What after GRE?

After GRE, the applicant should also appear for TOEFL/IELTS.

In order to apply for Universities, the applicant needs to have either TOEFL or IELTS scores along with GRE scores. TOEFL/IELTS basically tests your English speaking skills. Normally people will take TOEFL/IELTS immediately after GRE as they are easier compared to GRE. So one can score descent scores in these tests if they have prepared well for GRE. (Please note that along with GRE score, US Universities require TOEFL scores while Australian, New Zealand and UK Universities require IELTS scores).

There are two important steps after having appeared for GRE and TOEFL/IELTS.

One Reporting your GRE Scores to Universities and two, preparing documents required for University Admission.

Reporting your GRE scores to Universities

In the application process to US universities, you have to report GRE and TOEFL/IELTS scores to the Universities you want to apply. Score reporting to universities has to be done officially through ETS (Test conductor & Organizer of GRE/TOEFL).

You can report GRE score to 4 universities for free of cost at the end of the GRE test. You can send your scores to the Universities or Colleges you want to join. This reporting of scores is done free of cost as the payment for reporting the score to four institutes of your choice is included in the GRE registration fee.

Additional Score Reports (ASRs) - GRE additional score report cost

Additional score reports can be ordered for a fee of US$23 per score recipient. Currently, only scores earned on or after July 1, 2005 are available. You can order ASRs via web, mail, fax or phone.

There are three ways of doing the GRE Score Reporting and they are as below:

1.Online GRE Score reporting

2.GRE score reporting by Mail or Fax

3.GRE score reporting by Phone

Further actions and Document Collection/Preparation for University Admission

Once done with the GRE, you may feel relaxed and think that a major burden has got ridden. Indeed, completion of GRE with a satisfactory score is a major milestone in the journey to MS. However, your mission is half won and you still have a long distance to travel. GRE is just a beginning. Lot of tensions will creep in, in the near future as a lot of things have to be taken care of and things will miss out easily. Here is a list of things that has to be done after taking GRE and TOEFL/IELTS.

  Decide your course and the university

a. How do I come up with University list?

This is one of the most difficult and hectic step. Basically you have to identify your field of interest and then find the good universities where you can get admit. Again, lot of factors like university ranking, cost of living, quality of faculty etc will come into picture that can make the decision quite tough. 

 

b. How many Universities do I apply?

It depends on your profile, your personal mindset and the money that you have kept aside for application. Generally an application for MS will cost you anywhere between $70 to $100 (Rs.4000 to Rs.6000 - All inclusive of the application fee, courier cost, GRE/TOEFL reporting fee, transcript fee and other small expenses). Most people we have come across in various forums apply to about 8 to 12 Universities in general.

You can divide the universities into 3 categories.

Ambitious: The ones that are your real dream Universities, but the ones you may feel little difficult to get into considering your profile.

Moderate: The Universities which you believe that you have a fair chance of getting in. But you still cannot be very confident of your admit.

Safe: The Universities that you are confident that you should get a call from.

One of the possible schemes that you can use while selecting universities is

2/7 th of the universities should be Ambitious universities.

2/7 th of the universities should be Moderate universities.

3/7 th of the universities can be safe universities.

[Remember, it costs you extra 23$/university if you want to apply to more than 4 universities (After GRE, ETS will provide you an option to send results to 4 universities for free of cost)]

Students can also apply to courses other than their undergrad courses. In such cases, universities may ask you to take some undergrad courses in the first semester.  For example if you have a degree in Mechanical Engineering, you can apply to Computer science by taking some undergrad subjects related to computer science which the university will specify.

Prepare Statement of Purpose (SOP):

SOP is a way for the admission committee members to get to know about you since they did not get a chance to take an interview. SOP is an essay that describes you, your accomplishments, your academic background, career plans and future goals. This has to be submitted with the application. SOP is a very important factor in deciding your admission to the university and grant of financial aid. So, make sure you prepare your SOP well ahead of time so that you have enough time to get it revised, corrected and edited many times.

Arrange other documents

This is again a tedious process where you have to run here and there and get things done by buttering people. [Good chance to be a sycophant :) ] 

 

Letters of Recommendation (LOR):

These are letters issued by your professors indicating your competence for pursuing a program at a university. The letters are usually drafted by the Professor himself and he returns it to the student in a sealed envelope. ‘Reco letters’ (as they are informally called) are 100 to 150-word letters stating in brief the Professor's opinion of the student, his capabilities, and any other information that might be useful to the University in gauging the student. Ideally for MS programs, most Universities ask for 3 recommendations. Some restrict you to 2 while a few allow even a fourth recommendation.

Transcripts:

A transcript is an official statement of your marks (till the semester for which marks are available) issued by your university. It is issued by the University on demand. Generally Universities charge a fee for each copy of the 'Official Transcript'.

Some Universities ask for 2 copies of transcript (one for the Graduate school and one for the Department). You should always apply for more transcripts than the number of Universities you are applying for.

General process of procuring a transcript goes like this:

You'll write an application to the Registrar of your University (not college) to issue you transcripts.

You have to mention the amount of transcripts required. Attach the demand draft for the fee that the University charges. Mention the address where the transcripts should be mailed to you.

To be on a safer side, you should procure the transcripts well in time to avoid any last minute hassles.

Financial statement

This is one of the biggest worries of applicants to U.S. universities. "How do I show enough funds for the fees indicated?" is a question that would dog every prospective applicant. Most U.S. universities charge at least $15000 (Rs.750000) per year as fees. For a two-year course, it would be necessary to document a minimum of $30000 (Rs.15 lakhs). That is certainly an astronomical sum for most Middle class families. But this huge amount has to be documented. Usually, this is done by providing a bank statement to the University indicating the ability to pay the fees and that can be sponsored (this could be your father, mother, uncle etc.). You only need to get a bank statement and an affidavit of support from your sponsor.

Affidavit:

Affidavit is similar to a bank statement. It is a official document issued from Government stating who will be financing your education. You can get affidavit by going to a court and asking a lawyer to fill in the exact details.

Resume:

Resume is a document highlighting your achievements. Basically, your resume for your MS application should clearly capture all your academics, academic related achievements and significant co-curricular activities. Also mention your work experience (if any) and the kind of work you have done.

Sending the application

After you have finished filling your application, and ready with all the documents mentioned, you can pack it in a large thick envelope. Usually, you may need to send two envelopes - one to the Graduate School and another to your department - though some universities may need you send in only one envelope.  Even if you apply online, you must send envelopes for documents like your transcripts, ‘Reco letters’ etc.