Record of indian students admitted in US universities based on their GRE scores
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Record of indian students admitted in US universities based on their GRE scores...
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GRAD SCHOOL APPING
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Introduction
MS vs PhD 3
MS Duration - 1-2 years Focus more on Coursework Difficult to get funding initially, need to compete with PhD students for RA, TA appointments Ideal for students interested in a short stint at graduate school to improve their knowledge in a particular area Easy to get jobs and has much more flexibility with respect to roles Serves as a good primer for a PhD program Low opportunity cost
PhD Duration – 5-6 years Focus is more on research PhD admits almost always come with full funding Ideal for students interested in Academic/Industrial research positions Difficult to find jobs as focus is much more narrow (specially after coming back to India) Even after PhD, academic positions are highly competitive in US Higher opportunity cost
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PROFILE BUILDING
WHAT MAKES AN IMPRESSIVE PROFILE? 5
GRE and TOEFL scores
Statement of Purpose
Letters of Recommendation
Research experience
Internships
GPA
ALL ABOUT GRE 6
GRE Score is one of the prerequisites for applying to many universities across the world.
GRE scores are used by admissions or fellowship panels to supplement your undergraduate records, recommendation letters and other qualifications for graduate-level study.
GRE score is valid for 5 years from test date.
WHAT DOES GRE TEST? 7
Verbal Reasoning — Measures your ability to analyze and evaluate written material and synthesize information obtained from it, analyze relationships among component parts of sentences and recognize relationships among words and concepts.
Quantitative Reasoning — Measures problem-solving ability, focusing on basic concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data analysis.
Analytical Writing — Measures critical thinking and analytical writing skills, specifically your ability to articulate and support complex ideas clearly and effectively.
GRE PATTERN 8
(Quant-170, Verbal-170 and AWA -6).
2 sections each of quant and verbal.
1 experimental section of quant/verbal.
Analytical Writing- 2 essays.
Each section is of 30 minutes.
WHAT IS A GOOD SCORE? 9
Your target score should be 330+ .
Scoring 170 in Quant is easy and desirable.
Anything above 160 in Verbal is an impressive score and this should be your target.
AWA score should be more than 4.
QUANT SECTION 10
It is all 10th grade math.
All you need to do is be careful during exam.
You will have ample time to do the whole section twice if you are quick.
Need not worry much about this part unless you are very weak in general math.
VERBAL SECTION 11
All your preparation is for this section
Strengthen your vocabulary skills
Barron’s word list is The Bible.
AWA 12
It consists of two essays- “Analyze an argument” and “Analyze an issue”.
You should be able to think and write coherently in a limited time frame.
Read as many sample AWAs as possible to get an idea about the way of presentation.
Practice the topics given in the ETS website.
WHEN TO START? 13
Start mugging your word lists at least three months before test date.
Try to finish the list before a month and then start practicing intensively.
Spend at least 1 hour daily a month before exam on GRE touch.
Practice, Practice and Practice! 14
Online tests:
Majortests.com
TCYonline.com
GRE POWERPREP software from the ETS website.
Take at least 4 full length practice tests.
Most important thing- Patience to take a 4 hour online test.
TOEFL 15
TOEFL, Test of English as Foreign Language, is a test of English proficiency for those applicants whose native language is not English.
TOEFL score is valid for two years.
TOEFL is taken in three formats – iBT, CBT and paper based test.
iBT is the one most preferred.
TOEFL PATTERN 16
HOW MUCH TO SCORE? 17
The full score is 120 and there is no reason you can not get a score above 110 if you are good with your secondary level English and confident on the day of examination.
This test doesn’t determine your competency. Its is sufficient if you clear the cut off which may vary from 80 to 114.
TOEFL scores matter when you apply for a TAship.
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Practice modules can be downloaded from ETS website once you register for the test.
Take a full length practice test so that you are comfortable with the pattern.
Its just simple school level reading, listening, writing and speaking.
Statement of Purpose 19
The Statement of Purpose is possibly the most important component of your graduate school application packet.
This is your opportunity to inform and convince the admissions committee that you are the right candidate for the program and you have what it takes to succeed.
SOP Tips: Before you Begin 20
Visit the graduate program Web site for information about faculty and their research, courses offered, graduate student profiles, and student support and professional development activities.
This will help you get a sense of the culture and priorities of the program, what they may be looking for in a potential student, and if it is a good fit for you.
