The Revised General GRE was introduced in August 2011. But if you are thinking of giving the GRE just now, it is still all pretty new to you. So, what is the test like? What are the sections, what are the questions like and what are the challenges? Contained in this blog are links to descriptions of every section in the GRE and a description of some of the most important challenges they offer.
Click on the links below to go to he individual posts.
- Revised GRE Overview
- Challenges in the Verbal Section of the Revised GRE
- Reading Comprehension and Sentence Completion Questions: Tips
- Quantitative Reasoning Question Type Overview
- Analytical Writing Overview
- Analytical Writing: Why 6 & 8 Are Important Numbers in this Section
This post brings together a list of must-see links to our most important posts on ‘Admissions to American Universities’. The links are arranged under different headings:
- university deadlines (spring 2014, fall 2014)
- selecting which semester to join
- step-by-step explanations of the application process
- tips on the F1 visa and on preparing your Statement of Purpose
- and several others.
This is important information. Don’t miss out on it!
Deadlines for Application
Did you know that there is no standard deadline for application for American universities? Deadlines for fall range from November of the previous year all the way up to August of the year in which you will join your university. Deadlines for spring range from June of the previous year to Jan of the year of joining. Your planning of the application process depends on the deadline for the most important university you are applying for. Check out the deadlines for your university through the links below.
- Spring – 107 universities accepting students in spring (2014). Remember to check out the timeline for applying for spring (available December onward).
- Fall – 125 universities accepting students in fall (2014). Remember to check out the timeline for applying for fall (available April onward).
- departments and courses
- university rank
- documents required for application
- the university website URL
Which Semester Do I Apply For?
- Is it OK to apply for spring? Some of you are wondering whether applying for the spring semester is a good option – do universities accept students in that semester? What are the chances of getting funding? Are there any other problems that I should be aware of? Read this post and find out.
- When should I apply for spring? If you have already decided on applying for the spring semester, then when should you apply and what is the best time to give your GRE – find out in this post.
Application Process Explained
The applications process for any American university can last for up to a year and involves several steps including:
- giving the GRE and TOEFL examinations
- university selection: check out a separate blog on this crucial step via this link – university selection for MS in US
- key steps in the application process after university selection
- writing the SOP (see full list of links below)
- getting good recommendation letters (see full list of links below)
- getting transcripts (see full list of links below)
- writing your resume
- getting a student visa (see full list of links below)
- what to do when you get admission
(Get an overview of the process as a whole over here).
So, before you start, you need be clear about what you should do and when. Otherwise you will run into a lot of problems because of lack of information and planning. Here’s what you need to know:
- Fall – a step-by-step explanation of the process from June to December
- Spring – a step-by-step explanation of the process from January to July
- The F1 or Student Visa
- The Statement of Purpose
- Recommendation Letters
- Who the Best Recommendation Letters Come from
- Ingredients of a Good Recommendation Letter
- FAQs about Letters of Recommendation
- The ETS’s Alternative to Recommendation Letters
- Resumes
- Why You Must Send a Resume in Your Application Packet
- Make it Easy for Professors to Select You
- How to Create a Snapshot of Yourself in One Brief Page
- Transcripts
- The University Transcript: What It Is and Why It Is So Important
- A Comprehensive Description of the Contents of A Transcripts
- Different Types of Transcript and Why They Are Required
- How to Apply for Transcripts from Pune University
Other Must-See Posts
Here’s a fun help for GRE verbal section preparation – especially for those students who find learning the vocabulary a bore! This hilarious video by the Open University, England gives you insights into the ingredients that have been combined to create that wonderful melting pot that we call the English vocabulary.
Some highlights: Shakespeare’s contributions to the vocabulary of the English; before that the additions to the language through the invasions of tribes such as the Jutes, Angles, Saxons and the role of conquerors such as the Normans from France and the Romans. Towards the end of the video there are even parts on the role of the Internet, of America and even India! Definitely worth a watch, maybe even several! Happy viewing!
P.S. just in case the embedded video is not working here’s the link:
The History of the English Language in Ten Minutes
Related Links
- An Easy Way to Learn Vocabulary: Learn through the Roots: Part 1
- An Easy Way to Learn Vocabulary: Learn through the Roots: Part 2
- Vocabulary Learning and Revision
- GRE Preparation: Verbal Study Plan Overview
- How to Crack the GRE
Social media platforms are proliferating. Free and increasingly sophisticated technological tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter offer easy access to information about colleges and universities in America – and both colleges and students are trying to take advantage of the trend.
One of the more positive things that graduate schools do in the social media space is to post content about faculty research and what their students are doing. Facebook is responding to this trend with the launch of “Groups for Schools” which will allow only those students (current and prospective), faculty and staff members with a valid “.edu” email address from their schools to sign up and join the group. Using these groups admissions departments can reach and attract prospective students by posting admission information, answers to frequently asked questions, and relevant articles.
Students in general appreciate such content since it is relevant to their search for good educational institutions. What students don’t appreciate though is when universities and colleges merely try to market to them. For this reason prospective students prefer to use Facebook or LinkedIn to go to current students and alumni instead of official school groups, and find out about individual programs and the university as a whole. Such online interactions can give graduate school applicants an understanding of graduate school life, and the culture and academic merits of prospective institutions without going through official websites and admissions offices.
Applicants tend value alumni and current student comments about the program than how the university portrays itself as a whole. The feeling is that alumni and current students won’t ‘beat around the bush’. They will tell you exactly how things in the university or college are, information which is really important to prospective students. For this reason they prefer to go to student-run handles and groups rather than official handles since the latter tend to be subject to censorship that the former are not. Schools tend to delete comments on their profiles that do not show them in a positive light. Thus, many applicants feel that student-run groups are where one is likely to get the most truthful information about how things are in their prospective university or college.
But which universities should you really apply to? Well… come and ask us 🙂
- Keep adding contacts. After you have added all the relevant contacts from your email list (the first step when you join LinkedIn) send requests to connect to:
- Teachers whose courses you are taking. Those with a good standing in the field are especially desirable as contacts.
- Project guides (internal and external)
- Teachers and professionals who you consult about seminars, research papers, curricular projects and those for competitions etc.
- Classmates in college who share your academic/professional interests (keep touch with the others on Facebook)
These steps will help you build a large network in a short time. Start this process now while at your college here in India and continue when you join your American university. The contacts that you make at your American university during internships, while working on projects, research or papers are likely to be among the most useful and important ones you make.
- Keep adding key words, so that interested parties can get in touch
- The names of fields and areas you are interested in specializing in
- Areas you have done papers, project work or seminars in
- Update your status. :
- Papers/seminars presented
- Projects done
- Courses, diplomas, degrees completed
- Universities and colleges you get admitted to – and especially where you finally take admission
- Join groups:
- Lots of engineering colleges have ‘future student’ groups that you can join even now while you are still applying
- Then there are groups for current students that you can join while you are studying in the university
- Finally, there are alumni groups that
- Add the link to your LinkedIn profile in the SOP/resume when you send in your application packet