Planning admission to USA

Before considering to opt for MS in US, prepare yourself whether you are fit enough to study in US. US education system is known for its quality of research output and hence think twice before you wish to study there.

Schooling:

First of all, US universities require about sixteen years of schooling for all the international applicants. If you fall in short of this criteria never attempt to forward your application. Have a good schooling record in both the academics and in the extra curricular activities. US universities do recognize the skill and the talent of the applicants during their school life. Sometimes the application may ask for your skills that you acquired during your school education.

GRE Score:

US universities require more than 1000 in the gre score. Top universities often demand higher GRE scores, for instance MIT requires above 1450 or so. GRE score is like your pass to higher education in the US. GRE score is just one among the several things that the US universities consider. Higher GRE score will also help the international students to get scholarships from the universities.

TOEFL Score:

Some of the universities demand TOEFL score in addition to the GRE score. Getting above 100 in TOEFL will definitely be an added advantage to the students. TOEFL score is a parameter with which the university can understand the level of English education that the applicant has acquired.

Better Recommendation Letter:

Recommendation letter from the professors who taught you is a very significant factor that can either admit you or reject you. Better your professors write about you more the impact will be on the minds of the university officials. Recommendation letter from variety of professors who taught different subjects is ideal.

Higher Academic Score in Under Graduation:

The more you score in your under graduation the better the impression on you by the university. A score of about 3.2/4 or equivalent percentage or CGPA is considered the best score in US universities. Higher under graduation score will also help in getting aids from the university.

Statement of Purpose:

The purpose for which you opted to study the selected field in the US university. The better scripted and described statement of purpose would definitely keep you on top of other applicants. Be brief on what you want to tell to them. The statement of purpose should reflect your ambition, your current ideas and your past achievements.

Financial statement:

Financial statement from the bank that you have enough funds to pursue your education in the US. Make sure that you have sufficient funds in your bank to pay your graduate education. Let it be about a minimum 25000$ in your bank account. The higher you have the better chances of getting a student visa.

Application:

The application that is duly filled and with all required documents that are to be sent along with the application. Application should also contain the necessary fees for the application ( may vary depending on the university ).

Curriculum vitae or the Resume:

The date of birth, address, contact info and other required details must be written on a neat sheet and should include your education details too. You can also include your significant achievements and appreciation that you have got.

Understanding TOEFL

Many pre-university and pre-graduate school people find themselves asking for TOEFL Review Tips for students. But what exactly is TOEFL anyway? What do those five letters stand for? For one thing, and perhaps before we begin, it is important to define the test right away. TOEFL stands for the Test of English as a Foreign Language. It is a standard exam normally taken by students who come from countries where English is not the primary language, as a measure of English proficiency and the student's capacity to grasp, understand, and comprehend the English language as used in the collegiate and post-graduate levels (in America, Europe, and he like). This is very important because if one lacks the ability to at least converse or grasp the language, it will indeed be very, very difficult to adjust to the demands of university life. Although admittedly it isn't exactly that hard to pass, some degree of preparation is necessary if you want to be able to ace the TOEFL. In line with this, there are A LOT of resources and review tips/materials which you could peruse in your pursuit of a high TOEFL score.

One such resource are the different TOEFL review books out in the market. I'm sure you can find them in your neighborhood bookstore (usually among the SAT, GMAT, LSAT, and other like reviewer booklets). If not, you can also find ebooks online which deal with the topic rather extensively. If however, you do not feel the particular urge or are impatient to wait for the download, you can always check out the other resources available online. I'm sure there are hundreds of them just waiting to be read. Another way you by which you could prepare for the TOEFL, is to enroll in concentrated review classes, as these are usually tailor fit for the class's levels and needs (since usually the number of students in a class is minimal, i.e. 3 to 5 at the very least, and 10 at most). At a very agree-able price, you get quality preparation from trained instructors and teachers. However, if you don't have the money, or you aren't willing to invest time and cash for it, you can always take the aforementioned suggestion of reading up on these online. As I had said, there are millions of TOEFL review tips online for students like you. Good luck!

USA credit hour and GPA

Each subject is called a course. Each course is worth certain points called credit hours or semester hours. You will observe that most of the courses are worth 3 credits. As a student of MS, you will have to complete 30 credits. If you are doing MS with thesis, you need to do 24 credit hours from course work, 3 credits for research and 3 credits for thesis. Research and Thesis are commonly counted together as 6.

You would be wondering what is 500 level, 600 level courses people are talking about. Well, different Universities have different conventions. In ASU, 100 to 400 level courses are Undergraduate courses. 500 and upwards are considered graduate level courses. However, there are certain 400 level courses (max of 12 credits) that can be taken by a graduate student and will be coded as 591. For example, undergrad maths courses can read as MAT 101, MAT 201 and so on whereas if you have graduate maths courses, they will read as MAT 501, MAT 601 and so on. Along with the courses related to your specialization you need to have 6 credits from out of specialization courses. For instance, if your specialization is DSP and Communication, courses from Control Engg or VLSI can serve as out of specialization. These are referred to breath requirements.

There are different schemes of examination that we might not be aware of before. We have open book exams, open notes exam, take home exams and our formal way of examination as well.

GPA is your score. There are different scales on which GPA can be calculated. ASU and SDSU for example, does on a scale of 4. GPA 3.5 on a scale of 4 means you have got 3.4 out of 4. At the end of the semester, you will be given Grades 'A', 'B', 'C' ... Some professors also give +/- like 'A-' and so on. each grade corresponds to certain points, for example, A = 4 on a scale of 4. The following example shows how GPA is computed:-

Suppose you have scored 'A' in 3 credit subject and 'B' in a 2 credit subject. then you cumulative point is 4x3+3x 2 = 18 (assuming A=4 and B=3). So, your GPA will be 18/(3+2) = 3.6. The total points come in the numerator and the total credits go at the denominator.

Education in USA

I have seen many students applying to Graduate schools for MS or MBA in USA posting questions about their profiles about 10th and inter or 11th &12th Class or Standards percentages and asking questions like :

I have 95% in inter or 11th and 12th grades, will I get admission

I have 90% in 10th grade, will I get scholarship ? Admission ?

I have only 65% in 10th and Intermediate, will I get admission ?

High School or Secondary Education in USA

Just some background of secondary education system in United States : “In the United States a high school is an upper secondary school which educates children from grade nine or ten through grade twelve”. ( Grade is nothing but a class ) Anyways, the point is 10th, 11th and 12th classes are considered high school or secondary education.

Graduate School Transcript Requirements for MS/MBA Admission :

If you look at any University admissions requirements for MS or MBA i.e., graduate school , the transcript requirements will say one very common thing “Official transcripts are required from each post-secondary university or college attended. An official statement of the award of the degree or diploma is required for each degree completed. ” What they mean is, they want transcripts for only B.Tech or B.Com or anything that you have done AFTER 12th class or intermediate. They need transcripts only for the classes after High School or Secondary education. The Graduate Schools do NOT NEED 10th, 11th and 12th class mark sheets, because most of the schools do NOT Give any weightage or importance to that percentages for admission decision of MS or MBA . There is one catch, if you have got any University credit in your bachelors for the classes that you have taken in high school, then they need the high school transcripts.

Think logically, if they do NOT want your official mark sheets or transcripts or they are not even asking you to send any copies of the high school or secondary education mark sheets, they probably do not use them for anything. If they make any admission or scholarship decision based on your high school marks then they will ask. Some may argue, I will send them anyways just in case they may look at them. Sending them will not hurt, but the key thing is, your admission or scholarship decision may not be based on them.