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All About the Resume – Part 2: Make It Easy for Professors Select You

Why the Resume is Different from a Bio Data or a CV – and Why It Should Stay that Way

Note that the resume is different from a bio data or a curriculum vitae (CV) in several respects: whereas bio datas and CVs are all-inclusive, data bank-like documents written in chronological order, resumes are compact, focused documents written in reverse chronological order that highlight only the most relevant and important information for course (or post) being applied for. So, don’t turn your resume into a Bio Data or CV – that would defeat the very purpose of the document.

Your resume should contain only the relevant information because professors are busy people who are hard pressed for time: if you bury the information they need in a sea of irrelevancies they might lose interest – and you might lose a position they might otherwise have awarded you. In other words, don’t hide the information that tells them that you are the candidate that they are looking for: make sure that when they see your resume they can’t miss it.

But don’t stop there. Make sure that the most important facts are what they see first. That’s the great thing about the resume format. The information is written in reverse order which automatically highlights the most important information, since usually the most important things are usually the ones that you have done most recently. It makes it easy for them to select you!

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All About the Resume – Part 3: How to Create a Snapshot of Yourself in One Brief Page

Tips for Writing Resumes

A resume, like all other application documents, is designed to answer one crucial question: “Why should you be selected?” Of all the application documents (the SOP, the recommendation letters, and the transcripts), the resume answers that question in the briefest yet most comprehensive way. In order to achieve its goals, the resume must present the most important facts about you in their most concentrated form, in the smallest possible space. This will enable it to present a compelling snapshot of your strengths as a candidate and persuade the Admissions Committee that you are a good choice. Here are some tips that will help your resume to achieve its intended goals:

  • Highlight achievements by providing specific details and quantifying them wherever possible
  • Use numerals rather than words especially in talking of percentages, ranks, class strengths
  • Be brief – use abbreviated sentences rather than full ones; if possible, try to squeeze your information into a single page

In other words (to illustrate all the above):

  • Write: “1st prize, Mechxpo 2013 for ‘Robotic Arm for Assembly Line’ (final year project)”
  • Do NOT write: “I was awarded the first prize for my final year project titled ‘Robotic Arm for Assembly Line’ in Mechxpo 2013”

Further, use bullet points to break up large chunks of text into small easily comprehensible points. For example, it is much easier to read the following:

  • Applied ergonomic criteria to analyse worker fatigue and reduced productivity
  • Automated the process, resulting in a 233% increase in job tightening rate from 18 to 60 jobs/hour
  • Used critical path analysis and PERT techniques to finish project 10 days before submission deadline and within budget
than to read this:
  • Applied ergonomic criteria to analyse worker fatigue and reduced productivity. Automated the process, resulting in a 233% increase in job tightening rate from 18 to 60 jobs/hour. Used critical path analysis and PERT techniques to finish project 10 days before submission deadline and within budget

Finally, proofread:

  • Check spelling mistakes
  • Capitalize only when necessary i.e. avoid capitals for the names of subjects you have studied (e.g. computer architecture, digital signal processing), or hobbies (e.g. trekking, listening to music) etc.
  • Capitalize uniformly i.e. write ‘Chemical Engineering’ or preferably ‘chemical engineering’; do NOT write ‘Chemical engineering’ or ‘chemical Engineering’
  • Find out how standard academic journals in your field write titles (some capitalize only the first letter of the title, some italicize the whole title etc.), but in general remember that words like ‘in’, ’of’, ‘to,’ ‘and’ are not capitalized except when they are in the beginning of a title.
  • Use full forms not abbreviations for degrees – i.e. write ‘Bachelor of Engineering’ and not ‘BE’, ‘Engineering’ rather than ‘Engg.’ and ‘and’ instead of ‘&’ (those short forms irritate American professors)
  • Use past tense in general e.g. “Designed, assembled and installed fixture mechanism for setting rolling machine plates” or “carried out the QS-9000 documentation up to the pre-production stage of axle assembly”
  • Use present tense only for ongoing education, projects, responsibilities etc.”oversee the production of prototypes of rear and front axle assemblies for passenger cars and multi-utility vehicles right from the stage of studying the component drawing sheets up to the final assembly of the prototype components”

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University Application Deadlines For Fall 2014

The application season is on, December is just round the corner …and university deadlines are coming up soon. So, here is our much awaited blog for university application deadlines for fall 2014.

Our list covers 125 universities with deadlines ranging from December 2013 all the way up to August 2014. At the end is a section on universities with rolling deadlines (click here to find out what is meant by rolling deadlines).

