Higher studies
So you wanna take the big leap? - Sabeshan
Srinivasan
A successful entry into a U.S. based
M.S. needs a lot of meticulous planning in advance. This information
is primarily meant for engineering graduates. If you have decided
to do an M.S. after your B.E., you should start preparing right
from the second year. A typical schedule would look like this:
Second year of B.E.
- Have a passport ready or apply for
one
- Gather enough study material and information
on GRE, TOEFL etc.
- Start preparing
from the fourth semester itself.
Third year of B.E.
- Book your GRE, TOEFL dates sometime
during July with the TOEFL date lagging GRE by a week.
- Decide
on the program (area of interest) and the universities based on
various factors.
- Take your
GRE and TOEFL between your sixth and seventh semester.
Final year of B.E.
- Based on your GRE and TOEFL scores,
start applying
to your chosen universities by December (after your seventh semester).
- After you receive admits, decide which
university you are going to join.
- After you receive your I-20, get all
other documents ready. Also block your airline ticket through a
travel agent.
- This is also the time for applying
for an educational loan or scholarship.
Post B.E.
- Book for a
visa date sometime during June (before the last week).
- Keep your fingers crossed!
- After getting the visa, get other materials
ready.
Depending on which stage you are currently
in, you may choose to go to the pre-apping,
post-apping
or post-visa
sections or if you are just starting out to explore the world of
apping, just read through the entire stuff! You are in for a big
lecture!
Pre-apping stage
The basics of it
all
The way to continuing your higher studies
in the U.S. can be a long-drawn and exasperating affair. It takes
a lot of patience and meticulous planning to establish yourself
where you wish to be. Before you jump headlong into this document,
let me introduce you to some of the unfamiliar terms you will often
come across in peer circles, official correspondence, websites etc.
Term
|
Meaning
|
Apping
|
Short form for 'applying'. Refers
to applying to universities
|
School
|
May variably refer to department,
office or college
|
Standardised
tests
|
Refers to tests like GRE, TOEFL
etc.
|
CGPA (Cumulative
Grade Point Average) - up to the current semester
|
A grading system analogous to
the percentage system adopted in Indian universities. The
maximum is 4.00 in most U.S. universities (similar to 100%
in our universities)
|
Major
|
Denotes the area of specialisation
you intend to pursue
|
Admit
|
An
offer of admission from a university
|
Undergraduate degree |
Bachelor's degree |
Graduate degree |
Master's degree or PhD |
U.S. universities work different from
their Indian counterparts. When you make an application to an university,
you must send the original application to the Graduate School (the
American equivalent of the university administrative office) along
with requisite application material and a copy of the same to your
department along with the application material that have been asked
of you by the department. A few weeks after you receive an admit
(usually you will first be intimated by e-mail and then by an official
letter; you may or may not be intimated of grant of aid in this
letter), you will receive a form called I-20 (this is the
document which signifies the official statement of your admission
to the visa authorities) which you must fill in during the time
of visa application. Keep this document safely and produce it when
you appear for the visa interview.
Top
GRE and TOEFL
Preparing for the
GRE/TOEFL
It takes quite some time for preparing
well for the GRE. Usually, six months' time is enough for most people
(in case you wish to prepare systematically and gradually) but you
should allocate at least 45 days as a minimum for the GRE. The GRE
has three sections:
Verbal (this includes multiple
choice questions (MCQ) on antonyms, relationships, logic and reading
comprehension)
Quantitative (the easiest of
'em all, this should be a real pushover for any engineering student.
Has MCQs on various topics like algebra, arithmetic etc.)
Analytical (starting Oct. 2002,
this section has two questions which must be answered. The answers
must be in essay form)
Each section takes at least 15 days
preparation which is why 45 days in the minimum for GRE as
a whole. Of course, all this is assuming you have the requisite
skills - vocabulary, logic, essay-writing, mathematical etc. The
duration mentioned is only for practice and not for learning these
skills!
