US Travel GRE TOEFL VISA Application Procedure

Required Exams Pre-Apps Short listing/Selection Criteria Documents Required What Next

The academic world in the US is far more diverse in terms of educational resources. The educational system exploits the student's strengths and abilities to the fullest. Thousands of students go to the US annually for higher education. Many students who consider an education in US fail to get sufficient information and advice based on their individual needs and abilities, as well as the many differences in American universities. As a result they may secure admission in a university with expectations that cannot be fulfilled. To avoid finding yourself in such a situation plan well in advance and obtain all the information you need.
You most also remember that applying to US takes more time than you think. The entire procedure requires around one and half years. So start early!!!

REQUIRED EXAMS :

Usually tests are used to evaluate the skills and other abilities, of the students, that have developed over a large duration of time. The various exams that are required to be taken for the admission in US are mentioned below.

1) GRE (Graduate Record Examination)

You are generally( Almost always) required to take the GRE for all MS programs. This exam which is now computer based (CBT) is conducted everyday for the 1st 3 weeks. The application form and additional information can be obtained by writing to :
IPEM
Post Box number 19,
119/25-A, Mahatma Gandhi Marg,
Allahabad, UP- 211001.
Phone: (532)-624881/ 988.
Those going for MS in Computer Science may be required to take AGRE (Subject GRE). You may need to confirm this with the university.

2) TOEFL (Test Of English As A Foreign Language)/ TSE (Test Of Spoken English)

All students whose national language is not English ( basically you!!) are required to show proficiency in English by taking TOEFL. TSE is not generally asked, but it may improve your chances of getting TA (Teaching Assistantship). TOEFL and TSE are conducted once every month. The TWE( Test of Written English) is conducted with TOEFL on certain days. In this test you will be asked to write an essay. TWE is free but compulsory if you appear on the day it is conducted. You can write for the form to the above address.
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PRE-APPING :

Well so you wanna go to US for further studies ehh!!! Well then you better start working on it about a year in advance (so if you are leaving for Fall 2000, you should start of by June, 1999) though both of us started it a bit earlier than that. The entire process starts with the pre-application procedure (or pre-apping, as we all like to call it ). A pre application is a request to the university to send you admission material (application form, brochures, financial aid info etc.).

First of all you need to prepare a list of universities from which you would like to obtain admission info. Though, preferably don't waste time making such lists. Just ask all the universities to send to you the admission package (you can later decide as to whom you wanna apply to). Since you will be emailing them it won't cost you any more to write to all of them. This way later you wont have to regret when you might need the admission form of a particular college and you realize that you had not pre-apped to that college. For a List of Emails you can write to, see our related section (this list contains only a few colleges and so for the rest, you will have to go to the respective college web site). You can also download a Sample Pre-Application letter that we had written to these colleges. Many colleges also offer download able forms from their web sites wherein you can download the form in PDF format and then print it (ofcourse for this you would need Adobe Acrobat). Another option recently introduced is applying online so that the form can be sent immediately. But you'll have to send all the required documents later. We personally preferred the first option cause this way we got written info on each college which is missing in the other two options.

Some of the sources from where you can get info are:

College Seniors. This is a real useful source of info since most of them are always willing to help. Don't feel shy to ask them any queries that you might have no matter how stupid you think it is.
United States Education Foundation in India (USEFI). Here you can get access to libraries, video shows and seminars get personal consultations.
American college guides such as Barron's college guide, Peterson's Guide (we really recommend this book for beginners, but please don't buy it, you can get easy access to them through USEFI).
American educational counselors. We didn't personally make use of this facility but many of our friends did so you could check it out if you feel that you don't have time to do all the work yourself.
Web sites of Colleges and also sites like U.S.News (which can provide you with a lot of basic info to get you started). See our section on Related Links.

When writing a pre-app you must provide preliminary info to the university such as your average percentage in college, the department (program of study) you want to apply to (electrical engineering, computer science etc.), and also your GRE and TOEFL scores if you have them. You could also mention your work experience (if any), extra curricular achievements if you feel they are worthwhile. Some universities filter applicants at the pre-app stage itself, while most simply send application packets to everyone.

SHORT LISTING/SELECTION CRITERIA :

A question that students often ask is "How do I find the best institutions?" Unfortunately there is no absolute definition of "best" University. To select institutions effectively, you must first think carefully (which we know is difficult!!) about your intentions and plans. There are no shortcuts in deciding where to apply (but then you always have your beloved Counselors to make all your decisions). Generally students apply to about 8 to 14 universities. Here are some of the points that you must look out for while short listing.

1) STUDYING AND LIVING COSTS

Considering the Indian Rupee is so poorly rated against the very strong US Dollar cost is a primary concern. Tuition costs range from USD 9,000 to 20,000 per annum (yeah!!! that's a big range so select sensibly). Yearly tuition costs specified by most colleges could be misleading so it is better that you find out the cost per credit hour and multiply by credit hours taken in a year. Alternatively you could multiply it by the no. of credit hours required towards graduate degree (usually 30-36) to get total tuition for MS degree.
Cost of living varies from State to State (California is the most expensive state- expensive by far). You may prefer selecting a college where you have relatives (ofcourse they should be willing to put up with you). Housing costs can range from USD 3,500 to 11,000 per year.

