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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

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

Graduate School Admission Decision; University’s Response Time

HSB — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:46:19 +0000

Question from Anand about response time about admission decision from Graduate School

I am Anand.My score details are as follows:-

GRE:-1320

TOEFL:- 111/120

I had applied for 5 universities for the spring 2010 intake and they are:- USC, U texas dallas, ASU,V tech and TAMU. Though I applied as early as early August 2009, till now (ie Oct 2009) I haven’t received any response from any of the universities. Could u kindly tell me a tentative time when I can expect the universities to start responding. I am a lil concerned due to the delay. I am also thinking of applying again for the Fall of 2010.

University Admission Decision

You have to understand the Graduate School Admission process (What happens after you submit your college admission application)

Typically it will take 2 to 4 months for Universities to respond to international students.
Response time also depends on type of admission deadlines followed by the Universities ( Hard Deadline or Rolling Admissions)

University Hard Admission Deadlines

Example – When University specifies Deadlines as Nov 2, 2009 or Jan 15, 2009.
All the Graduate School application will be collected till the deadline .
application packet will be processed after deadline or all admission documents are required ( Application Fee, Test Scores, ..)
It will take 2 to 4 months after the deadline for US Universities to reach a decision.

Rolling Admission Deadline

Universities process the application as they receive.
Will take 2 to 4 months from the date universities receive all your admission documents
If you apply too early, they will wait before your application will be even opened and processed.

Read about 5 Ways to Check Graduate School Application Status and go back to all the Universities website and check the deadlines and admission policies and calculate when you can expect to receive response from the Universities.

Suggestion – I would wait till you hear back from all the universities, before applying for Fall 2010 semester. Try to find the admission status by following any of 5 ways. Have lots of HOPE and POSITIVE THINKING.

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Graduate School Admission Decision; University’s Response Time

Need Financial Aid? Consider PhD

HSB — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:26:44 +0000

Received an interesting Question from Hardik Jogi through email about Financial Aid and PhD

Hardik Asks

One of my friend studying in uc berkeley in phd studies as intenational students said that ‘ international students admitted in phd studies are fully funded by respective department ( he is in computer science ) of uc berkeley and also stipend of $20000 is given for living expenses/year. Is it true ? also if yes then please provide me reqd. to take admission in phd studies at ucb. ( i am in 4th year of my bachelor studies in engineering )

What your friend says is 100% correct. But, some students don’t get Stipend, but just Research Assistant (RA) or Teaching Assistant (TA) position, which comes with In state tuition fees.

Both RA and TA will pay from $500 to $1500 per month. Which is huge money for a student lifestyle.

How to Get into UC Berkeley?

You would need to have a profile that looks similar to your friend to get into UC Berkeley or something that looks like this

1300+ in GRE
90+ in TOEFL
Research Experience in Bachelor’s
Few Paper Presentations in good conferences
Recommendation letter from well renowned professors or Industry experts
Maybe degree from IIT, NIT will make things much easier
Very good technical skills
Lots of interest to study, than just getting financial aid.
PhD is 4 to 5 years of dedication to research.

If you are planning to apply for PhD because you will get Financial Aid, that’s foolish thing one can do. If you have that urge to get Doctorate degree, then go for it.

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Need Financial Aid? Consider PhD

12 Reasons Why My Son Wants to Study in USA

HSB — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:11:10 +0000

Easwaran one of the prolific commenter in last few weeks explains why his son wants to study in US to the Poll which closes in couple of days – Why do you want to study in US.

Reasons to Study in US

The reputation of American universities coupled with the comprehensive curriculum offered at these institutions is valued and recognized world over by industries and employers alike.
The array of courses on offer: from highly academic programmes which guides a passionate student to be a creative to put it simply creativity is fully explored
For graduate students, probably the number one factor in choosing a US university is the amount of funds spent on research. The US tops the list of money spent on research, the govt and industry is focused on research and they are willing to spend money on this most essential part.
The student are given lot of freedom to pursue his chosen subject with lots of support from the professors.
The student will have to strive every moment to excel in order to be at the top of the world.
Very competitive education due to many student from different part of the world come to study.
Freedom to change your university at any time of your study provided one scores well.
Students are eligible to earn while learning is wonderful way of life.
Getting exposure to the latest scientific advancement is the utmost key
Career opportunity and job right through out the world is an added advantage.Entrepreneurship is the utmost key, since in usa is a business oriented activity the growth is possible to chose to be an Entrepreneur or go getter
Life style too
Most important will be an exposure to us education will lead him to a pathfinder place, he has to do every thing by himself,
there will not be any assistance from any one right from meeting his basic needs and organizing studies, time schedule etc.
no pampering from the parents or loved ones that will make him a self made man. Joy of doing every thing on his own.

Do you have any more reasons to add, if you leave a comment below.

