MS In The U.S: A Beginners Guide

So you want to do MS in U.S.? Well then I hope that this article will be very useful to you. I actually wanted to bring about the procedures that have to be done for getting into any top graduate school in the U.S. Treat this as a useful guide.

Why?

This is the first question that you should ask yourself and try to answer. It, most probably is one of the following:

1. Dream to pursue higher studies in the country where the latest technologies are developed or readily available. (They are so advanced!)
2. Higher standards of studies in American universities. (When will I be sitting in those lecture halls?)
3. The studies/courses are practical oriented and not just "learning by rote" studies followed in some universities in India. (If that was the case, I wouldn't be cutting classes)
4. Faculties in the USA are PhDs. (They know their stuff, I hope)
5. To pursue higher research, USA provides the facilities for this to be possible. (One day I will find something)
6. To get the stamp of a US education (Dude, I'm a graduate from USA!)
7. To get a good high paying job.(The salary slip that I will envy)
8. To just get to the U.S. by some means. (Hey, I just wanna be there).

Where?

The next logical question is where should one do it? Of course, everyone wants to do in the top school but then it's not always possible. So, finding the best fit for you is the next step. There are two ranking systems that you can follow; looking at both would be great. One is the NRC rankings which are taken every 10 years. So you can take a look at NRC 2001 (this one is free), the next ranking system that is available is U.S. News ranking which is available at their website if you are ready to shell out some nominal amount. Also the question arises - which one can I afford? This is a tough one to answer but as a thumb rule, public (state run) universities are cheaper than private ones. Also climate plays an important role. To shortlist the schools, it's essential to visit the college website and know its details (weather, student community, international community etc). The internet is the most powerful weapon for unlocking all the details about the colleges.

How?

The previous two questions were dealt with a little ease but this one needs quite a lengthy answer. In fact, it's easier to list out things to do starting from April of your pre-final year:

April - June (of your 3rd year in a 4 year bachelor's degree):

• Decide on your field(s) in which you wish to apply.


• Write a draft statement of purpose/personal statement.


• Surf the internet to find university links and learn more about them.


• Start browsing Web sites of graduate programs and college catalogs.


• Prepare and schedule for the required standardized tests.

July - September:

• Take the standardized tests of GRE and TOEFL.


• Report your scores sensibly. You will be saving $ 96.


• Meet with faculty members that you know to discuss your personal statement and learn about possible programs.


• Request Application Forms from graduate schools.


• Start writing to faculty members of prospective graduate schools.


• Begin to develop your personal timeline for the application process.

October - November:

• Based on your GRE scores determine the schools to which you plan to apply.


• Finish your timeline based on each institution's deadline and financial aid deadlines.


• Complete your personal statement, adjusting it to meet each application's specific needs.


• Order transcripts from all post-secondary institutions (If fall term grades are expected, then check with staff in the registrar's office to see if a transcript including fall term grades can be sent in time to meet the deadlines of programs to which you are applying).


• Complete application forms (First, do a draft on a photocopy of the form).


• Approach your faculty members for Recommendation letters. Give your faculty all the information that they will need to write recommendations for you for each of your application schools.

December - January:

• Prepare your applications. Get your bank drafts. Report your GRE/TOEFL scores if you haven't done so earlier.


• Mail applications. Even if deadlines are later, it is good to get the applications in early.

February - April:

• Wait for your admissions.


• Keep track of your application forms .Check your online status regularly.


• If you do not get financial aid, then decide according to the situation.


• If you have obtained more than one admission, try to make up your mind about which program you will join.


• Reject other offers politely.

June - August:

• Contact your program coordinator to get more information.


• Write to your guide and learn more about his/her latest research interests.


• Block your tickets early. (Shop around for a good offer!)


• Shopping! Prepare to leave.

GRE/TOEFL:

These are the two exams you will have to write if you want to go to any graduate school in US. Preparing for TOEFL isn't that tough and I would recommend you to take GRE first and take the TOEFL later. The idea behind this strategy is that preparing the verbal section of GRE will itself equip you to tackle the TOEFL exam. The TOEFL also tests some things different from GRE like listening skills and grammar skills but I think if you can master GRE verbal then TOEFL should be walk in the park. Now let's see how we deal with preparation for GRE.

Preparation for GRE:

First I will suggest few materials for preparations, they are as follows:

• Barrons' Guide for the GRE - For Verbal prep only. Please buy the present edition.
• CDs for computer based testing ( I would suggest Kaplan, Power prep and Princeton Review)
• Question papers, Verbal & Analytical exercises by Kaplan, Princeton, Peterson's etc
• Norman Lewis: How to build a better vocabulary & Rosenblum - These books can be used to strengthen your verbal skills.

Allow yourself at least six months of continued preparations for cracking the GRE. First you can start by reading a vocabulary building book like the Norman Lewis one and then slowly go about going through the word lists of Barron's. It's hectic work going through those unheard words but then its worth that hard work. One thing which is also widely accepted in GRE is that only way to improve your scores drastically is to improve your vocabulary.

Structure of GRE:

Going through any of the books on GRE will tell you more details like the system of scoring. It's a computer adaptive test (CAT). The 'adapt' feature is its uniqueness i.e. it gives you the next question depending upon how you answered the previous questions. GRE has three sections: Verbal, Quantitative and Analytical writing sections. Quantitative section is easiest of the three. All it requires is not to be over confident, that's all. Verbal section is the toughest and requires all the hard work that I prescribed earlier. Writing section is something for which you can't do much as it is inborn talent in you. The only thing you can avoid is spelling mistakes, grammatical mistakes etc. though the GRE actually tests you on your analyzing skills. The scores for each section are: Verbal = 800, Quantitative = 800. Writing = 6 point scale. That doesn't mean that writing isn't important. All three sections scores are equally distributed. For engineering students quantitative is the most important section. Going through any of the books will give more details regarding these sections.

Conclusion :

I think that this guide is good enough for a novice at education in US. I haven't dealt about the costs, financial aids, SOPS, recommendation letters since it's supposed to be a general essay. I would like to conclude hoping that every reader of this article got some benefit out of this. If anyone wants me to write another article on other particular topics of MS in the U.S. then it will be my pleasure to do the same.