university application

University Deadlines For Fall 2015

Dilip Oak's Academy

It is our continued endeavour to keep you updated with the university deadlines well before the application process. As per tradition we are publishing the university deadlines for fall 2015 semester. Please bear in mind that some universities may change deadlines on their websites without prior notice. The department deadlines may differ from the graduate school deadlines, hence you are advised to cross check not only the graduate school deadlines but also the department website of the university you are applying to.

The deadlines mentioned below are for the graduate school only.

Deadlines in December

Indiana University, Bloomington (1-Dec)
University of Miami, Coral Gables (1-Dec)
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (1-Dec)
Harvard University (14-Dec)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (15-Dec)
Tufts University (15-Dec)
Yale University (15-Dec)

Deadlines in January

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1-Jan)
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (1-Jan)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (1-Jan)
University of Virginia, Charlottesville (10-Jan)
Washington State University, Pullman (10-Jan)
Florida Institute of Technology (15-Jan)
State University of New York, Buffalo (15-Jan)
State University of New York, Stony Brook (15-Jan)
Texas A & M University, Kingsville (15-Jan)
Texas Tech University (15-Jan)
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (15-Jan)
Vanderbilt University (15-Jan)
Duke University (30-Jan)
Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago (31-Jan)

Deadlines in February

Indiana University Purdue University (1-Feb with funding, 1-Mar without funding)
Case Western Reserve University (1-Feb)
East Carolina University (1-Feb)
Kansas State University (1-Feb)
Pennsylvania State University, University Park (1-Feb)
University of Rhode Island, Kingston (1-Feb)
University of Tennessee, Knoxville (1-Feb)
University of Tulsa (1-Feb)
Eastern Michigan University (15-Feb)
Marquette University (15-Feb)
University of Illinois, Chicago (15-Feb)
University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth (15-Feb)
University of South Florida, Tampa (15-Feb)

Deadlines in March

California State University, Chico (1-Mar)
California State University, Sacramento (1-Mar)
Illinois State University, Normal (1-Mar)
North Carolina State University (1-Mar)
Oklahoma State University, Still Water (1-Mar)
University of Alaska, Fairbanks (1-Mar)
University of Maine, Orono (1-Mar)
University of Nebraska, Lincoln (1-Mar)
University of Oklahoma, Norman (1-Mar)
University of Oregon, Eugene (1-Mar)
University of Pittsburgh (1-Mar)
University of Toledo (1-Mar)
George Washington University (15-Mar)
Polytechnic Institute of New York University, Brooklyn (15-Mar)
South Dakota School of Mines & Tech (15-Mar)
University of Colorado, Denver (15-Mar)
University of Kentucky, Lexington (15-Mar)
University of North Texas, Denton (15-Mar)
University of Pennsylvania (15-Mar)
California State University, Northridge (31-Mar Online, 30-Apr Document Submission)

Deadlines in April

California State University, Fresno (1-Apr)
California State University, Long Beach (1-Apr online, 15-Apr Document Submission)
Idaho State University (1-Apr)
Oregon State University, Corvallis (1-Apr)
San Jose State University (1-Apr)
Stevens Institute of Technology (1-Apr)
University of Arkansas, Little Rock (1-Apr)
University of Houston, University Park (1-Apr)
University of Michigan, Dearborn (1-Apr)
University of Texas, San Antonio (1-Apr)
University of Utah, Salt Lake City (1-Apr)
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (1-Apr)
West Virginia University, Morgan Town (1-Apr)
Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo (1-Apr)
Wichita State University (1-Apr)
California State University, Los Angeles (15-Apr)
Lamar University (15-Apr)
Old Dominion University, Norfolk (15-Apr)
South Dakota State University, Brookings (15-Apr)
University of Georgia (15-Apr)
University of Iowa, Iowa City (15-Apr)

Deadlines in May

City University of New York, City College (1-May)
Minnesota State University, Mankato (1-May)
Mississippi State University (1-May)
Montana State University, Bozeman (1-May)
New Jersey Institute of Technology (1-May)
North Dakota State University, Fargo (1-May)
Northern Illinois University, Dekalb (1-May)
Oakland University, Rochester (1-May)
Southern Methodist University (1-May)
Tennessee Technological University (1-May)
University of Idaho, Moscow (1-May)
University of Louisville, Louisville (1-May)
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (1-May)
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque (1-May)
University of North Carolina, Charlotte (1-May)
University of South Carolina, Columbia (1-May)
University of Texas, Arlington (1-May)
University of Texas, Dallas (1-May)
Villanova University (1-May)
Wayne State University (1-May)
Western Illinois University (1-May)
California State University, Fullerton (1-May)
University of Louisiana, Lafayette (15-May)
University of North Carolina, Greensboro (15-May)

Deadlines in June

Louisiana Tech University, Ruston (1-Jun)
Monmouth University (1-Jun)
Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville (1-Jun)
University of Detroit, Mercy (1-Jun)
University of Wyoming, Laramie (1-Jun)
Drexel University (13-Jun)
Missouri University of Science & Technology, Rolla (15-Jun)
Texas State University (15-Jun)

