We present you the definitive guide to University Selection for MS in US. One of the most difficult and important parts of the whole process of applying to American universities is deciding which ones to apply to. And considering the large number of good universities and the wide variety of courses available, selecting the right universities is a difficult exercise. So, here are a few pointers to help you on your way.
You need to begin with a clear statement of what you wish to study and what your career goals are. Another approach is to first define your future career goals and then think about what academic degrees you would need to achieve your career goals. These should guide your choice of institutions. A list of institutions that meet your broad criteria could be prepared by:
- a search of university websites, which is the most authentic and current source of information about universities and colleges in the US – what they courses they offer and what research they carry out etc.
- consulting seniors already in US universities
- consulting those of your teachers who are well-informed about current developments and courses
- looking up sources such as Petersons.com.
Popular discussion forums and other web resources can be unreliable since the details reported are often based on personal opinions of students which are unverifiable.
Once you have a list of 25-30 accredited institutions that offer your field of study and the specializations that you are interested in, you will need to compare the objective data for these institutions (see bulleted list below). Do not rely solely on rankings or ratings of institutions; there is more to choosing the right department than choosing the most well-known or elite university.
For any particular discipline there will be about 10 to 15 schools that have excellent reputations. Keep in mind that a department’s reputation relies heavily on the reputation of its faculty and the research projects they are doing. Sometimes it is more important to study under a particular person than it is to study at a university with a prestigious name. Also remember that assistantships and fellowships are often based on the right “match” between student and faculty research interests. An in-depth advance study of these aspects can help you find the schools whose departments and faculty meet your academic and professional goals, and it may enhance your chances for obtaining financial assistance.
Make a comparison chart listing the universities which you had selected with respect to:
- core courses and electives offered
- research projects and facilities
- size of the department (intake of students and number of faculty)
- cost of tuition, fees, books, etc.
- availability of financial assistance
- location, housing options, campus setting, climate, and cost of living
- course and thesis requirements
- length of time required to complete the degree
- admission requirements, including required test scores and undergraduate grade point average
Narrow your choice of universities to those that:
- meet your personal and professional needs
- you can afford to attend and
- you are qualified for admission.
Develop a final short list of eight to ten universities to which you plan to apply. Once your final list of universities is decided, you are ready to start the application process.
Related Posts
- Key Steps, Crucial Decisions, Vital Information for Applying for an MS or PhD in the US
- How to Crack the GRE
- Key Facts about TOEFL and IELTS
If you are applying for fall 2014 the clock has begun to tick. So, don’t delay. Review this Application Timeline for Fall 2014 immediately and get to work. Here it is:
June-August 2013 – Review you goals for MS education and choose some specific areas in which you would like to specialize.
July 2013
- Register for the GRE and TOEFL examinations – these examinations should preferably be taken by September.
- Register for the Subject GRE– important for doctoral programs in pure sciences, the biological sciences and master’s programs in computer science in top schools.
Note: the exam is held once in a year in November, however, seats usually get filled up by August.
August 2013 – Make a preliminary list of about 30 universities which meet your requirements considering:
- Location
- Costs
- Broad specializations you are interested in (for departments and specializations see the ‘university info‘ page on online.dilipoakacademy.com)
- Recommendations by seniors, your professors etc.
- Whether your academic profile fits the universities requirements.
September 2013
- Arrange for 10-13 sets of transcripts in sealed covers from your college or university – some universities insist on university transcripts
- Choose your recommenders (generally 3 recommendations are required, at least one of which should be from the educational institute last attended) and give them the necessary details – resume, copies of your mark sheets etc.
- Start working on your Statement of Purpose (target date for completion 31 October 2013) and resume
October-December 2013
- Take the GRE and TOEFL exams latest by 20 December
- Carry out a comprehensive review of the 30 universities considering:
- Your academic performance in bachelor’s degree
- GRE and TOEFL scores of students admitted in the past
- Any minimum cut-offs with respect to GRE and TOEFL scores
- Whether courses of your choice are offered in the Fall semester
- Cost of education
- Make your final shortlist of 8-10 universities.
- Complete your Statement of Purpose (SOP) and resume
- Request the ETS to forward your GRE and TOEFL scores to the universities you are applying to, specifying the correct codes for the universities/departments you are applying to.
