Happy Schools Blog » F.A.Q’s

Survey – Your Choice of Universities & GRE Score

HSB — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:43:22 +0000

Hello readers, we invite you to list the universities you are planning to apply or have already applied, along with your GRE Score. You can checkout the Poll – What is Your GRE Scores. This survey is created after we got very good response to the poll.

We will compile a huge list of universities based on survey result. It will help you to discover whole lot of universities for your GRE score range. Click the link below to complete the survey, it will take less than 2 minutes to complete 4 questions.

Click Here to Complete the Survey

Thanks for taking part in the survey. Results will be posted as blog articles.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

Survey – Your Choice of Universities & GRE Score

Will Professor Pay My College Tuition Fees?

HSB — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:01:09 +0000

Paresh posted the following second comment at Admission to PhD – Scholarship and Semester. Before reading this article, read the previous comment posted by him.

And sir as per my information outstation tuition can be converted into instate tuition.Am i right,sir?
Moreover,i was informed that professor will pay our tuition which will not accounted towards fellowship or stipend.So,we should not worry about fees and just concentrate on study without fear.At which extent this is true? And is it true for every US university?

Rumors and Wrong Information

This exact reason why Happy Schools Blog was started. Students want to study in US and that’s all they care and most of them don’t even know if the information they hear from friends or family members are correct. With so much mis-guided information, students like Paresh make incorrect decision and end up at some university, when the could have opted for much better school.

I was informed that professor will pay our tuition which will not accounted towards fellowship or stipend. So,we should not worry about fees?

Tuition Fee – Out of State, Instate

Read the following articles to understand the difference between In-state and Out of State Fees

Professors will not pay your fees. They will either do one of the following

Hire you as their Research Assistant
Recommend you for Teaching Assistant position to the department

Professor will pay you per month for working as Research Assistant and when you get RA you qualify for In-state Tuition fees. Same applies to TA, but department will pay for TA. If you get RA or TA, you will qualify for In-State Tuition fees.

Scholarship is completely different from RA or TA. Scholarship are given to students based on academic qualification. International students are not given scholarship based on students financial need. Some scholarship will not get you In-State Fees, it will be just a fixed amount.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

Will Professor Pay My College Tuition Fees?

New Poll – What is Your GRE Exam Score?

HSB — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:17:54 +0000

Hello everyone, it would be nice to know your GRE Scores. This poll will give an idea on what kinds of readers visit HSB and customize articles based on that.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

New Poll – What is Your GRE Exam Score?

Invalid GRE Score, if Last Name Changes in the passport ?

HSB — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:17:34 +0000

Rahul Posted the following comment at Blank Surname in the Passport – GRE and Admission

I am Rahul Ramachandran, as posted by many ppl in this thread, i too dont have a surname in passport, but while registering for gre and tofel, i gave first name as Rahul and last name as Ramachndran.
I came to know all this when i was applying for universities only.
if i change my name in passport(Ramachandran as surname) .Will they change in same passport? or new one?if i get a new one,won’t my gre and tofel score become invalid.
pls help me.
i am in big confusion whether to apply or not.
what problems could i face later, will i have problems while getting visa? can i change my name in passport after going there?

GRE and TOEFL Registration

While registering for gre and tofel, i gave first name as Rahul and last name as Ramachndran.

You made the right decision by using Ramachndran as the last name while registering for GRE and TOEFL. Many students either use full first name as last name or don’t use the last name at all.

Name Change in Passport

If i change my name in passport(Ramachandran as surname) .Will they change in same passport? or new one?if i get a new one,won’t my gre and tofel score become invalid.

No you GRE Scores will not become invalid by changing you name in passport. Passport is used to verify and validate you before taking the exam, thats about it. It will not serve any purpose later.

So, you can go ahead and change the name in your passport and apply to Universities. You will not have any issues. Many students have to retake GRE because, they messed up completely. But, you made the right decision to use Ramachandran as last name. This saved you lot of time and money.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

Invalid GRE Score, if Last Name Changes in the passport ?