Remember that American universities update deadlines on their websites at different times during the academic year so, we will update this blog to keep up with changes on their official websites.

Presenting the first in our round of deadline alerts.

Important Question: “Do you know which university you should apply to?”

A deadline is of use only if you know what university you should apply to. For those of you who are not too clear, here is how to decide:

1. Talk to seniors and decide which specialization you should apply for (examples: Networking, Data Bases etc. for Computer Engineers; Digital Signal Processing, VLSI etc. for Electronics and Telecommunications Engineers; MEMS, Robotics etc. for Mechanical Engineers)

2. To find out which universities or colleges offer the specialization you want, go to online.dilipoakacademy.com and look up your college or university in the University Information feature. All you have to do is select a university from the list of the top 220 provided (these have been selected by Mr. Dilip Oak) and you will get a list of departments and courses available. Click here to see. Registration is free and is open to all! (For more details on how to select a university see our ‘Selecting the Right American University for Your MS in the US’ blog)

3. To plan your application process, check the general deadlines given in this blog. This will give you an idea of how much time you have and how to go about applying.

4. For the exact departmental deadline click the URL at the bottom of the University Information page for that university in online.dilipoakacademy.com. This will give you a more precise idea of how to plan your application process (see our Timeline Application Timeline for Fall 2014 blog to see more specifically how you should go about applying)

Good luck and if your university is not in the list provided, keep looking for it. We will be updating this blog.

Related blogs:

Universities with Deadlines in December

  1. Indiana University, Bloomington – 1 December
  2. University of Miami, Coral Gables – 1 December
  3. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill – 1 December
  4. Harvard University – 14 December
  5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology – 15 December
  6. Michigan State University, East Lansing– December

Universities with Deadlines in January

  1. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – 1 January
  2. University of Maryland, Baltimore County – 1 January
  3. Worcester Polytechnic Institute – 1 January
  4. Yale University – 2 January
  5. University of California, Riverside – 5 January
  6. Washington State University, Pullman – 10 January
  7. Florida Institute of Technology – 15 January
  8. State University of New York, Stony Brook – 15 January
  9. Texas A & M University, Kingsville – 15 January
  10. Texas Tech University – 15 January
  11. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor – 15 January
  12. Vanderbilt University – 15 January
  13. University of Central Florida – 15 January
  14. State University of New York, Buffalo – 15 January
  15. Northeastern University, Boston – 15 January
  16. University of Virginia, Charlottesville – 15 January
  17. Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago – 31 January
  18. Duke University – 31 January

Universities with Deadlines in February

  1. Case Western Reserve University – 1 February
  2. Pennsylvania State University, University Park – 1 February
  3. East Carolina University – 1 February
  4. Kansas State University – 1 February
  5. University of Rhode Island, Kingston – 1 February
  6. University of Tulsa – 1 February
  7. University of Massachusetts, Amherst – 1 February
  8. University of Tennessee, Knoxville – 1 February
  9. Eastern Michigan University – 15 February
  10. University of Illinois, Chicago – 15 February
  11. University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth – 15 February
  12. University of Oregon, Eugene – 15 February
  13. University of South Florida, Tampa – 15 February

Universities with Deadlines in March

  1. University of Alaska, Fairbanks – 1 March
  2. California State University, Chico – 1 March
  3. California State University, Sacramento – 1 March
  4. Illinois State University, Norma – 1 March
  5. North Carolina State University – 1 March
  6. Oklahoma State University, Stillwater – 1 March
  7. University of Nebraska, Lincoln – 1 March
  8. University of Toledo – 1 March
  9. Tufts University – 1 March
  10. University of Maine, Orono – 1 March
  11. University of Pittsburgh – 1 March
  12. Indiana University Purdue University – 1 March
  13. George Washington University – 15 March
  14. Polytechnic Institute of New York University, Brooklyn – 15 March
  15. South Dakota School of Mines & Tech – 15 March
  16. University of Colorado, Denver – 15 March
  17. University of Kentucky, Lexington – 15 March
  18. University of North Texas, Denton – 15 March
  19. Stevens Institute of Technology – 15 March
  20. University of Pennsylvania – 15 March
  21. California State University, Northridge – 31 March
  22. University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa – March