Quite a lot of books are available for
the GRE. Not all books are up to the mark, so you should choose
the right book for preparation. Further, you should also practice
mock GRE computer tests which would give you a fair idea of where
you stand. You may follow these books for preparing for the GRE:
Barron's guide to the GRE (the bible
for GRE aspirants)
Peterson's guide to the GRE
Kaplan's testprep for the GRE
Arco's study guide (though not a very
good book, contains a lot of practice tests)
Word Power by Norman Lewis (useful for
etymological guesswork)
Rosenberg's book on vocabulary (I don't
exactly remember what the title was)
The GRE Big book (there is actually
no such book but its the informal name given to a compilation of
GRE question papers over a period of some 20 years. Very good for
practice. In Chennai, it is available in the xerox shop near Mandakini
(?) hostel)
There are many more books but these
books would by themselves take quite some time to finish. So, I
guess this would be enough. However, if you have an appetite for
more such testprep books, visit the nearest bookshop!
As far as the TOEFL is concerned, a
week's preparation would be enough for most people. At most two
weeks would be enough for just about anybody. The TOEFL is composed
of the following sections:
Listening (dialogues spoken by
voices in an American accent will be heard and questions will be
asked after the end of the speech)
Reading (passages will be displayed
based on which questions will be asked; easier than the corresponding
questions in the GRE)
Structure/Writing (the structure
part contains questions on identifying grammatical mistakes in sentences;
the writing part consists of writing a 250-word essay on a given
topic)
You need not worry much for the TOEFL.
A week's gap after the GRE would be enough. No books are needed
for preparing for TOEFL but it would certainly help preparing using
the PowerPrep for TOEFL (unlike the GRE, this software is NOT given
free by the ETS).
Top
Taking the GRE/TOEFL
Most universities in the U.S. require
that prospective students take GRE and/or TOEFL for admission. Most
universities have a certain cutoff for TOEFL. Often it is pegged
at 213 or so. As far as GRE is concerned, your department decides
what the minimum allowable score is.
Booking dates for GRE/TOEFL is fairly
simple. You can book online at http://www.gre.org/ and http://www.toefl.org/ or by phone. However,
you must call Prometric services (the authorised agents of ETS -
the agency that conducts GRE and TOEFL exams) at New Delhi for booking
your dates. For both of these methods you must possess a credit
card (Visa/MasterCard). There is also an alternative method, you
may book your GRE/TOEFL by snail mail (i.e. by normal post). Information
regarding this can be found at the nearest USEFI centre. For the
uninitiated, USEFI stands for the United States Educational Foundation
in India. These centres are usually located in the nearest U.S.
Consulate or embassy (if in N.Delhi). You can choose the centre
for testing (closest to where you live).
The GRE (as also the TOEFL) is a computerised
test which must be delivered at an ETS authorised centre. Usually
this goes by the name Thomson Prometric/Sylvan. In Chennai, this
is located in Jagannathan Road (opp. Hotel Ganpat) in the STAR Vijay
building complex. The TOEFL test shows the results (except for the
essay section) immediately after completion of the test. The same
applies for the GRE too. With effect from October 1, 2002, the GRE
includes a compulsory essay (analytical) section and hence (unlike
the earlier edition of GRE) the complete results are not displayed.
The official scores (for both GRE and TOEFL) are sent to you around
two-three weeks after the test. During the test (both GRE and TOEFL)
you have the option of reporting the test scores to a maximum of
four universities. Therefore, you should have decided the universities
you wish joining as this can save quite a sum. Remember, it takes
$25 to report both GRE and TOEFL scores to a single university (not
including the $6 if you are reporting by phone). For four universities,
this comes to $100!
After taking your GRE and TOEFL, you
should decide to which universities you send the test scores (other
than the four you might have sent scores to during the test). You
may report the scores by post or by phone. In case you wish to report
by post, you can download the ASR (Additional Score Report) form
from the GRE/TOEFL website. Alternatively you can make use of the
form provided with the official score report packet. Each university
costs you $25 for a GRE and TOEFL report. In case you wish to report
using phone, you must pay an additional $6 per phone session (during
each session, you may report scores for a maximum of four universities).