Cost of Living: Most and Least Expensive College Town

HSB — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:14:27 +0000

Cost of living is directly proportional to location where college is located. Many students consider cost of living to be one of the Major factor when selecting the Universities. Forbe’s have published an article based on research done by Coldwell Banker Real Estate for home prices near college town/campus.

Using the value of the 4 bedroom apartment at various cities, least and most expensive college towns was calculated. We have published cost of living at University of Southern California, which is why USC is listed under Most Expensive College category below.

Least to Most Expensive College Towns

Akron, Ohio
Status: Least Expensive
School: University of Akron
2009 Avg. Price: $121,885

Muncie, Ind.
Status: Least Expensive
School: Ball State University
2009 Avg. Price: $144,996

Ann Arbor, Mich.
Status: Least Expensive
School: University of Michigan
2009 Avg. Price: $148,000

Ypsilanti, Mich.
School: Eastern Michigan University

Tulsa, Okla.
School: University of Tulsa

Denton, Texas
Town, State: School: University of North Texas

Houston, Texas
School: University of Houston, Rice University

Bloomington, Ind.
School: Indiana University

Kent, Ohio
School: Kent State University

Seattle, Wash.
Status: Most Expensive
School: University of Washington
2009 Avg. Price: $568,317

Boulder, Colo.
Status: Most Expensive
School: University of Colorado
2009 Avg. Price: $622,000

San Jose, Calif.
Status: Most Expensive
School: San Jose State University
2009 Avg. Price: $808,926

Berkeley, Calif.
School: University of California, Berkeley
2009 Avg. Price: $1,299,750

Boston/Chestnut Hill, Mass.
School: Boston College
2009 Avg. Price: $1,337,578

Los Angeles, Calif.
School: University of Southern California, University of California, LA
2009 Avg. Price: $1,347,125

Palo Alto, Calif.
School: Stanford University
2009 Avg. Price: $1,489,726

Source of the above article : Forbes . As you can see 4 bedroom apartment costs from $121,885 to $1,489,726. So, based on the cost of the apartment, rental cost will also be high. When rental costs goes up, cost of living for the students also goes up. If your monthly expense is $700, atleast$350 will be used for apartment rent and rest will be used for other expenses.If you have choice between two similar universites, compare the cost of living, before making the final decision.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

Cost of Living: Most and Least Expensive College Town

Got Reply from Professor – Disappointing!

HSB — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:03:07 +0000

Getting in touch with Professors before applying to Universities should be part of your Graduate School Admission strategy. You can use the sample email template to contact professors. One of the blog reader used the email template contact a professors and got reply, but he feels disappointed with the reply

I contacted a professor in XXXXXXX. But his response isn’t very encouraging. What should I reply him? Did I go wrong anywhere in the mail I sent him?

Email to Professor

Following was the email sent to the professor.

Dear Dr.XXXXXX,

I, XXXXXX, am pursuing bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Anna University, Chennai, India. I am applying for MS(EE) program offered by XXXXX in Fall 2010. I am interested in joining your research group at the Multimedia and Networking Lab.

I studied your article “Hand Gesture-based Computing for Hearing and Speech Impaired,” which appeared in the IEEE Multimedia Magazine. I am currently working on a voice controlled robot for physically challenged persons. I am very much interested in the part that deals with generation of gestures from speech input. I would like to contribute to your work in that area.

Will you be accepting students into your lab for the year 2010? I would be glad if you could direct me to few other related publications.

Thanks for your time. I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Reply from Professor

You can touch base after you arrive here. However, I do not have any funding for Masters’ students.

MS or PhD

What do you expect a professor to say to you? Getting financial aid is not as easy as you think, you have to prove to them, your ability, skills and problem solving skills when work is assigned to you. You can do that by working for a professor for 1 or 2 semesters. You said 3 lines about your project, with that you cannot expect to get financial aid.

We have said many time about very high chances of getting admission to PhD with financial aid along with admission in numerous blog posts. Above reply makes things very clear about financial aid.