SOP Tips: Items to Consider 21
Be specific about your interest and knowledge particular to this program.
Pick out the relevant facts about your academic and professional interests that make you a good fit with the program and institution to which you are applying. (A statement of purpose is not a place to list everything you have done!!!)
Mention extra-curricular achievements to illustrate additional dimensions of your personality.
Demonstrate curiosity, creativity, enthusiasm for learning, a capacity for teamwork, ability to think independently, and pride in your work. Using brief anecdotes is a good way to make your points.
SOP Tips: Items to Consider 22
Explain (briefly) any incongruity in your application material; GRE scores or a low semester grade.
Stay within the page limit specified by the graduate program. If there are no specifications, limit yourself to two pages.
Be succinct and clear.
Personal Statement 23
Discuss how your personal background informs your decision to pursue a graduate degree.
Include any educational, familial, cultural, economic, or social experiences, challenges, community service, outreach activities or opportunities relevant to your academic journey.
Explain how your life experiences contribute to the social, intellectual, or cultural diversity within your chosen field
Explain how you might serve educationally underrepresented segments of society with your degree.
Before you Submit 24
Let at least two people read your statement, preferably a faculty member and an academic advisor, and ask them to provide feedback.
Proofread, proofread, proofread to ensure there are no grammatical or spelling errors. Do not depend on your word processor to do this for you.!!!!
Letter of Recommendation 25
Generally grad schools ask for 3 LORs.
Make sure you mix and match your referees!!!!
Preferably go for your project guide, your internship professor.
Pick only those who will definitely put in a good word for you.
Choose professors who belong to the same field that you are applying to.
For recommendations choose professors in the order of Professor, Associate Professor and Assistant Professor if they all know you equally well.
Grade Point Average 26
The most important factor in your application. Your GPA will decide the Tier of the university you can get into. High ranking universities typically accept only department rankers. But a high GPA does not in itself guarantee admission into a top rated program as the entire application pool comprises of toppers. An excellent GPA is necessary but not at all sufficient on its own. Most universities will not only look at your final GPA but your grades in courses relevant to your area of study. Benefits of maintaining a good GPA are :
Easier selection into internship programs. Easy to get desired projects under faculty of choice. Basically gives you an upper hand.
Research Experience 27
Research Experience – the one thing which can account for your low grades and less GRE Score.
Common mistake of students : Doing lot of projects but without having a synchronization among them.
Try to keep a single area of research and do multiple projects in that area.
For eg. If you choose Signal Processing then try doing all your internship's and BTP etc. in the same area.
Research experience can mainly be accomplished by doing internships in good organizations during the summers of 2nd and 3rd year and by doing projects with the Professors in our Institute.
The crux is – Right from your first year, you should always be working on a project!
Internships 28
They play a major role in defining your research experience.
They are one amazing source for providing you excellent recommendation letters as the researcher you work with will have a much better idea about your research work as compared to an ordinary professor (may be having a big name) who just taught you a course.
Internships to be mainly done during the 2nd and 3rd year summers. You can also take up a month long winter internship during Dec.
Internships 29
Foreign internships in a good renowned lab can be a boon for the grad school application. Many times student who do good internships in a university get direct admission by their internship mentor and a research assistantship.
The best time to do a publication is during the internship.
Publications can be done in a Journal or a Conference. Journal publication has a higher impact but it takes a long time for review. Doing publications in international conference is less time consuming.
Publications 30
The people you are competing with for admissions will almost certainly have multiple publications at the time of application.
Its a good idea to publish your very first paper in an international conference being held at some of the IITs/IISc. The peer review would be lenient and you will get a flavor of the process involved.
Journal papers especially in high impact peer-reviewed journals are really valued by the admissions committee. However the review process is very rigorous and time consuming. Also the work should be worthy of being published in a journal.
Patents 31
IIT Bhubaneswar has now fully functional Patenting infrastructure.
This is the ONE thing that can make your application standout and is what can get you an admit into a top tier university even with average grades.
Intellectual property earn universities a lot of money and they want to take people who have the potential to create intellectual property.
Look for problems around you and think of innovative solutions. Such work can lead you to patents.
Suggested Timeline 32
When to do what? How exactly can you build the ideal profile?
1st Year Students (Optimal) 33
Research Experience: You should always be working on a research project with some faculty member. Try to publish your first paper at the end of 4th Semester.
Internships: Try to undertake research internships during both summers. Both internships should lead to at least conference papers.