Note: some universities require certain documents to be sent to the department you are applying to
- Complete online application process and send the required documents by courier
This completes the application process; however there are further steps to be taken:
- Track the status of your application on your status page of the university’s website. Though universities generally communicate decisions or requirements by either e-mail or post, it often happens that the only source of information is your status page.
- If there are any deficiencies in your applications (missing documents, non-receipt of GRE or TOEFL scores, recommendations etc.) act immediately to correct the deficiencies.
- When you receive an offer letter from the universities (or when an admission decision is indicated on your status page) email your acceptance. This is very important especially when you are offered funding.
- When you have accepted the university’s offer of admission and the documentation formalities are complete the university will send you the 1-20, an immigration document, which is essential for obtaining a visa.
- When you receive the I-20, check that it is correct in all respects:
- Your name and date of birth should be exactly as in your passport
- Your course and course duration are correctly specified
- The financial sources indicated exceed the costs etc.
- Prepare the visa documentation
- Study the visa application formalities specified on the websites of the applicable US Consulate and the VFS (Visa Facilitation Services)
- Apply for a visa interview date – you can apply for a visa interview 130 days before the joining date mentioned on your I-20.
For further details on the F-1 visa see our previous blog on the subject.
Announcing the ‘Best Online Tool for Applying for an MS in the US’!
Here’s some terrific news for all of you who are applying for admission to US universities” – Dilip Oak’s Online, a fantastic resource launched by Dilip Oak’s Academy puts vital help at your fingertips.
Here’s a peek at what makes it so cool:
- US University Information and Document Checklist Feature – an invaluable list of the departments and courses available in the top 220 universities; included is a checklist to help you keep track of which application documents you have or need – get a check list for every university you apply to. This is a treasure trove of information all conveniently collected in one place! (Read more below)
- Question & Answer Forum – a community of advisers that you can turn to and clarify all your doubts relating to the admissions process for American universities (Read more below).
- Application Tracker – a handy app that allows you to monitor the status of your applications (going to apply, applied, admitted…) for every university – view the status of all universities on one convenient page (Read more below).
- Full-length Online GRE Practice Tests in the Revised Pattern – 4 are already available!
- Dilip Oak’s Blog – important news, advice and updates on standardized tests and student meets along with inputs from our past students and professionals in various fields – right on this site!
More exciting features are also coming soon:
- Online Admission Center Services – expert personalized guidance for every aspect of the admission process (Read more below)
- Visa Tips – help to tackle the last and most important obstacle – the visa interview! (Read more below)
1. US University Information Feature
Can’t find information about US Universities? It’s available – in the DOA Online site!
Cut your university research time in half by, selecting a university and looking up the departments, the programs available and the check lists for the top 220 universities. Why go to 220 different websites when you can simply sign up and get all the information here?
And if you find it difficult to keep track of which documents you have for which universities and which ones you don’t, the document checklists for each university will help you to see whether your set of application documents for every university is complete or not.
Also, get deadlines for every university.
2. Question & Answer Forum
Do you have doubts about US universities and admissions? Find out what you need to know right here.
Our Q & A forum allows you to link in to a community of advisers who will guide you on all admissions-related issues – courses, universities, documents and deadlines and so on. Sign up, post questions and cut the confusion. This resource is what you need to get clarity.
3. Application Tracker
Is it difficult to keep which universities you are applying for and which ones you are not? You’ll find our University Applications Tracker so helpful. With it you can see exactly what stage you are at for all the universities you have selected.
The Applications Tracker will help your application efforts get organized.
4. Full-length Online GRE Practice Tests in the Revised Pattern
Need good online practice for the GRE Test? Full-Length revised pattern mock GRE tests are just a click away.
Features:
- full-length revised pattern tests – with essay section
- detailed explanations for all questions
- personalized feedback on your essays
- scores on the new scales
With the Oak’s Online GRE Tests you can prepare to be successful!
1. Online Admission Center Services
Does getting admission to a US university seem like a difficult task? Let the experts help.
