurpose.com that
is a good site and will tell you how to write a SOP. But let me be clear, it's
your SOP, which plays the entire game. It is very important and its excellence is
reflected in your admission process. One more request, please don’t plagiarize
the ones that are provided in some websites and produce them at your graduate
officer. You will be at big trouble. Make out things on your own.
F
Additional
Certificates: let me be frank. Additional certificates like green
revolution, blood donation and especially things like paper presentations, quiz competitions etc will be of high
importance. They will show them what you are. Nevertheless, I advice you not to
go for duplicate certificates, because the person who evaluates the application
is a very well experienced person. Do not hesitate to put any certificates you
have. Do not think that something may be unnecessary. Put all what you have.
F
Financial
documentation: This is very
important. Most of the universities do not accept a CA statement for this. They
need a bank statement. So take a bank statement, from a bank in which your
parent has an account. The
amount should be equal to or more than the fee structure, that has been
mentioned in the prospectus, for two years. Remember that
two years and even more.
This merely completes the application process. Now its time to decide
when to apply.
Definitions
à
FALL: Starts
in August.
SPRING: Starts
in January
Yes, it is very important to know
when to apply. Remember a thumb rule FIRST COME FIRST SERVE. This is the policy of
all the colleges in US. So the best time for you to apply is an exactly a year
before your entry to US. That is you have to apply by august ending (for FALL, generally
I considered FALL and you a may apply the same rules for SPRING accordingly).
This is a very good time to apply. If the university has any assistantships to
offer then it gives them to all the qualified early professionals. So please be early. You
should get your application acknowledgement by September last week. Then you
can happily have a nap and prepare yourself for any other exams like GATE or
CAT etc. There is nothing much more to tell you about the time of applying.
And the
main point to be noted is that it’s always better to apply online. They are
simple and happy. If you need any info regarding that you can goto www.applyweb.com.
If you have seen the advertisement
of tomato ketchup, even a chapatti can be presented as pizza. So, mind that
your application packet should look well. Use a big cover to put all the
material. Use good white covers to put all your forms. Use separate covers for
separate documents. Write on the envelope what it is. (Just like write BANK
STATEMENT on the envelope in which you kept it.) Use a good sketch pen. Write
your email address wherever necessary. Put all these in a big cover and write
the address perfectly with a sketch pen. That is better. Put atleast three to
four self addressed stickers in your packet. Try to avoid writing mostly. Get
it typed. With these things, you would be completing the application packet.
Post it perfectly. Use speed post for that, because you can track them in www.usps.gov or www.indianpost.gov.in. Keep those
slips until you get the acknowledgement from the college.
ALL THE BEST
Note: The Webmaster
is in not anyway responsible to any errors in the data.