Universities with Deadlines in April

  1. Idaho State University – 1 April
  2. University of Arkansas, Little Rock – 1 April
  3. California State University, Fresno – 1 April
  4. Oregon State University, Corvallis – 1 April
  5. University of Houston, University Park – 1 April
  6. University of Michigan, Dearborn – 1 April
  7. University of Texas, San Antonio – 1 April
  8. University of Utah, Salt Lake City – 1 April
  9. Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University – 1 April
  10. West Virginia University, Morgantown – 1 April
  11. Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo – 1 April
  12. Wichita State University – 1 April
  13. University of Arkansas, Fayetteville – 1 April
  14. University of Houston, Clear Lake – 1 April
  15. University of Oklahoma, Norman – 1 April
  16. University of Memphis – 1 April
  17. Villanova University – 1 April
  18. California State University, Los Angeles – 15 April
  19. Lamar University – 15 April
  20. Old Dominion University, Norfolk – 15 April
  21. South Dakota State University, Brookings – 15 April
  22. University of Georgia – 15 April
  23. University of Iowa, Iowa City – 15 April

Universities with Deadlines in May

  1. City University of New York, City College – 1 May
  2. Minnesota State University, Mankato – 1 May
  3. Mississippi State University – 1 May
  4. New Jersey Institute of Technology – 1 May
  5. North Dakota State University, Fargo – 1 May
  6. Northern Illinois University, DeKalb – 1 May
  7. Oakland University, Rochester – 1 May
  8. Southern Methodist University – 1 May
  9. Tennessee Technological University – 1 May
  10. University of Idaho, Moscow – 1 May
  11. University of Louisville, Louisville – 1 May
  12. University of Nevada, Las Vegas – 1 May
  13. University of North Carolina, Charlotte – 1 May
  14. University of Texas, Dallas – 1 May
  15. University of New Mexico, Albuquerque – 1 May
  16. University of South Carolina, Columbia – 1 May
  17. University of Texas, Arlington – 1 May
  18. Wayne State University – 1 May
  19. California State University, Fullerton – 4 May
  20. University of Louisiana, Lafayette – 15 May
  21. University of North Carolina, Greensboro – 15 May

Universities with Deadlines in June

  1. Louisiana Tech University, Ruston – 1 June
  2. Monmouth University – 1 June
  3. Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville – 1 June
  4. University of Detroit, Mercy – 1 June
  5. University of Wyoming, Laramie – 1 June
  6. Marquette University – 1 June
  7. Texas State University – 1 June
  8. University of Illinois, Springfield – 1 June
  9. Florida International University – 1 June
  10. Missouri University of Science & Technology, Rolla – 15 June
  11. University of South Alabama, Mobile – 15 June

Universities with Deadlines in July

  1. Arkansas State University – 1 July
  2. Florida State University – 1 July
  3. New York Institute of Technology – 1 July
  4. University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport – 1 July
  5. Santa Clara University – 12 July
  6. Lehigh University – 15 July
  7. Marist College, Poughkeepsie – 15 July

Universities with Deadlines in August

  1. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology – 1 August

Universities with Rolling Deadlines

  1. California State University, Long Beach
  2. Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison
  3. Rochester Institute of Technology
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August Alert for Students Applying for Admission in Fall 2014

Fall in an American UniversityIf you are thinking of getting admission in fall 2014 the clock is ticking and August is drawing to a close. So, if you want to be in your American university at around this time next year, what should be your priorities in the next couple of months (and as you can see from the picture above, it really is beautiful there during fall). Hint: one thing that you will need to do is start thinking about which universities to apply to – and then there is going to be a lot of head scratching that you will have to do to select universities to apply to …and so much interviewing and researching that you are going to feel .like a news reporter! The details are below. Ready to read? Well, get set and go!

August 2013 – Make a preliminary list of about 30 universities which meet your requirements considering:

  1. Location
  2. Costs
  3. Broad specializations you are interested in (for departments and specializations see the ‘university info‘ page on online.dilipoakacademy.com)
  4. Recommendations by seniors, your professors etc.
  5. Whether your academic profile fits the universities requirements.

Note: for the full schedule see: timeline for fall 2014

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TOEFL and IELTS Must Read: All the Most Important Information

Indian students applying to a foreign university have to take exams to certify that they have the required basic minimum skills in English. The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) are the two leading tests for this purpose.

This post gives you links to some of the most important information about these two tests of English proficiency published earlier on this blog. Take a look. You may find answers to questions you have been waiting to ask.

  • Some students want to apply for admission to a German university. Some to a British or, Canadian one. Some to a combination of American and other universities. So, which exam should you take? If you are confused, find out here: IELTS or TOEFL – Which Exam Should I Take?

 

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