Deadlines in July

Arkansas State University (1-Jul)
Florida State University (1-Jul)
New York Institute of Technology (1-Jul)
Santa Clara University (12-Jul)
Lehigh University (15-Jul)
Marist College, Poughkeepsie (15-Jul)
University of South Alabama, Mobile (15-Jul)

Deadlines in August

New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (1-Aug)
University of Houston, Clear Lake (1-Aug)
New Mexico State University, Las Cruces (26-Aug)

Rolling Deadlines

Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison (Rolling)
Rochester Institute of Technology (Rolling)

Masters in Management Information Systems

Dilip Oak's Academy

The Master of Science in Management Information Systems (M.S./M.I.S.) is a comparatively new and an interdisciplinary degree focused on uniting business and technology. The coursework requires students to combine business, strategy, and technical skills that can be directly applied in complex business situations.

MIS offers a valuable experience to students from a variety of undergraduate backgrounds (Bachelors in engineering, science, maths, business or any other analytically oriented degree), to enhance their understanding of technology’s role in business while positioning themselves to stand out in the job market.

The Course work (although varies as per individual university) broadly consists of the following areas.

  • Systems analysis and design
  • Databases, data mining, data modeling, data warehousing
  • Programming Languages, Web technologies, Information Security
  • Statistics, Business Mathematics
  • Finance, accounting, marketing, management
  • Project, Program management
  • Operations management, Supply Chain management

In addition to the above-mentioned areas, US universities also offer a wide range of additional elective subjects from which you can pick and choose the subject areas that interest you, thus making the coursework very flexible.

The MIS degree sometimes falls under the business school and sometimes under a technology department like computer science depending on the university. Hence its always better to research well in advance the schools and programs that interest you and the test scores that they accept as that would help in deciding if you need to take the GRE or the GMAT. However the good news is that most US university programs accept both GRE and GMAT.

Careers in the field of management information systems can lead you to a variety of roles in the industry like:

  • Business Analyst
  • Systems analyst
  • Data analyst
  • IT Analyst
  • Functional Analyst
  • Operations Analyst
  • Database manager
  • Information Security Specialist
  • Program Manager
  • Software developer
  • Project lead
  • Applications developer
  • Information technology consultant
  • Web developer
  • Management Consulting

As the world of information technology grows bigger by the day, organizations have a growing need for professionals who understand both business and technology thus resulting in a growing the demand for candidates majoring in this degree.

University Deadlines For Spring 2015 Semester

Dilip Oak's Academy

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!

Show Stoppers at the Time of Application

Dilip Oak's Academy

In this blog we wanted to go over a few hurdles that may lead to a rejection or delay in your admission application process.

INCORRECT NAME
Although a lot of students are unaware of this, it is a very common problem faced by around six out of ten students at the time of application. The name on passport, college/university mark sheets, degree certificate and GRE & TOEFL scorecards should be the same. It is crucial there aren’t any spelling mistakes in your name, middle name name and surname.
At times the surname is different, especially in cases of students with South-Indian names. Make sure the name matches on all-important documents. In case it doesn’t, make sure to get it changed before you begin the application process.

YEAR DOWN & BACKLOGS
You may have backlogs and year down during your Bachelor’s/Master’s degree. It is important that you not only mention this but also justify the reasons behind your backlogs and year-downs in your statement of purpose.

ACADEMIC GAP DUE TO OTHER FACTORS
In some cases an academic gap may occur due to reasons such as an accident or health conditions. This should be mentioned very clearly in the SOP or else it may work against you.

ISSUANCE OF TRANSCRIPTS
You are supposed to send college/university transcripts at the time of application. Apply to the college/university well in advance because some institutions take up to two months to issue transcripts, which in turn may delay your application process.

GRE & TOEFL SCORE REPORTING
ETS takes time to report official scores to the universities. Hence once you have a final list of universities that you are applying to, have your official scores sent immediately to these universities. In case the US University doesn’t receive the official scores in time, your application shall be placed on hold.

ONLINE SUBMISSION OF RECOMMENDATION LETTERS
Most US universities require online recommendation letters. Your recommender will have to upload the letter online or send it from his official e-mail. You should inform your recommenders about this so that they are prepared for it.

BANK SOLVENCY/STATEMENT
The bank solvency/statement is a crucial document at the time of application. This document has to be submitted either at the time of or before issue of I20 form, depending on the university requirement.