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12 Reasons Why My Son Wants to Study in USA

Q&A – Round 4

HSB — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:34:20 +0000

This is Part of of Q&A Section. You can read answers to more questions at

Q1: Patel

I have completed my B.Sc. in Biotechnology from Sardar Patel University at India in April-2009. Right now i am in PG Diploma Biotechnology Technologist-Industrial Microbiology (2years) at Centennial College in canada. I am planing for M.Sc. in biotechnology for that i need GRE or not if yes which type general or subject?

MSc degree is offered only in UK, Canada, India,… In America Master of Science M.S. is offered. Yes, you will need to take GRE Exam to apply for Universities in US, check with Colleges in Canada, if they require GRE Exam.

Q2: Zubin

I am applying for MS in Computer Science at universities in US. I dont have any property on my name, I am showing my maternal uncle as my sponsorer, Can you please help me with the list of documents required to show financial support

Yes, you can have your uncle as your sponsor. You will need to get bank statement from your uncle while applying for Universities and financial affidavit form. Usually the form will be provided by the University. If not, include in the bank statement that your uncle is sponsoring you.

Q3: Trahman

Dear HSB,

I do have a question regarding contacting professors. Should I contact a professor before applying for admission in Ph.D. program or should I do it afterwards? Some suggest to contact professors first. If they give a positive reply then the chances for admission and funding increase. Some people won’t even go through your email. So I need some attractive subjects for emails while contacting professors . Please suggest some email subjects.

Interesting question. Many students applying for PhD usually follow how a Masters students will apply for admission to US. But, they don’t understand PhD is much different from applying for Masters Degree. PhD admission process is much distinct and depends on your academic profile (Direct PhD after Bachelors degree or PhD after masters degree). You can learn all those process from My Happy Schools Blog – Premium Version of HSB.

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Q&A – Round 4

How to Get Teaching Assistantships?

HSB — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 03:31:02 +0000

You guys will be wondering if there is rocket science behind getting Financial Aid ( Teaching assistantships) during first semester or with admission. Following are 3 priority order to get TA. If you fall into one of the category, you will get TA, if not look for different source of job/income.

Priority order in awarding teaching assistantships to incoming students

Priority will be given to students with excellent academic credentials from reputed universities, a strong publication record, high GRE scores, strong support letters, who have already earned an M.S. degree in computer science and demonstrate a genuine wish to pursue the Ph.D. degree.
Students with excellent academic credentials from reputed universities, high GRE scores, strong support letters, a B.S degree in computer science and a desire to pursue either M.S. or Ph.D. degree. If a student with a B.S. degree expresses interest in the Ph.D. program, the application has to be backed up by strong research participation as an undergraduate (with publications desirable). For students from US universities, a minimum GPA of 3.4, strong GRE scores and support letters are required to be considered for a TA.
Students who have any CMSC or other prerequisite courses unfulfilled will generally not be admitted with TA support, except for exceptionally qualified
students.

Following Financial Assistance was taken from UMBC Computer Science Graduate Program Handbook. So, where do you think your profile will fit in above 3 order?

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How to Get Teaching Assistantships?

16 Universities Suggested by US Consultancy

HSB — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 02:45:03 +0000

US higher education consulting companies applying for students graduate school admission process in India is a huge business. It’s typical for a student to approach a US University admission consultant and asking them to apply for college admission on their behalf. With their experience, they can get advise and suggestions based on students academic profile.

US Admission Consultants – Process

A typical consultancy who applies for admission to US universities will charge fees that will be 50% more than what a student would normally pay for college application process, but if the student is not sure about the admission process, they can get admission consultants help. After a student complete GRE, TOEFL or GMAT exam, consulting company will agree to help.

After initial fee is paid, they will suggest list of universities where students can apply. With experience, it will be much easy for them to select the schools for the students. After school selection, all the required documents have to be submitted. Once that is done, applications will be submitted to by mail to US Universities. Typically they will suggest 10 universities and apply for 4 to 6 from that list of schools.

Universities for Profile

One of the comment here at HSB was bit interesting

These are the universities suggested to my profile by my consultant…… so pl tell me the BEST SIX PICK from the list below

1.University of Texas San Antonio , Texas
Annual tuition and fees: $ 14,816 for two semesters

2.Lamar University, Beaumont, TX
Annual tuition and fees: $ 9,071 approx.

List continued to total of 16 Universities.

So, the question is -

Why do you have to pay the consultant to select universities and then you are asking others for help? If you don’t trust the US admission consultancy, you shouldn’t be asking admission help from them in first place.
If you are going to get help from others, they you can very well save lots of money and apply to US Universities on your own.
There are over 1000 college and universities in US, if you cannot work to pick 6 from 16, it’s hard to manage life and education in US.