Top
Deciding on the program
and universities
Before you finish the third year of
your B.E., you should have decided the area(s) of interest and the
universities you intend applying to. Choosing the area of interest
is not much difficult as by the end of the second year you should
have a fair idea of where your interest lies. For example, if you
are a geoinformatics engineering student, you might be interested
in remote sensing. In such a case, you might consider applying to
universities which excel in this particular field. After deciding
your field of interest, you should pin down the universities you
wish applying to. I have formulated a scheme for choosing universities:
2/7 th of the universities
should be highly-ranked (dream schools or those belonging to the
so called Ivy League) and should fall within the 1-20 ranking range.
2/7 th of the universities
should fall in the 21-50 range (these are called the safe schools
because you know you stand a fair chance of getting into such schools)
3/7 th of the universities
can be low-ranked schools (i.e. beyond rank 50)
While this is the general scheme for
choosing universities, the rank ranges may change depending on each
individual's capabilities. Rankings for U.S. universities can be
found at http://www.usnews.com/
(nowadays it is a paid site; you won't get rankings for more than
10 schools. However, if you can find a way to get to the full rankings,
it would help you decide better). Another source is the annual NRC
(National Research Council) rankings. You can do a SEARCH in http://www.google.com/ for the current
NRC rankings. Using both ranklists, you can get a clear idea of
which university you should choose.
One word of caution: do not choose universities
primarily based on the costs involved. Remember that even the cheapest
U.S. universities charge fees in excess of $15,000 (more than Rs.
7,50,000) PER year and so there is no logic in omitting universities
on the basis of fees. Another fact that you should understand is
that the cheapest is no necessarily the best!
Top
Applying to the universities
of your choice
Once you have finalised the universities
you wish to join, you must start applying. Most universities have
stopped issuing application packages after the advent of the Internet.
However, you may try asking the university to send you a package.
Almost all universities have downloadable application files (as
pdf files) which can be printed and filled in. This is certainly
preferable as it cuts down the time needed to receive the application
package.
Applying involves sending documents
(in addition to your filled-up application) which you need to prepare.
These documents need some time for preparation and therefore, you
should not sit down at the time of application for these documents.
They are as follows:
Statement of Purpose (SoP)
This is a brief statement of your degree
goals, why you have chosen such and such university and why you
wish to take up such and such field of study. Many universities
may require more information to be provided. Usually this is a one
or two-page essay which is to be provided with the application.
SoP is a very important factor in deciding your admission to the
university and grant of financial aid. So, make sure you prepare
your SoP well ahead of time so that you have enough time to get
it revised, corrected and edited many times. Writing an SoP is not
like writing just another essay. It requires lot of patience, time,
and focus to write a successful SoP. You can download my SoPs from
here (I have
only included my successful SoPs ;-)). At the end of the page you
can find links to some guides on writing SoPs.
Top
Financial statement
This arguably is one of the biggest
worries of applicants to U.S. universities. "How do I show enough
funds for the fees indicated?" is a question that would dog every
prospective apper. Most U.S. universities charge at least Rs.7,50,000
per year as fees. For a two-year course, it would be necessary to
document a minimum of Rs.15 lakhs. That is certainly an astronomical
sum for most Indian families. So how do you exactly go about documenting
such a huge sum. Usually, this is done by providing a bank statement
to the university indicating the ability of the sponsor (this could
be your father, mother, uncle etc.). If you belong to a well-to-do
family or if you have such a relative, it should not be a problem
for you. You only need to get a bank statement and an affidavit
of support from your sponsor. Formats for both can be downloaded
from here. For
those who don't have the financial wherewithal or don't have any
affluent relatives might consider approaching 'agents' for this
purpose. Though the name 'agent' might sound scary, they are actually
professional bankers who indulge in providing financial statements
for a fee. Their modus operandi involves depositing a certain
amount (which is decided by your university fees) in a bank account
opened in your name. They retain the passbook and cheque book thus
rendering any chances of pilfering from your side! They usually
charge fees on a per-lakh basis. A certain agent in Chennai charges
Rs.350 per lakh documented. After preparing the financial statement,
the amount is withdrawn and the account closed. I definitely feel
this might be unethical or maybe even illegal (I am not aware of
laws that may apply here) but there are times when you should take
the plunge when there is no way out. But be careful of touts and
be sure you have verified the antecedents of the agent before involving
yourself in any transaction.
