Impact of COVID-19 on American universities & admissions: An overview by SUNY Binghamton

IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES & ADMISSIONS (1)

Last week, Dilip Oak’s Academy conducted a webinar on the current scenario in American universities, the impact of COVID-19 on admissions for Master’s degree, and funding opportunities in the USA. The webinar was presided over by Maggie Wolford, director of graduate admissions and recruitment, SUNY Binghamton. Here is an overview of her valuable insights into the scenario in America concerning several important pointers viz.:

  1. Location: Universities in the major cities like San Francisco, Chicago and New York have been more affected by the pandemic as compared to those in remote areas, like SUNY Binghamton, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, University of Oklahoma, Norman, etc.
  2. Financial impact: High class, Tier 1 research universities (those offering STEM courses) can sustain the effects of the pandemic, but liberal arts and other smaller universities have incurred significant losses.
  3. Factors for resuming in-person instruction: Universities will decide whether to start the in-person instruction soon or wait, depending upon the number of COVID cases in the area, cost of testing, and testing policies. (whether they have compulsory testing, voluntary testing, or symptomatic testing, and the budget for each)
  4. Spring semester schedule: The majority of the universities are quite likely to push their spring semester start dates. Usually, the spring semester commences in January, but universities might extend it to February. In that case, students will have extra time for project completion, but their holidays will be reduced.
  5. Impact on funding: Due to online instruction, positions for Teaching Assistantships are likely to reduce. Research Assistantships will also depend upon whether the university is funded by the government or by private agencies. Government funding has been reduced significantly for other fields, but a few like Supply Chain Management and Healthcare Management will still receive enough funding. Graduate Assistantships won’t be affected since university jobs like web page development, networking, etc. will continue.
  6. Impact on CPT and internships: CPT is activated only after completing two on-campus semesters. If you join in the spring semester, you cannot work on the CPT in summer. In that case, you can utilize the time for summer courses and graduate early, or take campus paid internships which don’t require CPT. For example, lab assistant jobs, office jobs, admin jobs, etc. You can also take up certification courses free of cost, which will add to your résumé.
  7. Impact on admissions: Presently, the examination system all over the world has been disturbed due to the pandemic. Many universities have waived the GRE requirement, and they are accepting unofficial transcripts as well. But the situation will remain uncertain for a few more months.

For the full webinar, you can visit our YouTube channel:

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University Deadlines For Spring 2015 Semester

The month of June is now approaching which means the spring 2015 application process should now begin. As per our tradition we are publishing the spring 2015 university deadlines on this blog. Keep in mind some universities update deadlines on their websites at different times during the academic year.
The deadlines mentioned below are for the graduate school only. The department deadlines differ from the graduate school deadlines and hence you should cross check with your respective department for confirmation.

 

Deadlines in June
1. University of Maryland, Baltimore County 1-Jun
2. Texas Tech University 15-Jun
3. University of Tennessee, Knoxville 15-Jun

Deadlines in July
1. Florida Institute of Technology 1-Jul
2. University of Pittsburgh 1-Jul
3. Washington State University, Pullman 1-Jul
4. North Carolina State University 15-Jul
5. University of Illinois, Chicago 15-Jul
6. University of Rhode Island, Kingston 15-Jul

Deadlines in August
1. Kansas State University 1-Aug
2. North Dakota State University, Fargo 1-Aug
3. University of Michigan, Dearborn 1-Aug
4. Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo 1-Aug
5. Wichita State University 1-Aug
6. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 15-Aug
7. South Dakota School of Mines & Tech 15-Aug
8. South Dakota State University, Brookings 15-Aug
9. University of Kentucky, Lexington 15-Aug
10. San Francisco State University 31-Aug

Deadlines in September
1. East Carolina University 1-Sep
2. George Washington University 1-Sep
3. Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago 1-Sep
4. Indiana University, Bloomington 1-Sep
5. Lamar University 1-Sep
6. Mississippi State University 1-Sep
7. Oakland University, Rochester 1-Sep
8. University of Alaska, Fairbanks 1-Sep
9. University of Nebraska, Lincoln 1-Sep
10. University of Oklahoma, Norman 1-Sep
11. University of South Carolina, Columbia 1-Sep
12. University of Texas, Dallas 1-Sep
13. University of Texas, San Antonio 1-Sep
14. Virginia Polytechnic Inst. & State Univ. 1-Sep
15. California State University, Chico 15-Sep
16. Northeastern University, Boston 15-Sep
17. Texas A & M University, Kingsville 15-Sep
18. Tufts University 15-Sep
19. University of North Carolina, Greensboro 15-Sep
20. University of North Texas, Denton 15-Sep
21. California State University, Fresno 30-Sep
22. California State University, Northridge 30-Sept Online Application, 31-Oct Documents Submission