Personal details and complete list of universities was removed from the comment. But from looking at the university lists, it looks like students has below average than average academic profile.
Imge By – D-Kav

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

16 Universities Suggested by US Consultancy

Recommendation Letter is More Valuable than SOP?

HSB — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:01:27 +0000

Graduate Schools Admission includes mandatory Statement of Purpose and 3 letter of recommendation. But, which one has more value SOP or LOR?

SOP or LOR

According to Stanford University Dean of Admissions Derrick Bolton. He states:

If you asked me ‘could I make a decision on an application without essays?’ I would say ‘absolutely’, but ‘could I make a decision without recommendations?’ ‘No way.’ To me the recommendations are more important than the essays, but the essays get more attention.

- Derrick Bolton, ‘Faculty Spotlight: Interview with Derrick Bolton,’ March 13, 2006, The Stanford Business Reporter.

LOR is worthless

LOR has high importance compared to SOP.But students applying for India have 100% control on the LOR. Only few selective professors and Managers will give confidential LOR. Majority of the students applying to Graduate School will write LOR by themselves and get signature from their Professor or Lecturers.

Many universities in America might not be aware of such things. In such cases, LOR is just worthless. Do you agree?

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

Recommendation Letter is More Valuable than SOP?

US Admisssion Consultancies in India – Good or Bad?

HSB — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 02:19:11 +0000

Student from India planning to study in US will come across few US Admission Consultants (typically knows as US Admission Consultancies). Some students will apply to US Universities by doing their own research. But, still lot of students apply to Graduate School through US Admission Consultants. But, is it really necessary to apply to Universities through them?

Inside US Admission Consultancies in India

US admission Consultants are nothing but a yet another business entity. Their aim is to make money from students applying to US. Some of them are good in providing good consulting, but most of them know students are desperate to go to US, so they will try to exploit them.

Students usually approaching such consultancies

Will not have any idea about US University Admission process.
Very desperate to get admission in US University
Consultants guarantee to get admission in atleast 1 university
Not willing to learn about Graduate School Admission process
Believe that Universities suggested by them will fit their profile 100%

US Admission Consultants – Fee

Amount of money they charge for the services they provide is unacceptable. Typical consultancies will charge Rs 10,000 to Rs 75,000 to apply for 4 to 10 Universities. That fee will not include the cost to forward GRE and TOEFL Scores.

Services provided foe the above fee will include

Selecting Universities for you from their list
Provide Sample Statement of Purpose and Letter of Recommendation
Pay Application fee
Fill and submit your applications.

Fees will not include a review of your SOP, or resume. Most of counselors working will no clue about US Admission process or have visited US. Things they say will make you think, they know each and every details about US University process.

There are consultants who have studies in US and willing to provide good guidance. This article doesn’t apply to them at all. There are few consultants who follow this blog. Frequently we will receive email form them. They will charge students for counseling and request us to provide them information for their students.

Well, there is nothing much that can be done about that. But, that’s the nature of consulting business. Usually they will get admission from the University they select for you, not from your choice of university.

Self – Application to Graduate School

If you want to save lot of money, it’s very easy to complete all the application process by yourself. Even though it will be brand new process for you, so many students have done it before you. all you need to do, is to follow them. Information is available online, spend time searching for that info. Here at Happy Schools Blog, you can find all such information.

Image Credit – Kup Kup Land (flickr)

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US Admisssion Consultancies in India – Good or Bad?

How To Prepare Financially for Fall 2011 Semester in USA

HSB — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:39:09 +0000

If you are planning to come to US for Fall 2011 semester, you have to prepare yourself with lot of things, with good information, you can make informed decision.

Sheethal Asks

hi sir.. i’ve just generated interest attaining a masters degree in USA.. i’m doing my engineering in information science . So the year i might be wanting an admission is 2011. Can i know what are the things which i need to keep in mind in these two years to prepare myself for the big leap. And how i can tell my family to prepare financially. Does it help if we have our immediate family and cousins in America to get a visa or admission.

Preparation to Study in USA

First of all you made a good decision. Some students decide late in Final year, and ambitious few decide in second year of the Engineering to study in US. Having decided to study in US with over 2 years to go, you have lot of time in your hand to pepare for the journey ahead.

You can do the following things

Start preparing for GRE. You will need to have passport to take GRE Exam.
Sketch out the project plan with time line
Subscribe to Happy Schools Blog News Letter, you will receive an Free Ebook. It contains flowchart with timeline. Use that to plan your moves.
You will need to show bank balance while applying for admission.
After getting admission, you will have to bank balance while appearing for student visa interview.
If you have good academic profile, you can study in US without spending a dime.
Consider joining Premium Membership Club – Happy Schools Blog. It will give a very good head start.
Try to present few parers, do an internship, summer projects in companies, ..will improve your academic profile.

If you have additional question, leave a comment to this article.

Image Credit – NDEvil

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How To Prepare Financially for Fall 2011 Semester in USA