Guidance For Pursuing M.S. in U.S.A.

 

9.If you want to apply for other universities than those four then you must fill out extra score report form. You will get the extra score report form along with your original score report from ETS.( This score report for you will be given within 3-4 weeks after you appear for GRE.) Also the extra score report form is provided in GRE bulletin. You may also download the Extra score report form from the website http://www.gre.org

10.Fill this form with the institution codes where you want to apply along with the department code to which you would like to apply. Both the ‘Institution codes and Department codes’ are given in the GRE bulletin and are also available on the site http://www.gre.org which is the official website.

11.Along with this make a bank draft in the name of ETS-GRE of the equivalent amount required for reporting scores to the extra universities in US dollars. Presently for reporting score to one university application fee is $ 15.

12.Send this extra score repost form along with the application fee ( Draft) to ETS/GRE on its address at Princeton. This address is also mentioned on the extra score report from and also in the GRE bulletin.

13.Then your work for ETS – GRE is over.

TOEFL Procedure

1.First of all request the Bulletin for TOEFL from the site www.toefl.org This is the official site for TOEFL. Also you can request the bulletin from www.ipem.org

2.you have two options either you request the bulletin if you have time before you appear for TOEFL or get the form downloaded from this website.

3.Then fill up the form and make a draft of required Dollars in the name of

ETS-TOEFL. Presently the application fee is $130. Do not send the cash. It should be in Dollars only.

4.If you have credit card ; you can send the money directly through the card. The information for this procedure is given in

TOEFL bulletin.

5.In the application form for TOEFL there are options for giving TOEFL test centre and Dates of test. You give it as per your convenience. The information for filling out this form is provided in the bulletin.

6.Send this form along with application fee to your country ETS centre. For India it is in Delhi. The address of ETS at Delhi is given in the bulletin.

7.After this you will get the acknowledgement letter from the TOEFL. Also your date & time for test will be mentioned in that. That is supposed to be your hall ticket. So keep it safely for appearing the TOEFL exam. Also other instructions will be mentioned in that letter which are mandatory for all students to appear for TOEFL. You must do take your Passport , Hall Ticket and Secondary Identification with you for your test. You can not take other things with you. Follow the instructions in the hall ticket and bulletin.

8.After you finish the exam your official score is to be sent to the universities where you want to apply for MS. Since ETS send your official TOEFL score to four universities free of cost. Since that fee is included in your TOEFL application fee ( $ 140). So select the universities carefully. Since these are the places where you can save your money.

10.Fill this form with the institution codes where you want to apply along with the department code to which you would like to apply. Both the ‘Institution codes and Department codes’ are given in the TOEFL bulletin and are also available on the site www.toefl.org which is the official website.

11.Along with this make a bank draft in the name of ETS-TOEFL of the equivalent amount required for reporting scores to the extra universities in US dollars. Presently for reporting score to one university application fee is $ 15.

12.Send this extra score repost form along with the application fee ( Draft) to ETS/TOEFL on its address at Princeton. This address is also mentioned on the extra score report from and also in the TOEFL bulletin.

13.Then your work for ETS – TOEFL is over.

NOTE: For the a particular Department ‘the department codes’ to be mentioned in the score report form are different for GRE and TOEFL score report forms for the same particular University ( university / institution code for a particular university to be mentioned in both the forms is generally same.). Hence please refer both the bulletins or the websites for these codes.

University Applications

1.You request the graduate applications from the universities where you would like to apply. You can request the applications by visiting their university website and filling out the application request forms.. Some times you have to mail directly to the graduate coordinator requesting the application on your address. Make sure that you cross the minimum eligibility criteria of that university where you would like to apply. Also have a look at the message board of www.edulix.com so that you can imagine whether that university is a right choice for you or not.

2.Generally you should do this when you apply for GRE test. Since it takes 3-4 weeks to reach the applications on your address.

3.If you have not asked for the Graduate application for a particular university and you want to apply that university then you may download the application forms from their website. Then you can take the print outs of that and send the applications.

4.Then follow the procedures/ steps for applications given in the bulletin from the universities which you have selected.

5.Make the application fee draft in US Dollars on the correct address mentioned in the university bulletin. Do not send cash. Make sure that the address is correct.

6.If you have credit card then you may send your fee directly. Also you may fill out the electronic – application for the MS/PhD program. The electronic application is generally there for all universities. It is more safe and fast than the mailing procedure.

It is better to select the universities looking at your credentials , the minimum requirement of scores by the university and the application deadlines. So that you can raise the chances of getting an admission with AID. Also have a look at the minimum annual expenses at the university selected. For this visit the sites www.review.com www.universities.com www.usnews.com www.phds.org also go for NRC rankings on yahoo website. There are many more to mention. Visit the USEFI website to get more information on study in USA.

There are many things to be sent to the universities along with application other than Application forms.