So far, Dilip Oak’s Admission Center has helped 17,000 students to get admission to good US universities. With 15 years of experience in the field, we can guide you through the complex year-long process to the right university for you. Benefit from our expertise. It will give you a valuable edge as you prepare SOPs, transcripts, financial documents and in every aspect of application process. We are your one-stop shop for admission to US universities
2. Visa Tips
Worried about the Visa Interview? We’ll Help You Prepare
Being well prepared for the dreaded visa interview makes a big difference. We have years of experience in helping students get ready for the visa interview. We’ll help make the process smoother for you.
- We’ll tell you the questions
- We’ll help you frame convincing answers
- We’ll help you prepare flawless documentation
- We’ll take you through a mock interview
With our help you can have the confidence that comes with good preparation
A college loan covers cost of tuition, living costs and insurance, flight costs, and other incidentals. Given the wide variety of choices available today, by putting in some effort, it is possible to find the best deal for your needs. Taking an education loan is also a smart move as you don’t need to break your savings and you get hefty tax benefits.
Who should take a loan and why
All students pursuing higher education should take a loan for funding their education. This includes people who already have sufficient funds, i.e. those who have either saved substantially or have considerable backing from family or guardians because, Indian taxation laws allow for a favorable benefit of tax deduction for the repayment of the loans. A total of up to Rs 40,000 is allowed as annual deduction from taxable income under Sec 80E of the IT Act.
Eligibility
Students pursuing full time higher education, in graduate, or post graduate studies, professional education, pure and applied science courses are allowed to claim this deduction. This includes students pursuing overseas education. Most lenders require that students show proof of admission to the graduate or PG program; however, there are some institutions like CREDILA who allow you to secure a loan before securing admission. There are no minimum or maximum age restrictions, although students are usually above 16 years of age or have completed at least the 10th or 12th grade.
How much loan can you get & when and how do you repay?
Students going abroad can get a loan for up to Rs 20 lakhs from banks and Rs 25-30 lakhs from financial institutions like CREDILA. There are slight variations in regard to application process, documentation, interest rates, guarantees etc. Loan repayments begin one year after the end of your course or six months after you secure your first job, whichever is earlier. Most lenders also allow for additional time for course completion in case the student is not able to finish the course on schedule. Loan repayments are spread over 5-7 years, and include options for closing early.
Interest, margin money, guarantors & collateral
- As with all loans, borrowers need to repay the principal (actual amount borrowed) with interest, which is a price you pay for usage of the loan facility. This is a floating percentage, which may be revised as per RBI guidelines and at the lender’s own discretion. For educational loans, the interest rates are in the range of 11-14% for most Nationalised banks and financial institutions. Girls generally get a 0.5% concession. Click here, to see a quick summary.
- There is also the all important factor of “margin money”! What this means is that most lenders will not loan you the entire cost of education – they also expect you to pay part of it. In other words if, for example, your education costs are Rs. 10 lakh in all, and there is a margin of 15%, then, the bank will lend you Rs. 8.5 lakh, and you will have to put up the remaining Rs 1.5 lakhs. The idea is to ensure that the loan seeker has the ability to bring money in and demonstrates responsibility in doing so. This gives some assurance that the borrower will make sure that it is used wisely. Not all lending institutions insist on the margin money, for example, loans taken from HDFC’s dedicated educational loan provider CREDILA, does not need a margin.
- A guarantor is a third party (different from the applicant), who agrees to undertake responsibility for the repayment of the loan in case the original borrower is unable to repay it. Besides this undertaking, lenders generally also ask for collateral in the form of fixed deposit receipts, residential or other property deeds, or other security, which is then kept in the lender’s possession until the loan is repaid. This is done to safeguard the bank or lender against a bad debt. The lender may waive the guarantee if the borrower’s previous repayment track record or financial history is very sound. Typically, loans up to Rs 4 lakh need neither collaterals nor margin money. Besides, students securing a scholarship could have the margin waived on account of the scholarship grant.
- If payments are defaulted on i.e. not made on time or, there are provisions for penalties/late payment fees in the loan contract. Besides, defaulters also stand the risk of being ‘black listed’ which severely limits their future credit options. However, most bankers or institutions are receptive to negotiation and, in case there are genuine difficulties, do allow for extensions on payment tenure, or reduction of EMI’s.
So, look around and see what your options are – a good loan deal can be a big asset in helping you achieve your dream of an American education.