October-December Alert for Students Applying for Fall 2014

Dilip Oak's Academy

October-December 2013

For many of you who are applying for admission in fall 2014, the months from October to December will be when several important phases of the application process will draw to a close for you. Here’s what you have to do in that critical phase:

Continue reading →

Dr. Harchol-Balter on the Recommendation Letter

Dilip Oak's Academy

Ideally you would like to make all your letters of recommendation count. Consider the following two letters:

(i) Letter 1: “I highly recommend student X for your graduate program. Student X received an A+ in my undergraduate algorithms class. He was ranked Number 2 out of 100 students. He got the highest score on the final. He worked very hard all semester, never missed a class, and was always able to answer the questions that I asked in class. This conscientious attitude makes him an excellent candidate for any graduate program. ”

(ii) Letter 2: “I highly recommend student Y for your graduate program. Student Y received a B in my undergraduate algorithms class. He was ranked Number 29 out of 100 students. Halfway through the semester we started working on network flows. Student Y seemed extremely excited by this topic. He disappeared for 4 weeks and even missed an exam. However when he came back, he showed me some work he had been doing on a new network flow algorithm for high-degree graphs. He had done some simulations and had some proofs. I’ve been working with student Y for the past couple months since then and he is full of ideas for new algorithms. I think student Y’s initiative makes him an excellent candidate for any graduate program.”

Which letter do you think is stronger? It turns out that Letter 2 is very strong. Letter 1 actually counts as 0. At CMU we mark all letters like letter 1 with the acronym D.W.I.C.. This stands for “Did Well In Class” which counts for 0, since we already know from the student’s transcript that he did well in class. By contrast, student Y’s letter gives us a lot of information. It explains that the reason student Y didn’t do better in class was that he was busy doing research. It also tells us that student Y started doing research on his own initiative, and that he is quite good at doing research. The professor was impressed enough with student Y’s ideas that he took him on as a student researcher despite student Y not having high grades.

You want your letters to all be of type 2 (this doesn’t mean that you should skip class!). Remember that letters of type 1 will not count. You want words like self-motivated, strong research potential , own initiative, independent, and driven to appear in your letters. These are the words that we circle when reading recommendation letters. You therefore want to ask letters from people who have seen you do research. These may be professors or employers.

Related Blogs on Application Documents

Related

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

Dilip Oak's Academy

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 →

Great FREE Application Tools on DOA Online: Part 2 – University Checklists Feature

Dilip Oak's Academy

Our first post in this series on the free application tools available on online.dilipoakacademy.com was on the University Info feature. This is a great tool that simplifies the admission process for you by making available one website key facts about the top 220 universities – most importantly, the departments and courses available there. One of the other important things that the University Info feature makes available, however, is a standard university checklist.

What are University Checklists and Where Can I Get Them?

The university checklists we are talking about here, are lists of the standard documents required by all universities. Our University Info feature provides the standard checklists for each of the top 220 American universities that it covers. When you select a university from our University Info feature, you can access the standard checklist for the university by clicking the checklist button (see screenshot below – right-click it to enlarge it).

Why is the University Checklist Feature Important?

The reason we have the University Checklist feature is to make sure that you do not forget to send any of the required documents. Sending your documents and application packet before the deadline is crucial for the following reasons:

  • Forgetting to send even a single document can cause long and inconvenient delays in your application process.
  • You may also end up spending a lot of money to send the additional documents by courier
  • In fact, you may even lose out on getting admission to a good college or university.

Continue reading →

Deadlines for Spring 2014 in this Month (Oct 13)

Dilip Oak's Academy

The application season is on, December is just round the corner …and the deadlines for spring 2014 are drawing to a close. So here are the deadlines for spring that are falling due in this month.

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)

Continue reading →

Recommendation Letters – Part 2: Ingredients of a Good Recommendation Letter

Dilip Oak's Academy

What Recommendation Letters should Cover

Recommendation letters should cover the following points (also see the links to great sample recos at the end of this post):

  • How long the recommender has known you and in what capacity (teacher, seminar or project guide, practical supervisor, project leader etc.)
  • His or her assessment of your academic performance (relative rank etc.), intellectual abilities, work habits and character
  • Your special achievements – especially in projects or in papers presented
  • Your communication skills – how well you were able to present your seminars
  • Your social skills – ability to work well with others, leadership qualities
  • Some background about the recommender – this is useful in the case of professors whose work in a field might be good but little known outside India; things to highlight include area of work, achievements in that area (papers published, awards etc.), prominent places worked in, length of experience and so on

Applying for Transcripts from Pune University

Dilip Oak's Academy

In Pune University the process of applying for transcripts is as follows:

  1. Download the transcript form from the website of Pune University
  2. Fill up the form and submit the form in person at the transcripts department – this is located on university campus. Do not forget to carry original mark sheets if required for verification. In case you are asked to submit mark sheets, submit photocopies not originals.
  3. Pay the required fees immediately at Bank of Maharashtra counter located on the university campus. Continue reading →

Types of Transcripts – and Why you Need Them

Dilip Oak's Academy

Some universities accept only university transcripts; others accept college transcripts or even an attested mark sheet. Some universities require you to submit 2 transcripts. It is very important that you read the American university requirements carefully before applying. Make sure you do not send them the wrong document type as it will delay the admission process.
These are issued by the university your college is affiliated to e.g. M.I.T. College in Pune is affiliated to Pune University. If you are a student of that college and the American university you are applying to requires university transcripts, you should get transcripts from Pune University.

Continue reading →