The Extra Materials to be Dispatched

1. Application fee in dollars

You can pay it directly by credit card or can make the draft on the address mentioned by the university. It should be only in US Dollars. Make sure that the name of the university is correct.

2. Transcripts

The transcript is nothing but the consolidated mark list given by your undergraduate college or institution. Request your undergraduate institution to give you the required number of transcripts.

3. Statement of Purpose ( SOP)

In this letter you have to write your particulars goals after MS, why the MS in a particular field , your achievements in that field. For some strange reason universities want you to tell them why you are interested in pursuing a graduate education, what you hope to achieve from the same, your career plans and your qualifications In short you have to sell yourself best in front of the faculty. You should always send your SOP to the university whether they ask for it or not along with the application material. Since it is the only chance where you can present yourself in front of faculty and get distinguished from others. Ask seniors for their SOPs. And again get SOPs reviewed by seniors. Aping legend has it that a bad SOP is a BAD idea and a good SOP is often the deciding criterion between otherwise similar candidates. Again make it point wise as far as possible, and avoid writing vague generalities and unsubstantiated statements.

Some sample SOPs have been uploaded for all streams at us_fall2004@yahoogropus.com, greinfo@yahoogropus.com, fall2004-mumbai@yahoogroups.com So please join these groups and access them. Also there are many sites that guide regarding SOP and provide sample SOPs a few to mention here. www.infozee.com ,www.evidyarthi.com, www.admissionguru.com www.statementofpurpose.com , www.greguide.com , www.msdreamz.com .Also try to search information in general from www.google.com

4.Curriculum Vitae / Resume

In your resume you may list your academics and academic achievements. Also your honors and extracurricular activities , your papers published if any. You may visit the above sites for the standard format of resume.

You should send always your resume to the university along with the application whether they ask for it or not.

After you have decided on a tentative list of universities and Profs in those univs you have to make your resume. Make sure you include all the studgiri you have done/think you are going to do. Generally people include their seminars, Final Year Projects, any course/lab projects worth mentioning, their summer training projects, their GRE and TOEFL scores, their department rank ... Ask some suitable senior to give you his resume for guidance and after you have made a draft show it to seniors for pointers and stuff.

Make sure your resume does not sound bombastic - do not claim to have done more than you actually have. Also, limit it to at max 3-4 pages - no one wants to go through an encyclopedia detailing your greatness. Also, it may be possible that you are aping in slightly differing fields in different universities - in this case reorder your resume and emphasise-deemphasise appropriately. But it is always good to have a standard resume .If you have a good department rank flash it prominently. And DO NOT make your resume in MS Word or other such editors - plain text is the way. It may restrict its looks, but the professors there may not even bother to open an MS word document. Avoid long paragraphs - use points. I could go on and on, so I won't - just keep your mind open when writing your resume and make sure you get it properly reviewed by kindly souls willing to undergo the torture.

5.Bank Statement

Generally if you are planning to have bank loan for your financial support then you must submit the bank statement from which you have property worth enough of affording the MS/PhD program if you don’t get AID. The format of this bank statement can be obtained from the websites mentioned above. But generally people submit it only after getting an admission into the university and submit to that particular university.

6.Financial support certificate

If you are planning to go for MS on you self support or if somebody is financing you then you must present the financial certificate. The format of this can be obtained from the above websites. But generally people submit it only after getting an admission into the university and submit to that particular university.

7.Recommendations

The recommendations are necessary for any universities. These are given by your teachers in undergraduate studies. Generally minimum 2-3 recommendations are required depending upon the university. But you can submit few more if they are really good . Try to show the variety of recommendations.

Steps to follow for getting recommendations.

1.Approach your project guide and ask him for a good recommendation.

2.Approach other professors/ lecturers who have taught you at least one course and ask them if they can provide you a good recommendation since the recommendation letters are confidential. Then only ask them to write recommendation for you.

3..Generally try to get at least one recommendation for your math teacher.

4.Try to get recommendations from professors at other institutions under whom you had published a paper or have done a project. If this is not possible then try to get the recommendations from professors of other department at your institutions. This helps to show the variety of your recommendation. This really helps in the admission procedure if you have a low undergraduate percentage.

5.But still for safety give recommendation form an extra university where you are not applying. So that you can tear that recommendation and see whether the teacher has written good for you or not. If it is not good then do not send that recommendation. The recommendations once teared out can not be send to the university. Send only those which are good. So approach more teachers than the number of recommendations needed.

6.Sometimes some teachers don’t know how to write the recommendation . In that case give some sample recommendation from the sites mentioned above.

7.The part for recommendation is over.

8.Official score reports of GRE & TOEFL

You have to request ETS to send the official score to the universities which you have selected. Some universities ask both the photocopies of your score reports and the official score report by ETS. Please check with your university.

9.Other...

Include any certificates, reprints of publications or any other such studgiri you have referred to in your resume.

 

<<previous 1 2 3 4 5 next>>