MS for Dummies!

I am (almost) at the end of the MS right of passage. Come the interview on the 27th of this month, and hopefully, all the running/writing/begging/cursing/screaming/shouting/sleepless nights and what not should bear fruit.

This blog might prove to be very useful for a LOT of people. Unlike what you will find on many websites, handbooks or what your stupid, daft counselors will tell you, this is a "hands on" view to "approaching" MS in the USA. This is what i had to go through; the good, the bad and the ugly. There were times i made some really good decisions for which i pat myself on the back now. But there were also a few for which i need to kick myself on my posterior.

Note:This blog is not GUIDE (official or unofficial) of any sort. This is being provided purely for your reference. Im simply listing the procedures and processes i followed. If you screw up..you cannot hold me responsible for it.

On that "serious" note..lets begin the journey throught the intrepid and often frustrating world of MS! The "approach" to MS can broadly be classified into 3 stages:
i. Pre-application
ii. Application
iii. Post application

Because of the length, i will be splitting this blog based on the 3 stages. Lets look at the most important, pre-application stage today.

Pre-application:

1) Engineering students who intend applying for a MS in the USA need to start scratching their heads from the 4th sem vacations itself. Wrap up your GRE/TOEFL at ANY COST in your third year itself. I recommend you take the TOEFL first. Its easier, and will get you familiar with how computer based testing works (..and the hospital like exam centre atmosphere..). Another reason you might want to finish off your GRE/TOEFLs is because, by chance (or because of your laziness/stupidity/GF/BF :p) if you screw up your tests, you'll still have some time to retake them without adversely affecting your application process.

2) You must realize, YOU and YOURSELF alone are the ones who are going to attend the MS program in the university. NOT your friend...NOT your counselor. I cannot emphasis how important it is to research/select the universities of your choice. If you are lucky, you might find a guy/gal who'll do this day in and day out (:D)..you could piggyback on them to save sometime. But the more efforts you put into this process, the more it'll save u hassles and heartburns later on.

3) This list of universities should initially consist of approximately 20 odd universities that broadly meet your requirements (fees, location, course, faculty, research, job prospects etc.). Every university has loads of information regarding these. Take some time out and go through them. You can start eliminating them on specific grounds a little later. Prepare this list if possible, BEFORE you take your GRE/TOEFL so that you can make use of the facility to automatically send your respective test scores to the universities (upto 4) you select. Trust me, this will save you gob loads of time, effort and money later on. Also, beyond those 4 universities to which your scores will automatically be sent, for the remainng, make use of the FAX services provided by ETS (the agency that conducts the GRE/TOEFL). Its cheaper that the phone services and much faster than the postal service.

4) One very important point to remember. PLEASE for the love of god..REFRAIN from using those silly rankings lists to select your list of prospective universities. This is what 90% of the people do and they end up burying themselves in cow dung. Many courses in universities in the 50-60-70 rank range are equivalent or sometimes better than those in the top 30 odd. And you stand a much better chance of getting an admit in one of these. Another point, certain university courses are MUCH better than others. For example, The Retarded State Univ. might have excellent CS courses..but stupid EE/ECE courses, even though its overall rank is high.

5) Organize all the information regarding the universities in a book or diary. By information i mean the postal address of the department you are applying to, the telephone number, fee structure, course structure, GRE/TOEFL codes and other remarks/doubts you may have. Try not making a soft copy of this, as this piece of paper will prove indispensable later on.

6) Run around, in your 6th sem..so that by the end of sem 6, when your results are declared, you can get your transcripts and letters of recommendation stamped/signed and ready for dispatch.

7) Take some time, to read/refer statements of purpose (SOPs) online. It shouldnt be more than one page long. Be very precise and dont try to fit in 3/4th of the dictionary. It'll not help you in ANY WAY.

8) By now, you should have your prospective list of univs, LORs, SOPs, transcripts, bank statement, affidavit of support (stamp paper ascertaining your finances) ready. Your sem 6 vacations would be going on. With this, you are ready for actually APPLYING.

Pre-application from my experience, apart from being the most important, is the most time/effort consuming stage. But, the more you work now and the better you manage your time, i can assure you, the more resources you save later on.

TIP: When selecting your list of prospective universities, irrespective of the number, select as many "middle tier" universities as you can. Lets say, if i am applying to 8 universities, 2 can be the higher ranked/rated ones, 4 of them..solid middle tier univs with a good repute and a reasonable acceptance rate and the remaining 2 being lower-tier, sure shot bets. How you classify them, depends on how much and where you look for info.