In this blog post I will be highlighting the entire procedure that one has to go through before getting an admit from universities.I am writing these steps with tentative month in which the step should be carried out. The months are tentative guideline taking into consideration FALL SEMESTER. (For e.g. To get admit for FALL-2013 starting in Ausust 2013 semester, you have to start preparation from May 2012.
1. PREPARE FOR REVISED GRE - (May - October)
This is the first and one of the most important step in the process. The ideal preparation time for GRE is around 2-3 months. You should give GRE as soon as possible. Months between May to October are ideal for booking a date in GRE if you have to apply for FALL semester.
Detailed help for the preparation of GRE can be found on the following blog -er)
http://www.revisedgrecracked.blogspot.com/
2. PREPARE FOR LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TEST ( June - December)
You have to appear for either TOEFL/IELTS in order to satisfy language proficiency requirements of universities. You can schedule this either before or after your GRE. The preparation time for these exams is around 2-4 weeks at the maximum.
PLEASE REFER HERE FOR THE POST ON LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TESTS
3. START SHORTLISTING UNIVERSITIES( After GRE and TOEFL exam and not later than month of November) -
Depending upon the following factors you have to shortlist universities that you want to apply for admission -1. GRE Score2. TOEFL Score3. Academic Record4. Research Interest5. Work Experience
It is generally advisable to apply for 3 SAFE Universities , 3 MODERATE Universities and 3 AMBITIOUS Universities.
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO ACCESS POST ON UNIVERSITY SHORTLISTING
4. APPLYING FOR TRANSCRIPTS AND SIGNED MARKLISTS ( Before or After GRE and not later than mid November)
Transcript is a document that contains your records for all academic semesters. Your university as well as your college can provide you with transcript when you ask for it. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU TAKE TRANSCRIPTS FROM UNIVERSITY AS WELL AS COLLEGE. For example, you can take 4 copies of university transcripts and 5-6 copies of college transcripts.
Along with transcripts it is advisable that you keep a 2 sets of marksheets of each semester attested by the REGISTRAR OF YOUR UNIVERSITY(NOT COLLEGE) along with attested degree certificate.
Charges for transcript as well as universities vary depending upon the university and time for getting these documents also vary (from 10 days to 1 month). So it is always better to start early.
PLEASE REFER HERE FOR THE POST ON TRANSCRIPTS
4. DRAFTING STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION( After GRE and TOEFL exam and not later than month of November) -
This is the most critical part in the application process. Along with the GRE and TOEFL scores, your statement of purpose and letter of recommendation are extremely important. Statement of Purpose should appropriately reflect
1. Your motivation for pursuing your masters degree2. whatever technical knowledge you have in a particular field in your undergraduate degree and your work experience.3. Should touch the projects that you have done in your working tenure and undergraduate studies.4. Should clearly state why you want to study in this particular university.
I am going to write a separate post for this so don't worry.
Letter of recommendation are also important. Generally people take 2-3 recommendation letters.Letter of recommendation should highlight the strong points.
Critical part in LORs is from whom to take it and some key points to remember regarding this are -1. Take it from someone under whom you have completed one or more major project.2. Who has seen your academic studies and motivation in detail.3. Your professor under whom you have completed a research project and/or published a research paper.4. Your manager at workplace who has seen and monitored your work closely.
If you are a working professional then it is advisable to take LORs from WORKPLACE as well as ACADEMIA. For example, 1 Reco from Manager and 2 others Recos from your undergraduate institution.
More on LORs will be mentioned in the separate post.
5. PREPARING FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS (SOLVANCY CERTIFICATE AND BANK STATEMENT) - ( After GRE and TOEFL exam and not later than mid December)
This step is OPTIONAL. However if these documents are kept ready at the time of application then it helps during the application process and even after you get admit from a particular university.
Certain universities want to verify your financial documents during the application process itself while some want it after you receive admit from university.
I will write a separate post on financial documents.
6. SENDING APPLICATIONS TO UNIVERSITIES- ( After GRE and TOEFL exam and not later than mid December)
