Tuesday, 27 August 2013
29.US Universities Admission Process Flowchart
I wish to enlist the entire Admission Process that US
Universities follow when a Student applies for MS or PhD for any field.
So this will entirely focus on the Admission Process which is
followed by all the Universities in the US no matter which field you
apply to. Generally your Admission Process has seven stages in all and
these stages will be common to any University that you apply for. I have
created a flowchart of the Admission Process which I would like to
share with you.
Flowchart Of US Universities Admission Process: -
As you can see from the Flowchart all the seven stages in the Admission Process.
This is the reason why we call it a "7 Step Program at EEC"28.Change Of Course After Admit Or Joining The University: – MS in US:
Changing in Bachelors is quite simple. This answer is for Masters applicants for USA.
Change Of Course After Admit Or Joining The University: – MS in US
I decided to write this by
which Students can get a clear information on whether it is possible to
Change the Course/Program after the Admit or Joining the University.
Check out the Answer below.
Answer: -
Many students have this
query, whether they will be able to switch Course/Program after an
admit/joining to the University. To switch the Course/Program
immediately after the admit will be a difficult one. The University
might suggest you to apply again for the new Course/Program. A Direct
transfer to another Course/Program won’t be done. But there will
generally be an option to change your course/program after joining the
University.
To officially switch your
Course/Program, you must have an approval from the program advisor in
the old and new programs. Your new program may require additional
information such as letters of recommendation, essay, new application,
new scores, etc. There is no guarantee that you will be admitted to the
new program, or that courses you have completed will transfer. Contact
an advisor in the new program before making a decision to change your
program.
Universities generally have a Graduate
Change of Program Form which you need to fill up. You must get the
signatures of both Program Advisors (New and the Old) in this form.
Check out this link to view the Form of a University. Graduate Change Of Program Form.
To Conclude, I would say that change of
Course/Program after admit is really tough. University will suggest you
to apply all again for the new Course/Program. But you can switch after
joining the University, which too will depend on the University.
27.Factors To Consider While Selecting an University in USA
Selecting a University has always been a big task for International Students. The Students have to consider lots of factors before deciding which University they will go. Most of the Students know how to select a University but still I am going to discuss in detail regarding that, as its one of the important steps towards Studying MS in USA. Below here are the various key points you need to look at before deciding the University that you will be joining.
Key Points To Consider In Selecting The University: -
- Fees for the Entire MS Program.
- Living Expenses that you are going to Incur.
- Financial Aid Given By The University.
- Entire Length of your Course.
- Whether there is an option for Thesis/Non-Thesis.
- Population of Students from Abroad.
- Current Students Survey regarding the University.
- General Climate of that City/State.
- What’s the Crime Rate around the Area?
- Job Opportunities after MS.
- Is It within your Budget?
1. Fees for the Entire Program: -
The Fees for the Entire Program differs from One University to Another. You need to check each Universities website to get to know about the Entire Fees. Generally Private Universities Fees are higher than Public Universities. There are some reductions that may be done if you get Scholarships/TA/RA. But the Reductions will be decided by the University itself. You will find all the Information in Universities Website.2. Living Expenses that you are going to Incur: -
The Living Expenses will depend on which city you live in. For Example if you get NYU Polytechnic which it is Brooklyn, New York the Living Expenses are higher than other States. So you need to decide the University based on the Expenses too. This is a tough decision to make, A good University but high cost of living or Medium University with affordable cost of living. You can find the Expenses that you may incur in the University Website Itself.
3. Financial Aid Given By The University: -
If you get a Scholarship from the University itself then that’s great. But if not check if the University have Teaching Assistant or Research Assistant jobs available. Getting a TA or an RA will help you in managing your monthly expenses. Also check other Part-Time Jobs that are available in the University. Check their Website, they will have all the details regarding RA/TA and even regarding Part-Time Jobs they are offering. Also get in contact with the seniors regarding these Queries.
4. Entire Length of your Course: -
Check the Length of the Course that you are willing to attend. Some of the Masters Program are quite lengthy, so you need to check this information before applying. Take an Example if you are switching from Electronics to MS in Computer Science, then the University will ask you to take pre-requisite courses. Generally you will be asked to take courses from Under graduation before starting of with your Masters.
5. Whether there is an option for Thesis/Non-Thesis: -
Thesis means that you will be given a problem at the start of the semester and you will be told to find the appropriate solution for it. It is like Research. If you are interested in PhD then take Thesis option. It will be a good choice. Non-Thesis is similar to our under Graduation. You will need to complete the syllabus that will be given to you. You need to check the details regarding this in the Website.
6. Population of Students from Abroad : -
Always check the population of International Students in the University. It is common phenomenon that you will feel a little relaxed if you have students from your own country studying in the University. So for Example, for Indians there are Indian Association that is formed in each University. They have a Website dedicated for this. You can see the website and get in touch with them regarding any doubts about that University.