BTP: Submit a paper related to your BTP by Nov in the 7th Semester and mention this paper as submitted/under review in your application.
GRE/TOEFL: Preparation should start in 3rd semester and the test should be taken at the beginning of the 6th semester. You should be done with all standardized tests before your go for your intern. Slow & steady preparation will help you achieve a high score.
1st Year Students (Optimal) 34
University Scouting and Contacting POI: Start looking for universities that would be reachable for your profile and match with your interests during your 3rd year summer intern. Contact professors and ask them about available graduate student positions in their groups. If they encourage you to apply, it’s a good sign.
SOP: Once back from your intern, spend the first 2 months of the 7th semester drafting your SOP. Its an iterative process. So give it all the attention.
Now you are ready to send applications during Oct-Dec.
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2nd Year Students (SubOptimal)
Research Experience: You should always be working on a research project with some faculty member. Try to publish your first paper at the end of 5th Semester.
Internships: Try to undertake research internships during both summers. Both internships should lead to at least conference papers.
BTP: Submit a paper related to your BTP by Nov in the 7th Semester and mention this paper as submitted/under review in your application.
GRE/TOEFL: Preparation should start in summer during the intern and the test should be taken at the end of the 6th semester. You should be done with all standardized tests before your go for your intern. Slow steady preparation will help you achieve a high score.
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2nd Year Students (SubOptimal)
University Scouting and Contacting POI: Start looking for universities that would be reachable for your profile and match with your interests during your 3rd year summer intern. Contact professors and ask them about available graduate student positions in their groups. If they encourage you to apply, it’s a good sign.
SOP: Once back from your intern spend the first 2 months of the 7th semester drafting your SOP. Its an iterative process so give it all the attention.
Now you are ready to send applications during Oct-Dec.
3rd Year Students (Critical) 37
Research Experience: You should always be working on a research project with some faculty member. Try to publish your first paper in the 7th Semester using the work you did in the summer.
BTP: Submit a paper related to your BTP by Nov/Dec in the 7th Semester and mention this paper as submitted/under review in your application.
GRE/TOEFL: Preparation should start in summer during the intern and the test should be taken at the beginning of the 7th semester (Latest by October). You guys have very little time and lots of work, so time management is critical.
3rd Year Students (Critical) 38
University Scouting and Contacting POI: Start looking for universities that would be reachable for your profile and match with your interests during your intern itself. Contact professors and ask them about available graduate student positions in their groups. If they encourage you to apply, it’s a good sign.
SOP: After you are done with your tests, you can spend the month of Nov drafting your SOP but will have very little time to complete all applications.
Now you are ready to send applications during Dec.
University Selection 39
Classify universities into 3 groups based on your profile. Ambitious
universities. Moderate universities. Safe universities.
Factors for university selection 40
Research Area
Reputation
Funding
• Initially its important to see if there is faculty in the area in which you plan to apply to the university. • Check if active research going on in the area you want to apply to.
• US News and World Report • QS, Times Higher Education Rankings and NRC Ranking. • You can see other points such as employer reputation etc. in QS rankings.
• The FAQ section of the Department grad school is the best place to look for funding information as it’s the most commonly asked question. • You can filter away the universities (not providing funding) if you don’t have funds on your own and are looking for funding .
Factors for university selection 41
Cutoffs of GRE and CGPA
The GATE advantage
Course structure
• Check for the cutoffs of GRE, TOEFL and GPA after the above steps to select the universities where you wish to apply. • Many universities outside USA wont be requiring GRE score in case your score is less.
• GATE exam can help you get into universities like NUS, NTU and in some European universities.
• Check the course credits and time taken to complete the program. • Masters – Thesis and Non Thesis • Thesis preferable for research oriented students. Advantage getting an Assistantship.
Factors for university selection 42
• No campus placements like in IIT. Campus fairs are common. Job • Tier 1 universities :- $75k-$125k per year Opportunities & • Tier 2 universities :- $50k-$75k per year Salary Statistics
Location
• The location of university is important in the sense that if you are in a main city the job opportunities are more . • Some students might want to take a look into climatic factors.( although the percentage is less).