Recommendation letters
These are letters issued by your professors
indicating your competence for pursuing such and such program at
such and such university. The letters are usually drafted by the
professor himself and returns it to the student in a sealed envelope.
However, nowadays most professors ask students to write the letter
themselves and correct it before approving it. But, you should not
assume this to be the norm and embarrass your professor. It is wise
to be circumspect in such matters! Reco letters (as they are informally
called) are 100 to 150-word letters stating in brief the professor's
opinion of the student, his capabilities, and any other information
that might be useful to the university in gauging the student. I
have included some general templates for reco letters here. You may
download them and use them for your recos. But be careful not copy
it word-for-word. University officials are very careful in detecting
such malpractices and so make sure you use these templates only
for reference.
Transcripts
A transcript is an official statement
of your marks (till the semester for which marks are available)
issued by your university (please note that most U.S. universities
do not accept mark statements issued by the college for applicants
from India and Pakistan. The transcript must necessarily have been
issued by the university only. A notable example is the Ohio State
University which explicitly states in its brochure "Applicants
from Pakistani or Indian universities: Submit mark sheets from your
university certified as true copies of the originals. Mark sheets
prepared by the college are not acceptable."). Usually, there
is no strict format for a transcript - most unversities only need
an attested (copy of your) marksheet; the only requirement being
that the transcript should be provided in a sealed envelope.
Résumé
This is rarely needed but some universities
like the University of Florida, Gainesville insist on a résumé.
Hence it is better to prepared on such grounds. A sample résumé
can be downloaded from here. Résumés
find their true use when contacting your department professors for
financial assistantships.
Sending the application
After you have finished filling your
application, you can pack it in along with all other application
materials (like SoP, recos etc.) in a large thick envelope. Usually,
you may need to send two envelopes - one to the Graduate School
and another to your department - though some universities may need
you send in only one envelope. Prepare address slips (print out
addresses from a PC onto slips; the font face may be chosen as Garamond
and a large size may be chosen) to be pasted on the envelopes. Even
if you apply online, you must send envelopes for documents like
your transcripts, reco letters etc. If you have a month's time before
the application deadline, you may send your envelopes by normal
registered post itself. Sending them through courier or Speed Post
may sound attractive but it seves no purpose as normal mail to the
U.S. reaches reliably in fifteen days or so. You can save a lot
of money by sending your envelopes through normal post; don't worry,
the Indian postal system isn't really what it used to be. What I
mean here is it is at par with most international services.
Top
Scholarships and loans
Banks offer educational loans up to
Rs.4 lakhs without the need for a security. If you meet their criteria
(this will definitely vary from bank to bank), you are eligible
to apply for an educational loan. If you wish to apply for a loan
amount greater than Rs.4 lakhs you would be required to show 100%
security. In both cases, simple interest for the same has to be
paid on a monthly basis. Most banks offer loans at 1% per month
(or 12% per annum) and this interest has to be paid regularly either
by your sponsor. Examples of banks offering loans are SBI, Canara,
Syndicate etc. Before applying for a loan, I would recommend you
see the websites of the banks you would like to apply to. That would
give you a fair idea of the terms and condition of each loan. I
would suggest loan applicants to try applying to different banks
simultaneously for the no-security loan as you would not only get
the amount you need (more than the 4 lakhs given in a single loan)
but also would not need to struggle to provide security for the
amount. As far as my knowledge goes, there is no legal hurdle preventing
from obtaining simultaneous loans nor do the banks mention it as
a disqualification for obtaining loan from them.
Obtaining an education scholarship from
a charitable organisation is a bit more difficult as they subject
you to a lot of questions and take a lot of time in processing your
application. Therefore, give yourself a month or two for applying
for a scholarship. There are many organisations which provide loan/scholarships
to needy students. You need to watch out newspapers and other media
for advertisements. At the bottom of the page you can find some
links to a few such organisations. Given below is an address-list
of a few organisations in India.
