University to apply for given profile.

Oct-Nov-Dec-Jan are the months when students start applying to Universities.


So the natural Question is which University to go for.


Here is a profile i received earlier this week regarding it.








Profile is :
GRE ~ 1400-
TOEFL~100+
GPA~3.7
Uni-NIT BHOPAL
Many other Curricular activites and projects.
Work: Well known MNC for 1+ year.


Q:There are some colleges for which i need to know my chances to get in:

1. University of California, Irvine
2.  CMU
3. Texas A&M University--College Station
4. Cornell University
    University of California--Los Angeles
   
5. Georgia Institute of Technology
   
6. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey--New Brunswick
   
7. 
   
   
   
   

and it will be very helpful also if you can categorize them as expensive or moderate.

If i have missed any good uni in which my chances are good ,you can mention it .

One more thing .Can you tel me the scope of some fields in Us ?.I mean job market for some fields.

Starting with the list of University you gave.

All of them are said to be Expensive to some extend. California University's have a tradition of being expensive. But to say Rutgers is the least expensive among all (Moderate).

So done with the cost part, would suggest some other University too.

University of Maryland, College Park (Takes less international students but you have a chance) 

Univeristy of Texas, Austin (Demands research paper as u do not have but do try it)

NCSU, SUNY Stonybrook, Arizona State Uni., Ohio State, Iowa State are few other recommendations

Most of them are moderate and worth to go for. Both for on-study jobs, Funding and after study jobs.

Well regarding demand in US, Networking is something to  go for. Jobs do not get easily outsourced in this field. So...And also Systems is a good option.

.

I would suggest you to go for Georgia Tech, ASU, NCSU, Stony brook,  Ohio State, Maryland, USC (very expensive), UFL to for. Most of them are expensive. So you can select San Jose as a cheap one, (But far bellow what you deserve). On East Coast Rutgers is a good one and Stevens will be a good option too.

I hope i was able to answer your Q's. If you have any more doubts you may feel free to ask for.

Process for getting admitted for Masters in US

                                 
Recently  i had many Questions from Readers across India asking for the steps to start with the process to apply for Masters, right from scratch.

Here i will explain with all minute things to consider for applying

Note: Once you are in third year, you should be reading this.

For admissions in any moderate to good University following raw materials is required.

GRE, TOEFL/ IELTS, Transcript (from University), University to select,Statement of Purpose, Letter of Recommendation, Degree Certificate / Temporary Degree Certificate, Financial Statement of Availability of funds, Online Application Form and University specific other documents and a Valid Visa.

I will cover all these in brief, and any doubts there after can be mailed to me.

GRE: GRE has three parts

1) Verbal

2) Quantitative

3) AWA Analytical Writing skills.

Out of these start worrying about Verbal. Maths is a handiwork for Engineers and third year students will cover most part during placement preparation. 

What they would not is Verbal. There are more than 2.5K words to prepare for. So start this process right from day 0. Remember take this as fun and not as a time consuming exercise. You will really enjoy playing with words. I used to go online and play scrabble with international players. Was fun.

More details about how to prepare is available here.

http://enchantedviews.blogspot.com/2009/09/for-all-gre-aspirant.html 

Moreover it is essential to give GRE, within span of 3-4 months. Here is the reason why.

http://enchantedviews.blogspot.com/2009/10/best-time-to-give-gre.html

2) Toefl/ IELTS: Well friends there is a common impression that TOEFL is compulsory for US. Well you can also give IELTS. In my opinion IELTS is easy to score and so you would have more chances to score more.

There is a general impression among applicants that Universities do not give priority to IELTS based applicants. This is completely baseless and false. The fact is that although i had given TOEFL and scored 106, but given IELTS is more convenient and easy. (As centers in many smaller cities of country).

3) Transcript:

 This is only for already pass out students. For students just coming after graduation, will not have it, so can submit latter.

This should be obtained from University or College (Depends on University's demands). Usually getting from College is easy than University. Moreover University takes alot of time and leads to harassment.

So be specific in number of copies you need. Also check the transcript once you get as many a times their is a mistake and the entire process has to be repeated again.

4) Statement of Purpose: My SOP is given for reference

http://enchantedviews.blogspot.com/2009/09/sop-for-ms-in-electrical-engineering.html

This is an example, how you should summarize your SOP.

5) Letter of Recommendation:

This is the reason why you need to keep good relation with your Prof. Your Professor will give you Letter of Recommendation. It is a letter of approval of your credentials and stuff. If you need a format i can give it to you. Generally 3 different LOR are needed by each University. If with work experience, then it should be  2 of Prof and 1 of Employer. 

Till past few years it was hard copy LOR required. But now a days more and more University are asking for Online LOR. 

In this case you can ask your Prof. to mail the login details send to him by University so that you can fill your own LOR by you self. 

