Overview | Admission Process | Visa Information | FAQs

Admission officers have to go through many applications and sometimes it is difficult for them to read illegible applications. So, it is preferable to type your applications. Make a copy of your application, fill in the details and when finalized, type them in the original form.

Unless you hold permanent residency (Green Card) you will most probably enter the US with the F-1 student visa. So you can put that on the form for the time being.

A transcript is a record of all subjects you have covered including practical, if any, the teaching hours per subject, along with the duration of the subject (1 semester or 1 year) and the marks obtained as an undergraduate. The mark sheet from the University does not suffice and you will have to create your transcripts in this format and get them certified from the registrar of your institute. All transcripts have to be sent in the original, as photocopies are not accepted.

Unless you are specifically asked to send in your high school results, you need not.

To make a transcript official it must be printed on your institute’s letterhead and signed by the registrar.

Each university operates its own application process and you need to contact each university separately to obtain information. However, over 170 Universities in the US have come together to accept a common application form. Copies of this form can be sent to all the institutes in the common application program, and the applicant need not fill out separate forms.

You can communicate by post, fax, telephone, e-mail or through their website.

You do not need to give too many details about your academic background and reasons for applying, while requesting information from American universities. Request for prospectus, information on financial aid and application materials. Specify the year in which you wish to join and your postal address. Pre-application forms to help you in this process are available from USEFI centers in Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta and Chennai.

Prospective international postgraduates should write to two locations: the Graduate School Admissions Office and the department where they hope to pursue a degree. The Graduate School will provide application forms and information for international students and the department will provide information on the course and details on financial aid.

You may apply to as many universities as you wish. However, most universities require you to pay an application fee that ranges from USD 30 to USD 100 and is not refundable. It is expensive and time consuming to apply to many universities. It is not a good idea to apply to just one highly competitive program, unless that is the only program that you really want to attend.

There are two main sources of financial aid. These are in the form of teaching or research assistantships or fellowships offered by American universities, scholarships provided by trusts and organizations in India.

On an average around 35 per cent of international postgraduate students receive some amount of financial aid. Your chances of getting aid depends on your test scores, your application, your academic record, the total aid available with the university and department and the number of students applying for aid.

University-based financial aid does not always cover full costs so you should apply to other sources of assistance. First year students are less likely to receive assistance. There are three main forms of university-based financial aid available. The most common for arts, humanities, and social science students are teaching assistantships. For up to 20 hours a week you may help a professor with lectures, lead class discussions, grade exam papers, or teach undergraduates. Students in the sciences and engineering fields are often awarded research assistantships, whereby a student will help on departmental or professorial research projects. An assistantship will typically cover the cost of tuition and fees for a year and sometimes a stipend is added for living expenses. Fellowships are normally awarded to students admitted to Ph.D. program. They entail no work responsibilities and may cover the cost of tuition, plus a stipend. Full fellowship support for the duration of a program is rare and will generally be combined with an assistantship. All aid is awarded on a year-by-year basis but should be forthcoming if the minimum GPA is maintained.

Yes, generally speaking the sciences offer more research assistantships. Teaching assistantships are more abundant at universities with a large undergraduate enrolment and in subjects that are extremely popular among undergraduates. More funding is usually available to Ph.D. students than to Master's degree students.

Departments within US universities decide which applicants receive assistantships, so you should first correspond with the department about this possibility. To receive an assistantship you should talk to your tutors and find out if they know anyone in the US who may be in charge of a large research project in your field and if they can introduce you. Keep in mind that deadlines for applications for assistantships tend to be earlier than admission deadlines.

If you have been offered a teaching or research assistantship is sure to have all offers of money in writing before you leave for the US. If you are receiving only partial tuition, find out from the graduate school how much of the tuition you are responsible for and when it must be paid. Universities sometimes hold registration until they receive payment, so if the school needs payment prior to registration send it ahead, making careful arrangements to allow for international post. If you are to receive a stipend for living expenses, universities provide a list of dates of payment. Don't expect the dates to be at the first of every month, as it may be staggered throughout the academic year. Obtain a list of payment dates to facilitate financial planning.

View your teaching assistantship as a job and try to find out exactly what is expected from you before you start. If you are looking for a chance to gain experience in teaching, make sure you have the opportunity to work with students in a classroom environment. Sometimes, teaching assistants are asked to grade papers or tutor students in a writing center or support center. Other teaching assistants have a great deal of responsibility and are expected to completely lead a class including doing lesson plans and writing exams. Don't be alarmed about your responsibilities, as you will undergo an orientation and training period beforehand and you will receive assistance from your academic advisor/thesis advisor. Be conscious of your schedule and be sure to devote enough time to your assistantship, putting aside time before your classes to review notes, etc. Universities will normally stipulate how many hours per week they will expect you to devote to your teaching assistantship, anywhere from 10 to 20 hours per week.

Because research assistantships are flexible, assignments can sometimes be very unstructured. Try to keep as much structure as possible and keep track of the number of hours you spend each week working for your department. Where possible get all research assignments in writing and even talk over the work with the professor so you can be clear about what is needed. If you feel a professor has given you an assignment, which will involve a great deal of time and short notice on the deadline, speak up and negotiate a more suitable deadline. You may also be asked to perform administrative tasks such as cleaning out files, answering phones in the department office or setting up appointments for professors. If you will be performing an administrative function, it is likely that you will be asked to be on hand at scheduled times.

Funding is probably not available from independent sponsoring organizations and there will be less likelihood of funding from universities because the students who have enrolled earlier in September will probably have depleted the department’s budget.