Tier I colleges (US) 43
MIT Stanford University Harvard U U of California, Berkeley Caltech Georgia Institute of Technology U of Michigan, Ann Arbor UIUC Purdue U Cornell U Princeton U U of Texas at Austin Carnegie Mellon U U Penn Yale U
Tier II colleges (US) 44
Johns Hopkins U
Penn State U
Northwestern U
UCLA
Texas A&M U
U of Wisconsin-Madison
Virginia Tech
UCSD
U of Minnesota-Twin Cities
U of Maryland-College Park
Ohio State U
UCSB
Columbia U
Brown U
Tier III colleges (US) 45
U of Colorado-Boulder
UC-Irvine
Michigan State U
UC-Davis
Boston U
Iowa State U
U of Pittsburgh
U of Utah
Syracuse U
U of Massachusetts – Amherst
U of Buffalo - SUNY
Tier I colleges (Europe) 46
U of Cambridge
Imperial College London
U of Oxford
ETH Zurich
EPFL
RWTH Aachen
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
IST Austria
U of Edinburgh
TU Delft
TU Munich
Tier II colleges (Europe) 47
TU Dresden
TU Berlin
KU Leuven
U of Manchester
Polytechnic U of Milan
Polytechnic U of Turin
Cranfield U
Ecole Centrale de Paris
TU Eindhoven
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
U of Warwick
ParisTech
Tier III colleges (Europe) 48
TU Freiburg
U of Hamburg
U of Bonn
U of Southampton
U of Wien
Loughborough U
U of Leeds
U of Stuttgart
Polytechnic U of Catalunya
U of Twente
Leibnitz U Hannover
Tier I colleges (Canada) 49
U of British Columbia
McGill U
U of Waterloo
U of Toronto
U of Western Ontario
Tier II colleges (Canada) 50
U of Alberta
U of Calgary
U of Montreal
Simon-Fraser U
U of Quebec
Tier I colleges (Others) 51
KAIST
NUS
NTU
U of Tokyo
U of Melbourne
Tokyo Institute of Technology
U of Sydney
HKUST
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Lesser Known EE Grad Schools
Rochester Institute of Technology (has very good co-op program)
Northeastern University (good placements)
University of Cincinnati (good funding and placements)
University of Delaware (good research in power)
University of Waterloo (well reputed CS program)
Iowa State University (known for Embedded Systems)
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Lesser Known CS Grad Schools
University of Utah (overall rank low but ranked 2nd in nation for game designing)
Cleveland State University, Duke University (known for algorithms, AI)
University of Nebraska – Omaha (known for Cloud Computing)
Indian University Bloomington, University of Illinois, Chicago (known for data mining)
Lesser Known Mechanical Grad Schools 54
Clemson University, MSU, University of Stuttgart (known for automotive engineering)
RPI, Virginia Tech (known for robotics)
University of Missouri at Rolla, University of Minnesota, University of Alberta (known for CFD)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (known for material science)
Cranfield University (known for aerospace)
University of Southampton (known for acoustics)
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Lesser Known Civil Grad Schools
University of Wisconsin - extremely good structural, water resources and geotechnical programs. North Carolina State University - Overall good ROI school. Good geo-tech and hydraulic engg. programs, has a good ratio of funded masters students. University of Minnesota – Good structural program. Relatively lower fees. SUNY Buffalo- Good structural and geo-tech programs. Lots of Indians. High ratio of funded students. University of Florida - Good Transportation engg. program, Low fees. University of Colorado, Boulder - Good Hydraulics and Structural Program. Lots of Indians here and funding is good. Lehigh University - Very good structural and geo-tech program. Very good profs in civil dept. But high fees and low funding at masters level.
Return on Investment 56
Lets you assess if going in a debt to attend your program is justified.
You should take into account the total cost of the program which includes tuition, housing, food, health services, relocation cost and miscellaneous expenses.
You would need to show enough funding for the first year of your program to get a VISA.
Take into account the interest on the amount you borrow (loan) and the taxation on your earnings to estimate the payout period.
A payout period of 2-3 years is typical but it also depends on the program.
Always make calculations considering the worst case scenarios.
Sample Calculation 57
Lets say your have been accepted to a Tier-1 program and would need to pay around 30-40 Lacs for the entire program duration.
You can earn back a part of the cost (5-7 Lacs) during the summer intern if there is a provision for it in your program.
Most students are able to secure RA/TA position at these universities after the first semester.
Average salaries after passing out would be in the range of 35 -60 Lacs per annum.
Considering that you manage your personal expenses in about 10 Lacs per annum in US, you can easily get rid of the entire debt in 1.5 years.
What will remain is your qualification and that will entitle you to better career opportunities in the future.