2) AREA OF SPECIALIZATION

Most of you would not have decided on your area of specialization. However for those who have, see that the Universities have sufficient and well funded research (this maybe an indication of how much money is available for assistantships), lab. facilities, faculty and sufficient courses.

3) ASSISTANTSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

In graduate departments, availability of financial assistance varies widely from field to field and from university to university. Most financial assistance comes in the form of assistantship. Graduate students are offered Research, Teaching or Graduate Assistantship or Fellowships (the most prestigious). Look out for Universities offering a large number of these. This information is best obtained from students studying in those Universities, but a record is also available at USEFI (though it may not be up to date).

4) RANKINGS

Before the basis of your selection is solely on rankings, check the source of information that the ranking agency has used to rank the institution. There is never a consensus on the validity of rankings. There is no official ranking of universities in US. There are various criteria used by agencies, (like US News, World Report, Gourmand etc.) like student opinion, professors opinion on college faculties and their research, student to teacher ratio, research funding and many more. For University Rankings click here.

5) MISCELLANEOUS

You can also look out for minor factors such as students applied to admitted ratio, student to teacher ratio, percentage of students receiving financial aid.

6) COMPUTER ENGINEERING (DON'T BE MISLEAD!!!)

Well you see the problem is that computer engineering is not a seperate department and neither is it part of the computer science department in most of the colleges (very few colleges make it part of the CS department). Those wanting to do their MS in computer engineering will mostly have to apply to the electrical engineering department since comp. engg. is a specialization in the Electrical Engineering department. However check out individual colleges to find out wether it is part of CS department as the case maybe sometimes (though this would be very rare). Computer engineering basically consists of fields such as Computer Architecture, Parallel Processors, VLSI and CAD. Hence if you are interested in any of these fields then you should select Computer Engineering as your specialization.

Most of the information is best obtained from students from those universities, university web sites, USEFI and other web sites.

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DOCUMENTS REQUIRED :

Once you have prudently short listed the universities you wish to apply to, fill up their form carefully. Read the forms for the documents that they have asked for. Different universities ask for different documents but the most common ones are :

Transcript : This is an official document issued by the college stating your academic marks till the last semester( usually upto the 6th semester if you are applying before you graduate). Take photocopies of this and seal them in an envelope with a college stamp across the seal. It must be addressed to the university you are applying to.

Statement Of Purpose (SOP-in short) : Write an essay of about 500-1000 words providing a clear and concise statement regarding your study plans, research interests and professional objectives. The purpose of this statement is to provide any information they want the graduate admissions committee to know when considering their application. This may include : any recognition they received for some special accomplishment, the career they hope to pursue after the completion of their degree, any relevant work-ex they may have had. See our "SOP Tips section" for more. Take a look at some SOPs in the Download section.

Letter Of Recommendation (Recos) : Request letters from 3 of your professors (preferably those who have taught you in the past 2 years) who have a direct knowledge of your academic and work performance. Usually they will ask you to draft the LOR and get it checked by them. See that you don't make it too modest, make it flashy. Praise yourself as you have never done before ( I know you do that all the time anyway). Try to get recos from professors who don't go exactly by the records. Letter should indicate your potential for rigorous, advanced study, and also focus on your originality motivation, written and verbal comprehension, expression and judgment. The recommender should note how long and in what capacity he/she has know you. Seal this letter and get it signed over the envelope lap. Take a look at some LORs in the Download section.

Financial Statement : Obtain a statement from your bank certifying that your sponsor (generally your parents) has adequate funds for supporting your first year of education, living and miscellaneous expenses. You may show around $28K to $30K in the bank statement. Take a look at a bank statement in the Download section.

Application Fee : Obtain a Demand Draft drawn on a US bank in US currency made payable to the university must accompany all application forms. The amount usually varies from $20-$100. Without this the application will not be processed. This fee is non-refundable and cannot be deferred.

Score Reports : Make sure you make arrangement for ETS to forward your GRE, TOEFL, TSE scores to the universities that you have applied to. GRE score will cost you $13/college and TOEFL, TSE each $11/college. They (ETS) may revise the rates so check for the new rates .... just in case.

Additional Documents: Some universities may require attested copies of mark sheets till the last semester, photocopies of GRE, TOEFL, TSE scores.

All universities have admission deadlines (generally 15th Jan for the Fall Semester). See that your packets reach as early as possible, preferably by first week of December as certain universities have a rolling admission procedure. Admission packets can be sent by Courier Service, Registered Mail, Snail Mail. You can also ask someone in US to forward your packets to the respective Universities.
For Rs.50 you can purchase a discount coupon from Madhavi Desai to send your packets through DHL (Worli branch only).

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WHAT NEXT

Once you have sent your packets forget all about them and concentrate on your impending exam. Replies should start coming in by end January (if you had applied early). You will be beckoned with admits (and a few rejects as well) till mid April so don't be hasty in finalizing. Till the decision is made, you are likely to be fraught with anxiety and doubts, finding the pendulum whirling in all directions but one!!! Once again you can compare the universities that you have been admitted to on the basis of the selection criteria (which was used for short listing as well). Once the colleges have admitted you, they will send the admission letter followed later by the I-20 form. This document is essential for obtaining the F-1 student visa.

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