You approcah is right and not many professors usually respond to prospective students applying to Masters degree. If you have stated thta you are interested in Phd, response will be very different ( positive according to you). Feel happy that you got reply and they have funding for PhD, so consider applying for PhD to the same University.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

Got Reply from Professor – Disappointing!

PhD after M.Tech – Do I need to take GRE Exam?

HSB — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:56:26 +0000

Question from Ramesh

Dear Sir,

I have a query and i would be grateful if you reply me..I am pursuing M.Tech in Computer science in India.I have completed my B.Tech(4 year programe) this year. I want to do my Phd after completing M.Tech from US university. What should i do. Should i appear in GRE or can i apply directly.

Option 1 – PhD After M.Tech

For PhD admission in Us University, you definitely need to take GRE Exam. There are universities that offer admission to Masters degree without GRE, but for PD GRE is mandatory.

You should have another 1.5 years left in M.Tech, which gives enough time to prepare for GRE and apply for PhD.

Option 2 – Apply for PhD, Aug 2010

This option is not recommended, but if you are definitely going to study PhD, then you can take GRE by Jan 2010 and apply for Graduate School for Fall 2010 semester. In this way you will save 1 year of your time. There are many studen who apply for PhD directly after completing Bachelors degree.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

PhD after M.Tech – Do I need to take GRE Exam?

5 Things About College Admission, Financial Aid and I-20

HSB — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:06:14 +0000

Usha Asks about Financial aid and Admission through email.

I have got an admit from Missouri University of Science & Technology, Rolla and Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. But i have not yet received any news about the financial aid to be offered. When can i expect any information on financial aid which will help me deciding which university i have to choose.

Most International students applying for Graduate School Admission to US Universities don’t have 100% information about Graduate School Admission process, questions from Usha validates that.

Admission, Aid and I-20

You have to understand the following

If your profile don’t meet minimum Requirements, Grad School will reject the application without forwarding the application to the department.
Department decides about Admission.
I-20 is issued if you have enough funds (bank statements)
I-20 will say if you hare given Financial Aid ( Scholarship, RA or TA)
If you received I-20 without Financial Aid, most likely you will not receive new I-20 with Financial Aid.

In your case, you need to decide between Missouri University of Science & Technology, Rolla and Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. You can read the interview with Harish from Missouri S&T, Rolla about Financial Aid and life at Rolla, that can give you some pointers about the college.

Image Credit : Leo Reynolds

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

5 Things About College Admission, Financial Aid and I-20

MS in IS vs MIS

HSB — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:40:03 +0000

Vishwanath Asks about the different between Masters in IS and MIS

Can yo please tell me if MS in IS is the same as MIS.I have tried to get information through google but im not sure if they are exactly the same.MIS course is offered by kelly school of business as well on basis of GMAT score so is it a management course or is it a blend of both management and technical.

M.S. IS vs MIS

MIS (Management Information systems) between two universities will not be the same, since courses offered are different. Likewise MS in IS is different from MIS only with respect to degree offered between Universities. [ Read Difference between MIS and MS in CS ]

So, MS in Is and MIS are the same, but you have to compare the courses that is included. You will be applying for same kind of jobs after you complete MS in IS or MIS.

Admission requirements also vary between colleges. Most of the Universities accept GRE or GMAT for admission to MIS program. If the program is offered in Business School, you will take technical courses in Engineering/Computer Science department.

Some cases, within Business School, Tech courses can be offered. So, there is not hard and fast rules on how MS IS and MIS can be offered. Check with the department and program for more information.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

MS in IS vs MIS

When to Apply for Fall 2010

HSB — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:20:33 +0000

Questions about Admission to US University

It’s already end of October, I want to know when to apply for Fall 2010 semester?

When to Apply Admission – Fall 2010

We have discussed the above topic in several previous articles

If you just want to study in some US University and get exposure to US education system, there are Universities that accept International student’s applications till July 2010. Yes, there are Universities in US that have deadlines till July 2010, for semester starting at Aug/Sep 2010.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

When to Apply for Fall 2010