7. Current Students Survey regarding the University: -
Generally Universities carry out a Survey from the International Students in order to rate their University by asking them various questions.
8. General Climate of that City/State: -
Here you will have to choose a University which has a good Ranking and also the Climate in that region is good. Say if you choose Universities from the North region, be prepared for very colder climates. So you need to analyse which climate soothes you and then choose the University.
9. What’s the Crime Rate around the Area: -
This is a important factor to be taken into consideration while choosing a University. You need to see the Crime Rate in the area around the University. You can check the Official Website of the US which gives the Crime Rate in Each State: -Click Here.
10. Job Opportunities after MS: -
This is the Important Factor that you need to look at if you are willing to settle down in USA. The best people who can help you to know whether there are good job opportunities are the seniors who study in that University. Contact the seniors before you apply and then go for the University where job opportunities are greater. At this moment job opportunities in Florida are very less while in State of California is at a high level. So just check this and then apply.
11. Is It within your Budget: -
At last after checking all the parameters above the final parameter will be that “Is it within your budget?” So you need to take all the factors mentioned above and also go for the University that is within your Budget. It’s really a tough call to make. But you have to decide and apply for the University which almost satisfies all the Conditions.
So to Conclude, Try to get into a University that satisfies all the points, but make sure it satisfies the points that are primary to you.
All The Best.
26.GRE Exam Calculator:
Details with respect to the On-Screen Calculator that is provided during the GRE Exams. So this will focus on the On-Screen Calculator, it’s important functions and whether is it necessary to use the calculator during the Examinations. Students might be knowing that the Calculator was provided in the New GRE Exam Pattern only.
GRE On-Screen Calculator:
This is the calculator that will be provided to the students during the
Examination. The calculator will look exactly the same in your GRE Exam
as well. Now let’s look into some of the important functionalities of
this calculator.
1) Transfer Display: -
At the bottom of the calculator, you can
see a button called ‘Transfer Display’. This button can be used during
the Numeric Entry questions in your Quant Section. Since you need to
enter the Answer, if you have calculated the Answer in the calculator
then by clicking Transfer Display, it transfers the Answer from
Calculator to that Answer space available for that question. Don’t use
this feature unless you are certain. For example, if a question requires
you to round your answer or convert your answer to a percent, make sure
that you adjust the transferred number accordingly.
2) Memory: -
I suppose many students might be knowing this feature that is available in all the calculators: MR and MC. They recall and clear, respectively, the value stored in memory. The Calculator doesn’t have the MS or Memory Store Button. Now to store the value in the Memory for the first time, press M+. The tricky thing about this button is that it doesn’t override what’s currently in memory: it adds to the value.
Take an Example: 6 M+ 3 M+ MR. The
value that will be stored is not 3 but 9. If you want to save a
completely new and unrelated value, then first you need to clear the
memory by pressing MC. Mostly, Memory options are generally not used by the students.
3) Limit: -
The Limit to the Number of digits in the
calculator is 8. So if you try to exceed that then either it won’t take
or if your result after calculation exceeds 8 digits then you will see
an message ‘ERROR’.
4) Parentheses: -
GRE calculator does have parentheses,
however, they are coupled, meaning opened bracket should be closed
before you could use it again. So, you can’t nest parentheses such as 9×(8–(7+1)), you need to calculate first (7+1) separately and only then go ahead and use the parentheses.
5) Plus and Minus Sign: -
On the left hand side bottom, you can
see a plus and a minus sign below plus sign. It’s simply used to change
the sign for the digits.
Personal Suggestion: Use Keyboard Rather than a Mouse
The way that to use calculator
effectively in GRE Exam is to perform calculations in the calculator
using keyboard rather than a mouse. When you use the mouse to perform
calculations, you need to click on each and every digit and operations
that you want to carry like +, -. %, /, *. Use the keyboard for entering
values and performing the operations, it will really be faster than
using a mouse.
To Conclude:
My personal suggestion with respect to
using calculator in the GRE Exam is that if you are good in calculations
then no need to use it. Always try to approximate as it will save your
time. But that doesn’t mean don’t use the calculator at all. Calculator
can really be useful for difficult calculations.
25.Percentage To GPA Conversion. Is it Necessary To Convert?
As all of you might be aware that Universities in the US uses GPA to grade the Students. While in India and many other Asian Countries, the Universities uses Percentage or CGPA to grade the students. So when you see the Requirements for applying to any University in the US, you will see that they might have specified a minimum GPA that a student must have to apply to that University. So students really want to convert their Percentage/CGPA to GPA. But is it necessary to do it? If yes what is the right way?What is GPA?