Moreover LOR is generally prepared by students itself and only the stamp and signature of Prof is asked for. [At least my Prof. did not take pain of making my LOR]. 

6) Degree Certificate: For Final year students this can be avoided and send later. But for pass out students this has to be send with other hard copy documents.

7) Financial Document: It is a proof of your financial capability to pay fees.

Generally a financial form is online of each University, which has to be signed by your sponsor.

8) Online Application:

I always tell all candidates to do this ASAP. IT DOES NOT REQUIRE ANY DOCUMENT OR GRE SCORE. ALL DEADLINES ARE BASED ON THIS. 

So just apply online and later process will be done as and when documents get ready.

9) VISA

The most important part of the entire process. Will mention details once you clear all previous procedure.

10) Financial support:

Each University has different way to apply for financial support. 

Now i know i have misssed many other steps, but to keep it terse i had no other option.  Any queries can be mailed and will try to answer most of them.

All the best.

Admissions in CS for current profile.

  


    This is the Profile of a student, interested to get admit in  MS-CS.




Graduation Percentage: ~ 60%
University:JNTU
GRE:~ 1450
TOEFL~110
Other Achievements: 1.Internship at IIT ,Couple of Projects, 1st in Paper P.+ President of various College Level Org.


Well there was no Question given, so i assume It's which Uni.to apply for?


To begin with. You have a very good GRE, TOEFL score. Internship at IIT will be a key point which will make difference.


So these are universities which i would suggest from the list of University you gave and some from mine.


GaTech is a right choice.
(Good chances of getting in)


NorthEastern University


Drexel University (Free Application)


SUNY Buffalo


North Carolina State University


University of Florida (Expensive)


University of Southern California (Expensive)


Purdue University


Michigan State University


All of these are good and take a chance in them.


All the best. If any doubts do not hesitate to ask.









    
 

Admission in CS with following profile.

Profile: (90% +) B.E.
           1200+    GRE

The question was asking for comments for getting in certain Universities given.

Well starting with the first one.
GeorgiaTech- It demands winners. You have a good B.E. score but need to get over 100 in TOEFL and should have won enough laurels to get admitted in this University. I have a friend of mine admitted in Fall-09 admitted in it.His profile was around 1400 in GRE, 110 TOEFL, B.E ~ 68% and had many extracurricular prizes like winning Microsoft sponsored all India level programming competition, Intership in MNC along with studies, to mention few.

So i would recommend you to try your luck here if you an SOP which can prove your worth.

Other mentioned  are Iowa and Ohio State. They both are located in Urban area so can better to apply here.

University of Minnesota is good for Electrical Engg. I have no idea for Computer. But i would recommend to apply for University located more closer to Comp. Industry. Which happens to be more in NY, NJ, TX and California. So i would not suggest you to apply here.

Now shifting to next list. Stony brook is what i would highly recommend. As in NY, would also help in getting an off campus job.  Good Transportation, Good Life and many financial Co's having IT division. These points make it a must apply University. UC Davis- is a good one. A bit Expensive if you can afford.
UFL is good. My friend with GRE 1520 and having BE from NIT, Surat helped his cause of getting in. So it again demands a good SOP. Again i would not say it as a Moderate University as you have listed. It is a wonderful University with a good track record. University of Maryland- Have no idea but would recommend it as is in Urban area and has many big companies around.

San Jose is a safe University and you should apply here for the same reason. Currently Networking is considered a nice field as far as CS goes. So i would suggest to apply to NCSU. And again this is not a safe University as listed by you. It is having a very big expanding IT park near it. Which boasts Co. like IBM, CISCO and other biggies. So i would highly recommend to apply here.

Apart from University you have stated i would recommend Rutgers and Stevens. They are good and have an exellent track record.

I would suggest you to apply to 7-8 Universities (2 safe + 3 moderate + 3 Dream level).

All the best. If any doubts, do ask for.

Answers to Questions on 4th of Oct

These are some of the Q i received on 4th of October.

I ve already sent the applications to 6 universities in USA  for MS...My GRE score is only 1110...and my academic percent is 82.Is the score very low?

I am preparing for TOEFL.... I have some doubts regarding i\the test.Since u ve taken the test..,Ur ideas ll be of more help..

How about the long formats....are there chances to get long formats in both reading and listeningf?

Does the word count appear in writing section? I ve been practicing Barrons and am used to wordcount...

In which volume ,we should speak-much louder?

Starting with the first Question of yours. Well As i have written earlier--There is something for everyone. So it cannot be defined if your score is less or not. If i answer Statistically- well your score lies on the average belt (GRE scores). Again, I have no idea which 6 Uni. have you applied to.But anyhow looking at your academic aggregate you have a good chance of getting in good University (Again good depends on many factors).