Fill in the forms’ basic information such as name, address, etc. and in response to questions of how much money you have to contribute toward your graduate study, just list the various sources to which you have applied for financial assistance.

Students are eligible to work for up to twenty hours a week on campus. This work would probably not pay very much and would not pay enough for your tuition and cost of living. Under the terms of the student visa, teaching assistantships and research assistantships do not fall under the category of work.

Many Indian banks now offer loans at attractive interest rates to students for education abroad. Your parents may have to stand as a guarantor for the loan. For more information please contact your bank. Also, if you have a US citizen or permanent resident who is willing to co-sign or guarantee the loan, you may be eligible to apply for certain loans from US-based loan companies. Some US universities may also offer loans to international students.

If you are applying for admission immediately after graduation, your professors or principal must write the recommendations. If you have worked for some time before applying, your boss and your professors must write the recommendations, particularly for professional courses. For Academic courses a recommendation from your professors or principal would suffice.

Your recommendations will have to be entered into a form sent to you by the US University. Each university will send its own form and you are expected to give this form to your professors or the person who is recommending you. You will have to request your professors to fill in these forms.

You will receive instructions in your application pack. Most American universities require your professors to fill in the recommendation form, seal it in an envelope and give it to you for mailing. Some of them might ask you to give your professors an envelope with the required stamps on it and ask them to mail it.

The Statement of Purpose is a document that speaks about you, your aspirations and professional goals and relates these to the graduate program that you intend to pursue. The SOP should basically answer the question..."Why should the graduate school admit you... what makes you special?
The SOP is the tool that the faculty uses to gauge if you have what it takes to succeed in grad school and later in the academic discipline as a professional. What they are looking for, is an undying commitment to the desired field, backed with adequate preparation from your side.
Your SOP should cover three main points: Why you want to pursue this particular degree in relation to your long term goals; why have you chosen this particular university; and why you are an outstanding candidate?

Unless you receive specific instructions that your SOP should be handwritten, the admission office expects that your SOP is typed.

Unless specified, your SOP should be between two to three pages with double spacing.

In the US there are over 1,500 universities offering postgraduate degrees and probably dozens of 'good' courses in your field. There is no official list of top universities compiled by the US government. Magazines such as USA publish unofficial rankings. However, these must be used with circumspection. A more reliable source of information will be students who have studied in the States. Refer to prospectuses at the Educational Advisory Service (EAS) as the content of Master’s or Ph.D. programs does differ. Apply to graduate programs that best fit your needs.

It is not very uncommon to apply for a Master’s degree in a subject not allied to the undergraduate degree. However, competition for places is tough and in most cases a Bachelor’s degree in your intended field is a prerequisite. However, if your degree was inter-disciplinary and you took, for example, one-third of your courses in environmental science, you may be admitted into a postgraduate program for environmental science upon the completion of a designated number of undergraduate courses at the institution in which you want to enroll. For graduates applying for professional degrees in subjects such as business (MBA), education, or hotel management, the above rules tend not to apply. Relevant work experience is often important for MBA admission.

Application deadlines of US universities range from late November to August. Most deadlines are nine months prior to the start of the academic year. If you start the process late, you may still be able to find a university in your field that would be willing to consider your application. However, you won’t have much of a choice. If you have not taken the necessary standardized test for admission, you need to take the tests and submit the scores before the application deadline.

US universities, particularly the top ranking ones, receive hundreds of applications, so deadlines are firm and you will need to ensure that the application form, test results and recommendations have reached the university before the required date. MBA courses often operate rolling admissions where the admissions committee meets several times a year, so there is no set deadline. However, early application is advisable.

Rolling admission refers to a university policy to accept applications throughout the year regardless of a deadline. Selection committees at these universities meet periodically to make decisions on admissions. Professional Master’s degree programs usually incorporate rolling admission.

US immigration law allows international students to gain academic experience for 12-18 months upon completion of a degree from a US university. The professional position must be relevant to your field of study and each possible job placement will be closely scrutinized by the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS). After this period, your US University degree will not entitle you to a work permit.

Most graduate programs in the United States expect a distinction or a first class degree from applicants educated in India.

Some universities allow students to complete a Master’s degree in one year. In this case the student has to take greater number of courses. However, if you are asked to complete a Master’s thesis, you may find it difficult to finish in less than 18 months. Additionally, if you have a teaching assistantship or research assistantship, you may find that your duties take up so much time that it would be difficult to complete your degree in one year. Some professional degrees have prescribed coursework that does not allow you to complete your coursework in one year. However, certain business schools may offer one-year MBA programs for students with prior work experience.

Ph.D. from an American university usually takes long. Students must first complete between one and two years of coursework followed by a qualifying examination. After passing the qualifying examination, doctoral candidates begin work on their dissertation, which usually takes 3 to 7 years.

Students (F1 or M1) may travel within 30 days of the commencement of the course of study as stated on your I-20 regardless of how early your visa was issued.

The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) program requires schools and exchange programs to verify the enrolment status of all continuing and new foreign students and exchange visitors. However the visa cannot be issued until your SEVIS fee has been paid.

Applicants applying with I-20 forms processed after 1 Sept 2004 are required to provide the SEVIS I-901 fee receipt as proof of payment. You can log on to www.ice.gov/sevis for further details.

In such a case, please bring official documents, which verify the loan approval, not just the application. You must prove that funds are immediately available to cover the first year's costs, and show evidence that funds will be available for all subsequent years. Also since Indian banks ordinarily give educational loans of relatively modest amounts, the application must still demonstrate additional liquid assets and any financial documentation you provide should be in support of this. This applies to all student visa applicants