GPA is Grade Point Average. This is the grading tool that the Universities in the US use to grade their students. The highest GPA that a student can get is 4.0. So how exactly GPA is calculated by the Universities? Check the answer in the next question.
An Ideal Way To Calculate GPA.
So GPA is calculated in the following way. Every Student will be assigned a Grade for each of the Courses. Grade A = 4.0; Grade B= 3.0; Grade C = 2.0; Grade D = 1.0; Grade F = 0. So Let’s say you have got Grades for each of the course as: – B, A, B, A.
Secondly Each course will have Credit Hours. Usually when you see the Credit Hours for a Graduate School it will have 3 Credit Hours for each of the Courses. So to calculate your GPA.
Total Grades = Sum of your (Grade* Credit Hours) = B*3 + A*3 + B*3 + A*3 = 42.
Credit Hours of all the Courses: – 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 12
GPA = Total Grades/Credit Hours of All Courses = 42/12 = 3.5
Some Of The Wrong Ways To Convert Your Percentage into GPA: -
You will find in some websites the below Conversion. Please do not follow the below Conversion. It is a incorrect way to convert your Percentage into GPA.
< 40% = 2.0; 41 -50% = 2.5; 51-60% = 3.0; 61-80% = 3.5; 81-100% = 4.0
Why The Above Way is Incorrect?
Let’s take an Example. Consider Mumbai University in India. Most of the students in Mumbai University are in the range of 61-70% while the toppers are in the range of 71-80%. Consider a topper in a particular filed has got 75%. So ideally being a topper his/her GPA should be 4.0 but using the above conversion, his/her GPA will be 3.5 which is wrong. The Conversion from Percentage to GPA depends a lot on how much percentage does a topper get in your University.
Are Universities in the US aware about the way in which your University grades the Students?
The Answer is Yes. The Universities in the US are very well aware about your University. They know whether a University is strict while giving Percentage to the students or not. For Example consider two Universities in India: – Mumbai University and Anna University in Chennai. Mumbai University is considered to be strict than Anna University. So getting a 60% from Mumbai University will be equal to say getting a 70% from Anna University. So Universities in the US are aware of that and they will bring students from various Universities around the World under an Common platform and then convert their Percentage into GPA. So Converting is a complex process.
The Final Call: -
I would say that please don’t convert your Percentage into GPA as it’s a complex process to do so.
While Applying for the University there will be an option called as Grade in which you need to write your percentage and you need to enter 100 in the Scale option. So please don’t get misguided by some conversions that will be provided in many websites.
All The Best.
24.USA Universities that Offer MS in Biotechnology:
Here is the list of Universities that Offer MS in Biotechnology which also includes Bioinformatics. Most OF the Universities listed here provides MS in Bioinformatics. The Universities listed are all from the USA only. The Universities are arranged in an Alphabetical Order.| Sr.No | Universities |
| 1 | Baylor College of Medicine |
| 2 | Boston University |
| 3 | Brandeis University |
| 4 | Carnegie Mellon University |
| 5 | Columbia University |
| 6 | Duke University |
| 7 | George Mason University |
| 8 | Georgia Institute of Technology |
| 9 | Harvard University Extension School |
| 10 | Indiana University |
| 11 | Iowa State University |
| 12 | Johns Hopkins University |
| 13 | Keck Graduate Institute |
| 14 | Marquette University |
| 15 | New Jersey Institute of Technology |
| 16 | North Carolina State University |
| 17 | Northeastern University |
| 18 | Northern Illinois University |
| 19 | Northwestern University |
| 20 | OHIO State University, |
| 21 | Oregon State University |
| 22 | Purdue University |
| 23 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
| 24 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick |
| 25 | Stanford University |
| 26 | Stanford University |
| 27 | University of Albany |
| 28 | University of Arkansas |
| 29 | University of Buckingham |
| 30 | University of California San Diego |
| 31 | University of California, Irvine |
| 32 | University of California, Los Angeles |
| 33 | University of California, San Diego |
| 34 | University of California, San Francisco |
| 35 | University of California, Santa Cruz |
| 36 | University of Cincinnati |
| 37 | University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign |
| 38 | University of Illinois, Chicago |
| 39 | University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey |
| 40 | University of Memphis |
| 41 | University of Michigan, Ann Arbor |
| 42 | University of Minnesota |
| 43 | University of Nebraska |
| 44 | University of North Carolina |
| 45 | University of Pennsylvania |
| 46 | University of Pittsburgh |
| 47 | University of Southern California |
| 48 | University of Texas at Austin |
| 49 | University of Texas at El Paso |
| 50 | University of the Sciences in Philadelphia |
| 51 | University of Washington, Seattle |
| 52 | University of Wisconsin, Madison |
| 53 | University of Wisconsin-Parkside |
| 54 | Vanderbilt University |
| 55 | Virgina Tech |
| 56 | Washington University St Louis |
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