Regarding Toefl doubts , Yes be prepared for long passages and also your listening passage. My advice for Listening would be to write what ever you hear with full concentration. What i mean is you should know what you have written where. So that once you have started with Questions, you will not waste time in searching what you have written where. Regarding Reading, do not leave any uncompleted answer. As there is a negative penalty for that. 

Well for Writing part you will have wordcount so need not worry for that part.

Regarding volume. The software of TOEFL test has a voice adjusting program. So they will test you with a casual topic of 20 seconds, and accordingly adjust the volume. So you can speak in a normal way and it will adjust the volume by itself.

If any more doubts with TOEFL please do not hesitate to mail me. I may give a only TOEFL article for tips as i did for GRE in past.

2) i have a GRE score of 1050,with split score quant :760 verbal:290
     engineering ~ 65%
     intermediate~ 92%
     tenth~ 90%

toefl yet to take,completed my engineering in electronics and communication and want to pursue MS in electronics and communications in a good university with aid,please guide me in the university selection,and suggest some universities which provide scholarship

Well, you have a balanced score till now except for GRE. Still you get away with decent University. Now Electronics and Communication is a wide field. If you want to get into Communication field (Wireless Communication, Networking), i would suggest some and if you want in Electronics (VLSI, Embedded, Solid State Device) againt the University would be different. 

Anyhow i will give for both according to your scores. 

For Electronics 

- Solid State- Michigan Tech, University of Minnesota, University of Missouri, University of Wisconsin, Johns Hopkins University.

-VLSI- Embedded- Uni of Texas at Arlington, NY ploy, San Jose State University, San Diego State Uni, CSU, Northridge.

Communication- IIT Chicago, University of Illinois, NY Poly, Michigan Tech. CSU Northridge.

I hope this may have answered all your Queries.  All the best for future. 

Reply to Mails Recieved on Oct. 3rd EST related to MS

I badly wanna go for US in a good university for my MS.

right now i m clueless!

what is the criteria?

what gre score do i require?

does a very good gre score alone make u a worthy applicant?

do i need to be in touch with the college professors constantly?

Well this is a open answer. Going to US without GRE/TOEFL is also possible. But since you are specific with good University,  i would say GRE should be 1000 + and TOEFL be 80+ . 

So CRITERIA is nothing as such. The scores one have, gets certain Uni. of one's own class. For an IIT'ian anything less than an Ivy-league does not fall in his criteria. For me, it is heaven.

Now application depends as i have said earlier, on lots of factor. Most Important for MS is GPA, GRE.

Secondary are TOEFL, SOP, LOR, CO-curricular, and Work EX. These becomes important for Financial Aid also.

So REMEMBER where ever one may be, there is something for everyone. Getting best out of what one has, is a work of smartness.

2) i have a gre score of 1050 and nt yet got my score card,is it neccesary for me to giv toefl,or can i apply without it.and could u plz recomend some gud collegs for me as am an Electronics engineer but i want to go for master in artificial intelligence or V.L.S.I?

Well TOEFL is required as said  earlier to get into ''good' University. In my opinion it should be anywhere above 80.

Now there are good Uni in two ways ----

Good Education but not so many Electronic Co. for Career Fair. As is my case. Michigan Tech. (As aways from office of all these Co.)

Mediocre Education---- But as being very close to all these Co. have advantage of good after college job prospects.

If you are planning for AI, VLSI, my suggestion would be to go to Uni. near California or Texas.SJSU, SDSU, Uni of Texas at Arlington, U of C at Northridge, Michigan Tech(Application is free). 

Work or MS/MIS

Today i had a very interesting Q about advice to Work or continue education by going for Masters in CS or MIS.


His profile is 10th , 12th > 90%, BE avg ~ 70
Have GRE in mid Oct.


Q- I got job in XXXXXX as a XXXXXXXXXX and the joining date will be XXXXX-XXXX

so what i have to do

1)did i apply for the uni or work for tcs for 2-3 years and then apply??

2)what do u suggest ms cs or mis??

3)u suggest 4 uni i will apply to those universities?(low tution and good placements)

Answering your First Q

1) XXXXXXXX is a well named Co. Also unlike others (Tech Mahindra) they would honor the job offer. So there is no doubt that you will be joining it.

My advice would be to continue with the offer for atleast 2 years.

This would also help in getting Financial Aid once you have a broader horizon of the field.

Now GRE scores are Valid for 5 years. So  may give xam on Oct -23 and use these score for admission after 2-3 years of Work Exp.

Again MS or MIS is a decision of yours. I know it is very confusing right now. But that is with every student of your age. So once you are working with like-minded ppl, you would automatically get answer to this Q.

So to conclude my advice is to work (Will help for financial aid, give edge to your application, you will be more confidant and will help in after Grad Job prospects)+ Give GRE and get good score + Send free score to Uni. Texas at Arlington, Univesity of Texas A&M, Michigan Tech, Arizona State Uni are my suggested Uni.


These all are cheap and also good.

All the best and pls feel free for any need.