J.N.Tata Endowment
The Director,
J.N. Tata Endowment,
Bombay House,
24 Homi Modi Street,
Mumbai - 400001
|
K.C.Mahindra Educational Trust
The Managing Trustee,
K.C.Mahindra Education Trust,
Cecil Court,
Mahakavi Bushan Marg,
Mumbai - 400039
|
Mariwala Trust
The Managing Tustee,
Mariwala Charity Trust,
409 Shah and Nahar Industrial Estate,
Dr. E. Moses Rd,
Worli Naka,
Mumbai - 400018
|
R.D.Sethna Scholarship
Fund
The Chief Executive,
R.D.Sethna Scholarship Fund,
Esplanade House,
29 Hazarimal Somani Marg,
Fort, Mumbai - 400001
|
Lotus Trust Scholarships
Lotus Trust,
Lotus House,
6 New Marine Lines,
Mumbai - 400020
|
Sir Ratan Tata
Trust
Sir Ratan Tata Trust,
c/o J.N.Tata Endowment,
Bombay House,
24, Homi Modi Street,
Mumbai - 400020
|
Seth Pirojshah Godrej Foundation
Seth Pirojshah Godrej Foundation
Godrej Bhavan,
Waudby Road,
Fort,
Mumbai - 400001
(Go here personally)
|
AMM Lakshmi
Achi scholarship
The Secretary
AMM Foundation
Tiam House
4th Floor
28 Rajaji Salai
Chennai 600 001
|
Naina Parikh Education Trust
Vithaldas Chambers,
Opp. State Bank,
Bruce Street,
Mumbai - 400001
|
TataChem Golden
Jubilee Foundation
Bombay House,
24, Homi Modi Street,
Mumbai - 400020
|
Top
Post-apping stage
Getting your visa
An F-1 visa to the U.S. is fairly simple
to obtain if your credentials are perfect. You stand a better chance
if you have received some form of funding from the university. As
of May, 2003, the U.S. Department of State requires all first-time
F-1 applicants to go through a mandatory interview irrespective
of whether funding has been provided by the university or not. However,
don't panic. A visa interview is usually quite a simple procedure
if you approach it in the way it should be. Getting a visa involves
three steps:
Booking a date for
the visa interview
If you live in Chennai, Kolkata or New
Delhi, you can book your visa date online at http://www.ttsvisas.com/. You should
book your visa date sometime during the first week of May for a
date in June and beyond. Remember that during the third week of
May, there would be a mad rush to book dates. So, be cautioned!
Choose a date that would not only be convenient for you but when
you would confident of knowing your final semester grades as also
of receiving your course completion certificate. Ideally, the second
or third week of June would be good for anybody. You should also
keep in mind your reporting date as mentioned in the I-20. The visa
interview should not be too close to the reporting date or you will
not have enough time for preparing for your stay in the U.S. Likewise,
it can't be too further (according to the U.S. Department of State
regulations, you may not apply 90 days before your reporting date)
to the reporting date.
Preparing for the
interview
This involves two aspects - the monetary
and the intellectual. As far as the monetary aspect is concerned,
you need to show enough proof of funds for your entire stay at the
U.S. (except the amount received as aid). For this, you may show
a bank statement (as stated above for the application process) and/or
a C.A. certificate. Additionally, you may need to show a property/jewellery
certificate in case you are mortgaging your land/jewellery etc.
to fund your higher studies. Refer to the above section
on applying on how to obtain a bank statement etc. For the intellectual
aspect, you need to prepare for the possible questions that will
be asked by the visa officer. Information for both is provided in
this digest. Also
join some egroup which caters to the students leaving for U.S. for
the Fall (or Spring) session. Do a SEARCH in http://groups.yahoo.com/ and you should
be fine. Such groups have a lot of info. During my time, I was a
member of the fall-2003, fall_2003, chennaifall2003 and fall2003chennai
egroups which helped me a lot to prepare for my visa interview.