However, this does not mean that going into a debt to attend a program is always a good idea. Such decisions are very program specific. US job market is not at its best even though graduates from Tier-1 programs are always in demand. You need to consider your long term career plans before you take such a decision.
Number of Universities 58
Ideally people choose to apply to 7-8 universities but we would suggest you to apply to anywhere between 10-15 universities.
When in doubt let the ‘Law of Large Numbers’ work its magic!
Applying to more universities is costly but in the end it might result in a funded admit which means you would not have any financial burden.
Never send applications to only top rated programs, selection procedure is erratic at best and you never know what exactly they are looking for.
Applying to more programs lets you try out your luck at all ambitious places without neglecting the safe programs.
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Managing Finances for Application
GRE – 10,000
TOEFL – 10,000
Application Fee – 100$ per program (average)
Additional cost for sending test scores – 40$ per program
Obtaining Transcripts – 200 per copy
Sending Transcripts – 1,200 per program
Be prepared to spent around 100,000 to apply to around 10-12 programs in US.
We believe this is money well spent, so don’t worry about it. You will earn back a lot more if you get into a good program.
The Application Process
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Ordering Transcripts 61
Check the programme website on transcript requirements (official/ attested/soft copy) Be careful in calculating and ordering the transcripts. Some universities ask for one transcript and some others ask for a couple of transcripts Fill the provisional transcript form and get a DD of Rs. 200 to order a transcript at academic section Alteast keep a margin of 2 weeks in mailing the transcripts before the deadline Mailing services - FedEx delivers in 2 working days(Rs. 990), India Post delivers in 7 working days(Rs. 750), DHL delivers in 5 working days(Rs. 1200)
Submission of Application 62
Don’t delay it to the last moment
Meeting deadlines shows you are responsible and can follow instructions
Order GRE and TOEFL scores atleast 15 days before the application deadline for US universities and alteast 3 weeks before deadline for other universities
Try to complete the application atleast 2 weeks before the deadline as some university application allows you to send Recommendation letter requests only after submitting the applicaiton.
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Submission of Application (Contd)
Its better to complete the SOP for an university at least 3 weeks before the deadline
Keep a separate folder for each college
Maintain a backup of all files and folders.
Scholarships 64
Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation Scholarship
J N Tata Endowment Scholarship
Erasmus Mundus Scholarship
Fulbright Scholarship
DAAD Scholarships
Mitacs Scholarship
Rolling Admits 65
Committee does not wait for application deadline to start admitting students.
It always helps to apply early to a place that has rolling admits.
This will maximize your chances of being accepted.
Georgia Tech has rolling admit policy. The decision dates are highly uncertain. You might get accepted to the program even before the application deadline.
Rolling admits are purely need based, contacting faculty in places that offer rolling admits is generally a good idea.
Contacting Professors 66
Try to get in touch with your POI via email before you submit your application. Having a dialogue will at least prompt him to review your application with a little more interest.
Read up on his research so that your mail sounds more intellectual and he feels you are well suited for the program.
Do not solicit professors. It might worsen your chances.
Certain Tier-1 universities discourage contacting professors before being admitted (ex-MIT, Stanford). Such information can be found in the FAQ section on their website.
Faculty in these places do not take admission decision. It is rather taken by a committee. Please stick to such instructions!
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Additional information
Presenting yourself 68
Make your personal website (use Google apps/Amazon) and present details of your research experiences, projects/internships, CV in a sophisticated manner. Include the link of this website in your SOP and CV.
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Apply to those grad schools where there are a good number of profs doing research in your area of interest. This way you can maximize your probability of acceptance. Show intent for a PhD in your MS application.
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Once admitted, get as much information as you can about university beforehand. Contact the grad students who are there and inquire about the program, funding situation and job prospects through Face Book groups.
Admissions deferral 71
If you have been offered admission and you wish to join after an year, you have the option to defer your admission. The deferral policy is different for each university. Go through the FAQs in the graduate admissions websites for exact details.
Counselor 72
Mainly helps you in selecting universities according to your profile. Can help you in editing your SOP. Helps you in managing deadlines. Helps you in keeping track of your application packets. Helps in Visa Application.
Suggested Counselors 73
The Chopras EduCare
Resources 74
www.edulix.com www.thegradcafe.com www.stupidsid.com www.msinus.com www.mastersportal.eu www.usnews.com
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Personal Experiences
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