See also: Kinds of Financial Assistance Offered by American Universities
Here’s another blog from one of our Academy’s stars, Adheesh Gokhale, who scored a superb 338. What makes his performance even more creditable is that he was a working student. So, his is another inspiring story to let you know that getting a great score is possible.
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Finally, with apologies for my procrastination (you can look up the meaning of the word here; I won’t tell you! :)) here’s my blog. Now, let’s get down to business.
I will not tell you what to do; instead I’ll share what I did. (But I do believe that anyone who can do this will be able to score above 330 – I won’t say much on AWM though as I have a score of only 4 🙂 ! So, here goes:
What was my state 10 days before exam?
1. I knew meanings (primary/secondary) of nearly 3000 words. I used to look up the words at http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ to learn the meaning. I used the flash cards to revise the words at regular intervals. (Guys, once you are through with ~1500 words, you’ll realize that retaining old and learning new words becomes more and more difficult at an exponential rate. To overcome this constant revision is the only way out.) Unfortunately, due to my work timings (and the fact that my office does not permit the use of smart phones), I could not use VaiVocab. However, I have tried it, and it is a really useful tool. Please exploit it to the max.
2. I had solved nearly all the Quant exercises, barring those of Data Interpretation and Statistics. I had also skimmed through the ‘mathreview’ PDF file available at the ETS site.
3. I had written few essays, both for Argument and Issue Tasks.
4. I could read and appreciate the articles on aldaily.com, without occurrence of effects like ‘blurred vision’, ‘headaches’ and ‘desperation of not understanding head or tail of it’. I was proud of this achievement because I had experienced these very effects, one month earlier.
What did I do, in the 10 days before exam?
1. I took a leave. (Guys at my workplace, please don’t leak this!) The point was that, for those 10 days, I wanted to be completely focused on GRE. I would suggest that you schedule your GRE at such a time, when you can spare nearly 10 days, for nothing but GRE.
2. I stopped learning new words. I only revised the words that I knew. (I used to revise nearly 500 or more words in a day, not in one sitting though. I would do that in batches of 150-200). I kept on solving exercises for Quant (especially the DI and Stats) and Verbal. I used to write one argument and one issue essay (randomly selected from the topic Pool available at ETS site) everyday.
3. In those 10 days I gave 8 mock exams- 2 ETS PowerPrep exams (2 from my CD and one from my friend’s CD), 3 exams of our academy, 3 from outside. I did this because I wanted to get ‘used’ to giving GRE. I can now say that giving exams from various sources exposed me to various flavors. Also, of these, the last 3 exams were given at 12 noon, my actual GRE time. I did this to set my body clock. It was a good step, for I remember that towards end of first such exam, I was terribly hungry and sleepy (you don’t want to give your GRE in such a state of mind).
What did I do, on the day of exam?
1. Warm up! I got up at 7 (I had had my full 8-hour quota of sleep). My exam was at 12. In those 5 hours, apart from time spent on traveling (nearly 1.5 hours), having lunch (nearly 0.5 hours) and other small things (add another 0.5), I spent 3 hours on getting my brain warmed up and relaxed. I solved nearly 20-30 sentence completion questions and 30-40 Quant problems. I read cartoon strips and solved the puzzles that come in Bangalore Times. All this, to ensure a calm state of mind and an alert intellect.
2. Reached test center in time, met two Dilip Oak’s students :), completed the formalities and finally sat in front of a desktop, a CC camera staring down at me.
3. I prayed, meditated, did a bit of breathing. (Finally, the moment of truth was here. I had paid 10K bucks for this exam (yes, it was my hard earned money), and had spent much more on tuition, mock exams etc. I had to make the most of it.)
4. I made complete use of the ‘break’, to get my hunger sated and mind relaxed.
5. FINISHED THE EXAM WITH 338 ON THE SCREEN AND A SMILE ON MY FACE!
BTW. To working guys and gals: I was NOT on bench. I was in a new project and had to work seriously from 9 to 7 or even up to 8, which meant that I left my home at 8 a.m. and came back at 8 or 9 p.m. But I made good use of the 1.5 hours I spent traveling in bus by revising words. Also I acted smartly and, whenever I got bored while working, I learnt a new word in a 5 minute break ( I took nearly 5 breaks every day 😉 ).
And that’s all I have to say!
Best of luck to everyone and I’m sure, soon we’ll see a 340 from our academy!
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