- Creating Web Components in Angular - February 23, 2021
- What is your Communication Style? - August 1, 2020
- Sharing is caring? - January 28, 2020
I had applied to a few colleges for a Masters in the US. I am hereby presenting the steps for the same. I hope they will provide you with an idea, of what to look forward to when you decide to pursue your masters in the US.
Applying for MS in USA – The Steps
- If from India, get 6-8 copies of transcripts from your college. For most other countries colleges will directly send the transcripts to the desired address. Nowadays most universities ask you to upload scanned copies of your mark sheets. They ask you to submit hard copies, only once you have received your admission.
- List down the universities. Most people choose the rankings of the universities to decide their choice. US news website is a good option for the same. Choosing a university is the most important step. More on this later.
- Give GRE and TOEFL. GRE and TOEFL scores are not that important if you have a very strong profile i.e. Good scores and research work. Based on my experience, I have written extensively about scoring high in GRE (Part 1 & Part 2) and TOEFL.
- Once you have decided on the universities, submit the needed documents, mostly transcripts, letter of recommendations etc.
- If you get admission, you will have to get the I20 from the university, on accepting the admission. Some universities may ask you to send hard copies of transcripts, before sending you the I20. If you need an express delivery of the I20, you need to pay extra. You will come to know if you have received a scholarship in your I20. Your I20 will contain details of some extra courses that you may have to undertake. Most of the banks will need an I20 if they have to process your loan.
- You will easily receive step by step details on what to do next. Some universities may require you to undertake vaccinations etc.
Applying for MS in US – Choosing your university.
Choosing the university is one of the most important steps when applying for MS in USA. People usually apply to 2 ambitious universities, 2 universities where they will surely get admission and 2 universities in between. Rankings on the internet definitely help in choosing such universities.
The other factors to consider are the tuition fees. State universities have fewer fees as compared to private ones.
If your university is located in a city, you will end up paying more in living costs. But if your university is located in a remote area, your living costs will decrease but you may find it difficult to get internships and jobs here.
The US definitely has some extreme weather. People usually avoid applying to universities in the extreme north but this is a minor factor.
For students applying to computer science, California is a good place to apply, due to Silicon Valley. So, choosing a university which has industry related to your field, helps in securing jobs and internships.
Search on Quora for the universities that you plan to apply to. You will find lots of first-hand information from people who actually attended those universities. This information will surely help you shortlist the universities.
Also if you are switching fields, like if you had a bachelors in electronics and want to pursue a masters in computer science, some universities may ask you to take up some extra courses, while others may not. Taking up extra courses adds up a lot to your tuition fees. So reach around to people on Facebook and your friends and try to gather as much information as you possibly can.
Applying for MS in US – Tips and Tricks.
GRE and TOEFL are not that important if other parts of your profile are strong. But if you have really low scores, it may act against you.
Try to apply to the universities as soon as possible, because some universities have rolling admissions i.e. they don’t wait till the deadlines end, to start reviewing the applications. They start reviewing applications and sending admits as the applications arrive.
If you have any query email the university. They always reply you back.
Go thoroughly through the documentation on the university’s websites. You will find everything you need there.
Universities have two or more deadlines for submitting an application. The first deadline is the scholarship deadline. If you hope to receive a scholarship, you have to submit before the first deadline.
Most universities will not provide scholarship unless you have a really strong profile. Some universities always provide a little scholarship to all the students irrespective of their profile, like some percent discount on the tuition fee.
Start researching on Edulix. You will find a lot of useful information there. It is a good practice to analyze the profiles that are similar to yours to get an idea about the university’s admissions and rejection trends. Also, Yocket is a good site.
If you stay in India, while sending hard copies to your universities, use the DHL service from Edulix. They will contact you and pick up documents from your home the next day. Also, the service is cheaper than actually going to DHL and sending your documents from there.
What gets you in a good university?
When I was trying for masters, I did some research online on how universities decide which candidates to select for their program and below are my findings.
If you have done some research while you were doing your Bachelors and you have some plan for further research into it, you have a good chance of getting in a university that has people working in the same field. If you have a look at the university’s website, you will get an idea of the research that is being conducted at the university and whether the research areas align with your interests. You can also get in contact with a professor for the same which I think is a bit difficult unless you have some very interesting ideas.
Most universities will provide you an option to complete masters without any research.
Your bachelor’s scores will come next. They will heavily impact your admission chances.
If you are from a reputed university, it will again increase your chances.
Next will be your GRE scores, followed by TOEFL scores.
This said, there are no hard and fast rules that universities follow when granting admissions to the candidates.
Hope this information helps you when you applying for an MS in US. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me.