Deadlines in October
1. California State University, Long Beach 1-Oct Online Application, 15-Oct Documents Submission
2. California State University, Sacramento 1-Oct
3. Case Western Reserve University 1-Oct
4. Eastern Michigan University 1-Oct
5. Florida International University 1-Oct
6. Illinois State University, Normal 1-Oct
7. Indiana University Purdue University 1-Oct
8. Minnesota State University, Mankato 1-Oct
9. Northern Illinois University, Dekalb 1-Oct
10. Oklahoma State University, Still Water 1-Oct
11. Old Dominion University, Norfolk 1-Oct
12. Oregon State University, Corvallis 1-Oct
13. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park 1-Oct
14. Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville 1-Oct
15. State University of New York, Stony Brook 1-Oct
16. Stevens Institute of Technology 1-Oct
17. Tennessee Technological University 1-Oct
18. University of Arkansas, Little Rock 1-Oct
19. University of Colorado, Denver 1-Oct
20. University of Detroit, Mercy 1-Oct
21. University of Houston, University Park 1-Oct
22. University of Idaho, Moscow 1-Oct
23. University of Iowa, Iowa City 1-Oct
24. University of Louisiana, Lafayette 1-Oct
25. University of Massachusetts, Amherst 1-Oct
26. University of Nevada, Las Vegas 1-Oct
27. University of New Mexico, Albuquerque 1-Oct
28. University of North Carolina, Charlotte 1-Oct
29. University of Texas, Arlington 1-Oct
30. University of Virginia, Charlottesville 1-Oct
31. West Virginia University, Morgan Town 1-Oct
32. Worcester Polytechnic Institute 1-Oct
33. California State University, Los Angeles 15-Oct
34. Cleveland State University 15-Oct
35. Duke University 15-Oct
36. Marquette University 15-Oct
37. Texas State University 15-Oct
38. University of Georgia 15-Oct
39. University of South Florida, Tampa 15-Oct
40. Villanova University 15-Oct
41. California State University, Fullerton 17-Oct

Deadlines in November
1. University of San Francisco Nov
2. Florida State University 1-Nov
3. Idaho State University 1-Nov
4. Monmouth University 1-Nov
5. University of Louisville, Louisville 1-Nov
6. University of Miami, Coral Gables 1-Nov
7. University of Utah, Salt Lake City 1-Nov
8. University of Wyoming, Laramie 1-Nov
9. Vanderbilt University 1-Nov
10. Arkansas State University 14-Nov
11. City University of New York, City College 15-Nov
12. Missouri Univ. of Science & Tech., Rolla 15-Nov
13. Montana State University, Bozeman 15-Nov
14. New Jersey Institute of Technology 15-Nov
15. University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth 15-Nov
16. Marist College, Poughkeepsie 30-Nov
17. Southern Methodist University 30-Nov

Deadlines in December
1. University of Alabama, Birmingham Dec
2. University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa Dec
3. Lehigh University 1-Dec
4. Louisiana Tech University, Ruston 1-Dec
5. New York Institute of Technology 1-Dec
6. Polytechnic Inst. of New York Univ, Brooklyn 1-Dec
7. University of Houston, Clear Lake 1-Dec
8. University of South Alabama, Mobile 1-Dec
9. University of Southern California 1-Dec

Deadlines in January
1. Louisiana State University, Baton Rogue 1-Jan
2. Wayne State University 1-Jan
3. New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology 2-Jan
4. Santa Clara University 10-Jan
5. New Mexico State University, Las Cruces 27-Jan

Deadlines in February
1. University of Maryland, College Park 7-Feb

Rolling Deadlines
1. University of Toledo Rolling
2. Wright State University, Dayton Rolling

Under rolling deadlines there is no fixed application deadline declared by the university. Applications are accepted anytime till the seats for that particular semester are full.

We wish you all the best!

MS-in-US: Vital Information, Key Decisions, Crucial Steps!

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).
Note: to find out what universities to apply to check out a list of the top 220 American universities at online.dilipoakacademy.com – look for ‘university information’ under the ‘applications’ button. You will find the following information:
  • departments and courses
  • university rank
  • documents required for application
  • the university website URL
For more information on these useful online services see:

Continue reading

University Application Deadlines For Spring 2014 Semester

Deadlines for the Spring SemesterThe application season is on, June is just round the corner …and university deadlines are coming up soon. So, here is our much awaited blog for university application deadlines for spring 2014 covering 107 universities with application deadlines from June to December for the Spring 2014 semester. 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 of our 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 Application Timeline for Spring 2014 blog – to be released in December – 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:

Also see:

Deadlines in June

  1. University of Maryland, Baltimore County –1 Jun
  2. Texas Tech University –15 Jun
  3. University of Tennessee, Knoxville –15 Jun

Continue reading

Should I Apply for the Spring Semester (January)?

Many students are interested in joining American universities in January, that is, in the spring semester. But, there is a common misunderstanding that many universities do not accept students in the spring semester and that funding opportunities are also fewer. This, however, is not true. Almost 95% of American universities admit students for the spring semester.

Opportunities for financial assistance in spring are also as good as in fall. Of course, in some universities, a few courses are offered only in the fall semester, so students who join in spring cannot take them. However, with regard to financial aid, most universities offer Research and Teaching Assistantships, tuition waivers etc. only to students who have completed one semester, with a very good GPA (Grade Point Average). Hence, whether you join in the fall or spring semester does not really make a difference.

What is the Best Time to Apply for the Spring Semester?

The best time to apply for the spring semester is around June or July of the previous year, which is fast approaching. Of course, many universities accept applications in August and even in September, but if you want admission to a good university, it is better to apply before July of the previous year. Submitting your application early will also help you to get your I-20 early and thus you will be able to apply for a visa by October or November, or at least in early December.

We strongly recommend that you write the GRE and TOEFL before the 15th July so that it will be possible for you to submit all your online applications and courier the necessary documents before 25th July.

Therefore start preparing for GRE and TOEFL now and book your test date at the earliest. Simultaneously, start preparing documents like your Statement of Purpose (SOP), transcripts, and recommendation letters. Check the websites of different universities and list the names of universities where your specialization is available.

There are good opportunities in spring. Make sure that you don’t miss them! If you are not too sure of whether you should apply for the spring semester or not read our post titled “Should I Apply for the Spring Semester (January)?

Also, look out for our post: “Applying for Spring (Jan) 2014 – A Step-By-Step Explanation”