Attending the interview
If you have prepared well in the above
steps, you should find the visa interview a breeze. However, do
not be over confident. Just be yourself and answer the questions
calmly and confidently. Confidence is the key here - you may sneak
in a lie by answering confidently but a truthful answer will be
deemed a lie if you take time to answer it. One thought for those
who might find it hard suppressing the nerves: Remember that going
to the U.S. and doing your M.S. in neither the only thing to do
in life nor the end of the world if you don't get to do it. Just
think of it as just another day in your life and the visa officer
as just another stranger. Maybe the fact that he is an American
might intimidate you but think like this: would you feel scared
talking to an American tourist? Just think that he/she is not the
deciding authority behind your future. Such thoughts would definitely
boost your self-confidence, morale and pep you up!
Top
Post-visa stage
Once you get your visa, the first thing
to do is to get your flight ticket. Take a route that is the shortest,
cheapest and the most continuous. A flight to Frankfurt/London from
your city in India and then onto your final destination would be
the best option. This is because it is better not to get into the
hands of our depraved customs officers! British Airways or Lufthansa
would be a good choice but for heaven's sake please do not try flying
with Air India. The money saved thus is definitely not worth the
anxiety of a late/cancelled flight. Besides, these airlines are
the most professionally managed in the world and would provide you
a comfortable transit to the U.S. British Airways is more preferable
to its German counterpart because of its alliance with American
Airlines (a domestic airlines company in the U.S.) which make it
unnecessary to buy two tickets in case you final destination is
not directly accessible from London.
The next best thing to do is to go on
a purchasing spree. Purchase goods which you might find necessary
for your survival in the U.S. A detailed information booklet on
what you need to do in the post-visa stage can be found here. You
may also finish all such mundane stuff like getting an international
licence (it's prohibitively costly to get a licence in the U.S.),
getting yourself immunised (as per university requirements) etc.
Do read the information in the zip file carefully.
Top
Links
General information
on studies in the United States can be found here
"If you want to study in the
United States" - U.S. Department of State
"Graduate School
Admissions" - Gretchen VanEsselstyn
Comprehensive information
on pre- and post-apping can be found in these websites
Appinfo -
prepared by CSE students of CEG, Anna
University, '99 batch
http://www.geocities.com/prashthy/
http://www.myacharya.com/
http://www.ee.iitb.ac.in/~teesa/apping/apping.html
http://members.rediff.com/duewest/apliproc.htm
Tips on writing a
statement of purpose can be found here
http://career.berkeley.edu/Grad/GradStatement.stm
http://www.useic.ru/apply/appstate.htm
http://www.fulbright.co.uk/eas/postgrad/statement2.html
http://www.cps.ci.cambridge.ma.us/crls/Research%20Web%20Site/9_writing__state_of_purp.htm
http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/gcallaghan/graduate/winningstatement.htm
University rankings
NRC
Rankings
http://www.gradschools.com/
Scholarships
http://www.tata.com/tata_sons/releases/20021210.htm
http://www.studentsguild.com/servlet/NFrmFinancialAidMain
http://www.gynonline.com/learning/JNTATA.htm
http://www.studentsguild.com/servlet/NFrmFinancialAidMain
https://www.educationobserver.com/scholarship/Index_Engineering_Technology.htm
http://www.orau.org/nsf/nsfglanc.htm
https://www.educationobserver.com/scholarship/THE_LOTUS_TRUST_SCHOLARSHIP.htm
http://www.fulbright-india.org/fellowships/indians/indgen.htm
http://www.tn.gov.in/department/adtw.htm
http://www.studyhigh.net/studyabroad/ramakrishna.html
https://www.educationobserver.com/scholarship/Index_India.htm
Visa booking and information
http://www.ttsvisas.com/
http://travel.state.gov/what_consuls_look_for.html
http://www.geocities.com/visabysuj/Visa_Xp.htm
http://www.geocities.com/visabysuj/Visa_Questions.htm
Article contributed by Sabeshan Srinivasan
visit : www.sabeshan.com
|
|
|