I’m pursuing a bachelor’s degree in technology. I’m in the last semester of my fourth year. My destination is the University of Memphis. My question is can I leave for the U.S. in spring 2013? Also, please provide any information about the University of Memphis.
K.Mahalakshmi Sahithi
If you already have an admission to University of Memphis for fall 2012, you may write to the university requesting to defer the admission to spring 2013. If the university gives their consent, then you may request for a fresh I20 and proceed with the visa and other required formalities keeping in mind the time frame.
One of the most important factors a student needs to look for before applying to any university is the accreditation of the educational institution. University of Memphis is accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges, SACSCOC. You may verify the accreditation status by visiting the website of Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), http://chea.org/ or the website of U.S. Department of Education Post-Secondary Accreditation Database, http://www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. Accreditation will ensure a valid and valued degree at the end of the duration of study. Other factors that you could look for in a university are current research, the course structure, the strength of the graduate department, and the profile of the professors.
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Presently I am pursuing my bachelor’s degree. I want to complete a master’s in chemical engineering in the U.S. I heard that it will cost nearly 15 lakhs. Is that true? If so, can I do my M.S. after one or two years of working after finishing my undergraduate programme? Exactly how much money do I need? How can I obtain scholarships for a master’s degree? Is it difficult to get a part time job in the U.S.? After finishing my master’s programme, can I get a job in the U.S. or will I have to continue my studies and pursue a PhD?
M.Manasa
One needs to be realistic about the costs that would be incurred during the application process – the tuition to be paid for years of study and the costs of living in the U.S. This requires a personal assessment of the available finances from various sources. If you do not have the requisite finances required to pursue higher education in the U.S., you may consider applying for an educational loan or working until you earn the required amount. If you plan to enrol for a M.S. program, the tuition and living costs combined can be anywhere between US$35,000 to US$50,000 per year, and these costs are mentioned on the university websites.
At the graduate level, the great majority of funding is merit-based and comes in the form of research and teaching assistantships or a partial or full tuition waiver. International students may be awarded financial aid by the U.S. university based on the profile of the student. The various factors considered in the award of scholarships are the student’s academic achievements and potential in the chosen field of study, financial need, importance of the proposed research projects, interests of certain scholars/teachers, and availability of funds for graduate students.
As for opportunities for work, international students are only allowed to work 20 hours a week on an F1student visa. On completion of the course, a student may take advantage of the Optional Practical Training (OPT) which allows a student to work in a job directly related to her major area of study for up to 29 months for fields related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
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I am in my intermediate second year, and after this year I want to study technology in the U.S. Can you please tell me the procedure to pursue a bachelor’s of technology in the U.S.?
Sathya Sainath
The first step in the application process to American universities is to obtain information about institutions that offer the program/major you want to pursue. Use reference guides like the College Board website, https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search and the Petersons website, http://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools.aspx, to identify higher education institutions. Check whether you meet the minimum academic requirements and whether you can meet the application deadlines. If you require financial assistance, check whether it is available to international students. You may apply to more than one institution as U.S. institutions receive many applications and often cannot accommodate all qualified applicants.
Once you decide to apply, there are four major components of any application. These are the academic records at school/intermediate level, standardized tests, essays and letters of recommendation from your teachers/counsellor. Records should be submitted for all post-secondary schools attended and should provide a list of courses taken, yearly examination results, and conferral of degrees. If your native language is not English, register as early as possible for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and request that the Educational Testing Service forward your scores to the institutions to which you are applying. Register for standardized tests such as SAT I, SAT II and take these tests as required by the institution.
Request letters of recommendation written by teachers. You will also be required to write essays and the topics may differ for different institutions. All these requirements and supporting credentials need to reach the college before the stated application deadlines. For more information on undergraduate studies visit the web link http://www.U.S.ief.org.in/Study-in-the-U.S./Undergraduate-Study.aspx.
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I am pursuing master’s of technology degree with a specialization in parallel and distributed systems (PDS). I am interested in pursuing a PhD in distributed computing, so please give me the details of the universities that offer PhDs in this area as well as the details for applying. Are GRE and TOEFL scores necessary for admission? What are the cut off scores for universities?
Thirupathi Reddy P.
A good place for you to begin researching suitable universities offering PhD programs in distributive systems is the Petersons website, www.petersons.com, which is a graduate school search engine. Here, you can search for suitable programs by several parameters – subject, highest degree offered, location and public/private institutions.
In general, the admissions process at U.S. universities is based on a holistic assessment of student capabilities, and a typical application will have many components. Your academic record across high school and college, standardized test scores (GRE, tests for English language proficiency such as TOEFL and IELTS), letters of recommendations from professors or work supervisors, statement of purpose and prior research/work experience will all be significant for your study in the U.S. The GRE and TOEFL are important required components of your application.
The average GRE scores of the incoming batch are usually available on the university’s official website and can be accessed by students. These scores can be used to realistically assess your chance of admission and it is always wise to have a mix of schools within your reach, the dream schools where you hope to get in and the safety schools where you can be reasonably sure of admission.
Once you have identified higher education institutions, check whether you meet the minimum academic requirements and whether you can meet the application deadlines. You may shortlist about eight to ten accredited universities based on your area of specialization. For more detailed information on the process of planning, shortlisting, and applying to U.S. universities, you can also see http://www.U.S.ief.org.in/Study-in-the-U.S..aspx.
(Though this is a fortnightly column, some questions that could not be accommodated last week are being published this week.)
